The Davidic Covenant:
Last time we looked at the Biblical Covenants, we explored the Mosaic Covenant and left the House of Jacob on their way into the Promised Land without Moses.
Joshua and Caleb were leading the people into the land of milk and honey after 40 years in the wilderness. Things were going well for them, and yet instead of returning God’s favor and lovingkindness, the Israelites spun down and out into disobedience to God’s Laws time and time again.
The times of the Judges had come to an end, and this little tiny Bible Book called Ruth pops up with a story of customs and life during the period of the Judges.
There are few points of DNA thread that weave their way through the book to our next stop along the way of the
Biblical Covenants like a Dot to Dot pencil activity book.
Genealogy is close to my heart. I love seeing the Family Tree fill up as research is done. The more the merrier, the more to love. Sometimes there is an unexpected surprise that pops up in the generations and I love to see how that particular branch of the family is grafted in to the Tree and see how and where they hail from. Family traits are sometimes strong, and overshadow what you might have thought was the norm. Whether it be an ancestral link that is lost or that pops up unexpectedly, it may cause much heartache or joy. I suppose it depends on the perspective of those already hanging in the family tree, whether they be nuts or peaches. Each family member can only be responsible for what is in their own heart as they reach out to the others.
The Book of Ruth is a great example of a family lineage that stems from Abraham, to Moses, amongst a family line that was kept pure and separate because of the racist hearts of the Egyptians at the time of the slavery before the Exodus, to a time when all the Kings of Israel did what was right in their own eyes.
Ruth is a beautiful account of a Moabitess, that marries into the line of the Hebrews. The Moabites were from the son of Lot and known to the Hebrews as “God’s washpot” and yet this young woman, Ruth, was used by God to bring about the ancestral line of someone near and dear to my heart.
A quick summary of Ruth’s story is that she marries into a family of Hebrews that left Bethlehem during the famine. Ruth marries one of the sons in this family, but the dad dies, both the sons die, and the other daughter in law goes back to her family.
Only Ruth, the Moabitess stays with her Mother in law Naomi and returns to Bethlehem to care for her. Here Ruth meets Boaz who cares for her and is a picture of a Redeemer. Boaz redeems the inheritance that belonged to the Hebrew widow Naomi and in the deal, gets the Land and a wife in Ruth.
The last portion of the Book of Ruth gives us the line of the ten generations from Pharez through Boaz and Ruth to their descendants.
So Boaz had Obed, which meant server, and Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the Father of David, and David brings us to the next Covenant.
Why do you think God would use someone so despised in the eyes of others to bring about something so beautiful? Perhaps He is showing us that we ourselves, no matter how sinful we are, however ugly we see ourselves in His sight, we are important to Him and loved by Him. God will use anyone that is willing to be used as we see in the picture of Ruth’s loving heart.
We have now seen the DNA thread weave from Adam to David and we pick up the story in the Book of Samuel Chapter 18 Samuel was a child that grew up taught by the Priests about the ways of God and served God with all his heart ever since Hannah, his mother dropped him off with the Priests after Samuel was weaned at three years old. He obeyed God and grew to be the Priest over Israel.
Just as Israel’s past, they made another choice that went against what God had in mind for them. Israel rejected the Priest and wanted a King like the other Nations around them had.
Have you ever wanted to bless your children with something that you know would be good for them? Only to find your child rejecting the gift.
Well, Samuel takes the demand of the people to God and then returns with the reply,
OK, you can have a King, but you won’t like it.
You know, things like taxes, your sons being scripted into the army, and TAXES and your daughters being taken out of your homes to work elsewhere.
Have you ever tired of doing what is good? It’s not easy always having to be the one to break up fights, rescue other Nations, and be a godly example to the world. Ever want to be just like the rest of the gang?
Well, Israel wanted to be like the other Nations and have their own King. Not just any King though. They wanted the tall, dark and handsome King, even though he lacked a good character.So Israel chose Saul.
Well, Saul had a son named Johnathan, who was a better man than Saul who was not afraid in battle like his dad.
Johnathan and David met during the battle against that giant Goliath. You know, the battle that Saul was to afraid to fight and let little David go to fight the mighty Goliath all on his own.
Johnathan and David then cut a covenant with each other, and became Covenant friends. Jonathan gave David his robe, and sword and belt and told him all that I have is yours.
During this time it was Saul who became jealous of David and wanted to kill David to secure the throne for Jonathan, after all in Sauls eyes Johnathan was the rightful heir to the Kingdom for he was his son.
But the soul of Jonathan and the soul of David were knit together.
As we continue reading through I Samuel, Saul and Jonathan die and David is anointed King.
So after David was anointed King, he remembered that not only was the Covenant made between he and Jonathan but to the descendants of jonathan as well. SO David begins to ask if there are any left of the house of Jonathan.
