“Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16 NLT)

This verse from 2 Samuel 7 is part of a promise God delivered to King David through the prophet Nathan. David was troubled by the fact that, as king, he lived in a beautiful cedar palace while the ark of the covenant, where God’s Spirit dwelled among His people, was kept in a tent. David’s ambition was to build a beautiful temple for the Lord.

But God (through Nathan) said no. David wasn’t the person for that job. That task would fall to David’s son Solomon. After declining David’s offer, God makes a stunning promise. It’s known as the Davidic covenant, and it deserves to be read in full.

“Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever’” (2 Samuel 7:8–16 NLT).

God reaffirmed the promise He made to Abraham about a land for his descendants. He promised that David’s son would succeed him as king of Israel. And He promised that David’s kingdom would last forever. This is a reference to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who was called “the son of David” (see Matthew 21:9 nlt). Not only would Jesus be a descendant of David, He also would be closely identified with the beloved king.

What kind of person receives such an honor from the Lord? That’s the question we’re going to explore over the next several days.

David was a shepherd, a musician, a poet, an outcast, a warrior, and a king. In fact, he was the greatest king Israel ever had. He was part of the most exclusive genealogy of all: the ancestors of Jesus. And aside from Jesus, there are more verses written about David than about any other Bible character. He’s also the only person in the Bible God calls “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22 NLT).

God dealt with him the way He dealt with many people He was preparing for greater ministry assignments. David was anointed king of Israel as a young teenager, but he didn’t ascend to the throne until he was thirty. God used that interval to prepare David for what was ahead. Some of that preparation involved hardship.

When you have gone through the desert of hardship, God uses you to more effectively minister to others. Do you find yourself in a “desert experience”? Maybe God has some training in mind for you. Remember, you can never be too small for God, only too big.

Reflection question: What does it mean to be a person after God’s own heart?

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