“Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16)
King Saul was Israel’s first king. He did not meet the expectations of the people and the requirements of God. Saul repeatedly disobeyed God’s commandments. Therefore the prophet Samuel told him: “You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel. The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you” (1 Samuel 15:26-28).
God chose David to become the new king. He was a shepherd boy and the youngest of the family — not exactly the most likely candidate for the crown! However, God did not look on the outward appearance, but on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). And He found in David a man after his heart, who would do all his will (Acts 13:22). Unfortunately, even David was a sinful and fallible human.
The Bible is totally honest about his failures. But the scarlet thread through his life is his absolute trust in the goodness and mercy of the Lord and his earnest desire to serve Him. At the end of David’s life, God promised him: “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me” (2 Samuel 7:16).
Let’s see how this promise came true as we follow this devotional!