How God Kept a Promise: An Old Testament Portrait of Christ

Psalm 89

How many times has it happened to us? A friend or business associate says that they will meet us at a certain time and a certain place. We show up, perhaps a bit early, and we wait—and wait, and wait. One of our best co-workers says, "the project will be done tomorrow." Tomorrow comes, and for some reason, the project isn't ready. A family member says that they will be able to spend time with us this evening, and then something "comes up" which prevents the time together. As Christians, we quickly learn this principle: "Even the best people sometimes fail, but you can always depend on the Lord."

Well, we can consider that truth axiomatic, can't we? It's one of those foundational truths, one of those basics of the Christian life without which the Christian life makes no sense. Let's face it, if you can't depend on the Lord, upon whom can you depend? And yet, what do we do when the Lord seems to let us down, when such really bad things happen that we wonder where God is, and why does he not seem to be honoring his promise to me, one of his people? What do we do, what do we think, when, at the very pit of our stomach it feels as though the Lord has rejected us, when every ounce of our being cries out against the unfairness of it all?

If we are at all honest, and if we have lived more than a few years on this earth, then we have to admit that we too have felt this way, as unpopular as it is in our Christian environment to say it out loud. What brings forth these feelings may be different for each one of us. We may cry out in a resounding "no" when we learn that the one we love has cancer. A couple may be totally discouraged as they face the prospect of infertility, when their Christian culture has taught them that true blessing comes through having children. A crisis of faith hangs over the college student as he struggles to integrate his faith with what he is being taught in his philosophy of religion class.

What we see in this passage is that the Psalmist, Ethan the Ezrahite, dealt with this very same problem. He faced an enormous issue, a real crisis of faith, debilitating and soul-destroying. But how in fact does Ethan respond? He leans even more completely on his Lord. He does not ignore the problem, but it becomes a springboard from which he may abandon himself into the arms of his Lord. What we have is his confession of concern, and his response of faith.

First of all, Ethan confesses God's character and power. This is important. We've all heard of the boy who cried wolf, and we have all known someone who is less than trustworthy. When such a person makes a promise, how does it make us feel? The quantity of our trust is directly proportional the quality of the person's character. What is the quality of God's character? Ethan here confesses his faith in God's trustworthiness. He proclaims that God is always consistent with what he says, that when God makes a promise, he never fails to honor it. God, the psalmist might say, is as good as his word.

Ethan refers to God's love/mercy (hesed), and states that it is without fail. The word translated as "love" refers to God's covenant mercy and love, the love that results in the redemption of his people and his commitment always to do good for them according to his will. This intention of God to benefit his people is not something that at any moment may be withdrawn, as some people imagine God to be. His love instead endures forever, and once given it is never withdrawn. This leads the psalmist to speak of God's faithfulness. What is faithfulness? It is the quality that is the opposite of the boy who cried wolf; it is the quality which makes others trust us, which makes others have faith in us. Only by consistently living according to our word do we earn such trust, but for God, it is absolutely a part of his nature. Scripture witnesses here and elsewhere that God always keeps his promises. He does not have to earn our trust C we owe it to him C but he proves it over and over in his dealings with his people. If human nature is jello, God's nature is concrete.

What character qualities contribute to this faithfulness and love? We see that God has the attributes of righteousness and justice. These may be very simply defined. Righteousness: God always makes the best decisions. He always acts rightly, and never, ever makes a mistake. He is always and absolutely self-consistent. In terms of his relationship with human beings, this works out in justice C God treats everyone according to the absolute standards of his being. He is completely fair, and is not a respecter of persons. Human judges might make poor decisions, and even the very laws and technicalities of the laws of the land might conspire against them to keep them from rendering a just decision. But God has no such constraints. He designed his holy law to be consistent with who he is as God. Because he is God, he always has all the facts to make a just and fair decision. Our God is a good God, and makes truly good decisions, decisions we can depend on without a second thought.

But what good are all these qualities unless the one who has them also has the power, the ability to keep his promises? How often does it happen that a child says to a human father, "Daddy, you promised... " and the father must explain that sometimes even the best intentions are thwarted by an unfriendly world. In our examples above, the person who has failed to keep his word will often blame "circumstances beyond our control." But these are human constraints. We are bound by circumstances, and we are limited by our nature as finite beings. God is not so limited. Ethan informs us here that God is powerful, and that God is able to keep his promises. How powerful is God?

Heaven and earth belong to him. In this world, we are faced with the mighty powers of nature, which even in our age of technology can crush us if their power is truly stirred. Have you ever walked by the sea when it is unruly, and felt its power? God rules over the raging sea. Even today, the mightiest of man made ships might be pulled down, but God rules this awesome power C it is not even a fraction of his own. All he needs to say is "Peace, be still" and the storm ceases.

Ethan tells us that God is above even the heavens. He transcends them; he is greater than they. We see also that they belong to him, and not only the heavens, but the earth as well. "The heavens and the earth" is a biblical phrase referring to all of creation. The sum total of all the power of the earth is God's. Think about how much power that really is! He owns it, he can do what he wishes with, and his own power exceeds it. This is expressed further by God's rule over the mountains (Tabor, Hermon). The mountains in ancient times were symbols of power, of kingly rule, and gods were supposed to dwell on them. Yet here the mountains of Israel are seen confessing God's rule of them with joyous praise! He is the one who truly rules them, and not the gods of human imagination.

