Adam and Eve understood that they were to exercise dominion, and that extending to all the creation. Abraham was promised that kings would descend from him, and he had at least one experience with a King of Righteousness and Peace to lead him to hope that such might be the monarchs who would be part of his legacy. His grandson, Jacob, prophesied of a coming kingdom for the people of Israel, and of a dynasty of kings, issuing from the tribe of Judah, that would continue until Shiloh appeared to rule all peoples. Moses further prepared the minds and hearts of the people of Israel for a king and kingdom by explaining that God would give them a king, and he would rule them according to His Law and for their good.

As we work our way through the Old Testament we can feel the momentum for and anticipation of a kingdom and kings building within the ranks of the people of God. Though certain tribes jumped the gun by wrongly naming Abimelech their king (Jdgs. 9.1-6), and though the people of Israel looked to the wrong tribe for the first king of all Israel – Benjamin instead of Judah – still, it’s hard to miss the fact that Israel expected a king and longed to be a kingdom, for this is what they understood the Lord had promised.

David and the kingdom

With the accession of David to the throne of Israel, the vision of God’s coming Kingdom takes on a new clarity and expansiveness.

I think it is safe to say that David’s vision of the Kingdom of God was grounded in the understanding of his forebears. David was a man of God’s Word. Thus, he would have been familiar with the ideas relating to a rule of God, through His people and over all the earth that previous generations of the people of God had glimpsed and pursued.

He would also have had the benefit of seeing at first hand the calamitous attempt of King Saul at establishing a rule over Israel on the strength of personality and wits along. David would have filed this episode under the “how not to” section of his preparation for reign.

But it was God’s direct revelation to David, through the prophet Nathan, that began to precipitate in his mind a clearer and more expansive vision of what God was planning to do, and how (2 Sam. 7). In his response to God’s Word through Nathan, we can discern four general parameters of David’s understanding which, as we shall see, guides all subsequent development of the vision of God’s Kingdom.

The kingdom as a gift from God

First, David understood that the Kingdom God intended to establish with him would come from God as a gift to His people, as a manifestation of His covenant faithfulness (2 Sam. 7.21, 24, 27). The kingdom would thus be of heavenly and eternal provenance, and in its giving would convey the intentions of its Giver, for His eternal purposes and economy.

Second, and as a consequence of the first parameter, this Kingdom would be rooted in and dependent upon eternal verities – truths and conditions existing in and emanating from a realm not of this world (vv. 21, 22, 25, 28). David would not be free to rule as he pleased. Rather, as Moses had earlier shown, the Word of God would be the guiding light of David’s reign.

Third, God’s intention for His Kingdom was that it should come to expression on earth and engage all the nations of the world (vv. 19, 23). This would come about through the agency of God’s king who would also be, in some mysterious sense, God’s son (v. 14).

Finally, there was to be continuous and vital interaction between God and the people to whom He would give His Kingdom, so that they might discern His will, know His presence, protection, and provision, and glorify Him in all their Kingdom activities. And central to this presence of God with His people would be the work of God’s king and son (vv. 23, 27, 29).

Now the idea of a king and kingdom began to take real shape. From David on, God’s covenant people would know what to anticipate, what to hope for, and what to seek with respect to His promised king and kingdom.

We’ll want to examine each of these parameters a bit more, looking to the psalms of David to see how his understanding developed as he sought and served the Lord throughout his reign as King of Israel.

Next steps

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Additional Resources

Download this week’s study, Kingdom Visionaries 2: David, The Prophets, Jesus.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.