Have you ever said those words to one of your children to get their attention?
I'm sure similar words have come out of my mouth on more than one occasion.
When my kids had their first cell phones, it was very difficult to get their attention.
One day, my youngest son, who was 15 at the time, and I were going into the local Walmart. Of course, he was busy texting somebody. Mom's words that day were something like, "Would you quit texting already?" And, "Hey! Look where you're going! Watch out!"
Then, bam! He walked smack into the back of a parked car, bounced off, then finally, slightly dazed, he looked up and said, "What, Mom?"
That moment would have done well in one of those funny video competitions, if it had been recorded.
There are good reasons we need to get our children's attention sometimes. Sometimes its to warn them of danger and sometimes to help them stay on the right track.
God is trying to get our attention too. Many times in His word he says, "Take heed," "Hear," "Listen."
Isaiah 55:3 is one of many examples. God says,
Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Incline your ear. Hear.
God is telling us, "Listen up! Don't miss out on something amazing! Hear Me!"
This is something we really need to pay attention to.
Listen to what God is saying: "your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David."
Your soul shall live. How? Because of the everlasting covenant.
If you know Jesus as your Savior, you may not be familiar with that term, but you are the object of that everlasting covenant. God has made a very special, eternal covenant with you. It was paid for and signed with the blood of Jesus Christ.
He has redeemed you, cleansed you and set your feet on the solid Rock, all because of the covenant Jesus died to make and lives to keep.
When we take communion at church, we often quote Jesus' words, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:25).
The communion wine (or grape juice) represents the covenant He made by His blood. It serves as a reminder of all He has done for you. It reminds us that He loves us so much that He gave all for us and reminds us that we are His for all eternity ~ that's His eternal covenant with you and with me.
Even the sure mercies of David.
Different commentators, expositors and theologians offer different explanations for this term, "the sure mercies of David."
Let's just take a look at what the Bible says and allow God to show us what He means.
It was repeated by Paul in Acts 13:34. "And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David."
This promise, to give the "sure mercies of David," was made by God the Father to us and to Jesus.
Think along with me for a moment of the promise God made to David.
"When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." (2 Samuel 12-13 ESV)
Which descendant of David will seat on David's throne to preside over an eternal kingdom?
The answer is found in the angel Gabriel's message for Mary:
"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to 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." (Luke 1:31-33 ESV)
Pay attention to this:
- God's eternal covenant with David will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
- God's eternal covenant with us is already fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
God never breaks a promise, not ever. He promised David that one of his descendants would sit on his throne for eternity. That promise has not yet been fulfilled, but the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, from the line of David, was proof that it will be fulfilled.
"..when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son" (Galatians 4:4).
Jesus' arrival into this world some 2,000 years ago proved that God is faithful and will keep His eternal covenant with David.
Jesus' arrival, death burial and resurrection are also proof to us that God will keep His eternal covenant with us!
Take a look at David's life. You can't exactly portray him as a perfect man. He was a murderer and adulterer. Yet, God showed him mercy, and said," I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will."
If you and I take a look at our own lives, we have to admit we're not perfect either. Yet, God has shown us mercy, too.
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:3-5 KJV)
Jesus said the Father's "mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation." (Luke 1:50 KJV)
The sure mercies of David are the foundation of the eternal covenants made by our eternal God, Whose Word is eternal.
- If God did not have mercy on David, there would be no eternal throne covenant.
- If God did not have mercy on you and me there would be no eternal salvation covenant.
But praise His high and holy Name, He does have mercy on us!
Are you enjoying the blessings of this eternal covenant based on the sure mercies of David?
God is saying, "Listen up! This is important!"
Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (Isaiah 55:3)
Want to know more about what Jesus has done for you? Visit PeacewithGod.net
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