The Birthright - Part 7: The Covenant to David

THE BIRTHRIGHT – PART 7

THE COVENANT TO DAVID

2 Samuel 7:10 KJV  Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,

2 Samuel 7:16 KJV  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.

2 Samuel 7:29 KJV  Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever.

It is written in scripture, the throne of David and then Solomon will be established forever.  God states the throne would not be taken away as it was with Saul.  If a king was guilty of iniquity, they would be chastened with “the rod of iron” but the kingdom would remain forever.  However, it can be shown historically the throne and kingship appeared to end when King Zedekiah was captured by the invading Babylonian army in 585 BC, taken and imprisoned in Babylon where he died thus apparently ending the kingship of Judah.  In addition, all of Zedekiah’s sons were slain at the time of his imprisonment.  It can be noted in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke, the line of Jehoiakin survived during the Babylonian captivity, descendants returned to Judea and thus Jesus remained a descendant of David and Solomon but there was not a king of the dispersed Jews occupying a throne as king.

Can it be said that Jesus is sitting on the throne of David today?  Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God in heaven.  However, that throne and His Kingdom and Kingship will be located on the planet at the beginning of the Millennial reign.  It is not currently an earthly kingdom with a sitting king.  However for almost 600 years between the death of Zedekiah and the birth of Jesus can it be said that any one sat on the throne of Judah?  Does this mean the promise God made to David is broken and no longer an issue?  The word forever defines as:  without end; eternally; and continually.

Dictionary.com:  Forever  1. without ever ending; eternally: to last forever. 2. continually; incessantly; always:

The prophet Abijah announced to Jeroboam, king of the northern kingdom of Israel a basic repetition of the covenant of God to David.  This occurred approximately 18 years after the rebellion

2 Chronicles 13:5 KJV  Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

Another statement of the covenant in Psalm 89:3-3 adds the phrase, “to all generations”.  This statement indicates there will be no skipped generations or symbolic, spiritual generations but living, breathing generations.  Thus, it can be asked if the throne was moved elsewhere and if so, to what location was it moved, by whom was it moved, and who is sitting on the throne or has been sitting on the throne?

Psalms 89:3-4 KJV  I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,  (4)  Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

It has been pointed out by a commentator the word “seed” in verse 4 is translated as “dynasty” in the Moffat version.  I don’t have the Moffat but the definition of “dynasty” is not listed in any of my Hebrew dictionaries.

At the end of this Psalm, God swears by His Holiness the covenant with David will not be broken.  His throne will outlast the sun.  The loving kindness and faithfulness of God will never be taken away.  But where is the throne and who has occupied that throne as a descendant of David?  Can Jesus return and sit upon a nonexistent throne of David?

Psalms 89:28-37 KJV  My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.  (29)  His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.  (30)  If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;  (31)  If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;  (32)  Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.  (33)  Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.  (34)  My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.  (35)  Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.  (36)  His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.  (37)  It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

A Jeremiah Revelation

In Jeremiah 33, we find that he is shut up in the court of the prison while Jerusalem and the temple is being destroyed by the Babylonian army.  He receives a message from God concerning the future healing of the breach of Israel and Judah which will occur during the Millennium as can be seen in the scripture exert below (verses 7 and 8).  Their iniquities (both Israel and Judah) will be pardoned and cleansed.  The land will be restored and prosperity will be given.

Jeremiah 33:7-8 KJV  And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.  (8)  And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

Verse 15 tells us the “Branch of righteousness”, which is Jesus, will be the King of the Kingdom who will be executing judgment and righteousness.

Jeremiah 33:15 KJV  In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

God tells Jeremiah that Judah will (finally) be saved and Jerusalem will become a safe dwelling place.  In verse 17, we are told that David will never be without a person to sit upon the throne.  Notice the phrase containing the word “throne” “of the house of Israel”. It may be argued the use of the word “Israel” is meant in the general sense of the complete nation of twelve tribes even though both the names of Judah and Israel are used in the chapter to designate two distinct nations.  However, the verse does read “the house of Israel” which appears to mean (or perhaps it emphatically means) the nation of northern Israel that was deported several hundred years prior to this point in time.  It can’t refer to the Millennium because there will only be one King which will be the Lord.  Another possibility would be that David will always have a king on a throne, but after the death of Zedekiah and his sons (heirs), the throne and the king will be placed within the people of the Assyrian deported Israel somewhere in the world (remember that Israel is now Ephraim and Manasseh).

