God makes and keeps incredible promises. Therefore, we should trust and praise Him.
In our upcoming Sunday school lesson from second Samuel 7, we learn about some of the most incredible promises made in all of Scripture. After years of waiting, running, and fighting, David had finally become the king of Israel. And in the first few years of his reign, God firmly established him as king, giving him great success as a ruler.
In response to God’s sovereign care for him, David wanted to build a temple that would serve as a replacement for the tabernacle—a permanent place of worship were God’s presence would dwell among his people. David approached the prophet Nathan with this idea, and Nathan gave his blessing.
However, God directed Nathan to return to David with a much different and much better plan than David could’ve imagined. God did not want David to build a temple for him. He told David that he would choose the man to lead that project.
Instead, the Lord revealed how He would bless David and all of Israel. He explained that He would make a great name for David and that David would experience rest from his enemies. The Lord went on to make even greater promises for David’s descendants. Among these were the promises that God would establish the kingdom of one of David’s descendants and that this descendant would build the temple David had suggested.
While those promises were exciting enough on their own, God made one more this incredible promise. He told David, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”
Of course, we know that these promises were initially fulfilled through David’s son, Solomon. Solomon would remain king from the time of his coronation until the end of his life and would build a temple to the Lord.
However, the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to David would be Jesus. Scripture reveals that Jesus, in his humanity, was a descendant of David; and at the time when his coming was announced, the angel Gabriel proclaimed to Mary that Jesus “will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Despite the fact that these promises were made hundreds of years before the birth of the Messiah, we can to see how God has begun to fulfill them. Christ has already been exalted to the right hand of the father, and one day when Jesus returns, these promises will find their ultimate fulfillment when He establishes His eternal kingdom.
God makes and keeps incredible promises. Therefore, we should trust and praise him.
Take Aways
So, what are the lessons for the kids we’re discipling? One of the big lessons we learn from this passage is that we can trust God because He has remained faithful to His promises in the past. Before making these promises to David, God reminded David that He had taken David from shepherding sheep to shepherding all Israel. He had been with David wherever he had gone and had given him victory over all his enemies. The Lord’s past goodness would be the assurance that He would accomplish His plan for David’s future.
The same principle applies to us. And we need to encourage to our kids to think about the ways that the Lord has shown himself faithful in our lives. God promised a Messiah, who would deliver people from their sins, and He fulfilled that promise through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son. We need to encourage any children in our classes that haven’t yet placed their faith in Christ to do so right away.
But what about the kids that have already trusted Christ? I believe we should try to help them in three different ways.
- We should remind them that God’s faithfulness in the past means that we can trust him right now. We encounter opportunities to trust God all the time:
- When were tempted to sin, we can trust that choosing to please God will bring blessing to our lives.
- When we’re afraid, we can trust that God is working all things together for our good.
- When we don’t know what to do, we can trust that a sovereign God is directing our steps. We need to encourage our kids to develop their relationship with the Lord and to faithfully seeking to follow him.
- We should also remind them that God is our example; and if he keeps his promises, then we must strive to keep ours. When we make a commitment to someone, we need to keep our word.
- We should encourage them to rejoice in the faithfulness of God. We need to praise God for his character. We need to think about the ways that he has blessed us. We need to thank him for his goodness. And we need to eagerly anticipate the day when we will see him face to face.
God makes and keeps incredible promises. Therefore, we should trust and praise him!
