Day 17: Promise
“Now then, tell my
servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the
flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and
I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name
great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 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. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I
will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 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.’”
God took a shepherd boy and made him into a great king. To
that great king God made a promise- He established a covenant – that the House
of David would endure forever and out of David’s house would come one who would
establish a kingdom that would reign forever.
In the Gospel of Luke an angel of the Lord announces the
coming arrival of the One who would establish the eternal kingdom, one born of
David’s House, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. This announcement of the birth of
a king was not made to a queen, but to a humble girl.
“You will conceive and
give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son
of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants
forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,”
Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered,
“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be
called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her
old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “ Luke 1:31-37
“Today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11
God’s promises to David are also His
promises to His people. The Good News that beings great joy also brings us
God’s promise of eternal life in His kingdom.
“…that everyone who
believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life. For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:15-17
“Now this is eternal life: that they
know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3
“As
for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you.
If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he
promised us—eternal life.” 1 John 2:24-25
God’s promises have given us
salvation and eternal life. As if that is not enough, He also promised the gift
of His Holy Spirit.
“I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” Joel 2:28
“And
I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to
keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:27
“I am going to send you what my
Father has promised.” Luke
24:49
“If
you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
advocate to help you and be with you forever— the
Spirit of truth.” John 14:15-17
“For
no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so
through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes
both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our
hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:20-22
God’s promises to King David and to Mary were fulfilled in Jesus.
His promises to us - salvation, eternal life, and the Holy Spirit – are
fulfilled through Jesus. In Jesus, God’s eternal kingdom has drawn near to us
and lives forever!
Glory to God in the Highest!
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