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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Samuel 7:1 - 7:17
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The News Announced to David
v. 1. And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, an expression referring to his permanent abode after having attended to all the external affairs of the kingdom, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies, all those nations which still felt strong enough to dispute the growing power of Israel having been vanquished,
v. 2. that the king said unto Nathan, the prophet, whom he regarded highly as a confidential adviser, See, now, I dwell in an house of cedar, in a fine palace, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. Even though David had provided a tabernacle in his city which consisted of very fine and costly curtains, like those of the first Tabernacle, yet the contrast was too obvious and too incongruous; it did not seem right and fitting to David that he should have a finer palace than that used for housing the ark.
v. 3. And Nathan, understanding the suggestion of the king and approving his intention, said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart, all that David had resolved upon; for the Lord is with thee. This approval of David's purpose, however, came out of Nathan's own mind, not by divine Revelation
v. 4. And it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,
v. 5. Go and tell My servant David, an honoring designation for the king, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build Me an house for Me to dwell in? The question implies, of course, a very decided denial of his request, a rejection of his proposal to build a temple.
v. 6. Whereas I have not dwelt in any house, any permanent building, since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle, literally, "I was a wanderer in tent and dwelling-place"; for even after the children of Israel had reached Canaan, the tent had been moved from Gilgal to Shiloh, and then to the hill between Gibeah and Gibeon. The Tabernacle, the structure as built by Moses, Exo_35:11, had been Jehovah's dwelling-place.
v. 7. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying, Why build ye not Me an house of cedar? Neither during the desert journey, nor during the entire period of the Judges, when the leadership passed from one tribe of the more important ones to another, had the Lord ever commanded the children of Israel to build Him a permanent and costly sanctuary, worthy of His glory.
v. 8. Now, therefore, so shalt thou say unto My servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth, the King of the whole earth, I took thee from the sheepcote, from the meadows where the sheep were pastured, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. That was an act of God's merciful favor.
v. 9. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, David had always been sure of the merciful presence of Jehovah, even during the years when Saul persecuted him, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, from before thy face, and have made thee a great name like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth; for David's victories had brought him into prominent attention in all the surrounding nations. of so much concerning his outward success Nathan was to remind David first, of the fact that he owed his position and all his success to the Lord alone.
v. 10. Moreover, I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, rather, "I have established and I have planted," that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, not be troubled, distressed, and driven from one place to another; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, in the time of the Egyptian oppression,
v. 11. and as since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. The former days of slavery and tribulation were to return no more. Those were the blessings which the Lord had provided for the people as such. And now comes the most wonderful promise of all, one affecting both king and people to the most remote descendants. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house, literally, "And there announces to thee Jehovah that a house will make to thee Jehovah," a very solemn announcement preparing for the prophecy proper.
v. 12. And when thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, after David would have been laid to rest in the hope of a glorious resurrection to eternal life, I will set up thy Seed after thee, one of David's descendants, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, as a true descendant according to the flesh, and I will establish His kingdom, confirm the royal office in His case.
v. 13. He shall build an house for My name, to the name of Jehovah, and I will stablish the throne of His kingdom forever. The descendant of David to whom this prophecy looked forward was to be confirmed in regal honor and dignity in a most singular way, in a kingdom which would have everlasting duration. His building of a house to Jehovah, moreover, would be the same as that of Jehovah making a house to Himself, v. 11. The two statements refer to the same event. The relation between Jehovah and this singular descendant of David is now described in detail.
v. 14. I will be His Father, and He shall be My Son. If he commit iniquity, literally, "whom, if He transgresses," I will chasten Him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men. That this is not spoken of Solomon, as most modern commentators will have it, may be seen from the fact that Solomon was a mere man, and there would have been nothing unusual in his being punished for any transgressions after the manner of men. This singular descendant of David, if found guilty of the sins of men, the implication being that the latter would be imputed to Him, would have to bear the penalty of a sinner.
v. 15. But my mercy shall not depart away from Him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee, "from before thy face. " The descendant of David to whom the Lord refers would not experience the rejection which struck Saul, because He would not become guilty of such disobedience to Jehovah.
v. 16. And thine house and thy kingdom, the royal power in lineal descendants of David, shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever. The constant repetition of the phrase "forever, for eternity," again forces the conclusion that we must look beyond Solomon, to the eternal existence of the Son here concerned, to One who is Himself possessor of eternal life and of a kingdom which shall never have an end. This, of course, may rightly be said only of Christ, for it was in His case alone that there was so complete an identification with the sons of men as to make the expression possible: "He was made sin for us," 2Co_5:21.
v. 17. According to all these words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. The temple here spoken of is that of the Christian Church, the communion of saints, which is the habitation of God in the Spirit. Christ is the Lord, and the believers cling to this Head in the Kingdom which shall last through all eternity.