God is covenantal. That is, God establishes the relations with his people by means of covenants. The Davidic Covenant is the fifth covenantal expression of God as he progressively reveals his plans and purposes. First, there was the covenant with Adam (cf. Hosea 6:7). This covenant was a forerunner, an early expression of the covenant of works. Adam was given one law. If he kept it, he would live forever in fellowship with God. Second, there was the covenant with Noah (Gen 8:20-22). The Noahic covenant revealed that God will be gracious even though man is sinful. Third, there was the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 15). This covenant was the precursor to the New Covenant. This covenant revealed that God’s grace toward his people will be received through faith and that based on that faith, God will declare us to be right (righteous) with him. Fourth, there was the Mosaic covenant which was based on the Ten Commandments. The commandments revealed the way to please God. If the people would live righteously before the Lord, they would live under his blessings. The Mosaic covenant, while gracious, reveals that no one can live perfectly before God. The Law cannot save because sinners can’t keep it.
The fifth covenant then is the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7. This covenant reveals that God is still going to be gracious towards his people in spite of their failure to live rightly. God has a plan for complete redemption whereby his people will one day live rightly before him forever! Just as the Messiah to come would fulfill the roles of Prophet and Priest, he will come from the Davidic line and fulfill the role of King as well. All of these covenants have set the stage for the final covenant, the New Covenant, where each covenant will find its full expression in the Coming One who will inaugurate and establish it.
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