THE DAVIDIC COVENANT
by Tony Alamo
The implications of the Abrahamic covenant have mainly to do with land and seed. The land promises are enlarged and confirmed through the Palestinian covenant (The Palestinian covenant is a promise that the land belongs to the Jews and not the Palestinians. However, the Jewish people have always been very hospitable to anyone that is friendly.), which is the next of Israel’s great covenants, a covenant which God made with David. God, through this Davidic covenant, is enlarging and confirming the seed promises. This is seen in the scriptures dealing with the formulation of the Davidic covenant. God told David, “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom” (II Sam. 7:12).
“I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David My servant, Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations” (Psa. 89:3-4). “As the host of Heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David My servant, and the Levites that minister unto ME…Thus saith the Lord; If My covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of Heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David My servant…” (Jer. 33:22, 25-26). The seed promise contained in the Abrahamic covenant is now made the center of the Davidic promise. The seed promises in general and the seed line of David with his kingdom, house, and throne are amplified.
The importance of the Davidic covenant is seen in many of the crucial issues facing any person who follows God’s Word, which commands us to study the Word “to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15).
In my studies, I will determine whether there will be a literal millennium or a symbolic millennium, and I will determine if the church is the kingdom. I will determine what God’s kingdom is, and what Christ’s kingdom is. Will nation Israel be gathered and restored under her Messiah, and is the kingdom present or future? These and many, many other important and crucial questions can be answered if our interpretation of that which was covenanted to David is correct.
THE PROVISIONS OF THE DAVIDIC COVENANT
The promise made by God to David is given in II Samuel 7:12-16. “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.” “He [Solomon] shall build an house for My name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever [Forever means eternal. It will be the throne Christ sits on in Heaven.1 Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.2 David is from the tribe of Judah;3 both David and Christ were born in Bethlehem.4 Mary the mother of Jesus was also of the tribe of Judah5]. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But My mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever” (II Sam. 7:12-16).
The historical background of the Davidic covenant is well known. Inasmuch as David had come into power and authority in the kingdom and now dwelt in a house of cedar, it seemed incongruous that the one from whom he derived his authority and government should still dwell in a house of skins (animal skins). It was David’s idea to build (what he thought was) a suitable house or dwelling place for God.6 But because he had been a man of war, David was not permitted to build this house.7 That responsibility was given to Solomon, the prince of peace.8 However, God does make certain promises to David concerning the perpetual character of his house.
The provisions of the Davidic covenant include, then, the following items: 1. David is to have a child, not yet born, who shall succeed him and establish his kingdom.9 2. This son (Solomon) shall build the temple instead of David.10 3. The throne of his kingdom shall be established forever.11 4. The throne will not be taken away from him (Solomon), even though his sins justify chastisement.12 5. David’s house, throne, and kingdom shall be established forever.13
The essential features of this covenant are implicit in these words which are found in II Samuel 7:16, which are house, kingdom, and throne. These major words of this covenant mean David’s “house” is David’s posterity, his physical descendants. It is assured that they will never be slain, nor displaced entirely by another family. The line of David will always be the royal line. By the word “throne” it is clear that no reference is made to a material throne, but rather to the dignity and power which was sovereign and supreme in David as king. The right to rule always belonged to David’s seed. By the term “kingdom” there is reference to David’s political kingdom over Israel. By the expression “forever” it is signified that the Davidic authority and Davidic kingdom or rule over Israel shall never be taken from David’s posterity. The right to rule will never be transferred to another family; and its arrangement is designed for eternal perpetuity. Whatever its changing form, temporary interruptions, or chastisement, the line of David will always have the right to rule over Israel and will, in fact, exercise this privilege.
As in other Israel’s covenants, I can see this covenant is restated and confirmed in later scriptures. In Psalm 89, David is praising God for His mercies. In verse 3, these mercies are seen to come because “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David My servant, Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations” (Psa. 89:3-4).
These covenants are sure because God said, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips. Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed [Jesus] shall endure forever [through Mary], and his throne as the sun before ME” (Psa. 89:34-36). It is confirmed again in such passages of scripture as Isa. 9:6-7, Jer. 23:5-6, 30:8-9, 33:14-17, 20-21, Ezek. 37:24-25, Dan. 7:13-14, Hosea 3:4-5, Amos 9:11, Zech. 14:4-9. This promise to David is established by God as a formal covenant and thereafter is referred to as the basis in which God is operating in regard to the kingdom, the house, and the throne.
