We like to believe that when a promise is made, the person making it will keep their word. This is especially true if it is a binding promise, an oath, or a covenant that was made, which often are legal in nature. In the Old Testament, God made several covenantal promises or agreements with His people. If the people kept their part of the agreement or covenant, God would keep His end. God never failed to keep His part, but just about every time, though, the people failed to keep their part. Instead of receiving God’s blessings, they received His punishment.
There were several covenants that God made that were unconditional, that is, God would keep these covenants no matter what the people did. One example is His promise or covenant to never send a flood again that would wipe out the whole earth (Genesis 9:12-17). There is another covenant that God made with King David, that He would establish his line and throne forever, which we read about in today’s psalm. Let’s take a look at this, and see if this promise was kept or not.
As we read in the Bible, King David desired to build a Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant in. He started drawing up blueprints and making plans for this, when God spoke to him through the prophet Nathan. God told David that he was not to build the Temple. However, He promised him that his throne and royal lineage would be established forever (II Samuel 7:8-17). The Jewish people held this promise to mean that there would be a descendent of David always on the throne. They also extended this to be a promise of the Messiah, that the Messiah would be from the lineage of David.
As one reads through the Old Testament, we see that eventually Jerusalem and the monarchy were overthrown. Babylon, then Persia, Greece, and Rome ruled the Holy Land. There was no longer a throne, nor a king. How could this promise, this covenant, be kept? The last king was King Zedekiah, and he was removed from his throne in 586 BC., over 2,600 years ago. Did God just forget about that covenant promise? Does He have integrity, keeping the promises He makes? As we read our psalm for today, we see that God is, indeed, a faithful God who keeps His word.
Scripture declares that God is faithful. His faithfulness is established in heaven, and He is faithful to all generations (vs. 1-2). He is faithful and reliable. For God to violate His covenant promises would be to violate His very nature. Even the angels in heaven (the “assembly of saints” vs. 5), which surround God’s throne, sing and praise God’s faithfulness. He is almighty, high above all of His creation.
The covenant that Yahweh made with David extended to his descendants. The throne promises guaranteed that the rightful heir to the throne would always be a descendant of David. It might have looked like God broke His covenant, as Jerusalem was destroyed, and no descendants have sat on the throne for two and a half millennium. This covenant prophecy looked forward prophetically to the future reign of Jesus, David’s descendant. He was qualified to sit upon the throne of David, which He will when He returns to earth in glory at His Second Coming. Righteousness, justice, mercy, and truthfulness are the foundations of God’s throne (vs. 14-15). They are fundamental aspects of His nature, and will be the cornerstones of the reign of Jesus in the Millennium.
As we see, God has indeed kept the covenant promise He made to David, as David’s descendent, Jesus, is the rightful heir to the throne, and He will reign there for all eternity. Through Jesus, the line of David will never end. Both on earth and in heaven, there is nothing and no one to compare with the Lord Jesus Christ. We can always trust any promise that God makes to us. Though other people may fail us, God never will. He is a God of integrity, and His Word is sure and true.
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