David Roper, “David's life falls into three distinct eras. During one part of his life he was in the court of Saul, serving there as an armor bearer and musician. The second period was his exile, when he was forced to flee from Saul's court. He spent some twelve to fifteen years being pursued by Saul, and part of the time dwelt with the Philistines down in Ziklag. The final period of his life is his reign. 2 Samuel is preeminently the book of David's reign. It begins with his being anointed king over the southern tribe of Judah and reigning at Hebron. It concludes some forty years later with David a venerable seventy-year-old monarch,

1. II SAMUEL 7 COMME

2. TARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
Many of the resources that I quote can be found by anyone,but I have brought them together in a
verse by verse study that makes it easier for those interested in Bible study to have this
information available. It saves a lot of time, and hopefully this will enable Bible students to be
more willing to study the Word. I have tried to quote the best thoughts of other commentators,
but cannot quote all they say, and so each of them can be googled for more details of what they
write. Some I quote are not named, and if you know who is the author I will be glad to give them
credit. If there are some who do not wish their wisdom to be shared in this way, I will delete it if
asked to do so by the author. I can be notified at my e-mail address which is
glenn_p86@yahoo.com
I

3. TRODUCTIO

4. 1. David Roper, “David's life falls into three distinct eras. During one part of his life he was in the
court of Saul, serving there as an armor bearer and musician. The second period was his exile,
when he was forced to flee from Saul's court. He spent some twelve to fifteen years being pursued
by Saul, and part of the time dwelt with the Philistines down in Ziklag. The final period of his life
is his reign. 2 Samuel is preeminently the book of David's reign. It begins with his being anointed
king over the southern tribe of Judah and reigning at Hebron. It concludes some forty years later
with David a venerable seventy-year-old monarch, reigning over a united Israel. So the book is
essentially the account of David's forty years of rule.”
2. “Walter Brueggemann identifies this David and

5. athan story as 'the dramatic and theological
center of the entire Samuel corpus . . . one of the most crucial texts in the Old Testament for
evangelical faith.'d” Many commentators agree that this is a central text, and some say it is the
most important chapter in the Old Testament up to this time. It's importance is stressed by the
fact that I Chron. 17 is a duplicate passage of this one, with some interesting details not included
here. Robert Gordon called this chapter the “ideological summit . . . in the Old Testament as a
whole.” John Levenson contended that God’s covenant with David “receives more attention in
the Hebrew Bible than any covenant except the Sinaitic.”
3. “2 Samuel chapter 7 is one of the most important chapters in the OT and in the unfolding
history of salvation. It lays the groundwork for a great deal of what is to come and, of course, for
our understanding of the predictions of the coming of the Messiah and of the coming of the
kingdom of God that litter the Psalms and Prophets and then are cited in reference to the Lord

6. Jesus in the

7. ew Testament. The fact that the Messiah would be a "shoot from the stump of
Jesse" or that he would be born in Bethlehem or that he would sit on David's throne all hark
back to the promise of God to David in this chapter. If you understand this chapter and can fit it
into the Bible's unfolding plan for salvation and for the history of the world, then you are a
biblical theologian!” Author unknown
4. This chapter contains the Davidic Covenant. God made covenants with the people. He made
one with Abraham which is spelled out very clearly in Genesis. He promised Abraham a seed that
would bless all the earth with all spiritual blessings. Jesus Christ is the answer to that, of course.
He also promised Abraham's physical descendents a land which ran from Egypt all the way up to
the Euphrates, ostensibly most of the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean, that they would
possess forever. This is the Promised Land the Jews are looking for.

8. ow God makes a covenant
with David which involves not only the physical children of Abraham, the Israelites, but also the
spiritual children of Abraham. It has a twofold meaning. Interwoven in this covenant is both the
picture of David's dynasty which he established on earth and also the picture of the eternal reign
of the Son of David, Jesus Christ.
5. GotQuestions.org has this paragraph on the Davidic Covenant: “Question: "What is the
Davidic covenant?"
Answer: The Davidic Covenant refers to God’s promises to David through

9. athan the prophet
and is found in 2 Samuel 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16.
This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises
David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the
tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:10-13). The
Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon
its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not
depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience.”
6. This chapter can be broken down into these categories:
DAVID'S PLA

10. DAVID'S PART

11. ER
DAVID'S PRESUMPTIO

12. DAVID'S PROMOTIO

13. DAVID'S PETITIO

14. God's Promise to David
1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD
had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
1. It is about time that David reached a place in his life where he could actually rest and take it
easy. His has been a life on the run from his own king, or the kings of enemy peoples like the

15. Philistines. His life has been one long war up till now, and finally he has some peace and rest. It
gives him time to think and meditate, and that is where this story begins; with David's thoughts
about the ark of God.
2. Unfortunately, it did not last long, and as Gill wrote, “...this rest and peace did not last long;
for the next chapter gives an account of each of the people he was engaged in war with, ( 2 Samuel
8:1-18) .”
2 he said to

16. athan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a
palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
1. It seems that David is feeling guilty as he rests in the lap of luxury while God, who dwells in a
tent, is living in relative poverty compared to him. It does not seem right in his eyes, and he is
thinking that it is time to update God's situation. It is time for an extreme makeover, and time to
get God out of the tent.
2. Pink, “ Instead of being occupied with his achievements and self-satisfied with the position
which he now occupied, David was concerned about the lowly abode of God’s ark. Very beautiful
indeed is it to see the recently crowned monarch solicitous, not for the honor of his own majesty,
but, for the glory of Him whom he served.
It is not often that those in high places manifest such interest in spiritual things: would that more
of the Lord’s people who are entrusted with a considerable amount of this world’s goods were
more exercised in heart over the prospering of His cause. There are not many who make
conscience over spending far more upon themselves than they do for furthering the service of
God. In this generation, when the pilgrim character of the saints is well-nigh obliterated, when
separation from the world is so largely a thing of the past, when self-indulgence and the
gratification of every whim is the order of the day, few find their rest disturbed in the conviction
that the worship is languishing. Thousands of professing Christians think more about the welfare
of their pet dogs than they do in seeing that the needs of God’s servants and impoverished
believers are met, and spend more on the upkeep of their motorcars than they do in the support
of missionaries. Little wonder that the Holy Spirit is quenched in so many places.”
3. “This is the first mention of one of the most eminent men appearing in the history of the reigns
of David and Solomon,

17. athan, who, later, was to rebuke David for his sin with Bathseba, the
man who became the tutor of Solomon (12:25). And who was the author of a history of the reign
of David, and of a part of the reign of Solomon (I Chron. 29:29; II Chron. 9:29) from which in all
probability a large portion of the books of Samuel, kings and Chronicles is derived.” A. F.
Kirkpatrick.
3B. Gill, “ This is the first time this prophet is made mention of, but often afterward, yet who he
was, and from whence he came, is not known; he appears to be a man of great piety and

18. prudence, as well as endowed with a prophetic spirit, and was very familiar with David, and
perhaps dwelt in his palace; being a man on all accounts fit for conversation with princes, to
whom David imparted what he had been meditating upon in his heart. The Jews have a tradition
that he was the same with Jonathan the son of Shimea, the brother of David, (2 Samuel 21:21) ;
which is not very likely:”
3C. Michael

19. ekora, “There are five

20. athans in the Old Testament. One was a prophet who
counseled both King David and King Solomon. He is frequently identified as

21. athan the prophet
—the Hebrew word means inspired man—perhaps to distinguish him from

22. athan the son of
David. It is possible David named one of his sons

23. athan because of the esteem he had for this
outstanding man of God. We are told that the “first and last” acts of David are written in the
book of

24. athan the prophet (1 Chronicles 29:29) and that the “first and last” acts of Solomon are
written in the book of

25. athan the prophet (2 Chronicles 9:29). If this last statement is literally
true,

26. athan must have lived long into the reign of Solomon which would imply that he was
considerably younger than David. Although our Bible does not contain a “book of

27. athan,” some
of what we have in Kings and Chronicles might well have come from him.”
4. Bob Deffinbaugh, “Somehow it seems inappropriate for David to live in such splendor, while
the ark of God is kept in such plain and seemingly provisional surroundings. The idea comes to
him that he can build another house; this second house will be a temple in which the ark can be
kept in far more fitting surroundings. It is settled in David's mind. That is what he will do. And so
David confides in

28. athan the prophet, who seems also to be a friend and confidant of the king.
How can such a generous gesture possibly be wrong? Why shouldn't God have a more fitting
dwelling place? And so, without consulting God,

29. athan gives David the go ahead. In effect,

30. athan says to David, “Sounds good to me, and I'm sure it will be okay with God as well.”
5. Criswell, “"Look now," he says, "I dwell in an house of cedar." Hiram, king of Tyre, had sent
to David carpenters and workmen and cedar from Lebanon. And in their ingenuity and their
gifts and their craftsmanship, they had built for David, a beautiful house. And David
remembered those days when as a shepherd boy, he slept under the starry sky. If he had a place.
It was a mere hut. And David remembered when he was a refugee and an outcast fleeing for his
life before Saul, and he lived in the cave of Adullam. And now, this beautiful home. And then
David remembered his reign in Hebron for seven and a half years, with no palatial
embellishments and surroundings and accouterments. And now, this beautiful and gorgeous
palace. And he said within himself, "How is it that I live in so glorious a place, but the ark of the
Lord is in curtains?"
3

31. athan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in
mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."
1.

32. athan is a positive thinker, and he says go ahead David, and do whatever you desire to do
better than a tent for the dwelling of God.

33. athan gives this word before he goes to the Lord in

34. prayer, for he is jumping the gun, for God does not want David to build him a better place. This
was a job he is reserving for David's Son Solomon. So

35. athan is giving the go ahead sign without
the Lord's permission. Has nothing been learned from the disaster of the last chapter when they
went off to move the ark without first checking with what God had revealed about how to do it
properly. Here again we see men making up plans without first consulting with the Lord. We
need to learn that it is not good to rush ahead to do things for God when we don't know what
God wants. The obviously want to please God, but they forget to ask God first about what pleases
him. I see this happening when men get excited about buying their wives a great gift, and when
she gets it she is not happy because they bought something they thought was great, but which she
did not want. It is nice to surprise a mate with a gift, but make it small so if your wrong it will not
be a negative thing in your marriage. Large gifts should always be openly talked about so that
what is done is truly pleasing. David wanted to build a great temple for God, but it was not what
God wanted, and had God not said so, David would be doing what was folly.
2. David Roper, "David lived in a very ornate house of cedar which had been built for him by the
Phoenicians, and it didn't seem right to him that he should live in an expensive home while the
ark of God dwelt in a tent.

36. ow, David knew that God did not dwell in that ark, but David
wanted to do something symbolic for God -- to build a house which at least would be the
equivalent of his own. And

37. athan's response was, "David, do what's in your heart; the Lord is
with you."

38. athan was a prophet in Israel, but this is a classic example of counting on good
common sense instead of the word of God, because it was not God's intention for David to build
him a house.

39. athan was acting on what appeared to be common sense, but he was wrong. This is
another of the warnings in Scripture that our desires, no matter how noble they may be, and our
hunches, all must be subject to the word of God, which is the final authority.”
3. Jamison, “The piety of the design commended it to the prophet's mind, and he gave his hasty
approval and encouragement to the royal plans. The prophets, when following the impulse of
their own feelings, or forming conjectural opinions, fell into frequent mistakes. (See on 1Sa 16:6;
2Ki 4:27).”
4. This is the first time

40. athan appears and speaks and he blows it. He is fresh out of prophet
school and so not really great at it yet. Are there mistakes in the Bible? Yes, here is one right here,
and it is recorded like the many mistakes of men that are recorded because they happened, such
as the fall of David, and others, and the false prophets and lies of men. It is life and history and
not all the spoken word of God. All Scripture is inspired and profitable, but not all is expressing
the will and truth of God. Gill adds, “

41. athan said this as a pious and good man, in a private
capacity, not as a prophet, or under a spirit of prophecy; for prophets did not always speak under
such an influence, but, as private men, said some things ignorantly and through mistake; see (1
Samuel 16:6) (2 Kings 4:27).”
4 That night the word of the LORD came to

42. athan,
saying:

43. 1. Why God so often speaks to people at night makes sense, for in the business of the day they are
not focused and ready to listen. In the quietness and peacefulness of the night the mind is ready
to hear the voice of God. Often it is even when a person is asleep that God speaks to them. If

44. athan was dreaming, he learned from God that David's dream that he supported so completely,
was not God's dream at all.
2. Brian Morgan, “I imagine that both king and prophet went to bed that night charged with
enthusiasm for the new venture. David dreamt of raising the venture capital needed; and he
began planning the new tax structures necessary to fund the project. He dreamt of recruiting the
best architects and gathering thousands of workers--stonemasons, metal craftsmen, weavers and
embroiderers--all to leave behind a permanent place for God in Israel. What a legacy--a temple,
with David's name on it, forever etched in stone! Sweet dreams for David. But

45. athan did not get
much sleep that night. His repose was interrupted with a visit from the Lord. God put an abrupt
halt to David's dream, and unveiled his dream for the king.”
As is the case with many visions in the Bible, God makes his appearance at night, when people
are alone, asleep and still. It is at night, when our senses are shut down, that God speaks to the
hearts of men (see Job 4:13; Ps 16:7). And he speaks personally and intimately ("you and Me").
God calls David "my servant." This is a remarkable title, one that is seldom conferred by God on
anyone in the Old Testament. Previous to this time, the only two men considered worthy of being
called this were Moses and Joshua. As Fokkelman observes: "It is a sign of great trust. God
expects his servant to run things properly."
3. Henry, “The same night, that

46. athan might not continue long in an error nor David have his
head any further filled with thoughts of that which he must never bring to pass. God might have
said this to David himself immediately, but he chose to send it by

47. athan, to support the honour
of his prophets, and to preserve in David a regard to them. Though he be the head, they must be
the eyes by which he must see the visions of the Almighty, and the tongue by which he must hear
the word of God. He that delivered this long message to

48. athan assisted his memory to retain it,
that he might deliver it fully (he being resolved to deliver it faithfully) as he received it of the
Lord.”
4. Spurgeon, “He spoke too fast. Even prophets, who are inspired of God, must wait upon their
Master for their message; and when they utter words which only come out of their own mouths,
they say what they will have to unsay before long. It did look very clear that this was the proper
thing for

49. athan to say to David; but he had not a “Thus saith the Lord” for it.”
5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD
says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
“..or, as it is said in 1 Chronicles 17:4, "Thou shalt not build Me an house to dwell in.”

50. 1. Deffinbaugh, “Before we go any further, it is time for me to point out a couple of significant
details.

51. ote that in verses 1, 2, and 3 David is referred to as the king, but when God refers to
David, He calls him My servant David (verse 5). I think it is safe to suggest that David is a little
too conscious of his position as king.

52. ow in relation to all the people of Israel (and those outside
Israel for that matter), David is the highest authority in the land. But in relation to God, David is
merely a servant. David is living in a palace, and God is living in a tent, at least in David's mind.
David almost appears to be wanting to give God a helping hand. It would be like me, wearing a
tuxedo, sending Ross Perot a gift certificate to buy himself some decent clothes. It is for this
reason, I believe, that God appears to put David in his place, first by referring to the king as His
servant, and second by saying to him, “Who are you to be building Me a house?”
1B.

53. athan said go, but God said no. Men get what they think are great ideas on how to serve
God, but God puts up the stop sign and says no. Paul and Silas had their idea of where to go to
preach the Gospel, but we read, "the Holy Spirit forbade them to speak the word in Asia," that
is, in central Turkey. He accepted that

54. o, assuming God wanted him to go north instead. But
again the Holy Spirit said, "

55. o, not north either!" The plans they had were scrapped, and God
led them to go a different direction completely. An unknown author adds, “God said

56. o to Paul
on another painful matter that threatened his ministry. He wrote of a "thorn in the flesh" that
God gave him. Scholars have proposed this painful problem was some psychological disorder, or
spiritual struggles, migraine headaches, epilepsy, bad eyesight, or malaria--or difficult people.
Three times Paul begged God to take away this thorn. But God said

57. o. In this case we know
why. God said, "My strength is made perfect in weakness."
1C. Howard Wallace, “There is a clever play on words going on here around the common word,
‘house’, for it can mean both a building and a family, or in David’s case, a royal dynasty. The
word ‘house’ can also be used to refer to a temple, which is of course the ‘house’ David was
intending to build for the Lord (cf. vv. 2, 5). Beyond the play on words, the emphasis in the text is
clearly not upon the establishment of a place for God as much as upon the settlement and peace
established by God for Israel and David.”
2. In a sense, God is saying, “you got to pick who built your house, and I will do the same, and I
am choosing your son and not you.” It was something of a rebuke to David, for he was assuming
he was worthy to build God's temple, but God later points out that he wants a man of peace and
not a man of war, like David, to be the builder of his temple. In Acts 7:44-50 we read, "Our
forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God
directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45Having received the tabernacle, our
fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove
out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46who enjoyed God's favor and
asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[k] 47But it was Solomon who
built the house for him. 48"However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the
prophet says: 49" 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will
you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? 50Has not my hand made all
these things?” God was neither cramped nor in a hurry for a better dwelling place.

58. 3. In I Chronicles 22:6-10 we read of the details. “Then he called for his son Solomon and
charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: "My
son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the

59. ame of the LORD my God. 8 But this word of
the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to
build a house for my

60. ame, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But
you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his
enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, [a] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet
during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my

61. ame. He will be my son, and I
will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'”
4. In II Chron. 6:7-9 we read, "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the

62. ame
of the LORD, the God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because it was in your
heart to build a temple for my

63. ame, you did well to have this in your heart. 9

64. evertheless, you
are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood—he is the one
who will build the temple for my

65. ame.'” David did not get to built the temple, but he got credit
for having it in his heart. It is pleasing to God when we desire to do good things to honor him,
even if we never have the skill and resources to to them. David did have great resources, and he
helped Solomon a great deal in getting the temple built. "If you cannot have what you hoped, do
not sit down in despair and allow the energies of your life to run to waste; but arise, and gird
yourself to help others to achieve. If you may not build, you may gather materials for him that
shall. If you may not go down the mine, you can hold the ropes." (Meyer)
5. David Roper, “David was not out of God’s will to be a warrior and to win freedom for his
people, but the fact is, God does not want His temple to symbolize warfare. The long range goal
and image of God and His people is to be one of peace. The coming eternal ruler was to be the
Prince of Peace. God uses someone to prepare the way, and then someone else to finish the job.
Moses gets the people there, but Joshua leads them into the Promised Land. David gets the nation
and materials prepared, but Solomon builds a temple. John the Baptist gets the people ready, but
Jesus brings in the kingdom of God.” God has his start up people, and his finishers. It is the way
God works in history, and that is why it is good to start good things, for even if you cannot finish
them, God may have someone else ready to do the finishing. People are always building on the
foundation of what has been established by someone else. It is almost impossible to do anything
from scratch.
5B. Roper adds, “Verse 1 above says, "God had given him rest from all his enemies." Well about
two chapters down the road he winds up getting in trouble with Bathsheba and is told the sword
will never depart from his house.

66. ext chapter Amnon his #1 son, the heir apparent, rapes Tamar
the sister of Absalom (David's #3 son) and Absalom kills him. Following that, #2 son Chileab
apparently dies. Then #3 son Absalom chases his father out of town and gets killed in the
rebellion. Finally #4 son, Adonijah tries to grab the reigns from Solomon and gets his head
chopped off. There is one continual problem of unrest in the kingdom of David. So God indicates
to David he is not the kind of man to build a temple for a God of rest. Of course you remember
David, being the runt of the litter, had to fight for everything all of his life. He is, in a sense, a self-made
man, by divine appointment it is true. But God doesn't want that kind of a person to build
him a house. He wants a person that lives out of rest.”

67. 6. What a pain for

68. athan, for now he has to go back to David and report that God will not issue
him a building permit to build his temple. He had just said a few hours ago that it was a great
idea that he should go ahead and do.

69. ow he has to take his green light down and put up a red
one, for God say stop, and don't go. There is a freeze on your plans, and you cannot do this good
thing you want to do. Someone said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” This
really fits David at this point. God is a plan changer, and things you think are great goals to
achieve may not fit his plan for you at all. If you really listen to God, you may find that you have
to change your plans a lot, for we just do not think like God thinks, and we do not know just
what he has in store for us.
7. "Though the Lord refused to David the realization of his wish, he did it in a most gracious
manner. He did not put the idea away from him in anger or disdain, as though David had
cherished an unworthy desire; but he honored his servant even in the non-acceptance of his
offer." (Spurgeon)
6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the
Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving
from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
1. God is not all that concerned that he is dwelling in a mere tent compared to the palace that
David is enjoying. God is content in a tent, and has been for a good long time. He is not
complaining, nor is he anxious to upgrade his status. He does not really dwell in that tent, but in
the highest heavens, and so it is just a symbol of his presence. His accommodations in glory would
make David's palace look like a cardboard shack in comparison, and so he is not troubled by the
looks of things with that tent standing by a palace. He has been in the tent for nearly 600 years,
and has never complained or asked anyone to build him a better place. Here is an example of
complete contentment in a tent.
2. David Roper, “ In the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 17 he says, "I have walked among you
from tent to tent," i.e., "I have gone from one tent to the next." As one tabernacle began to
deteriorate they would build another, and God would dwell there. He was satisfied to live in a
tent...And this is still true today. It is still God's delight to live in tents. In the Old Testament a
tent is a symbol of our humanity - our weak, frail, insignificant humanity. It is this that God
wants to indwell. He doesn't want a house. He doesn't live in houses; he lives in tents. When God
wanted to manifest his glory in his Son, he manifested it in a tent. John 1 says, "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh
and [literally] "tented" among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the
Father, full of grace and truth." The glory of God was manifest in a tent. And that is still true
today in your life and mine.”

70. 3. Glenn Hoburg, “The reason Yahweh didn't have a permanent dwelling was because his people
were on the move in those days, and Yahweh identifies with His people--they are His great
preoccupation. God also says to David via

71. athan, "I've got a better idea--I'll build you a house".
Then the Lord recalls for David all He has done and WILL do for David. The blessings are
numerous but involve three primarily, promises concerning: a name, a place, and a people.
Yahweh will make David's name great. Yahweh will establish David's Kingdom. Yahweh will
establish David's lineage. All of which will be fulfilled ultimately in David's greater Son--Jesus
Christ. At this point David crumples up the blue prints for his project and prays.”
4. Jeff Seaton, the word ‘house’ was read today. A total of seven times in our passage. House is a
very significant word to the authors of this text. The Hebrew word is bayith. It is a rich
theological word, with several meanings that shift as it is used throughout the text. We begin with
David being settled in his house, and you can perhaps imagine David walking around inspecting
the newly completed indoor swimming pool, and the home theatre, and then he catches a glimpse,
through the floor to ceiling windows, of a dust-covered tent next door. This is the tent which
houses the Ark of the Covenant, for the people of Israel, the earthly dwelling place of God. David
looks at the tent, then back at his fancy digs, then back at the tent, and says to the prophet

72. athan, ‘This just isn’t right: here I am living in high style, and God is out there camping in the
backyard.’
But, as I said, this word ‘house’ in our passage has many meanings. So, while on the one hand,
as David uses it in the story, it means something like ‘palace’, the very same Hebrew word can
mean ‘temple’. The building we are gathered in today can be called a ‘house of God’ in this
sense, meaning a house or building dedicated to God, a house of worship. And people of faith
have been building this kind of ‘house of God’ for millennia, across several cultures and religions.
As Christians, we call this kind of building a church or a cathedral, and such buildings have been
central to our identity over the centuries.”
7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever
say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd
my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of
cedar?" '
1. God never once urged his people and their rulers to get busy in building him a house, let alone
a house of the best wood, the cedar. God is not in the least jealous of David in his big palace with
all of its comforts. God has no problem with man enjoying luxury, but he does expect that they
will have a heart for doing what pleases him with their riches. David had such a heart, and that is
why he was a man after God's own heart.
2. God will have his house, but it will be built by his man, and in his time. You can want to do a
good thing as David did, but you may not be the right person, and the time may not be right. We
need to wait on God and sense what he wants rather than rush in to do what he does not want us

73. to do.
3. Spurgeon, “Did God ever put to the children of Israel such a question as this?

74. o; and it is
very remarkable that, from the time that the temple was built, you may date the decay of true
religion in Israel; and the same thing has happened many times since; whenever religion is
surrounded by elaborate ceremonies, and gorgeous architecture, it is almost certain to suffer loss
of power and efficacy. The simplicity of worship may not be the life of it, but it has a very
intimate connection with that life.”
4. Rossier helps us to see that all was in transition until Solomon brought all of the pieces together
in the grand Temple of Israel. He wrote, “The two preceding chapters have shown us the
important changes produced in God's ways toward Israel by the establishment in Zion of David's
kingdom. The king brings the ark to Zion, thus associating God's throne with his own
government. This is not yet however, as we have seen, a perpetually established state of things as
will be the case under Solomon's reign.
That is why we do not find the regular order of worship here. David brings the ark to Jerusalem
but not the other furnishings of the tabernacle. He sets up a tent for the ark, but it is not the tent
of the wilderness. “They brought in the ark of Jehovah, and set it in its place, in the midst of the
tent that David had spread for it” (2 Sam. 6: 17). The tabernacle itself with the altar was found
elsewhere.
In the First Book of Samuel the tabernacle and the ark are found at Shiloh. The ark is taken
captive by the Philistines, but when it returns in grace it does not return to its place in Shiloh, to
the place where God might be approached through sacrifice.
In the Second Book of Samuel Shiloh disappears, but the tabernacle is not transported to
Jerusalem. It is found at Gibeon without any indication of how it got there. One thing is certain:
the tabernacle and the altar of sacrifice are at Gibeon when David brings the ark to Mount Zion:
“And [David] left there before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, Asaph and his brethren, to do
the service before the ark continually, as every day's duty required...and Zadok the priest, and
his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of Jehovah in the high place that was at Gibeon, to
offer up burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of burnt-offering continually” (1 Chr. 16: 37-40).
Later, at the time of the plague at Jerusalem when David at the Lord's command built an altar on
Mount Moriah and sacrificed there, it says: “The tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses had made
in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the
angel of Jehovah” (1 Chr. 21: 29-30). Again, at Gibeon Solomon sacrificed at the beginning of his
reign: “And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a
thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up upon that altar” (1 Kings 3: 4).
All this shows us a state of disorder or of great weakness with regard to the worship of the Lord
during David's reign. Shiloh was virtually abandoned from the time of the ruin of the priesthood
(Ps. 78: 60-61); the Lord's house was not yet built at Jerusalem and worship was, so to speak,
divided between the ark at Zion and the altar at Gibeon. The other vessels were still in the
tabernacle. They are mentioned in 1 Kings 8: 4. Gibeon was a city of the sons of Aaron (Joshua
21: 17). We would suppose that, as was the case at

75. ob (1 Sam. 21: 6), the furnishings of the

76. sanctuary were kept guarded there by the priests.
However that may be, the worship of the Lord under David's reign was quite far from what
ought to have been. But one thing was sufficient for David — the object of all his desires during
his afflictions (Ps. 132: 1-8): he had found a resting place for the throne of the Lord of hosts, for
the ark of His strength. There where David was established he now had with him the God of
Israel, for the “name” (2 Sam. 6: 2) represents the person. His resource — precious above all else
amid the dispersal of the holy vessels in this time of transition that would be succeeded by his
successor's glory — his resource, I repeat, was the presence of God Himself with him and with
His people Israel.”
8 "

77. ow then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the
LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and
from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel.
1. Gill, “for that was his employment, to keep his father's sheep, before he was taken into Saul's
court, and married his daughter, when after his death he came to have the crown, of Israel: now
this is said, not to upbraid him with his former meanness, but to observe the goodness of God
unto him, and what reason he had for thankfulness, and to look upon himself as a favourite of
God, who of a keeper of sheep was made a shepherd of men, to rule and feed them; so Cyrus is
called a shepherd, (Isaiah 44:28) ; and Agamemnon, in Homer F23, is called "the shepherd of the
people".
2. Eugene Peterson says: “God showed

78. athan that David’s building plans for God would
interfere with God’s building plans for David.” In order for God to use David, he had to have his
heart focused not on himself, but on God. And so God overwhelms David with the truth…he
replays all that HE has done for David. Twenty-three times in this section God says “I.” “I’ve
done this, I’ve done that.” He wants to make sure that David understands how dependent he
really is on God. Because dependence produces a soft heart. And God can build things with soft
hearts.”
3. Deffinbaugh, “The message that

79. athan delivers to David is dominated by a recital of what
God has done, is doing, and will do. God is the first-person subject of twenty-three verbs in this
message, and these verbs carry the action. David, full of what he's going to do for God, is now
subjected to a comprehensive rehearsal of what God has done, is doing, and will do for and in
David. What looked yesterday like a bold Davidic enterprise on behalf of God now looks
picayune. Does David want to offer God a helping hand by building Him a better house in which
to live? God reminds David Who is taking care of whom. Would David do something great for
God, like build Him a temple? History would remind David (and us) that it has always been God
helping us, not us helping God. David, God's servant, should recall that it was He who took him
out of the pasture, from following (not leading) the sheep, and made him ruler of all Israel (verse

80. 8). God has been with David, wherever he went, and it was He who gave David's enemies into his
hand, resulting in his fame and reputation. It is God who has always come to man's aid, and not
man who rescues God."
9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I
have cut off all your enemies from before you.

81. ow I will
make your name great, like the names of the greatest men
of the earth.
1. David's name is exalted in the Bible as not other, and there is more written about his life than
any other person in the Bible. He is at the top with the greatest names in history.
1B. Henry, “ It is good for those who have come to great preferment to be often reminded of their
small beginnings, that they may always be humble and thankful. 2. He had given him success and
victory over his enemies (2 Samuel 7:9): "I was with thee whither soever thou wentest, to protect
thee when pursued, to prosper thee when pursuing. I have cut off all thy enemies, that stood in
the way of thy advancement and settlement." 3. He had crowned him not only with power and
dominion in Israel, but with honor and reputation among the nations about: I have made thee a
great name. He had become famous for his courage, conduct, and great achievements, and was
more talked of than any of the great men of his day. A great name is what those who have it have
great reason to be thankful for and may improve to good purposes, but what those who have it
not have no reason to be ambitious of: a good name is more desirable. A man may pass through
the world very obscurely and yet very comfortably.”
2. Maclaren, “With verse 9 _b_ the prophecy turns to the future. David personally is promised
the continuance of God's help; then a permanent, peaceful possession of the land is promised to
the nation, and finally the perpetuity of the kingdom in the Davidic line is promised. The
prophecy as to the nation, like all such prophecies, is contingent on national obedience. The
future of the kingdom will stand in blessed contrast with the wild times of the Judges, if--and only
if--Israel behaves as 'My people' should. But the main point of the prophecy is the promise to
David's 'seed.' In form it attaches itself very significantly to David's intention to build a house for
Jehovah. That would invert the true order, for Jehovah was about to build a house, that is, a
permanent posterity, for David. God must first give before man can requite. All our relations to
Him begin with His free mercy to us. And our building for Him should ever be the result of His
building for us, and will, in some humble way, resemble the divine beneficence by which it has
been quickened into action. The very foundation principles of Christian service are expressed
here, in guise fitted to the then epoch of revelation.”
3. Gill, “When he went against Goliath, when he went forth against the Philistines, when in Saul's
court, when he fled from Saul, and was obliged to go to various places, God was with him
protecting and preserving him, prospering and succeeding him every where, and in everything:

82. and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight:
as Saul, and others in the land of Israel, and the Philistines, and other enemies round about him,
so that he had rest from them all;
and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great [men]
that [are] in the earth;
a name for a mighty king, warrior, and conqueror, such as some mighty kings and great men of
the earth had obtained, and such fame, being made king over all Israel; and his success against
the Jebusites had got him a name, as well as former victories he had been favoured with; on
account of all which his name and fame had been spread abroad in the world, and he was
reckoned as one of the greatest princes in it.”
10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will
plant them so that they can have a home of their own and
no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress
them anymore, as they did at the beginning
1. Gill, “The land of Canaan: this the Lord had of old appointed to them, and had introduced
them into and settled them in it, but not entirely and alone; in many places the Canaanites had
inhabited; but now they should be expelled, and the Israelites should have the place to
themselves:
and will plant them;
so that they shall take root and flourish, and continue:
that they may dwell in a place of their own;
and not as they dwelt in Egypt, in a land that was not theirs; or "under themselves" F24; under
their own rulers and governors:
and move no more;
as they did in the times of the judges, when, sinning against God, they were often delivered into
their enemies' hands, and carried captives:
neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as
beforetime;
when in Egypt, and in the times of the judges; all which is supposed, provided they did not depart
from the Lord, but abode by his word, worship, and ordinances, and obeyed his will; for it was
by their obedience they held their tenure of the land of Canaan, see (Isaiah 1:19) ; or all this may
respect future times, when they shall be converted to the Messiah, and return to their own land,
and ever continue in it, and never more be harassed and distressed, (Jeremiah 32:41) (Ezekiel
37:25) .”
2. Deffinbaugh, “In verse 10, there is a significant change in the tense of the verbs. Previous verbs
are in the past tense, referring back to what God has done in the past.

83. ow, in verse 10, the verbs

84. become future. After pointing out all that He has done for David and Israel in the past, God goes
on to say something like: “David, My servant, you have not seen anything yet. The best is yet to
come.” God promises to appoint a place for His people where they will be planted. They will have
a place of their own (as David intended to give God a “place of His own”), and they will dwell in
peace there because the wicked will no longer afflict them. It won't be like it used to be, from the
time of the judges till the present. God will give David rest from all his enemies.29 Would David
dare to think he could do something for God? It was God who gave David all that he had, and it
was God who would give him yet even more.30
The question must arise: when are these promises to David fulfilled? It is clear that they were not
yet fulfilled, for they are expressed as a future reality. Some might think they are fulfilled in the
next three chapters (8-10), when David prevails over all his enemies who surround Israel. I don't
think we can see a complete fulfillment in David's lifetime or even in that of his son Solomon. I
believe these promises to David are fully realized only in the coming Kingdom of God, when the
Lord Jesus Christ subdues all His enemies and establishes His kingdom on the earth. It is that
time spoken of in the last chapters of the Book of Isaiah. These promises are given to David here
because they pave the way for the promise God is about to make to David in the following verses,
the promise to build a “house” for him.”
11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders
over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all
your enemies. " 'The LORD declares to you that the
LORD himself will establish a house for you:
1. God says don't bother building a house for me, for I want to build a house for you, and one
that will last forever. The house of David will be a part of eternity through his greatest son, the
Lord Jesus who reigns on the throne of David even now.
2. Gill, “Before the time the judges were raised they were greatly afflicted by one nation or
another around them, and between judge and judge, but now they should be no more so; here the
parenthesis should end:
and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies;
this belongs to David personally, and intends the same as in ( 2 Samuel 7:1 ) ;
also the Lord telleth thee, that he will make thee an house;
not only build up his family, and make that numerous, but establish the house of his kingdom, as
the Targum; that whereas he was desirous of building an house for God, God would build up an
house for him; which would be a clear proof, that though he did not think fit to make use of him
in the building of his house, yet he was not cast out of his favour, nor was it to be so interpreted
by himself or others.”

85. 3. Quartz Hill School of Theology, “God promised to make David a "house" (Hebrew, bayit). But
what could this mean? The Hebrew word for "house" referred to more than a residence; it was
also a family: parents, children, and kin. For example,

86. oah went into the ark with his "whole
house" (Genesis 7:1) and obviously not with the building he lived in. Jacob ordered "his whole
house" to dispose of their foreign gods (35:2). Later all the tribes could be subdivided into
"houses" (larger family groupings, Josh. 7:14), and the posterity of a family, king, or dynasty
would be called his "house" (Exodus 2:1; 1 Kings 11;38; 12:16; 13:2).
For 2 Samuel 7, the meaning of a "dynasty" is most fitting, especially since the expression "your
house and your kingdom will be made secure forever" (v. 16), could only mean that David's
"dynasty" woud rule forever. This was the new addition to the promise plan: all that had bee
offered to the patriarchs and Moses was now being offered to David's dynasty. Moreover, it
would last into the future, forever (v. 19).
Eight times in 2 Samuel 7, Yahweh promises to make David a "house" (vv. 11, 13, 16, 19, 25, 26,
27, 29), not counting the instances of parallel ideas which use other terms. It was explained that
David's "house" was aline of descendants (vv. 12, 16, 19, 26, 29) which the Lord would give to
him in perpetuity. Usually monarchs worried, once they had succeeded in enforcing the peace
after a long period of military gains, about the durability of their kingdom (cf.

87. ebucadnezzer in
Daniel 2). But David was relieved from this anxiety. His "dynasty" would be secure forever.”
12 When your days are over and you rest with your
fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who
will come from your own body, and I will establish his
kingdom.
1. Gill, “And when thy days be fulfilled…
The days of his life, which were appointed by the Lord for him to live, and when he had filled up
the common term of man's life, as he exactly did; for he lived just seventy years, see ( 2 Samuel
5:4) (Psalms 90:10) ;
and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers;
die and be buried; for this is a phrase expressive of death, and the grave the common portion of
men:
I will set up thy seed after thee;
sons to succeed in the kingdom, as they did for the space of five hundred years; though here it
respects one particular seed or son, even Solomon, as appears by what follows:
which shall proceed out of thy bowels;
be begotten by him, and born unto him, and has regard to a future son of his not yet born; not
Absalom nor Adonijah, nor any of the rest born in Hebron were to succeed him in the kingdom,
but one as yet unborn:
and I will establish his kingdom;

88. so that he shall have a long and happy reign, as Solomon had.
2. John Piper does an excellent job of showing us how this promise to David is finally fulfilled in
God's own Son who now reigns on an everlasting throne. It is a long quote, but worth the time to
track the progression to fulfillment. “2 Samuel 7:12–17 does what a lot of prophetic passages do:
it takes an extended telescope of events and collapses it down so that the near and distant events
are viewed together. For example, in these six verses God promises on the one hand that Solomon,
David's son, will reign in David's place and will build a house for God. This is why verse 14 can
say, "When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the
sons of men, but I will not take my steadfast love from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put
away from before you."
But the promise goes far beyond Solomon and his imperfection. Verse 13 says, "He shall build a
house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever." Verse 16 says, "And
your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be
established for ever." Three times the words "for ever" appear.

89. o wonder this covenant was
central to Israel's hope: when God promises to do something for ever, all of eternity is being
shaped.
Look at what God does in 1 Kings 11:11–13 after Solomon marries foreign women and worships
their gods: "The Lord said to Solomon, 'Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my
covenant and my statutes which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you
and give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but
I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will
give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem which I
have chosen.'" This shows that the promise to establish David's kingdom cannot happen as long
as the descendants of David are rebellious and disobedient.
Israel learned over the centuries following David and Solomon that disobedience in her king
always brought the nation to ruin. But the godly among them knew one thing for sure: God had
promised that the throne of David would be established forever (2 Samuel 7:4). So they came to
see that a son of David must be coming who would fulfill the conditions of the covenant, sit on
David's throne, and rule forever. A succession of imperfect kings could never fulfill the promise.
If God were true to his word, if he stuck by his job description in 2 Samuel 7, he would have to
raise up a righteous, obedient son of David to take the throne (see Psalm 89:29–37).
This is just what Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel promised he would do. Ezekiel looks to the future
salvation of God's people and speaks God's word (in 37:23f.): "I will save them from all the
backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them and they shall be my people and I
will be their God. My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall have one shepherd"
(see 34:23). Jeremiah stresses that the coming king will fulfill the condition of righteousness (in
Jeremiah 23:5–6): "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a
righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and
righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely. And this
is the name by which he will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness'" (see 33:21, 25–26). But it
was Isaiah who saw the glory of the Son of David more clearly than anyone and virtually
identified him as God (in 9:6–7): "For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the

90. government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' Of the increase of his government and of peace there
will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore." So the surety of the
covenant with David lies ultimately in the fact that God himself will come as king and sit upon
the throne. When a covenant is conditional and yet is also certain, you can be sure God himself
will intervene to fulfill the conditions.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Luke 1:31–33, he said, "Behold, you will conceive
in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no
end." Therefore, beyond any shadow of a doubt the Bible teaches that the promise to David that
his descendant would rule forever is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As the Son of David (Romans 1:3)
and the Lord of David (Matthew 22:45; Psalm 110:1) Jesus now reigns as king in heaven (1
Corinthians 15:25) over the true house of Israel.”
13 He is the one who will build a house for my

91. ame, and
I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
1. Gill, “He shall build an house for my name…
For the honour of it, for the worship and service of God, as it is well known Solomon did; and so
his antitype the Messiah, (Zechariah 6:12,13) ;
and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever;
that is, for a long time. Solomon's reign was forty years, and the kingdom of Judah continued in
his posterity until the Babylonish captivity, and a prince that descended from him was the ruler
of the people when they returned: this has its fulfilment more eminently in Christ, who was of his
seed, to whom God has given "the throne of his father David", and who "shall reign over the
house of Jacob for ever", (Luke 1:32,33) .”
2. An author known only as fpcjackson.org wrote about the Davidic Covenant, and gives us these
5 points that are promised. “

92. ow in these words and the following, we have the formal
inauguration of God’s covenant with David, though the word covenant is not found here. Other
passages explicitly state that this was a covenant inauguration. For instance Psalm 89, verses 3
and 4, “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to David, My servant, your seed
will I establish forever and build up your throne to all generations.” You will also find that in
Psalm 132. So later passages make this clear that this is a covenant inauguration.

93. ow, the covenant insures a number of blessings to David. First, his own flesh and blood will
occupy the throne. And when thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and I
will set up thy seed after thee which shall proceed out of your body, I will establish his kingdom.”
Verse 12. This is no small promise, given the political instability of the near east kingdoms of
David’s time, or for today for that matter.

94. Secondly, David’s heir will fulfill David’s desire by building a house for God. In verse 13,
God says, “He shall build a house for My name.”
Third, David’s heir will stand in unique relationship to God. God will be his father, and he
will be His son.

95. athan proclaims that amazing word, “I will be his father and he will shall be
My son.”

96. ow, we who live under the

97. ew Covenant, and who have the precious privilege of
addressing God as Father, may not be too startled by that statement, but to the Hebrew ear, it
would have been unbelievable.

98. owhere else in the Old Testament is an individual so clearly
designated a son of God. And yet that is the blessing of David’s covenant.
Fourth, David’s heir may experience punishment for sins, but he will not be cast off like
Saul. We are likely to read verse 14, very negatively. Look at that second phrase in verse 14,
“when he commits inequity, I will correct him with the rod of men and strokes of the sons of
man.” On the surface, that looks very negative. However, you need to understand that in the
context of Saul’s having been cut off, so that is actually a very positive thing that is being said
there. If he stumbles, and he will, like Saul, I will not cut him off. I will discipline him, but I will
not cut him off. This of course, proved important in the days of Solomon’s disobedience as well
as for many of the kings of Judah.
Fifth and finally, God makes the astonishing promise that David’s kingdom will last forever.
“Your house, your kingdom will be established forever before Me.” Your throne will be
established forever. It is worth noting that David’s dynasty is without parallel in the ancient near
east in length of duration. His house ruled Judah for over four hundred years, for longer than
the greatest Egyptian dynasty, and in stark contrast, to the numerous ruling families in the

99. orthern kingdom. I am told that there has never been a longer reign of a single dynasty in any
land in the history of the world than David’s four hundred year dynastic reign.
2. This author above adds this which seems to clearly indicate that the throne of David, and then
Solomon, is the throne of God, and this makes it clear that only God himself can fulfill the
promise, for he alone can reign forever, and does so in the Son of David, who is his own Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. He wrote, “If you would turn with me to I Chronicles 29, verse 23, “they made
Solomon, the son of David, king a second time, and they anointed him as ruler for the Lord and
Zadok as priest. Then, Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord.” Yes, you read it right. Solomon
sat on the throne of the Lord. You see there, what? An identification between the rule of God in
Israel, and the rule of David in his seed. And so the throne in the Davidic Covenant functions to
epitomize the message of the covenant with David. The teaching of, the prophetic teaching of the
covenant of David, points us mostly to an understanding of two things. Jesus, office as king, and
Jesus preaching of the kingdom. And that throne both points to the office of David and his
descendants as the unique divinely appointed king of Israel, and to the rule of God in Israel,
because God is even willing to call the throne of David, the throne of Yahweh. So that is quite an
extraordinary statement there in I Chronicles. And clearly the Chronicler has a theological
agenda behind that. He is showing you the significance of the Davidic line in the plan of God. He
is preparing you for the significance of the split of the nation and the wickedness that occurs from
that, and he is relating it to the rejection of that divinely appointed throne of the line of David.”
3. Quartz Hill School of Theology, “It was not that God had abdicated his rule or that his reign
had come to an end; for so closely linked was this newly announced reign of David with God's
reign, that the Davidic throne and kingdom were later on called the Lord's own. Thus 1 Chron.
28:5 speaks of Solomon sitting on "the throne of the kingdom of the Lord", and in 2 Chron. 13:8

100. refers to "the kingdom of the Lord," and in 2 Chron 9:8 the king is placed by God "on his
[God's] throne to be king for the Lord your God." Already in 1 Sam. 24:6 and in 2 Sam. 19:21 he
was called the "Lord's anointed." Accordingly, the theocracy and Davidic kingdom, by virtue of
their special palce in the covenant, were regarded as one. They were so inseparably linked
together that in the future their destiny was identical.”
4. Clarke, “IT is worthy of remark how seldom God employs a soldier in any spiritual work, just
for the same reason as that given to David; and yet there have been several eminently pious men
in the army, who have laboured for the conversion of sinners. I knew a remarkable instance of
this; I was acquainted with Mr. John Haime, a well known preacher among the people called
Methodists. He was a soldier in the queen's eighth regiment of dragoons, in Flanders, in the years
1739-46. He had his horse shot under him at the battle of Fontenoy, May 11,1745; and was in the
hottest fire of the enemy for above seven hours; he preached among his fellow soldiers frequently,
and under the immediate patronage of his royal highness the Duke of Cumberland, commander-in-
chief; and was the means of reforming and converting many hundreds of the soldiers. He was
a man of amazing courage and resolution, and of inflexible loyalty. One having expressed a
wonder "how he could reconcile killing men with preaching the Gospel of the grace and peace of
Christ," he answered, "I never killed a man." "How can you tell that? were you not in several
battles?" "Yes, but I am confident I never killed nor wounded a man." "How was this? did you
not do your duty?" "Yes, with all my might; but when in battle, either my horse jumped aside or
was wounded, or was killed, or my carbine missed fire, and I could never draw the blood of the
enemy." "And would you have done it if you could?" "Yes, I would have slain the whole French
army, had it been in my power; I fought in a good cause, for a good king, and for my country;
and though I struck in order to cut, and hack, and hew, on every side, I could kill no man." This
is the substance of his answers to the above questions, and we see from it a remarkable
interfering Providence; God had appointed this man to build a spiritual house in the British
army, in Flanders, and would not permit him to shed the blood of his fellow creatures.”
14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he
does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with
floggings inflicted by men.
1. This seems to apply to Solomon, for there was no sin in Jesus that needed to be punished. So it
was possible for an Old Testament saint to be considered a son of God, and God as his father. It is
a very

101. ew Testament concept not seen often in the Old Testament.
2. Gill, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son…
That is, I will be as kind unto him, and careful of him, as a father of a son; or he shall be, and appear to be
my son, by adopting grace, as no doubt Solomon was, notwithstanding all his failings. This is applied to
Christ, the antitypical Solomon, who was, in an higher sense, the Son of God, even by natural and eternal
generation; see (Hebrews 1:5) ;
if he commit iniquity;
which cannot be supposed of Christ; for though he was made sin by imputation, he neither knew nor did

102. any, but may be supposed of his spiritual offspring, whom he represented as an head and surety, as of
Solomon, who committed many sins and transgressions:
I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the
children of men;
either with men themselves, as Hadad the Edomite, Rezon the son of Eliadah, and Jeroboam the son of

103. ebat, by all whom he was afflicted and distressed, after he felt into idolatry, ( 1 Kings 11:14-28 ) ; or with
such rods and stripes as men correct their children with, not to destroy them, but to chastise them for
their good; and so the phrases denote humane, kind, gentle, moderate corrections given in love, and which
answer some good purposes.”
3. Quartz Hill School of Theology. “Particularly surprizing was the divine announcement: "I will
be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son" (2 Sam. 7:14).

104. ow "Father" must have been a
title David used naturally of God, for he had named one of his children Absalom, "My Father is
Peace". Indeed, Moses had already taught Israel the same when he asked, "Is he not your Father,
he who created you?" (Deut. 32:6).
The concept of sonship was not without its theological antecedents in times past. All the members
of Israel were God's sons, his firstborn (Exodus 4:22; 19:4). Interestingly enough, "the whole
diplomatic vocabulary of the second millennium was rooted in the familial sphere". Hence, it was
most appropriate for this covenant with David.
What was new was that Yahweh should treat David's son now in a manner clearly reminicent of
the patriarchal and Mosaic promises. This was more than the

105. ear Eastern titulary of divine
sonship: "son of god x"; it was a divine gift, not a proud human boast. It was also a
particularization of the old word given to Israel (that is, his "firstborn", which now would be
addressed to David's seed -- Psalm 89:27). In a totally unique way David could now call him "my
Father" (v. 26), for each Davidite stood in this relation of son to his God. Yet it is not said that any
single Davidite would ever realize purely or perfectly this lofty concept of divine sonship. But
should any person qualify for this relationship, he would also need to be a son of David.”
15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I
took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
1. Constable, “If David's son sinned, God would discipline him, but He would never remove the
right to rule from him (vv. 14-15; cf. Heb. 12:5-11). Thus David's house (dynasty), his
kingdom(the people of Israel and their land), and his throne (the right to rule) would remain
forever. These four promises constitute the Davidic Covenant: a house for David, a kingdom for
David, and a throne for David—and all these would remain forever.113 "In general terms the line
would not fail. Yet in particular terms, benefits might be withdrawn from individuals." "YHWH
irrecoverably committed himself to the house of David, but rewarded or disciplined individual
kings by extending or withholding the benefits of the grant according to their loyalty or disloyalty
to His treaty [i.e., the Mosaic Covenant]."
"The failure of the kings generally leads not to disillusion with kingship but to the hope of a
future king who will fulfill the kingship ideal—a hope which provides the most familiar way of
understanding the significance of Jesus of

106. azareth, the Christ coming in his kingdom."

107. ote
that God did not promise that the rule of David's descendants would be without interruption.

108. The Babylonian captivity and the present dispersion of the Jews are interruptions (cf. Rom. 9—
11). However the privilege of ruling over Israel as king would always belong to David's
descendants.” “Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Toward an Old Testament Theology, pp. 149-52, described
these promises a bit differently as a house for David, a seed for David, a kingdom for David, and
a Son of God for David. It seems to me that the Son of God promise was really part of the seed
promise.”
2. Spurgeon, “Here is our warrant for believing in the final salvation of Solomon. Perhaps that
Book of Ecclesiastes, the work of his old age, shows us by what rough and thorny ways God
brought the wanderer back. He had tried to satisfy himself with the things of time and sense, but
he was constrained at last to utter this verdict, “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is
vanity;” and he had to go back to his God, and God his comfort there.”
3. Clarke, “The family of Saul became totally extinct; the family of David remained till the
incarnation. Joseph and Mary were both of that family; Jesus was the only heir to the kingdom of
Israel; he did not choose to sit on the secular throne, he ascended the spiritual throne, and now he
is exalted to the right hand of God, a PRI

109. CE and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of
sins.”
16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever
before me [b] ; your throne will be established forever.' "
1. Piper in verse 12 led us to Jesus Christ as the promised king of Israel, but then asks and
answers another question. “But the question we must raise is: what does all that have to do with
us Gentiles? Isn't the covenant with David only relevant for the nation of Israel? Isn't the
fulfillment of that promise simply Christ's millennial reign over the redeemed nation of Israel?
The answer of the Old Testament and

110. ew Testament is a resounding

111. O! The reign of Jesus as
Davidic king has a direct relevance for us Gentiles today.
Consider Acts 15:14–18. You recall that at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 the issue was whether
Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved. The apostles saw themselves as heirs of the
Old Testament promise to Israel: the Messiah, Son of David, had come; he had died for Israel's
sin and had been raised from the dead; he ruled in heaven and was coming again to judge and
reign on earth. The big question was: could Gentiles benefit from all this without becoming Jews
through circumcision? At the Jerusalem Council Peter told how the Gentiles had received the
Spirit just like the Jews had (15:8). Paul and Barnabas told of their success among the Gentiles.
Then James dealt the final blow to Jewish exclusivism in 15:14–18 with a reference to the Davidic
covenant and its relation to Gentiles: "Simeon [Peter] has related how God first visited the
Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree,
as it is written [quoting Amos 9:11], 'After this I will return and I will build the dwelling of David
which is fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up, that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name.'"

112. This means that when God said to David in 2 Samuel 7:16, "Your house and your kingdom shall
be made sure before me forever," he had in view a house and a kingdom much greater than
Israel. The reason the Davidic covenant is relevant for 20th century American Gentiles is because
God's job description which he revealed to David included not just the responsibility to establish
a righteous ruler in Israel forever, but also to put that ruler over the church and then over all the
world. Isaiah said, "Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end." It will
be worldwide. And the angel says in Revelation 11:15, "The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." When God has
completed all the responsibilities in his job description, the house of David will be planet earth.
And the subjects of the king will not just be Jews but people from every tongue and tribe and
nation (Revelation 7:9).”
2. An unknown author put together this excellent series of comments that show Jesus to be the
fulfillment of this promise to David. “The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced:
"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He
will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the
throne of his father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom
will never end." (Luke 1:23-31)
If you track David's family tree to Jesus, you find the tree has two branches. There is one branch
through Mary, the "biological" branch (Luke 3:23-38). The branch through Jesus' adopted
human father, Joseph, is the "legal" branch (Matthew 1:2-16). David's family tree to Joseph goes
through the dynasty of the kings of Israel. In Mary's family tree, David is the only king.
Jesus reigns as king where?
Some people expected the Messiah to be a political king, ruling the government of Israel.
Strangely, many Christians today still mistakenly believe that Jesus will come as a political king
to rule in one world government in a future time. But what did Jesus tell Governor Pontius Pilate
during His trial?
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent
my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king." (John 18:36, 37)
So where does Jesus reign as king? In heaven? Yes, but...
We pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom come." Come where?
In this prayer we ask Jesus to come and reign as king in our hearts.
We ask Jesus to come and reign in the hearts of people we love.
We ask Jesus to reign as king in our fellowship, the Church.
The next line of the Lord's Prayer expands this thought: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven."
3. Constable, “The descendant of David through whom God will fulfill His promises completely is
Jesus Christ. In view of what God said of Him in Luke 1:32-33, there are five major implications
of the Davidic Covenant for the future. God must preserve Israel as a nation. He must bring her
back into her land. Jesus Christ must rule over her in the land. His kingdom must be earthly, and

113. it must be everlasting.
"All conservative [Christian] interpreters of the Bible recognize that the promise has its ultimate
fulfillment in Christ. Again the amillennial and premillennial differences in explaining
eschatology come to the fore, however. The amillennial position is that Christ is now on the
throne of David in heaven, equating the heavenly throne with the earthly throne of David,
whereas the traditional premillennial view is that the Davidic throne will be occupied at the
second coming of Christ when Christ assumes his rule in Jerusalem." "The difficult questions
that separate dispensational and nondispensational interpreters relate to how many of the
covenant promises have been fulfilled in Christ's first coming and present ministry and how
many remain for the future. Two key elements of the covenant promise stand at the center of the
controversy: (1) a royal dynasty or house, and (2) a kingdom with universal blessing." David and
Solomon both understood the promise of a kingdom to refer to a literal earthly kingdom (vv. 18-
29; 2 Chron. 6:14-16). Therefore we (premillennialists) look for the fulfillment to be a literal
earthly kingdom. God did not condition His promises to David here on anything. Therefore we
can count on their complete fulfillment.”
3B. Samuel Giere, “The promise, anchored in the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt (7:6),
plays with the Hebrew word bayit, meaning house. David sits in his palatial house contemplating
building a house for the Lord. The divine promise, however, is of a house not of stone or cedar,
but a royal dynasty that the Lord establishes forever (7:16). Unlike the Lord's blessing of Saul,
which was revoked (1 Samuel 15.26), the blessing of the Davidic 'house' (even with the failings of
David's successors) will remain forever (2 Samuel 7:14-15).”
4. Rossier, “David's lineage seems to have come to an end. The feeble vestiges of his throne seem
to have fallen into the dust with Zerubbabel who does not merit the title of king, yet even now
Zechariah's voice is heard crying out to Zerubbabel (Zech. 4: 6-10). “Rejoice greatly, daughter of
Zion; shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh to thee: He is just, and having
salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zech. 9: 9). There is
thus no interregnum.... But the Messiah, the true King, is rejected by His people!

114. o doubt the
throne is now lost and God's promise to David has not been realized. Where is the King? Where
is the Successor of David's seed? The throne exists. Before God re-establishes it on earth it will be
established in heaven. The Son of David has gone “to receive for Himself a kingdom and return”
(Luke 19: 12). He is acknowledged as head of the heavenly part of His kingdom before the earthly
part in its turn submits to Him. “The king is dead, long live the king!” men say when they
acclaim the successor of a deceased sovereign. But Christ has died once — Christ, His own
successor, lives eternally!
From the time of Christ's cross and His rejection by the Jews we have a parenthesis continuing
from the formation of the Church to the moment when the Lord will rapture her and introduce
her into glory with Himself. Only then will He claim His rights to the earthly part of His
kingdom. All the “sure mercies of David” will be realized in Him whose kingdom will be
established forever.”
5. Dr. Robert S. Rayburn has these very interesting comments: “First, there is the tension
between the absolute and the relative, the unqualified and the qualified in this covenant.

115. If you read the commentaries, many of them will make a point of saying that, like other ancient
near-eastern royalty grants, this covenant is unconditional. They will often claim that 2 Sam. 7 is
in the form of an ancient royalty grant and that these were, characteristically, unconditional and
absolute. This is often coupled with the view that the Abrahamic covenant was likewise
unconditional, unlike the Mosaic covenant, that had conditions attached. That is, it didn't make
any difference what the person did with whom the covenant was made, it would be kept anyway.
It didn't make any difference what David did or his sons did, God would keep his promise
anyway!
And, to be sure, here in 2 Sam. 7 no conditions are attached. God will do what he says no matter
what, no matter what the king, the descendant of David does. Does he not even say in vv. 14-15
that one of David's descendants might be a disobedient son, but still God will not remove his love
from him? Well, that clearly is the way the text reads.
However, elsewhere there is another side.
1. First, you should know that it is by no means clear that ancient dynastic grants,
treaties in which a sovereign bestows the rights of royalty and dynasty on another,
were by nature unconditional. The evidence seems to suggest the contrary in fact. It is
not clear that there is any such distinction between promissory and conditional
treaties and it is certainly clear from biblical evidence that there is no such distinction
made between God's covenant with Abraham and his covenant with Israel at Sinai.
Both have promises and both have conditions. "Walk before me and be perfect," the
Lord told Abraham. And later in Genesis, on several occasions, the Lord says that he
brought his promises to pass for Abraham because Abraham had trusted and obeyed
the Lord.
2. But, what is more important in the immediate context of 2 Sam. 7 is that elsewhere
conditions are clearly assumed to have been attached to this covenant. For example,
listen to what the Lord says to Solomon after David's son had assumed the throne.
"As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as
David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and
laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised
David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the
throne of Israel.' But, if you or your sons turn away from me and do not
observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve
other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have
given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my name." [1
Kgs. 9:4-6]
In Psalm 132:11-12 we read:
"The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke:
'One of your own descendants I will place on your throne - if your sons
keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on
your throne for ever and ever.' "
Generally, what much of biblical scholarship does with these texts is to assume that they were
added later to explain why the Davidic line of kings disappeared after the exile. God's promise

116. wasn't kept so theologians of the period figured that there must have been conditions attached
and they weren't met and, to protect God from a lie, they rewrote the Bible accordingly. That,
plainly, is not an interpretative option for us! Bible writers are never found correcting other Bible
writers; not in the inerrant Word of God!
However, in fact, this entire argument about an unconditional covenant being made conditional
later is contrived. The fact is, this is a typical case of biblical merismus (a term taken from the
Greek word meros or "part"), meaning that you have a part of the teaching here and a part of it
there. In Genesis 17 God makes a covenant with Abraham and his seed to be Abraham's God and
the God of his children after him. But later, in chapter 18, we learn that Abraham had to nurture
his children in faith and obedience or the promises of the covenant would not be fulfilled. That is
typical of the way in which the Bible teaches its doctrine. In one place, for example, we are taught
that whatever we ask for in prayer we shall receive. In other places we are taught that there are
conditions attached to prevailing prayer. And, of course, given the fact that ancient near eastern
peoples were quite used to treaties that bestowed eternal kingdom conditionally, they would
naturally have supposed that there were conditions attached.
David himself understood that there were conditions attached to this covenant because we hear
him saying to Solomon, as he bestows the kingdom on his son:
"I am about to go the way of all the earth… So be strong, show yourself a man, and
observe what the Lord your God requires. Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and
commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you
may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, and that the Lord may keep his
promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully
before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne
of Israel.'" [1 Kgs 2:2-4]

117. ow, that last sentence cannot be found in 2 Sam. 7! That "if your descendants watch
how they live…" That is not anywhere in 2 Sam. 7. But, plainly, David thought that is
what the Lord meant!
6. “As the prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel grew weary of the parade of bad kings they
began to announce that this promise would be fulfilled in God's future and so the eschatological
hope for a messiah was born. Christians see this hope fulfilled in Jesus but with several notable
changes: 1. The central action of our Messiah is his death, never hinted at in the Old Testament.

