NOTES for Sa2 7:12-14

The promises God gave to David concerning his descendants, and therefore his dynasty and the throne of Jerusalem, played a very special role in the history of God's people. And this is not only about ancient Jewish history, though of course it is about that too. It is enough to compare the history of the Northern Kingdom with the history of the Southern Kingdom, the two states that arose in place of united Israel after Solomon's death.

The constant palace coups in the North contrast quite noticeably with the stability of power in the South. That is no surprise: in the North, power was seized from the very beginning by a claimant who had no formal right to the throne. But in the South practically no one doubted the authority of David's dynasty; its authority among the people was so great that even after the exile, when there was no longer any talk of an independent state, David's descendants enjoyed the people's respect.

But there was something else in this divine promise. God promises David that his throne will exist until the end of time. And here the question arose: what is this about? This is no longer history, even long history, since the reign of David's dynasty by historical standards did not last very long: only about five hundred years. Here something greater was clearly in view. It was no accident that the pre-exilic prophets saw the Messiah as a righteous King from David's line.

The Messianic Kingdom is no longer history; it is not for a time, but forever. Yet even if we set aside for now the messianic preaching of the pre-exilic prophets, God's promises were extremely important. They meant that the appearance of the Jewish state, David's reign, and his dynasty became part of that divine design for the world and for humanity which we sometimes call the history of salvation. And here it is not so important what exactly this will mean in history. Something else is important: everything connected with David and his dynasty, and with all his descendants in general, belongs not only to time but also to God's eternity. And therefore to the Kingdom. Forever. In the Kingdom, after all, everything is forever. And everything is in fullness.