2 Samuel Chapter 7 Part One

This chapter records the Davidic covenant promising David an eternal seed and throne, as the 12th, 15th, and 17th chapters of Genesis record the Abrahamic covenant promising an eternal seed and land. Both covenants are conditional upon faith and obedience to God.

Verses 1-2: During this time of “rest” within David’s kingdom, a dream was born. While the context of the dream was peace, the concern was a place. David looked out at the world from his “house of cedar” and saw that there was no permanent place to carry on the work of God.

2 Samuel 7:1

"And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;"
“Sat in his house” (see 5:11). David’s palace was built with help from Hiram of Tyre. Since Hiram did not become king of Tyre until around 980 B.C., the events narrated in this chapter occurred in the last decade of David’s reign.
Rest … from all his enemies”: David had conquered all the nations that were around Israel (see 8:1-14), for the details which occur prior to (2 Sam. Chapter 7).
This is speaking of a time of peace from wars with the Philistines. David is now, the undisputed king of all Israel.

2 Samuel 7:2

"That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains."
“Nathan”: Mentioned here for the first time, Nathan meaning he hath given played a significant role (in chapter 12), confronting David’s sin with Bathsheba. And (1 Kings Chapter 1), upsetting Adonijah’s plot to usurp the throne from Solomon.
“Within curtains” this rightly describes the tabernacle of Moses and David (vs. 2; Ex. 26).
Although David’s zeal for God gave birth to a desire to build a “house” for the “ark of God,” the Lord had in mind a far different and more glorious house, an everlasting dynasty (verse 11). Even the great prophet “Nathan” had to be instructed properly as to the divine purpose.
This again shows that David realizes that the LORD is the real King. He is just acting king. He feels guilty, having a beautiful cedar home, and the LORD is still dwelling in tents. He wants to do something to show the greatness of his God to all the world. At this time, Nathan is acting prophet. Nathan was David's spiritual adviser.

2 Samuel 7:3

"And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that [is] in thine heart; for the LORD [is] with thee."
“Nathan” responded to David’s question out of turn, before he had received a revelation from the Lord, and his first answer turned out to be inconsistent with God’s will, David did not build the house and was told by Nathan later who would actually build it (1 Chron. 17:4-15).
“Go, do”: Nathan the prophet encouraged David to pursue the noble project he had in mind and assured him of the Lord’s blessing. However, neither David nor Nathan had consulted the Lord.
Nathan speaks hastily here. He knows that David has very good intentions. His quick answer is probably, because he knows the love that David has for the LORD.

Verses 4-16: The Lord revealed His will to Nathan in this matter, to redirect the best human thoughts of the king.

2 Samuel 7:4

"And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,"
The night following Nathan’s conversation with David; when the prophet’s mind would have been full of what he had heard, and thus prepared for the Divine communication. That communication is distinctly marked as coming from a source external to the prophet himself, by its being in direct opposition to his own view already expressed these by actual words in vision (vs.4, 17).

Verses 5-7: David’s desire to “build a house” for God to dwell in was noble; but God had given him the role of warrior. The time to build the temple would be after all the battles were won (2 Chron. 6:7-9). Furthermore, the Lord of Israel was not like other nations’ gods, who were concerned about the temples that were built for them. God was concerned with rising up a spiritual kingdom of people.

2 Samuel 7:5

"Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?"
“Shalt thou build me a house …?” Verses 5-7 are framed by two questions asked by the Lord, both of which pertain to building a temple for Him. The first question, asking if David was the one who should build the temple, expected a negative answer (see 1 Chron. 17:4). According to (1 Chron. 22:8; 28:3), David was not chosen by God to build the temple because he was a warrior who had shed much blood.
We are not told, whether Nathan was asking the LORD about this, or whether the LORD just makes Nathan aware of His presence, and tells him. It could have been through a dream, or a vision, or even a spoken Word from God. We do know that the LORD communicated with Nathan and told him to go and speak to David before he starts on a house for the LORD. The office of prophet was a divine call from God. Nathan would speak to David the Words the LORD has given him. We see in this, not a direct command not to build the house of the LORD, but showing that the LORD cannot be held in a house made with human hands.

2 Samuel 7:6

"Whereas I have not dwelt in [any] house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle."
In any fixed or stated place of living.
"Since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day": A space of five or six hundred years, though he might before.
"But have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle": Proving that a temple was not the same as a tabernacle. Moving from place to place while in the wilderness, and since in the land of Canaan, first at Gilgal, then at Shiloh, afterwards at Nob, and now at Gibeon. "Tent" and "tabernacle" are distinguished, though they were but one building and habitation. The tent was the curtains of goats' hair, and the tabernacle the linen curtains (see Exodus 26:1). In (1 Chron. 17:5), it is "from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another"; which does not intend variety of tabernacles, but changes of place.
The presence of the LORD in the tabernacle in the wilderness had been obvious to the people by the smoke by day and the fire by night. Perhaps, the fact that the LORD was in the tabernacle (like a tent), was because He would remain with them as long as they kept His commandments. The blessings, received by His presence, were conditional on them keeping His commandments. These people were not aware that the LORD is "omnipresent". He is not confined to just one place at one time. He is everywhere all the time. His obvious presence in the tabernacle was to reassure them. He was not limited to one location.

2 Samuel 7:7

"In all [the places] wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me a house of cedar?"
“Why build ye not me an house of cedar?” The second question, asking if the Lord had ever commanded any leader to build a temple for His ark, also expected a negative answer. So, contrary to Nathan’s and David’s intentions and assumptions, God did not want a house at that time and did not want David to build one.
The LORD had never commanded anyone to build Him a permanent house of Cedar. This would be a little futile, since all the world cannot contain Him. We see in the following Scripture, what Solomon says about this very thing.
2 Chronicles 6:18 "But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!"

Verses 8-16: These verses state the promises the Lord gave to David (verses 8-11a give the promises to be realized during David’s lifetime.

(Verses 11b-16), state the promises that would be fulfilled after David’s death.

During David’s lifetime, the Lord:

(1) Gave David “a great name” (see Gen. 12:2);
(2) Appointed a place for Israel; and
(3) Gave David “rest” from all his enemies.

After David’s death, the Lord gave David:

(1) A son to sit on his national throne, who the Lord would oversee as a father with necessary chastening, discipline, and mercy (Solomon); and
(2) A Son who would rule a kingdom that will be established forever (Messiah).
This prophecy referred in its immediacy to Solomon and to the temporal kingdom of David’s family in the land. But in a larger and more sublime sense, it refers to David’s greater Son of another nature, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:.

2 Samuel 7:8

"Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:"
For it was taken well at his hands, in part, that it was in his heart, and he had a desire to build a house for God, though he was wrong in determining upon it without seeking the Lord. And lest he should be discouraged by the prohibition of him from building, the following things are observed to assure him it was not from disregard unto him, or displeasure at him, that he would not be employed in this service. Since the Lord had given sufficient tokens of his favor to him, and with which he should be content, as having honor enough done him; it was enough that God had raised him up from a low estate to great grandeur and dignity.
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel": 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 favorite of God. Who as a keeper of sheep was made a shepherd of men, to rule and feed them; so, Cyrus is called a shepherd (Isa. 44:28); and Agamemnon. In Homer, he is called "the shepherd of the people".
This is an explanation from the LORD, about the high calling that was on David's life. God had chosen David from a meager childhood to be his servant. There are not many people in the Bible spoken of as servant of God. It is a very high calling. Saul had been a king of the people's desire. David is a king of the LORD's desire. He was to show the world, what a servant of God is. The Messiah (Jesus Christ), was the ultimate of those who are servant of God. He was a visual example of the LORD in heaven, here on the earth.
Jesus is descended from David in the flesh, but in the Spirit, is the God of David. The kingly office that David held over all Israel (physical Israel), is a type and a shadow of Jesus, who will be KING of kings and LORD of lords. The Church and Old Testament believers (all believers in Christ), are waiting for that Day, when Jesus will reign over all the earth, as KING.

2 Samuel 7:9

"And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great [men] that [are] in the earth."
When he went against Goliath, when he went forth against the Philistines, when he was in Saul's court and 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 everywhere, and in everything.
"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 favored 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.
Among flesh and blood men that dwelled upon the earth, David was highly honored. David's reign on the earth was a type and shadow of the millennium reign of Jesus Christ as KING of all the earth. David won every battle, because the LORD was with him. David is the only earthly king that is spoken of in connection with the LORD Jesus.
Mark 12:36 "For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool."
Mark 12:37 "David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he [then] his son? And the common people heard him gladly."
David called Jesus LORD, and yet, He was the ancestor of Jesus in the flesh. Jesus is even spoken of as Son of David.

2 Samuel 7:10

"Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,"
3rd prophecy in 2 Samuel (7:10-16; part of vs. 11-16 is fulfilled; the rest will be fulfilled at the 2nd advent and in the Millennium and New Earth periods).
"I will appoint a place": i.e. I will make room for them; whereas hitherto they have been much constrained and distressed by their enemies. Or, I will establish (for so that verb sometimes signifies), a place for them, i.e. I will establish them in their place or land. Some learned men render the verse thus, and the Hebrew words will bear it: And I have appointed (or assigned, or given), a place for my people Israel, (to wit, the land of Canaan). And have planted them in it that they may dwell in their own place, and be no more driven to and fro; or rather, and they shall dwell in their own place, etc. I.e. as I did long ago appoint it to them, and afterwards planted them, or put them into actual possession; so now they shall continue or dwell in it, in spite of all their enemies.
"For my people Israel": Among the favors which God had granted, and would further give to David, he reckons his blessings to the people of Israel, because they were great blessings to David. Partly because the strength and happiness of a king consists in great part in the multitude and happiness of his people; and partly because David was a man of a pious and public spirit, and therefore no less affected with Israel’s felicity than with his own.
"In a place of their own": i.e. in their own land, not in strange lands, nor mixed with other people.
"As beforetime": Either, first, as in the land of Egypt; and so he goes downward to the judges. Or secondly, as in Saul’s time; he goes to the judges.
The LORD is speaking of the Promised Land. This is the land promised to Abraham, so very long ago. This was the land that the LORD had chosen for the children of Israel. The Lord had gone to great trouble to see that they received this land as their inheritance from Him. This is their permanent home.

2 Samuel 7:11

"And as since the time that I commanded judges [to be] over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee a house."
“He will make thee a house”: Although David desired to build the Lord a “house,” i.e., a temple, instead it would be the Lord who would build David a “house”, i.e., a dynasty.
Rather than allowing David to build a house for Him (7:5), God promised to build “a house” for David that would last forever, culminating in the eternal reign of the Lord Jesus.
The house that the LORD made for Israel was the land of Israel. He had also built them a spiritual house, built to show the world the greatness of the LORD. The judges had been given the people to bring them to the knowledge of the severity of the law if it were not kept, and the blessings that went with keeping the law. God blessed the land, while the judges were ruling the land. Their rebellion against their LORD is what had brought difficulties for them. The establishment of David as king is a shadow of a better kingdom to come through Jesus Christ our LORD. This is the Father referring to a future regathering of all Israel back to their own land for the fulfillment of its predictions.

Verses 12-16: The covenant that was given to Noah and then to Abraham and his descendants was renewed for David. It was an unconditional promise grounded in God’s purposes that would one day be fulfilled in the Messiah. Using familial language, God promised that unlike Saul’s line, which had ended, David’s royal line would continue in dynastic succession until the coming of Christ.
Like the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. Chapter 17), and the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-37), the Davidic covenant constitutes an unconditional promise of God (1 Chron. 17:11-15). Structurally, it is patterned after the royal grant treaties of the ancient Near East in which a sovereign freely bestows his favor on this chosen recipient. Although several of the items mentioned here inaugurate the benefits of the covenant, such as the promise to David of a “son” (Solomon), who (rather that David), would build the temple (verses 12-13), and through whom the Davidic kingdom would be established (verses 14-16). The central promise concerns the fact of the everlasting extent of the covenant (verse 16).

2 Samuel 7:12

"And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom."
Sleep... in scriptures referring to death does not mean unconsciousness of the soul; it refers to the body that goes back to dust and knows nothing in the grave. The soul is immortal.
“Thy seed”: According to the rest of Scripture, it was the coming Messiah who would establish David’s kingdom forever (see Isa. 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33).
This is speaking of a time, when David will die and his son, Solomon, takes his place as king of Israel. In this, David is assured that one of his sons will reign as king of Israel.

2 Samuel 7:13

"He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever."
He shall build...This was fulfilled in Solomon (1Ki. 5-, and also in David's son, the Messiah (Zech. 6:13-14).
I will stablish... This eternal throne of David has never been established. His original throne was only temporary, but his future one will be eternal (vs. 13; Isa. 9:6-7).
God did not want a permanent temple to be built until the nation of Israel had conquered the Promised Land and was at rest (1 Chron. 6:31; 28:2-.
The LORD will have the son of David to build the house of the LORD that David desires to build. The kingdom established in David is a never-ending kingship.
1 Chronicles 17:14" But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore."

2 Samuel 7:14

"I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:"
Quoted of Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:5), proving a double fulfillment, in both Solomon and Christ.
In Semitic thought, since the son had the full character of the father, the future seed or descendants of David would have the same essence of God. That Jesus Christ was God incarnate is the central theme of John’s gospel.
“If he commit iniquity”... He did sin and was chastened (1 Ki. 11). The only sense in which Christ, the greater Son of David, committed sin was in taking our sins and becoming the sin offering for us that we might be made righteous in Him (2 Cor. 5:14-21). As a human father disciplines his sons, so the Lord would discipline David’s descendants, it they committed iniquity. This has reference to the intermediary seed until Messiah’s arrival (any king of David’s line from Solomon on). However, the ultimate Seed of David will not be a sinner like David and his descendants were, as recorded (in Samuel and Kings; see 2 Cor. 5:21). Significantly, Chronicles, focusing more directly on the Messiah, does not include this statement in its record of Nathan’s words (1 Chron. 17:13).

2 Samuel 7:15

"But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took [it] from Saul, whom I put away before thee."
This is an expression of the unconditional character of the Davidic Covenant. The Messiah will come to His glorious, eternal kingdom and that promise will not change.
This is speaking of Solomon as a type of king of peace. Solomon's reign will be a reign of peace upon the earth. The chastening from God comes through the men of the earth. God's grace is eternal. This grace is speaking of the grace that is in Jesus Christ. The law is fulfilled in Him and grace will reign in its stead.