April 22, 2024

Passage Read: Psalm 87-90
Meditation Verses: 89:29-33

Thought

Ethan is dismayed at the Lord's treatment of his anointed one. God made a covenant with David, that he would never lack a man to sit on his throne before Him, that his kingdom would endure for all generations. But the king Ethan speaks of seems to enjoy no favor from the Lord. He seems rejected and completely overthrown! But God did warn David that if his sons disobeyed the Lord, there would be judgment on them, yet, as Ethan points out, God would not betray His promise to David. David's sons may lose their right to rule, and several were deposed, some deserved to die, but God kept His word to David, even in that. The promise was to David; his sons were required to walk in the righteousness of David in order to enjoy the blessings of God's promise to their father. Until ultimately the promise found its final fulfillment in Jesus.

Application

God didn't forget or break His covenant with David when some of his sons were rejected and even when the kingdom was lost. David's sons rejected the Lord and the ways of their father! God promised to discipline and judge those of his descendants that disobeyed Him. Individuals in David's line might be eternally rejected, but even that was part of the promise! If David's sons would not walk in his ways, they would be disciplined, and if they didn't repent, they would be rejected. That was God keeping that part of the promise, maintaining His covenant with David, and still bringing the promise of an eternal throne to fulfillment in Jesus! God's covenant never allows for us to continue in sin, for our sin to be excused when there is no forsaking of it. The death and resurrection of Jesus, the new covenant in His blood, does not allow a person to continue to live in rebellion or disobedience to God. The one who claims to believe yet lives in violation of God's heart and nature as revealed through His Word and commands has no hope of salvation; the New Covenant requires his condemnation, in order to be upheld. God has never made a covenant that allows men to continue to live in sin, that allows men to ignore His commands and His character and still live. The king Ethan speaks of likely needs to do some soul searching, just as surely as I need to repent and remain turned away from anything God hates, if I want to enjoy the benefits of God's New Covenant.