The Sure Mercies of David

If you've read much of the Old Testament, you'll recognize two phrases (or their equivalents) that appear pretty regularly: "I will do this for you because of my promise to Abraham," and "I will do this for you because of my promise to David."

I guess it would be . okay . to have God do something for me because of what He promised to someone else. That would be better than His not doing something for me. But it would be infinitely better to be in the shoes of Abraham or David. To them, the Lord never said, "I'm doing this for you because of a promise I made to (someone else)." They were the ones to whom the promises were made. Now that would be a nice place to be.

The good news is we all have the opportunity to be there.

In the book of Isaiah, we see an invitation to anyone who is in a certain condition. The invitation doesn't appear to have anything to do with ancestry or location. Rather, it is an open call to anyone who is thirsty-and who has nothing with which to buy what will satisfy him.

Come and drink. Come, buy (without money) and eat. Come, listen. See.

What a fabulously simple and broad invitation. How can anyone refuse? Unless you aren't thirsty, of course, or unless you are insistent on buying your own dinner. In that case, you probably wouldn't be interested in the rest of this, either.

Because it gets even better.

Not only do you get something to drink and eat; not only do you get life; you also receive an everlasting covenant-just like the covenant God made with David. He gave David, He says, as a witness to the people. If you want to see what God's beautiful covenant of unending love is like, take a look at what He did for David. (In case you'd like to take a peek, read the words of the prophet Nathan as recorded both in Samuel and Chronicles.)

David's response to God's promise gives us a lot of insight into the situation. David's first words were, "Who am I, and what is my family, that You should do this for me?" Basically, the answer is David was no one, and his family was nothing. In other words, he had no money. He had nothing to give in trade for God's goodness and bounty.

My question to you is, "What are you banking on?" Are you trying to buy God's goodness with your own generosity? With your self-control? Good behavior? Are you trying to trade in on your family reputation? Your lineage? Your skills and experience? If so, this will come as a low blow, but it's the truth nonetheless: you will never receive God's awesome goodness until you recognize that you have no money-and until you are willing to come, anyway. And eat, anyway.

And accept a covenant like the one God made with David.

Wowsa.

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