As God made His covenant with David, He was prompting David to look both back to the past and forward to the future.

God’s promise to make David’s name like “the great ones of the earth” was an echo of His covenant with David’s ancestor Abraham, centuries before (Genesis 12:1-3). Up to this point in biblical history, there had been no name greater than that of Abraham, and the Lord now announced that He would fulfill His promise to make Abraham’s name great by making David’s name great. This promise, however, not only looked back but also forward—to the Lord Jesus Christ, at whose name “every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:10).

The promise that God’s people would have a place in which to dwell also was an echo of the past, in this case of the exodus from Egypt. (See, for instance, Exodus 15:17.) Yet by the time David was ruling, the people had been living in the promised land for centuries, so God’s promise of them being planted and secure surely hinted at something greater. The place called Israel, while significant, was merely a shadow of the reality that was yet to come. It pointed forward to another place—the ultimate place, the new Jerusalem, which would later be called “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1-2).

With the promise of a place also came the promise of peace, security, and rest. Again, here was a reminder that the goal was not yet reached. True, by this point in David’s reign, the people had been enjoying rest (2 Samuel 7:1)—but it was not the ultimate rest of the people of God to which the covenant pointed (Hebrews 4:9-10).

When God’s revelation later culminated in the coming of David’s descendant Jesus, the ultimate Christ, the people were able to say, “Oh, that’s what God’s promises meant!” The covenant that was first made to Abraham and took on a new dimension as it was made to David was completely fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of all kings; and it will be finally and fully realized when Christ returns.

So what does God’s promise to David mean for us? The apostle Paul declares, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29). The church consists of those who are privileged to be heirs and partakers of the promise that is in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Stand amazed at this, and rejoice that you have been included in the blessings of this great covenant. Look back to God working through your spiritual ancestors Abraham, David, and, supremely, Jesus—and look forward with hope to the final fulfillment of all that God has promised!