The most important covenant or promise in the Bible is given by Jesus Himself in John 3:5-6, where Jesus is instructing Nicodemus. Jesus told him, “Verily, verily, I say unto [you], Except a man be born of water [the Word and Spirit] and of the SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the SPIRIT is SPIRIT.”
To be born again of the SPIRIT, say this prayer. Then Jesus by the HOLY SPIRIT (the Word and Father) will enter your spirit, and you will be BORN AGAIN! God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will be in you if you say the prayer now and be born again of the Spirit.
My Lord and my God, have mercy upon my soul, a sinner. 1 I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. 2 I believe that He died on the cross and shed His precious blood for the forgiveness of all my sins. 3 I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit 4 and that He sits on the right hand of God at this moment, hearing my confession of sin and this prayer. 5 I open up the door of my heart and I invite You into my heart, Lord Jesus. 6 Wash all of my filthy sins away in the precious blood that You shed in my place on the cross at Calvary. 7 You will not turn me away, Lord Jesus, You will forgive my sins and save my soul. I know because Your Word, the Bible says so. 8 Your Word says that You will turn no one away, and that includes me. 9 Therefore, I know that You have heard me, and I know that You have answered me, and I know that I am saved. 10 And I thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving my soul, and I will show my thankfulness by doing as You command and sin no more. 11
You've just completed the first step in a series of five steps which are necessary to receive salvation. Your second step is to deny yourself and take up the cross daily for the purpose of mortifying yourself, that is, for putting to death your own will, your soulful self, and the world with all of its lusts. All these must be baptized into the death of Christ.
Step three is your resurrection from the satanic life of Adam unto the sinless life of Christ. Step four is your ascension into a position of authority to reign for God on earth, and the fifth step is to reign for God on earth to the end for the purpose of bringing about the kingdom of Heaven on earth. You must learn the Word of God, then submit yourself and do what the Word says, so that the Church and the world may see evidence of your submission to God's Word, His order, and His authority in and by you.
Praise the Lord. May God reward you abundantly.
Pastor Tony Alamo
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The Davidic Covenant footnotes:
1. Psa. 132:11, Isa. 9:6-7, 16:5, Luke 1:31-33 return
2. Gen. 49:9-10, Rev. 5:5 return
3. Ruth 1:1-2, 4:10-22, I Chron. 2:11-15 return
4. Ruth 4: 10-22, I Sam. 17:12, Matt. 2:1-6, Luke 2:11-16 return
6. II Sam. 7:1-7, I Kings 8:17-18, I Chron. 22:7 return
7. I Kings 5:2-3, I Chron. 22:7-8, 28:3 return
9. II Sam. 7:12, I Chron. 17:11 return
10. I Chron. 22:9-10, 28:5-6 return
11. II Sam. 7:13, I Chron. 17: 11-12 return
Prayer footnotes:
1. Psa. 51:5, Rom. 3:10-12, 23 return
2. Matt. 26:63-64, 27:54, Luke 1:30-33, John 9:35-37, Rom. 1:3-4 return
3. Acts 4:12, 20:28, Rom. 3:25, I John 1:7, Rev. 5:9 return
4. Psa. 16:9-10, Matt. 28:5-7, Mark 16:9, 12, 14, John 2:19, 21, 10:17-18, 11:25, Acts 2:24, 3:15, Rom. 8:11, I Cor. 15:3-7 return
5. Luke 22:69, Acts 2:25-36, Heb. 10:12-13 return
6. I Cor. 3:16, Rev. 3:20 return
7. Eph. 2:13-22, Heb. 9:22, 13:12, 20-21, I John 1:7, Rev. 1:5, 7:14 return
8. Matt. 26:28, Acts 2:21, 4:12, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14 return
9. Matt. 21:22, John 6:35, 37-40, Rom. 10:13 return
10. Heb. 11:6 return
11. John 5:14, 8:11, Rom. 6:4, I Cor. 15:10, Rev. 7:14, 22:14 return