We are, in effect, then, told that our God is sovereign. He can get things done. Instead of being dependent on circumstances, our God creates circumstances. He knows the end from the beginning, and he can bring to pass whatever he desires. Nothing in heaven or earth can stand against him. What is our response to such a God? We are not left in any doubt. According to our vss. 15-16,

    1. We acclaim him. Literally, the Hebrew says "Blessed are those who know the festal shout," a word which refers to the shouting of troops in victory over the enemy, and of the joyful shouts of praise to God during the feasts and other celebrations of worship. In other words, our covenant-faithful keeping God is worthy of praise and adoration.
    2. We walk according to his ways. If God is truly all-righteous and all-powerful, then there is no one who knows better. Self-help manuals are popular in our culture, and people read them because they are written by so called "experts." How much more should we pay attention to the words and instruction of the God who really knows what it's all about, far more than any human authority ever could?
    3. We rejoice in his name and delight in his righteousness. Remember the first answer of the Shorter Catechism? We are not only to glorify God, but we are also to enjoy him forever…
Now, How would you respond to a promise made by this God? God in fact had made a great promise to his people, this same God whose character and power are the foundation for his promises: He had promised a throne forever for David, the king of Israel, that never would a descendent of David not rule over Israel. The background for this is found earlier in the OT, in 2 Sam 7:5-16, and 1 Chron 17:7-13. Listen to a portion of what it says in 2 Samuel:
12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'"

If we read the context of these statements, we will see that David's desire was to build a temple for his God. But God, who always knows best, does not always allow us our desires. David will not be allowed to build the temple, but he is given an even richer revelation of what God plans to do through him and his descendants. So God often does with his people. We may have a desire, even a desire to honor God in a certain way, but it is not according to God's plan. But God always gives us something that, in the long run, is far better than we can imagine.
Just a few comments on this promise. God does this of his own gracious choice (note the active verbs). It is not only a promise to David, but also a promise to all the people of God, as part of God's redemption of his people (2 Sam 7:10-11). The promise is forever, like the sun and moon, which are witnesses to God's faithfulness. What could people depend on more than the sun rising and setting every day, and the moon following its courses? In an agricultural society, there were no greater symbols of faithfulness and consistency.

God's people may break covenant, but not God. In this promise, God even allows for their disobedience. He will punish David's descendants if they rebel, but he will not take his love from them.

Well, all this is fine and well. We should stop here, no? But Ethan could not stop here. Why? Because to all intents and purposes, in Ethan's perceptions, this promise, this promise given by the all-powerful, covenant-mercy-love keeping Yahweh, was broken. It had not been kept.

Ethan the Ezrahite; this means that he was of the school of Ezra, and so writing after the exile. To the ancient people of God, the exile was the defeat of all their hopes, and the frustration of God's purposes. Listen to the words of Psalm 137 as it describes the crushing disappointment and despair of the people of God:

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill]. 6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. 7 Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell."Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!" 8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us, 9 he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

This is the lament of people who are truly driven beyond the edge. To all appearances, the promise is broken. We need to imagine how real this felt to these saints of old. We have just been exploring the absolute, unconditional nature of the promise. Now a time has come in which there is not only no descendent of David on the throne, but Jerusalem itself is in ruins, just a shadow of what it had been in its glory. Why has God forgotten? Why does God act as though he had never made a promise? What is going on?

But in fact, God's promise had not failed, but as he always does, God was keeping his promise in his own way. You see, God had a solution to this problem, a solution which he had planned from all eternity. That solution? Jesus Christ! Appearances, as we all know, can be deceiving. In fact, God had taken counsel from before the foundation of the world on how to solve this "dilemma." The problem, in fact, was never really a problem, except in the minds of the people of Israel. There was never a time when the throne of Israel was not occupied, for the second person of Trinity, Jahweh himself, Jesus Christ, is the true king of Israel, of which David was only a picture, a type. The kings themselves were the representatives of the Lord, advocating his kingly rule, but they were not the essence of the kingship. That essence belonged rightly only to God himself.

In the fullness of time, God then answered Ethan's question, "can he deliver his life from the power of the grave" literally, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ is the one over whom the grave holds no power, and the saints of old find their fulfillment in him. Have you ever read that somewhat puzzling passage near the end of Matthew, 27:51-53?

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

Whatever else this passage teaches us, it remind us that God's promise to David was also his promise to preserve and redeem his people, in ways in which they could never imagine when the promise was first given.

CONCLUSION

Paul confesses in the 11th chapter of Romans:

11:33 O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 11:34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" 11:35 "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.

From his perspective in history, Ethan could not know the details of how God would keep his promise to David. And yet, keep that promise God did, and in a way that was richer and fuller than anything any OT saint could ever have imagined. But Ethan, as we saw, didn't give up. Instead, he based his faith on God in God's character. He didn't understand, and he offers up that lack of understanding to God. He says in effect "I do not understand why David's descendent is not on the throne, but I know, O Lord, that you will find a way." And now, David's greater Son sits at the right hand of God, forever ruling his people. Far greater than his expectations, God answered Ethan's prayer. Do you face a crisis of faith, an issue so big that it calls into question God's very faithfulness in keeping his promises? Or perhaps there are certain doubts that you have pushed aside, but which continue to nag and eat at your heart, which refuse to go away? Ethan here has the answer for you, if you are willing to accept it. May God grant us wisdom and patience to wait on him and praise him when circumstances are such that we don't see God's faithfulness visibly operating, for we know that, open to our eyes or in hidden counsels, God's faithfulness never stops, but God will keep his promises. Amen and amen!

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