Thursday, September 22, 2005
A DYNASTY FOREVER
When David was king over the land and the Lord had given him victory over his enemies, David thought it was the proper time to build a house for the worship of the Lord, a glorious temple. The prophet Nathan at first thought this was a great idea. But then the word of the Lord came to Nathan, telling him to tell David that God did not want David to build a temple for the worship of the Lord. Instead, the Lord had something even more wonderful in mind for David.
Nathan informed King David, "I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom . . . and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever . . . And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7).
God had taken the kingdom away from King Saul because of his disobedience. But God would never take away the kingdom from David and his family, from David and his seed. Earthly dynasties come and earthly dynasties go, but David's dynasty would last forever. Eventually the sins of God's people led the Lord to bring David's earthly kingdom to an end, but God did not forget His promise.
Finally, many years later, the day arrived for God to do what He had promised. He sent His angel Gabriel to a girl named Mary from the family of David to give her the great good news: "You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus . . . And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Dear friends, David's dynasty is still in power today. For the Son of David, our Lord Jesus, came and won greater victories than His ancestor David ever had. By His suffering and death in our place Jesus won the victory over sin and death and hell. He descended into hell in triumph. He rose from the dead in triumph. He ascended to heaven in triumph. Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are ours because of Jesus' victory. Let us acknowledge Him now as our King and our Savior. Amen.
