2
Samuel 7:1-11, 16 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today is the Old Testament Lesson just read, especially these
words, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your
throne shall be established forever.”
Thus far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ. Forever is a long time. We have all made light of this fact by saying
“that car ride took forever,” “it took forever for the sequel of my favorite
movie to come out,” or even, as we may admit, “that sermon took forever in
church!” We doubt forever could happen,
and we use it as an excuse when things seem to fall apart in our lives. Forever is a long time, so long in fact that
we often say, “nothing lasts forever.”
And yet, in our
text today, God promises David forever. “Your
throne, David, will be established forever.”
In other words, there will always be a Davidic king ruling. One of David’s children or grandchildren will
always be a king. It will be that way forever. God has said so, David, he has made you a
promise.
What is David to
do? Should he doubt God’s word, should
he tell God, “Well Lord, nothing lasts forever, so your promise must not be
true.” Nothing lasts forever, so don’t
you have a different promise for me?
Nothing lasts forever, so will my throne really be established.
If you look at the
history recorded in scripture, it would seem that should this have been David’s
view, if he had been a cynic, he would be right. During the reign of David’s grandson, the
kingdom of Israel divided into two different kingdoms, that began warring with
one another. These kings, some of whom
were descended from David, turned from God and turned from faith before finally
the kingdom of David was destroyed and taken into captivity by the
Babylonians. After all nothing lasts
forever, right?
So often we too
have that same view. For we too have a
promise of “forever” in our lives. God
has promised that he will be with us “forever”, never leaving nor forsaking
us. God has promised that we shall live with
him “forever,” and yet we see loved ones passing away. God will love us forever, and yet, sometimes
we don’t feel like it do we? He will
forgive us forever, and yet sometimes we still feel guilty for things we have
done wrong (sometimes rightly by the way.
Is God really keeping his
promises to us, or is forever just too good to be true? Is it true that nothing
really lasts forever?
Dear friends in
Christ, when God says something is forever, he means it, even if we cannot
understand how or why, or even see the way it will all work out. God told David, “I will establish your house
forever,” and He meant it. Hear again
our Gospel text for today, “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent
from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to
a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name
was Mary. And the angel said to her, ‘Do
not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 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.’”
Even for David,
when it seems that forever is gone, that there is no hope of it being
fulfilled, God keeps his promise of forever.
900 years after David dies, a descendant of his is born. 900 years later, in the city of David, good
tidings of great joy occur. For God
keeps his promise, and a new king is born.
Jesus, whose first throne is but a manger in a stable. He is the king descended from David. He is the one who will reign in David’s place
forever. A king is born, lowly in a
manger.
And dear friends,
he reigns for you as well, keeping God’s promises of forever for you. For the same King Jesus, descendant of David,
enthroned in a manger will also be enthroned in a much more painful place. He will wear a crown of thorns and a robe
stained in his own blood, until stripped naked he is enthroned upon a wooden
cross for all the world to see. It is
that King, who is enthroned forever. It
is that King who is both our God and our Lord.
It is that King who will keep all of God’s promises to you.
You are forgiven,
FOREVER, for the sins of the whole world were placed on your king, as he died
in your place. You need not continue to
feel guilty for them. They are no longer
yours, but his. You are free and
forgiven for ever. God has promised that
you will live forever, and you know this to be true, for death cannot destroy
your King Jesus. Even when he lied dead
in a tomb for three days, he returned to life, and so will you. Your King is the very Resurrection and the
Life, FOREVER, and he gives that life to you in the very waters of life in
baptism.
You are loved
FOREVER, for your God promises you heaven, a place where you may stand before
him, not in shame, not in sorrow, but in peace.
God has promised that his own hand, with the hole from a nail still in
it, will wipe away all the hurt and pain of this world.
God keeps his
promises to us, especially the promise of forever. And if we doubt it at times, all we need do
is look at the baby in the manger, the one whose birth we celebrate next week,
the babe, the son of Mary. David’s
throne is established forever, and God lives and reigns today – over you, over
me, and his reign shall have no end. He
is your God, your redeemer, your savior, and he will be FOREVER. Amen.
