I will be his father, and
he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of
men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not
depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before
thee (II Sam. 7:14-15).
ARGUMENT:
“In II Samuel 7:15, God says ‘…
but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put
away before thee’ (cf. I Chron. 17:13). Does this not teach common grace? God
seems to be saying that reprobate Saul was once an object of divine ‘mercy.’”
(I)
Prof.
David J. Engelsma
On a superficial reading, it would seem that II
Samuel 7:15 states that God once had mercy on Saul but later removed it
from him and, therefore, there is common grace.
But notice that, if
the text actually teaches that God once had mercy on Saul but later removed it
from him, it is not teaching a common grace of God for the wicked but it is
stating that Jehovah’s deep, rich mercy, His steadfast covenant love (hesed), is not only for King David
and his son, Jesus Christ, but also for the wicked and reprobate Saul. The
mercy of II Samuel 7:15 is the mercy God has for David, Solomon and
Christ Jesus. The “him” in the text is Solomon as the type and Jesus as the
reality, for both are sons of God (in different senses) and God is their Father
(in different senses, as per John 20:17), according to II Samuel 7:14.
Thus, however the text
is explained, it has nothing to do with common grace and is no proof of common
grace. The grace of God towards Solomon and Christ is not a common grace by
anyone’s reckoning!
If II Samuel 7:15 teaches
that God takes His grace away from someone to whom that grace was truly given,
it teaches that one can lose particular, saving grace.
Then the Arminians are right and we lose the biblical truth of the preservation
and perseverance of the saints, which is taught in the Reformed creeds and
precious to God’s people (Canons of
Dordt V:15)!
The correct
explanation of the text begins with noticing that the word “it” in the King
James Version (KJV) or Authorised Version (AV) is not in the original Hebrew
text. Thus the word “it” appears in italics in the KJV/AV.
II Samuel 7:15 actually
reads, “But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took from Saul,” etc.
What God took away from Saul was not mercy but the kingship of Israel. God will
not take mercy away from Solomon and
Jesus Christ, as He took the kingship away
from Saul.
God does not take His
steadfast love away from anyone upon whom it has once been bestowed (John
10:28-29; Phil. 1:6). The text explicitly teaches this. God’s mercy shall
never be taken from Christ, the reality of King Solomon. Since all the elect
are in Christ and are represented by Him, God will never take His mercy away
from any one of those who are in Christ and belong to Him. To take grace away
from one of the elect would be the same as to take it away from Christ Himself!
But Jehovah does take
away positions of honour and authority in the kingdom from wicked men who
misuse their positions, for example, the office of minister or elder or deacon
and the position of member of a true church. This is a warning to us all!
In short, instead of
teaching common grace, the passage is a beautiful prophecy of Solomon and
Christ whom he typifies and His everlasting kingdom and temple; an unshakable
promise that we will never lose God’s mercy because Christ our head never will;
and a calling to be faithful in our offices in the church.
--------------------------------------------------
(II)
Herman Hoeksema (1886-1965)
[Source: The
Standard Bearer, vol. 12, no. 11 (March 1, 1936), p. 263]
1.
The question asks us to face this argument: Saul was a wicked, reprobate man;
he was the object of God’s mercy; ergo, there is common grace. With this we
cannot agree because the Scriptures teach that God hates the wicked and is
angry with them every day (e.g., Ps. 5:4-6; 7:11; 11:5-6; Rom. 9:13; etc.). Moreover, Jehovah’s mercy is not merely
temporal, like earthly human mercy, stopping after a few years, for this is the
psalmist’s praise: “thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever” (Ps. 138:8), since “his mercy is everlasting” (Ps. 100:5). A massive twenty-six times, we read in Psalm 136:1-26 that “his mercy endureth for ever.” These
words of worship are repeated in eight more places in God’s inspired Word: “his
mercy endureth for ever” (I Chron. 16:34, 41; II
Chron. 5:13; 7:3; 20:21; Ps. 106:1; 107:1; 118:1).
2.
The central issues are: What is that mercy of which the text speaks? Does it
mean that God had been merciful to Saul personally and that He had withdrawn His mercy from him personally? Or is it dealing with something else?
3.
Let us consider the question first from a biblical perspective.
(a) David
wanted to build a house (bayit) for Jehovah to dwell in, namely, a temple (cf. II Sam. 7:2), as the Lord well knew (vv. 5, 6, 7). But God’s
Word to David through the prophet Nathan is that He will build a house (bayit) for David, that is, a royal dynasty (vv. 11, 16).
Jehovah would continue (v. 29) and establish (vv. 12, 13, 16, 26) the kingdom
of David’s seed (v. 12), which comes out of his loins (v. 12), “for a great
while to come” (v. 19), even “for ever” (vv. 16, 25). For this promised house (bayit) or dynasty, David thanks the Lord (vv. 19, 25, 26,
27, 29). Thus the key to the texts referred to in the question is that they,
and the chapters in which they are found (II Samuel 7 and I Chronicles
17), deal with the generations of the royal house (bayit) or dynasty.
(b) On
the other hand, even before David ascended the throne, Saul knew that he would
have no dynasty (I
Sam. 20:31; 23:17), since God had told him this through the prophet
Samuel (I
Sam. 13:13-14; 15:28).
4.
Let us address the issue from a more theological perspective. If we study the
texts in II Samuel 7 and I Chronicles 17, we will find the following
elements (compare also Psalm 89, that refers to this same mercy):
(a) II Samuel 7:15 and I Chronicles 17:13 refer to the “mercy” of God’s everlasting covenant with David and
his seed, centrally Christ, as the Servant of Jehovah. “I will make an
everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have
given him [i.e., the promised Messiah] for a witness to the people, a leader
and commander to the people” (Isa. 55:3-4). It is the covenant that
David’s throne shall be forever, and of his seed One shall sit upon the throne
of Jacob unto all eternity (Luke 1:32-33).
(b) This
“mercy” is with David’s seed from generation to generation until it culminates
in Christ, in whom the promise shall be fulfilled. The passage in II Samuel 7:12-15, therefore, does not refer to Solomon alone but to
the generations to come. A comparison with Psalm 89 makes this very
evident. It is a mercy that concerns David’s house or dynasty.
(c) In
the same sense it must be understood when the text tells us that God had taken
something away from Saul. It refers to the throne on which Saul’s generations
would not sit. Historically, the kingdom, the theocratic kingdom, that was to
culminate in the Messiah had first been established with Saul. But God had
taken the kingdom away from Saul’s generations and transferred it to the
generations of David. This is in harmony with the everlasting covenant of the
Triune God.
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(III)
More to come! (DV)
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