1 Kings8:25 (King Solomon, son of King David, prayed) Therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, ‘There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.

The first part of this verse is good news. God would “never fail” to provide a successor to King David on the throne of Israel. Great! Wonderful! But then there’s the second part of that verse, the bad news… “if only your children look to their way, to walk before (God)…”. See, the second part of the promise is what messes things up. People couldn’t live up to the covenant of the law, then or now.

Thank you Lord Jesus for giving us life via the covenant of grace rather than the law. For we are hopeless sinners in need of your mercy.