Davidic Covenant: A Summary

1.      INTRODUCTION

Davidic Covenant: A Summary

This piece is a summary of the work of Grisanti (1999) titled, "The Davidic Covenant" which effectively explored the Davidic covenant within the context of the Old Testament (OT). His work also discussed how the various OT covenants connect to each other and what meaning they seek to convey as a whole.

The OT cannot be considered complete without the Davidic covenant. The Davidic covenant, aside the Sinaitic covenant, is essentially the touchstone of the OT and it dovetails with the covenants made before it - the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. The Davidic covenant unveils the emergence of a Messianic King - an ideal Davidite - who will reign forever on the earth establishing God's kingdom among men.

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The Psalms and the Prophets throw more light as to the identity of this ideal Davidite who will reign on the earth with Jerusalem being the capital. The NT applies various OT texts about this ideal Davidite to Jesus Christ. For example Acts 13:33-34 says "God hath fulfilled the same unto their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again: as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee"(KJV).

In fact, there are four pivotal points in Biblical history according to an exposition by Walter C. Kaiser (1974)) that attests to the unfolding nature of divine revelation. These four pivotal points serve as proofs to the fact that Holy Writ is one continuous single strand of unfolding revelation from heaven. These pivotal points are: (1) the promise Adonai gave to Abraham in Genesis 12, 15, 17; (2) the promise pronounced to King David in 2 Samuel 7; (3) the promise laid out in the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31; (4) the day when several of these promises were fulfilled in the Passion of Christ.

2.      THE BIBLICAL BACKGROUND TO THE DAVIDIC COVENANT

There are two types of covenants – 'grant' covenant (Waltke, 1988) (also known as 'covenants of promise' and the 'suzerain-vassal' treaty. The Noahic, Abrahamic and Davidic covenants fall under the grant covenant whereas the Mosaic covenant is typical of a 'suzerain-vassal' treaty (Weinfeld, 1970). The Grant covenant and the 'suzerain-vassal' treaty have some key distinguishing features.

Under the grant covenant, "the giver of the covenant makes a commitment to the vassal", whereas under Treaty, "the giver of the covenant imposes an obligation on the vassal" (Grisanti, 1999: p. 235). Other important differences between these two types of covenants is the fact that the grant covenant "primarily protects the rights of the vassal" as well as "represents an obligation of the master to his vassal" whilst the treaty "protects the rights of the master" and "represents an obligation of the vassal to his master" (Grisanti, 1999: p. 235).

Abrahamic Covenant

The Abrahamic covenant is what forms the historical basis for God's dealings with humanity. The Abrahamic covenant was made to Abraham and his lineage, the provisions of which applies to all those that will be in the blood line of the patriarch Abraham. Under that covenant, Elohim promised Abraham and his lineage land, seed and blessing. This promised seed, with the benefit of hindsight was an ideal Davidite - a Messianic King, who will be central to God's divine agenda for the world.

Mosaic Covenant

The Mosaic covenant is a type of Suzerain-vassal treaty in which God offers "cursing for disobedience and blessing for obedience"(Grisanti, 1999: p.235). The obligation on Israel per a Suzerain-vassal treaty is that Israel will love only the Lord and no other God. 

3.      THE OLD TESTAMENT ARTICULATION OF THE DAVIDIC COVENANT   

[2 Sam 7:8-16 (cf. 1 Chr 17:7-14)]

David, burning with love and zeal for God, leads the way amidst dancing and singing to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:1-23). In 2 Samuel 7:2, David's great love for God manifests in these words, "…I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains" (KJV). However, David is stopped by Yahweh, revealing to David through the Prophet Nathan that it was not him who will build the temple but a descendant in his bloodline (which we later find to be Solomon). The desire of David to want to build a temple to house the ark of God may have provoked something in the Lord, as it was only after the expression of this desire to Nathan that the Lord made it known his intentions to establish David's bloodline as "the ruling line over God's chosen people" (Grisanti, 1999: p.236).

God's covenant with David as laid out in 2 Samuel 7 can be divided into two groupings: (1) promises that came to pass in David's lifetime; (2) promises that found realization after David's passing. The first category of the covenant can be found in 2 Sam 7:8-11a and the second is found in 2 Sam 7: 11b-16.

"A Great Name", "A place for the People" and "Rest" constitute promises that find realization in David's lifetime. 

Under the Abrahamic covenant, Abraham was promised a great name. This promise is replicated in the Davidic covenant. "A place for the people" represents land for God's people. It is interesting to note that after God made this covenant known to David in 2 Samuel Chapter 7, we read in 2 Samuel 8 how "…David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line…David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah..." (KJV). And so Grisanti (1999) reveal that "the land controlled by Israel during David's reign approached the ideal boundaries of the promised land initially mentioned in conjunction with God's covenant with Abram" (p. 237).