Jeremiah 33:17 KJV  For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

After the death of Zedekiah and his heir sons, the throne would be removed from Judah never to return.  During the advent of Jesus, He preached the Kingdom of God and claimed His entitlement as King of the Kingdom and is now sitting on the throne of the Kingdom in heaven but not yet sitting as King of an earthly throne which will occur in the future Millennium.  There is presently nothing the current state of Israel can productively accomplish other than repent and follow the Lord Jesus as King of the Kingdom.  However they can (and are) causing many problems for the world with their one world government shenanigans and their puppet dupes in government positions in various counties particularly including the USA.

At the end of chapter 33, God tells Jeremiah that various people say (and will be saying) that God has cast away His people, that He despised them for their iniquities, and His people will never again be a nation.  However, God answers with, if the heavenly ordinances that He created should no longer operate then His covenant promises and the seed of David to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will stand.  The birthright promises currently held by Ephraim and Manasseh, and the forever kingship and throne of David will stand.

Jeremiah 33:24-26 KJV  Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.  (25)  Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;  (26)  Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

Of course many evangelicals, Bible teachers, and ministers believe that current Israel is the miracle work of God by healing the breach and bringing the tribes of Israel and Judah back into the land as a nation.  (They should read the history of the beginning of the Jewish state of Israel).  All unfulfilled prophecy can now be fulfilled and God’s chosen people can now rule the world (which is their main one world government purpose). 

One more piece of confirmation evidence can be noted at the very beginning of the promise which has been referred to as the scepter promise which is:  the scepter (kingship) will never depart from Judah until Shiloh, which is the Lord Jesus, comes and gathers His people i.e. the second coming of Christ prior to the Millennium.

Genesis 49:10 KJV  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Summary

The Babylonian returnees never had a king unless the Selucids and Romans are considered as such but they were not of the linage of David.  The current nation of Israel does not and has never had a king.  Apparently the Jew’s kingship died with Zedekiah.  There have been a few kings and/or queens in several European countries and there is currently a queen with a prince in waiting in Britain.  In the next part, hopefully, I will cover the location of the Davidic kingship after the death of Hezekiah, and most have already assumed I am referring to the British Isles which would be correct.  A word of warning which again, hopefully, will be covered in the next section – i.e. to my knowledge, there is no written proof the Davidic kingship was carried to the British Isles but only hearsay.  This British Isles belief has been replicated by only a handful of people and its truth has been denied and supposedly refuted by others, but deniers of the Bible also lie and cover up quite a bit.  However, the concept will be explored because I do not believe there are falsehoods and incorrect information in the Bible, therefore the material will be presented as a possibility of truth, if the Lord is willing.

What appearance did David have?

1 Samuel 16:12 KJV  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

Ruddy:  ad-mo-nee', ad-mo-nee'

From H119; reddish (of the hair or the complexion): - red, ruddy.

David appears to have near white pinkish skin with perhaps reddish hair.

The Birthright - Part 6

THE BIRTHRIGHT – PART 6

Some background information for those who have not read Part 1.  This series deals with the 10 northern tribes called Israel who were deported into northeastern Assyria around 740-733 BC depending on the source.  This Biblical nation named Israel is not the current nation of so-called Jews who call themselves Israel.

Israel and Judah (Jews)

The next topic may not need to be repeated but for those who are unaware, here goes the story.  During the reigns of David and Solomon the entire nation consisting of twelve tribes of Hebrew people were named and referred to as Israel due to the birthright promise (the land of Canaan) as given to Joseph and then to Ephraim and Manasseh.  God told Solomon that his son and successor would undergo the punishment that God was to give to Solomon for possessing foreign wives and practicing idolatry and iniquity that was inspired by his foreign wives.  The punishment would be that all the tribes with the exception of Judah and Benjamin would be separated from Judah to implement another nation.  Solomon’s son and successor, named Rohoboam, would be permitted to maintain two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, so that God’s covenant to David that he would always have a descendant on the throne as king would continue.

