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Realizing the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God.
The Scriptorium

David's Reign

David's kingdom foreshadows a greater Kingdom to come.

The Heart of God: David and Solomon (2)

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24.27

Read and meditate on 2 Samuel 7-12, and 1 Chronicles 17 and 18.
David is a man after God’s own heart, but he is not a perfect man. God does not require us to be perfect, only faithful. In these chapters we get a look at the heart of David – in sin, in service, and in seeking the Lord. And by looking at David’s heart, we may perhaps catch a glimpse of our own.

For reflection
1.  Meditate on God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7. How do you see that God is pointing ahead to a fuller realization of His Kingdom than what will come with David? Would you say that, integral to the realization of God’s covenant is the establishment of His Kingdom? Explain.

2.  Participation in God’s covenant does not exempt us from temptation and sin. What can we learn from David, in 2 Samuel 11 and 12, about recognizing and dealing with temptation? Do you think David’s vulnerability to sin may have resulted from his success in 2 Samuel 8-10? Explain.

3.  What do we learn about David, and from him, in his response to the Word of God from Nathan?

4.  Meditate on 2 Samuel 8 and 1 Chronicles 17 and 18. How do you see that David immediately set about to realize as much as possible of the promises of God? What does his example teach us about laying hold on the promises of God’s covenant?

5.  We’ve seen that politics and military might are not the hope for realizing God’s covenant. But does this mean they are not necessary at all? How would you compare David’s conquests with those of the judges or Saul? Is there any difference? Is David working toward anything different from these others?

Summary
David seems always to have been conscious of his calling to serve within the larger context of God’s covenant and Kingdom. He was not a perfect man by any means, but his responses to the Word and promises of God show him to have been a teachable man, with a true heart for God. In what ways might we see in the kingdom of Israel under David a foreshadowing of the coming Kingdom of God?

Closing Prayer
Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.
The LORDhas sworn in truth to David;
He will not turn from it:
“I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.
If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them,
Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”

Psalm 132.8-12

T. M. Moore

Two books can help you gain a fuller understanding of the terrain we will be covering in this series. Kingdom Documentsprovides a concise overview of the primary teaching of the Old and New Testaments, and shows, through early Church creeds, how our forebears understood the primary teachings of God’s Word. (click here to order). I Will Be Your Goddevelops more fully the idea of God’s covenant and leads us to consider the practical implications of our covenant relationship with God (click here).

Visit The Ailbe Seminary, where our course,
Introduction to Biblical Theology, offers a parallel study of our theme in this series, using brief video presentations and the workbook God’s Covenant: An Introduction. All courses at The Ailbe Seminary are available without charge.

We are happy to be able to offer each week’s Scriptorium studies in a free weekly PDF, suitable for personal or group use. You can download all the studies in this series by clicking here. Please prayerfully consider sharing with The Fellowship of Ailbe through your giving. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

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

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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