2 Samuel 7:14
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:
One of God’s great promises that He gave to David when He made a covenant with him to establish his throne forever was to say that He will be his father. What a great promise from God! This is the God who delivered Israel from Egypt. This is the God who led Israel safely through the wilderness. This is the God who helped Israel obtain the Promised Land. This is the God who established Israel as His own people. Now, this God comes to David and says that He will be his Father.
However, the same God that promised David to be his Father also promises to be a Father to every child of God. The fact that we are called little children in 1 John should remind the believer that God is our Father. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He said to start your prayer by saying, Our Father. In other words, God was not only a Father to David, but He is also a Father to every child of God. This great promise that God is our Father means several things for the child of God.
First, it means I have a familial relationship with God. The one significant difference between the Christian and every false religion is that the Christian can claim God as their Father and not as some distant god whom we must appease to even have an interest in us. When you got saved, you gained a Father who will never leave you or forsake you. The familial relationship with God means that God is my Father. My friend, you can claim God as your Father. In other words, when you got saved, the God of the universe became YOUR FATHER; what an incredible privilege to know that we are a part of the family of God.
Second, it means He will punish me when I do wrong. God told David that He would chasten him if he did wrong, and He did. That same God that loved David enough to chasten him will also chasten you when you do wrong. God’s chastening of the believer reveals His love for His child. If God never chastened His children, it would reveal a lack of love for His own. The fact that God loves us means He will chasten us as His children when we do wrong. Don't look at God’s chastening as grievous, but as an endearment that He loves me enough to correct what I do wrong so He can bless me.
Third, it means His mercy is greater with me because I am family. God promised never to remove His mercy from David. Why? Because He was his Father. The Father’s mercy is always greater with His own, but His own must be more dutiful because of His mercy for us instead of taking His mercy as permission to continue to do wrong.
Fourth, it means He will help establish me in life. God promised to establish David, and that promise is for every child of God. If you will follow God’s leading in your life, you will find His leading will stabilize your life by establishing it.
Fifth, it means He will give me a throne to rule if I follow Him. God has a specific purpose for placing you on this earth, and if you will follow His guidance, He will give you a throne to rule in life. What throne? The throne of fulfilling His will for your life. There is something about doing what God made you to do as making you feel as royalty, and it will give you fulfillment in life that nothing else can give.
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