The Davidic Covenant in the Prophets

It is understandable that the nation would have had a sense of optimism during the rise of the kingship, but what about times surrounding the exiles?  The writings of the Prophets give great insight into the faithfulness of the remnant of Israel.  Their hope in the promises of God never diminishes.

The Lord consistently spoke to the Israelites through the prophets, giving the nation hope for the future.  In Isaiah 9:7 the prophet declared that the Messiah would sit on the throne of David forever, accomplished by “the zeal of the Lord of Hosts.”  Isaiah then referred to the Davidic Covenant the “faithful mercies shown to David” (Isa. 55:3).  Jeremiah announced that God will raise up a future, righteous king for David, and Israel would experience salvation and security (Jer. 23:5-6).  The Israelites would indeed serve God and David again (Jer. 30:8-9).  Not only would David have his throne continually occupied, the Levitical priests would continually offer sacrifice before God (Jer. 33:14-26).  Ezekiel declares that David acting as the future prince of Israel during a time of blessing (Ezek. 34:23-26).  Israel will be righteous again, inhabiting the land with David as their prince forever (Ezek. 37:24-25).  Daniel sees a vision of one receiving dominion and an eternal kingdom from the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13-14), the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.  Hosea announces that in the last days Israel will return to God and to David their king (Hosea 3:4-5).  Amos tells of God rebuilding the booth of David (Amos 9:11), which involves his throne and the city of Jerusalem.  Finally, Micah declares that this future ruler for Israel will come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), the hometown of David.  The writings of the prophets clearly provided the nation with constant reassurance that God had not forgotten his promises to David.

The nation of Israel received hope for an abiding relationship with the Lord and national prosperity through the Davidic Covenant.  Although greatly expounded upon in the New Testament, the original Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7 still awaits its ultimate fulfillment.  The second coming of Jesus the Messiah, the final Davidic king, will fulfill forever these promises to David.