This is what many were fearing, for there were many that lived in fear of David. It was years that King Saul had put the fear of David into them. Saul wanted David killed. Find David for me and kill him! So when David took the throne after Saul and Jonathans death, the Nanny to Jonathans son Mephiboseth injured and crippled him accidentally in her haste to get him to safety.
But now it was time to face the King. Those who were guarding Mephiboseth feared he would be killed, but instead King David showed him great loving kindness because of theCovenant with his Father Jonathan.
So Mephiboseth has a choice to make. One who lived in fear of the man in front him, was now offered a home, a place at the Kings table at every meal and Mephiboseths servants would work his land and bring in the bounty for them all. Or he could reject King David’s offer.
All Mephiboseth had to do was change his mind about King David and accept his offer of lovingkindness.
So what do you think Mephiboseth did? He made a very wise decision and accepted his Fathers Covenant, and David restored Mephiboseths inheritance, and ate at the Kings Table for the est of his days. Could there be a more glorious happy ending of a story? Why yes actually there is.
If we connect the DNA dots we see an even greater happy ending, well perhaps because that depends on you.
Psalm 25:14 Tells us that the secret of the LORD is with them who fear Him, and He will show THEM His Covenant!
Do you understand what has happened here? Both parties of this covenant between Jonathan and David had made a blood covenant, which made them no longer enemies, but friends. Just like God who after making the covenant with Abraham called him a friend of God. the term friend is used very loosely these days as in the form of a thumbs up on social media, or a group of young adults that meander through life together while adulting.
But to God, friend is an even stronger bound than family, a blood brother bond.
Jesus who left heaven and came in the form of man, a little lower status than the angels, came in the form of man and the blood of God and man were mixed in his veins. The Symbol of Jonathan and David Covenant were the Robe that represented a yielding of his position to the future King The garments that Jon gave to David represented his possessions
The Sword, the Bow and his girdle or belt represented his power willingly yielded to the future King
1 David like Jesus sought out those who are lame and crippled, sinners like you and me.
2 David was a picture of God who is covenant bound to Abraham and all his generations
3 As sinners have we ever hid from the presence of GOd when we know full well we have been disobedient?
4 Jesus seeks us out and shows us and offers us His loving kindness and mercy, His Hesed (Ruth connection?) love and forgiveness.
5 We now have a choice. We have been shown the lovingkindness of God and need to make a decision. Will we cling to our own beliefs of God, our own picture of who He is or will we change or mind and repent? Will we accept or reject the love and mercy and covenants God has offered us by this picture of David and Jon in Covenant that points us toward all that is fulfilled in Jesus?
6 Does anyone else like a happy ending like I do? Mephiboseth repents and accepts God’s lovingkindness, mercy and forgiveness
What a beautiful picture of what our King Jesus has done for us.
He made a way for us to be with Him at His table and commune with Him.
There is power in the blood covenant
There is power in the blood of Jesus that was given freely by Him so that our sins could be washed away forever, not just covered up by the blood covenant by the way of an animal which was only a foreshadow of Jesus sacrifice.
The blood of man and God was mingled on the cross, so that crippled sinners like you and I could be heirs to the Kingdom of God.
Why did God put this story in the Bible for us? If we go back to the beginning Vicinni, we know that God created a perfect world for mankind so that God and mankind could spend time together in relationship and love each other. God put man into the Garden to rule and reign over the land an animals. Do you remember what happened next? Sin entered the world and mankind was crippled with sin, and fear and were cast out of the Garden into the barren land. Mankind was deceived into fearing and hating God, just as some still do today. But how can we hate what or who we do not know? Preconcieved ideas of God can keep us from loving who He really is. For He has shown us through His word that He is trustworthy and Faithful, and worthy of our love. That if we put our trust in Him, He will never leave us or forsake us.
You see, God is in covenant with His Son, Jesus and for Christs sake, God forgives us. It’s not a matter of our worthiness, but it is because of His steadfast Covenant Love.
The next time the enemy makes you FEEL unworthy before God, don’t spend precious energy arguing. Just admit you are unworthy and run to Jesus, and hide behind Him who is your strong tower. Let Jesus take care of the enemy and keep your eyes on your Savior.
If we walk in ignorance of the Blood Covenant, we lose out on so much in this present life as well as in our future eternity.
The story of David, and Jonathan and Mephiboseth show us forgiveness, fortune, fellowship, and that we are family with an inheritance. You see, Adam, the first man lost that inheiritance, and Jesus, the one who is called the second Adam in the Bible, restored our inheritance.
The next time we get together to look at the The New Covenant, we will see we are not there to mourn a corpse, but celebrate eternal life because of a final perfect sacrifice in Jesus.
Just as John 3:16 reminds us: For God so loved the world that He gave is His only begotten son, so that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life.
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