God's Oath to King David

May 5, 2025 | Read and Think About 2 Samuel 7:1-17

This passage is from the 10th book of the Bible, so it’s pretty early out of the 66 books. 

Before we look at Jesus’s first century family, let’s check in with an important ancestor.  Almost 1000 years before Jesus lived David the King.  This post is about an oath that God made to David.

David was many things:  a shepherd, a musician, a husband, a father, a songwriter, slayer of a giant, a king, a sinner.  All these centuries before Jesus, David had wanted to be something else, too:  a builder.  As king of Israel, he wanted to build a temple for the people to worship God – a house for the Lord that would be a physical building of stone and mortar. 

But God had a different idea.  God promised David under oath that He would establish “a house” for David, which in those days in that culture also referred to lineage.  In an interesting play on words, God promised to place one of David’s descendants on a permanent throne.

God keeps his oaths.  This future King according to the oath is Jesus.

Now fast forward to the time of Jesus and the apostles.  Shortly after the resurrection of Jesus and just days after he ascended to Heaven, the apostle Peter spoke to a large crowd of worshippers.  In this first sermon after Jesus had ascended, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter showed how God’s oath to David was fulfilled in Jesus.  This was an important proof to the people that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.  (Acts, chapter 2.)

In that moment, thousands believed the risen Jesus was the Messiah - Christ and Savior.

The way this all came together was as though God had been creating a tapestry for well over 1000 years. Actually, it continues to this day.