When Solomon died and his son, Rohoboam, ascended the throne, the tribes, under the leadership of the Ephraimite, Jeroboam, approached the king asking that the burdensome taxes imposed by Solomon to build the temple could be lessened or removed.  Rohoboam’s answer was, “my father chastened you with whips, but I will chasten you with scorpions”.  This comment led to a rebellion resulting in the northern ten tribes instituting their own separate kingdom with the capital in Samaria and Jeroboam, the Ephraimite, as the first king.  The new kingdom immediately began worshipping golden calves and most of the Levites departed back to the temple in the south. 

The southern nation now consisting of Judah, Benjamin, and the majority of the Levites named themselves Judah.  The new northern kingdom maintained the name of Israel because they were now the birthright nation due to the residence of the birthright tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.  Any prophetic or historical work from this point onward using the term or name “Israel” is referring to the ten tribes of the northern nation of Israel.  Therefore, any reference to the southern tribe will use the name Judah.  Israel is never Judah and Judah is never Israel.

When Pekah, king of Israel, was allied with Syria in a war with Ahab, king of Judah, the scripture uses the word “Jews” for the first time in 2Kings 16:6.  The word or term “Jews” is always referring to people of Judah and never to anyone of the northern kingdom of Israel.

2 Kings 16:6 KJV  At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.

In the four gospels and the book of Acts the word “Israel” is often used by Jesus and others.  It appears to refer to individuals as a descendent of Jacob (named Israel) in a collective sense and not in a national sense such as a citizen of the nation of Israel because there was not a nation of Israel at this time.  The actual residents of the northern kingdom of Israel had already been deported almost 750 years prior to the New Testament.

Samaritans

After the nation of Israel was deported by the Assyrians, the military of Assyrian brought in people of several ethnic cultures in live in the area of Samaria.  These people were called the Samaritans during the days of Jesus and the disciples.  These Samaritans were not related to the Jews or Israelites and were not a cultural mixture.

2 Kings 17:24 KJV  And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

The Assyrian king had placed a priest of Israel (they worshipped golden calves) within the foreign mixture of Samaria for the purpose of teaching them the manner of the “god” of the northern Israel people. 

2 Kings 17:27-28 KJV  Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.  (28)  Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.

Recall that the woman at the well vaguely referred to the religion of the Jews and was curious concerning Jesus asking for a drink of water since Jews did not use or share anything with the Samaitans.  Perhaps due to the ancestral teachings of her people, she referred to herself as an ancestor of Jacob or perhaps she actually was related but not as an Israelite or Judahite.

John 4:12 NET  Surely you're not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock."

Cut Off

All Davidic Israel was prophesied to be dispersed and scattered around the world.

Deuteronomy 32:26 KJV  I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

The first group or nation of 10 tribes was the northern birthright nation of Israel.  They were called the wife of God but due to their continued idolatry God divorced them.  They began their nationhood with two golden calves as a center of worship.  No amount of pleading by God or prophets could make them change.  A prophecy in Isaiah hints (some say it states plainly) they will all speak a language other than Hebrew. 

Isaiah 28:10-11 KJV  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:  (11)  For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

Isaiah 28:10-11 NET  Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish, senseless babbling, a syllable here, a syllable there.  (11)  For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue he will speak to these people.

I included two versions of Isaiah 28:8-10 to display the difference between the translations of verse 10.  Many times an exegete will use the KJV of verse 10 to prove that messages and truths in the scripture cannot be found together in one place but must be sectioned together from several places in the Bible.  This may well be true but the correct understanding of this verse in its context appears to be otherwise.

The nation of Israel were cut off from the presence of God for several hundred years until the disciples of Christ and various missionaries afterward brought the unique teaching of salvation of God by faith through Jesus Christ.