Word of Encouragement (03/14/2024)
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. (1 Kings 8:22-24)
Solomon praises God for His covenant faithfulness: “...keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart....” As you read this, you may feel left out. It is good to know that God is a covenant-keeping God who shows steadfast love. The problem is that this is only for “your servants who walk before Him with all their heart.” Can you identify yourself as one of them? If we are honest with ourselves, the answer would be a clear no.
And yet, we hear Solomon say, “...you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him.” We know that David was called “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). He was exemplary particularly in his dealings with Saul, refusing to stretch out his hand to kill him even when he had the chance, twice. But we also know that he was far from perfect. Yes, I’m speaking of his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. He also took a census that caused 70,000 Jews to die as a result. How could God keep His covenant with such a man?
In fact, David’s sins seem so much worse than Saul’s. I explained the possible differences between the sins of the two elsewhere. But the question still remains: can we affirm that David walked before God with all his heart? Even if we granted that, his sins were no small matters. David knew this well, too. One of the heart-felt petitions he made after Nathan exposed his sins, he prayed, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11). He saw how the LORD removed the Holy Spirit from Saul for his sins. He knew that he deserved no less.
If David experienced the benefit of God’s covenant faithfulness despite his sins, it was only because he lived under the shadow of the covenant faithfulness, which Christ fulfilled on behalf of His elect people, of whom David was one. The core of God’s covenant with David was about his greater Son, who would do what he could not do (such as building a temple and sitting on the throne of His kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:13). Sacrificing thousands of animals could not wash away his guilt (Ps. 51:16), but the blood of Jesus did. So certain was this fulfillment that the benefit of Christ’s sacrifice was applied to those who believed in His coming.
We also live under the shadow of Christ’s covenant faithfulness. God will keep His covenant with His Son (“the covenant of redemption”) and, on His account, show steadfast love to all who belong to Him by faith. Let us praise Him, also. He deserves greater praise from us than from David and Solomon, don’t you think?