“If you do, Adonai will fulfill what he promised me when he said, ‘If your children pay attention to how they live, conducting themselves before me honestly with all their heart and being, you will never lack a man on the throne of Israel.’”-1 Kings 1:4
I want you to notice something interesting when David promises Solomon that his children will never lack a man on the throne of Israel.
He adds a condition to it?
What is that condition?
The condition is…
“If your children pay attention to how they live, conducting themselves before me honestly with all their heart and being…”
But was this condition in God’s original promise to David?
Take a look at the following verses from 2 Samuel:
“When your days come to an end, and you sleep with your ancestors, I will establish one of your descendants to succeed you, one of your own flesh and blood; and I will set up his rulership. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever.I will be a father for him, and he will be a son for me. If he does something wrong, I will punish him with a rod and blows, just as everyone gets punished; nevertheless, my grace will not leave him, as I took it away from Sha’ul, whom I removed from before you. Thus, your house and your kingdom will be made secure forever before you; your throne will be set up forever.”-2 Samuel 7:12
Hmm…notice something interesting in this promise.
The Lord says that He will establish David’s royal throne forever.
But He doesn’t say it is contingent upon obedience.
Quite the contrary, actually.
He says if a ruler from David’s line screws up, he will be punished, but the Davidic kingdom will be kept secure forever.
So there’s no if-then formula here.
To be clear, God’s promise that David’s throne would last forever doesn’t mean every king in his line would remain on the throne.
It simply means David’s line would never cease to exist.
It means someone from David’s family would always be alive and have legal rights to the throne…whether they exercised those rights or not.
Of course, we all know that Yeshua is the full fulfillment of that promise…both in heaven and on earth.
Now, there’s an interesting takeaway here.
And it all has to do with grace.
First of all, I don’t believe in eternal security.
I believe that if one makes a deliberate and conscious decision to walk away from the Lord, the Lord will not force that person’s allegiance or obedience.
Forced love is not real love.
This makes sense because we have been given free will.
On the other hand, if we walk away from the Lord but, like the prodigal son, repent and sincerely desire to return to the Father, he will welcome us back with open arms.
Now, after having said all that, I do believe our salvation is secure in the sense that as long as we sincerely desire to obey the Lord, He will never cut us off, EVEN IF WE SIN.
David’s life is a perfect example of this.
If there was ever a man who committed wicked sins yet remained in the Lord’s good graces, it was David.
On the other hand, Saul, who also committed wicked sins, was removed from the Lord’s grace.
What was the difference?
I think it all comes down to one’s heart.
Saul committed sins because he could have cared less about the things of God.
He was the equivalent of someone who goes to church, not out of any sincere desire to obey God, but just because of the after-service social benefits and the blood sugar-spiking coffee and cookies he gets to chomp on afterwards.
David, on the other hand, committed sins despite his sincere desire to obey the Lord.
See the difference?
It’s a huge one.
So take heart.
Your salvation is irrevocable provided you want the Lord’s salvation.
God isn’t looking for perfect behavior.
He’s looking for a heart that still wants Him.
If you walk away on purpose, He won’t force you.
But if you turn back…
Even after messing up…
He will take you back.
That’s grace.
Not perfection.
Not performance.
Relationship.
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Even if our hearts condemn us
God is greater than our hearts”
— 1 John 3:20
“If we claim to be without sin
We deceive ourselves, truth not in us
If we confess our sins
He forgives and cleanses us.”
— 1 John 1:8–9
“Whoever comes to me
I will never cast out.”
— John 6:37
“My sheep hear my voice
I give them eternal life
They will never perish.”
— John 10:27–28
“Where sin increased
Grace increased all the more.“
— Romans 5:20
“No condemnation now remains
For those in Messiah Yeshua.”
— Romans 8:1
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