2 Samuel 7

1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”

4 But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:

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? 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. 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?”’

8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 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 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: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by human beings, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:

“Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign LORD, is for a human being!

20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign LORD. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

22 “How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

25 “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

27 “LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Points of Interest

• ‘Nathan the prophet’--it seems we finally have a replacement for Samuel as official court prophet.
• ‘while the ark of God remains in a tent’--it’s not necessarily a shameful thing that the ark is in a tent. As I mentioned yesterday, it’s always been that way. During the time of Moses, God custom-ordered a tent, called the tabernacle or the tent of meeting, from the Israelites; and the ark had been kept in that tabernacle ever since. No one had ever even thought of doing it differently. But as David reflects, he realizes that for the first time ever the Israelites are peacefully settled in the land, and the ark is safe and secure; and now he himself has a beautiful new home. Isn’t it now a little unseemly for God to live in a tent, while the rest of Israel, David very much included, have their own nice houses? Maybe it’s time for God to settle down.
• ‘Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it’--at first, Nathan gives God’s endorsement of this idea. As it turns out, though, God’s not entirely keen on the idea. Does God change his mind? Does Nathan hear wrong? Does Nathan simply assume at first that God would like the idea--why wouldn’t he?--without even asking?
• ‘Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?’--David’s instinct reminds me of when someone wins the lottery or gets their first big contract as a professional athlete and decides to build their mom--who sacrificed all of those years, working two jobs to make ends meet--a dream house. It’s a really nice thought, and I’m sure quite a few of those mothers really appreciate both the new house and the thought behind it. I bet there are others that, in the end, prefer the old family home. God is in the second camp. God hasn’t been sitting around wondering, ‘When is someone going to build me a house?’ God likes the tent.
• ‘I have been moving from place to place’--one of the reasons God likes the tent is the impression it gives of constant movement. God doesn’t, of course, actually live in the tent; nor would God actually live in the temple David wants to build. But to whatever extent these dwellings represent the idea of God being present among us, God prefers the dynamic picture of the tent to the static temple. God doesn’t want to be pinned down to one particular place.
• ‘I took you from the pasture’--God reminds David of their relative importance. Without God, David would just be Jesse’s youngest boy, the butt of his brothers’ jokes, taking care of his father’s sheep. Without David, God would pretty much still be God.
• ‘the LORD himself will establish a house for you’--God is playing on multiple meanings of ‘house’ here. David is offering to give God a house, a temple. If David really understood how their relationship worked, he would instead be asking God for a house, a royal dynasty.
• ‘He is the one who will build a house for my Name’--someday, a descendant of David will indeed build a house for God, but now is not the time and David is not the person.
• ‘When he does wrong, I will punish him’--this can sound like something of a downer. But if you think about it, it’s probably a necessary safety check. God has just promised David and his descendants unconditional backing forever. This might be too much power for a person to handle responsibly, unless they know that there would indeed be consequences if that power were misused.
• ‘Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation’--having spoken prematurely the day before, Nathan is now conscientious to pass along to David only what he has heard from God, and all of what he has heard.
• ‘the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem’--like David, the entire nation of Israel was basically plucked from out of nowhere, with nothing very obvious to recommend them, and chosen as an object of special attention from God. The idea is that they serve as a sort of pilot project. God would practice with and demonstrate with Israel the kind of relationship God eventually wants with every nation. It’s not as if Israel is the only nation God really cares about; but they do have the honor of being picked first.
• ‘Your covenant is trustworthy’--a covenant is a strong and enduring alliance. I liken it to a blood brotherhood; David and God are bound together for the long haul.
• ‘who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family’--David sees that God is, of course, right. David is not the big shot, giving God that big, new house God has always wanted. Rather, David is the humbly grateful recipient of overwhelming benefits from a powerful and good God.

Taking it home

• For you: In this story, we get the picture of David being a little overeager to help and almost over-responsible, as if it’s up to David for good things to happen in the world. We live in a city full of very well-intentioned, successful, driven people; and it’s easy to follow suit without the slightest blink of an eye. What are the ways in which you feel driven? In what areas do you feel a lot of pressure and responsibility? Consider that if there are situations where you feel guilty, worried, and burdened that you’re carrying pressure God might not want you to have. Spend some time thinking about the important plans you have. Ask God to show you what, if anything, you should be doing about them. Maybe his response will be similar to the one he gave David, “Great idea, but not now.” Ask God to make it clear what you are responsible for and what you are not.
• For your six: Pick a few of your six and spend time trying to listen to God on their behalf. What Nathan heard from God for David was quite powerful and also quite different from what he came up with on his own. Like Nathan, if you think you hear something from God, find a way to run it by your six.
• For our church: David finally taking the throne as king brings about a season of rest, stability, and prosperity for the entire country. Ask God for our church to play a part in bringing rest to our city. Pray that our presence would help make our city a place of stability and prosperity for everyone in it.
• For families: Have you ever sensed that God thinks something is a good idea, but doesn’t want you to do it yet? Talk about some of these things with your family, find out what things they have heard are good ideas, but aren’t yet ready to do. These could be big dreams from God or things related to growing up that you might do when you’re older. Discuss how God is preparing you all to take the next step, and pray that each of you could wait well in the meantime.