The Pesky Little Word “If”

As David lay dying, he advised Solomon, his chosen successor. In his counsel, the king recounted God’s promise: “If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel” (1 Ki 2:4; cf. 2 Sam 7:12-16). What a promise God gave David! His sons would sit for all time upon his throne in Jerusalem.

Yet there’s the pesky little word “if” in the promise. For David’s throne to be established forever, his sons needed to walk before God with complete and utter faithfulness. David’s descendants did not walk before God with full faithfulness, and the rapid decline from faithfulness began with Solomon:

• “Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David” (1 Ki 3:1). Because the Israelites were Yahweh’s own special possession, they were not to marry foreigners: “You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons” (Deut 7:3).
• “Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places” (1 Ki 3:3). The people were not to sacrifice to the LORD or any other god “at the high places,” but they were to honor God at the place he chose (Deut 12).
• Solomon “had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines” (1 Ki 11:3). God commanded that any king of Israel should “not acquire many wives for himself” (Deut 17:17). Granted, God didn’t specify what number “many” was, but surely 700 (plus concubines) counts!
• Because of all his wives and concubines, Solomon’s “heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father” (1 Ki 11:4). Just like God had warned in Deuteronomy 7, foreign wives turned the heart of a descendant of Abraham to idolatry.

David’s dynasty didn’t really last that long. Solomon was his only descendant to reign over all 12 tribes. His descendants sat upon the throne of the Southern Kingdom in Jerusalem for nearly 400 years after his death, but even that dynasty came to an end with the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar’s forces. David could still have a physical descendant on his throne over all 12 tribes today if they had chosen to walk before Yahweh “in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul.”

God was faithful to that promise he made David. Since David’s descendants rejected God, God rejected the Davidic line’s reign in Jerusalem. It all came down to that pesky little word “if.”

God’s promises still come down to that pesky little word “if.” For example: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7). God’s promise to forgive every sin for the Christian hinges on walking in the light just as God’s promise for David’s permanent dynasty hinged on the king’s descendants following God wholeheartedly. When you read God’s promises, don’t overlook the pesky little word “if.”

This article was originally written by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., for the weekly newsletter at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.