As The Lord Promised

2 Chronicles 22:11-23:3 – But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land. In the seventh year Jehoiada showed his strength. He made a covenant with the commanders of units of a hundred: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites and the heads of Israelite families from all the towns. When they came to Jerusalem,³ the whole assembly made a covenant with the king at the temple of God. Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son shall reign, as the Lord promised concerning the descendants of David.

2 Chronicles 24:19,24 – Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen…Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash.

1 Kings 2:2-4 – “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

2 Samuel 7:10-12,14-16 – And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom…I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 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.’”

Application:

• ·         Israel’s failure to heed the Lord’s prophets ultimately led to her destruction.
• ·         Just as God had helped the small army of Judah against overwhelming odds when the king and people were faithful to Him, so now in their unfaithfulness they are defeated by a much smaller force of invaders.
• ·         When the nation and its king turned away from the requirements of the Sinaitic covenant, they experienced the covenant curses rather than its blessings; but in all this God remained faithful to his covenant promises to Abraham and to David.
• ·         It is God’s building that effects His kingdom.
• ·         God promises to maintain a special relationship with the descendant of David whom He will establish on David’s throne. In Jesus Christ this promise comes to ultimate fulfillment.
• ·         “My love” is God’s special and unfailing favor.
• ·         The promise of an everlasting kingdom for the house of of David became the focal point for many later prophecies and powerfully influenced the development of the Messianic hope in Israel.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV