¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Verse 18 joins 2 Samuel 7:14 with Deuteronomy 32:18-19. The context is abandoning the true God to join idol worship.

¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you,

 This is the metaphor of a parent, a father-child situation. The Father will provide His assets to His children. A father is one who feeds his family. The Christian does not provide for himself.

and you shall be My sons and daughters,

 Those whom God redeems become God’s sons and daughters. As His children, He extends His grace and operating spiritual assets to them.

says the Lord Almighty.”

God is the universal and sovereign Ruler. God appeals to His sovereignty to guarantee that He will extend His grace to Christians who live a separated life.

PRINCIPLE:

God demands undivided worship.

APPLICATION:

Believers are to maintain their distinctiveness as Christians. God rewards those who take a stand outside the world’s system of values. Flirting with the values of the world will deaden your appetite for God.

The soul of every Christian is ever lured away from fellowship with God. It is imperative to keep short accounts with God so that does not happen.

It is possible to move among fellow men in necessary social connections and commerce but still retain one’s integrity as a Christian. God rewards this kind of life because it involves fellowship with Him.