118. o wonder Paul said that the crucified messiah was a stumbling block to Jews; 2. We also hail
this messiah as Lord and Son of God and we worship him. Again that understanding is not
explicit in the OT; 3. We tend to see that the future is "already and not yet" in Jesus. OT
promises emphasize that when the messiah comes all will be transformed.” author unknown
7. Quartz Hill School of Theology, “Six times David's kingdom had been declared eternal (2
Samuel 7:13, 16, 24, 25, 26, and 29). But was this gift to David "a blank check of unlimited
validity?" M. Tsevat, along with a large number of other commentators, have trouble accepting
the stress of irrevocability or unconditionality as part of the original passage. Rather, they would
prefer to treat as normative the theme of conditionality which stressed the "if" clause and the
necessity of loyalty and fidelity as found in 2 Samuel 7:14-15; 1 Kings 2:4; 8:25; 9:4-5; Psalm
89:31-38[30-37]; 132:11-12.

119. Yet David himself reflected on this same promise in 2 Samuel 23:5 and called it an "everlasting
covenant" (berit 'olam). His exact words were: "Certainly my dynasty is established by God, for
he has made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged in every detail and guaranteed." The
same thought is repeated in the royal Psalm by David: (Psalm 21:6-7[7-8]) where he rejoiced that
God had "made him most blessed forever" and that the "covenantal love of the Most High [to
David] would not be moved."
Psalm 89:28-37 [29-38] also commented on the immutability of this eternal covenant. It would
endure "forever" (28, 29, 36, 37): "As the days of heaven" (29), "as the sun" (36) and "moon"
(37). God "will not violate, nor alter the word that is gone out of [his] lips" (34); he has "sworn
by [his] holiness; [he] will not lie to David"(35).”
8. Rick Safriet, “God’s covenant with David was unconditional in nature, but conditional in the
sense that God required the descendants of David to walk in faithfulness. The conditions are not
mentioned in our lesson text, but they are repeated several times in Kings and Chronicles (1
Kings 6:11, 12; 9:4-9; 1 Chronicles 22:8-13; 28:1-10). First Kings 2:4 requires that Solomon’s
sons walk in faithfulness before God if they are to embrace the promises of the covenant and be
secure. In reality, that type of faithfulness never happened and disobedience always brought
down the kings and the nation to ruin. A line of imperfect and unfaithful kings could never fulfill
the covenant. Is the picture getting clearer? If a son of David could not fulfill the conditions
required, then there must come one who could fulfill the covenant and sit on David’s throne and
rule forever. If God were true to His promises to David, He would have to raise up a righteous,
obedient son of David to take the throne (Psalm 89:29-37).
When a covenant is conditional and yet is also certain, you can be sure God himself will intervene
to fulfill the covenant. The “I will’s” of our lesson indicates that what David, Solomon, and their
descendants were not able to do because of sin and disobedience, God Himself would do through
the person of Jesus Christ. So, the certainty of the covenant being fulfilled lies ultimately in the
fact that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, will come as king and sit upon the throne. The
angel Gabriel said as much to Mary in Luke 1:31-33. Paul began his epistle to the Romans by
emphasizing Christ’s incarnation through the seed of David (Romans 1:3). Jesus now reigns as
king in heaven (1 Corinthians 15:25).”
9. William M. Schniedewind, Professor Biblical Studies and

120. orthwest Semitic Languages UCLA
gives us an insight into the significance of the covenant with David. “ The Promise to David is a
central text to both Jewish and Christian traditions. Through it, Israel would define itself as a
nation, as a people, and as a religion. The idealization of Davidic kings, as well as the Jerusalem
temple, was already firmly situated within the Promise by the late Judaean monarchy. In fact, it
was so firmly situated that the destruction of these institutions precipitated something of a
constitutional crisis during the Babylonian exile. Did the Promise fail?

121. ot as long as it could be
read and reinterpreted.
My book, Society and the Promise to David: A Reception History of 2 Samuel 7:1-17, follows the
different ways that this promise was read from the inception of the Davidic kingdom down to
early Christian times. When any text is central to a people or a nation, like the Declaration of
Independence or the Constitution, the history of its interpretation can serve as a window into the

122. history of that people. One analogy in American history can illustrate. The landmark Supreme
Court decision (Brown v. Board of Ed., 1954) that overturned "separate, but equal" (Plessy v.
Ferguson, 1896) educational facilities for races as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution, which guarantees all citizens "equal protection of the laws," reflected
a changing American social landscape. The different interpretations of the Constitution in 1896
and 1954 reflected the changing social context of the interpreters. The text had not changed, but
the readers and their social context had. The Promise to David was such a constitutional text for
the ancient Jewish people.
The literary legacy of the Promise to David continues in each new social context and each new
Jewish community. In Alexandria and Qumran, among Pharisees and early Christians, the
Promise had its own import that spoke to the social situation and historical context of the
individual community. Part of the measure of the Promise to David’s ongoing vitality would be its
ability to coax each generation of new readers into fresh interpretations. Texts like the Promise to
David that deal with issues of vital importance to a community attract commentary, whether by
editorial insertions and revision or by complete rewriting. By tracing a history of interpretations,
we piece together an intellectual history of ancient Israel and early Judaism. For the most part,
this intellectual history is a history of literary elites, i.e., of those who read, interpreted, and
passed on the literary traditions of ancient Israel to the next generation. Through the lens of 2
Samuel 7, the Promise to David, we gain a glimpse into the intellectual history of ancient Israel
and early Judaism. Throughout the literary history of the Promise, the symbiotic relationship
among text, reader, and society evolves.”
10. The bottom line of his much larger article is that this promise to David is open to be
interpreted with each generation and the changes of history, just as our Constitution is, and that
leave it open to the Christian interpretation where it is fulfilled only in Christ's reign on the
eternal throne. There is no escape from the fact that Peter preached that Jesus was, in fact, the
one promised to sit on David's throne forever. “Acts 2:29-30, 2:25-31, 34-36, “25 “For David says
of Him, ‘I saw the Lord always in my presence; For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be
shaken. 26 ‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will live
in hope; 27 Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades,

123. or allow Your Holy One to undergo
decay. 28 ‘You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with
Your presence.’ 29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he
both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 “And so, because he was a
prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his
throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither
abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay…34 “For it was not David who ascended into
heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make
Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain
that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
17

124. athan reported to David all the words of this entire
revelation.

125. 1. In order to assure accuracy

126. athan had to be filled with the Spirit of God to communicate this
revelation word for word. After speaking it,

127. athan wrote it down that the rest of history might
have this series of promises that effect all of history and all people of history.
2. Dr. Robert S. Rayburn, “

128. ow, if you read 2 Sam. 7 and nothing else, you would get the
impression that from this point on, Israel would be ruled by faithful kings and God's blessing
would rest upon the nation. She would go from strength to strength until the eternal kingdom
had been brought in. Of course, that did not happen. The fact is, this covenant with the house of
David was fulfilled in the lives of some kings and not in the lives of others (or rather, its blessings
fell on some kings and not on others because of the conditions being met or not), and, still today,
is fulfilled in largely invisible ways, in seemingly fitful ways. Yet the entire Scripture teaches us to
believe that one day this covenant will be fulfilled in ways visible to the entire world. The day has
not yet come but is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is the
King of Kings.
Dr. Waltke used to illustrate the history of this covenant with the image of the birthday cake. The
candles on the cake represent the various kings of Israel's history. Some are burning brightly,
some are snuffed out because of their unfaithfulness. And, of course, one by one, even the good
kings die and their candle burns out. Sometimes, such as when the baby Joash was spared from
Athaliah's plot to kill the royal offspring and was for some years the only descendant of David in
Israel, but was in hiding, there is but one candle and it is but a flicker of light. And, then, after
the exile, when there are no Davidic kings in Israel, no kings at all in fact, all the candles are out
and only a trail of smoke still rises from those that were burning most recently. But there is still
an unlit and larger candle in the center, hope of something yet to come. And when that candle
was lit, at the appearing of Jesus Christ, it proved to be like one of those trick birthday candles,
people try to blow it out but it repeatedly re-ignites and burns as brightly as before. And that
candle still burns and after all these centuries shows no sign of burning out!”
David's Prayer
18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD,
and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is
my family, that you have brought me this far?
1. Constable, “"The heartfelt response of King David to the oracle of the prophet

129. athan is one
of the most moving prayers in Scripture . . ."127 Structurally the prayer moves from
thanksgiving for the present favor (vv. 18-21) to praise for what God had done in the past (vv. 22-
24) to petition for future fulfillment of God's promises (vv. 25-29). David included humility (v.
18), gratitude (v. 19), praise (v. 22), remembrance (vv. 23-24), and acknowledgment (vv. 25-29) as
ingredients in this prayer.

130. ormally Israelites stood or kneeled to pray. Perhaps David sat to pray
because he was a king.' In this prayer David revealed a proper attitude toward himself, toward
Yahweh, and toward their relationship. Ten times he referred to himself as Yahweh's servant.

131. Eight times he called God his Master (Heb. Adonai). David saw his own role in the larger context
of God's purpose for Israel. In all these particulars David contrasts with Saul. We also see why
God blessed him personally and used him as a channel of blessing to others.”
1B. Spurgeon, “DAVID was overwhelmed with the mercy of God!