"A House", "A Seed", and "A Kingdom" make up the promises that find fulfillment after the death of David.

The promise of "A House" per the argument advanced by Grisanti (1999) meant two things – (1) the building of the Temple to house the ark of God's presence and the (2) the erection of a ruling dynasty for David and his lineage. Dumbrell (1980) contends that the Davidic kingship was in the end to mirror the kingship of God. The term, "seed" in 2 Samuel 7:12 refers to Solomon but in a collective sense points to David's posterity and prophetically to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In 2 Samuel 7:13, it is written, "He [Solomon] shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever." This verse of Scripture effectively makes Solomon the "guarantee for the rest of David's descendants" (Grisanti, 1999: p. 239).

Understanding the Concepts of Conditionality and or Unconditionality of Covenants

"The concepts of conditionality and unconditionality are not mutually exclusive. An unconditional covenant is not necessarily without conditions just as a conditional covenant can have unconditional elements" (Grisanti, 1999: p. 241).

When God cut the Davidic Covenant, no obligation was imposed on David as regards the establishment and continuation of the covenant; the enforcement of the covenant depended solely on God thus making it one-sided and independent of David and by implication unconditional. The Davidic Covenant is thus as earlier indicated a grant covenant.

Nonetheless, in 2 Samuel 7:14-16, we observe an irrevocable and conditional element of the God's grant to David:

"I will be his father and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever" (NIV).

The clauses, "But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul…", "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me…" and "…your throne will be established forever" all further attests to the irrevocability of the Davidic covenant. David believed the words God uttered despite receiving no sign or token. Any wonder, in his last words, David affirms, "Truly is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things, and secured; For all my salvation and all my desire, will He not indeed make it grow?" (2 Sam 23:5).

But then the opening sentence in 2 Samuel 7:14-16: "I will be his father and he will be my son…" injects a presupposed conditionality of 'sonship adoption' into the Davidic Covenant which goes to suggest that it is as Yahweh's son that David and his descendants will enjoy the provisions of the Davidic covenant. There are a number of OT verses that allude to the fact that disloyal sons could be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the provisions of the Davidic covenant. Psalm 89: 29-32 says "His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes."

These verses also introduce the possibility that disloyal sons could be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the provisions of this covenant

Royal Psalms

The Royal Psalms captioned as such by Bible scholars because of the commonality of the central theme across these Psalms; the central theme they speak of is: the king. The Psalms are 2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, and 144.

For example, Psalm 72 reveals that the Davidic king was to promote righteousness and justice in the land (v. 1). Psalm 89 declares that the Davidic king assumes the position of "God's firstborn"

4.      THE COHERENCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT COVENANTS

•  The OT covenants are interconnected. 
• The coherence of these OT covenants does not signify sameness
•  The covenants don't operate in a mutually exclusive fashion 
• There is a connection between the Mosaic and the Davidic covenants. The reigns of Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Josiah (2 Kings 18-23) provide a clear demonstration of this relationship. The proper role of the Davidic king was to lead his people in keeping the Mosaic Covenant. 
• The connections between the Davidic and New covenants are limited in extent as the Davidic Covenant emphasized royal issues and the New Covenant lays emphasis on redemptive matters. An important point to note however is the fact that the perfect descendant of David also functions as the mediator of the New Covenant.

5.      CONCLUSION

In a nut shell, through the Davidic Covenant, David's lineage becomes the chosen blood line through which the Messiah, the promised "Seed" should come for the establishment of peace and righteousness on the earth. Grisanti (1999) concludes by saying "the conditions that accompany this covenant only determine who will function in this capacity, not whether or not a Davidite will rule in this way" (p. 250).


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References

Dumbrell, W. J. (1980). The Davidic Covenant. Reformed Theological Review, 39, 40.

Grisanti, M. A. (1999). The Davidic Covenant. The Master Seminary Journal, 2(Fall), 233–250.

Walter C. Kaiser, J. (1974). The Blessing of David: The Charter for Humanity. In J. H. Skilto (Ed.), The Law and the Prophets: Old Testament Studies Prepared in Honor of Oswald Thompson Allis (p. 298). Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed.

Waltke, B. K. (1988). The Phenomenon of Conditionality within Unconditional Covenants. In A. Gileadi (Ed.), Israel's Apostasy and Restoration: Essays in Honor of Roland K. Harrison (p. 124). Grand Rapids: Baker.

Weinfeld, M. (1970). The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East. JAOS, 90, 185.