2 Samuel 7:1-17 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 7:1-17. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
2 Samuel 7:1–2 (NIV)
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 palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
On verses 1-2: When God had given David rest from all his enemies around him, David’s heart was still restless for God. David restlessly dreamed of building a house for the Lord. You can tell what is in a person’s heart by what stirs their heart even when their circumstances are peaceful. Like David, I believe God has placed a dream in your heart to do something significant for His glory. That dream will keep you awake and gnaw at you even when – or especially when – life seems relatively peaceful.
2 Samuel 7:3-17 (NIV)
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”
4 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 and from following the flock to be 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 of the 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 fathers, 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 the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.
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.
On verses 3-17: At first, when Nathan heard David share his dream about building a house for God, Nathan spoke from his own spirit and told David to do whatever he wants (v3). But then the Spirit of God stops Nathan later that night and says, “Wait a minute, Nathan. I’ve got something else to say to David.” (v4) Nathan then shares some game-changing promises from God to David:
– The promise that God would exalt David’s name to be like the names of the greatest men in history (v9)
– The promise that God would provide a safe place for His people Israel (v10-11)
– The promise that God would give David rest from all his enemies (v11b)
– But most importantly, the promise that God would use a descendant of David — one who would come from David’s own body (v12) — to build a house for David (rather than the other way around). That house would not just be a temporary physical building but a kingdom that would last into eternity – “forever” (v13).
Regarding this last promise, we might be tempted to think that the Lord here is talking about Solomon who would succeed his father David as king and eventually build the temple in Jerusalem. But when you read verses 11-16 with New Testament eyes, you will see that God’s promises to David here are not fulfilled in David’s son Solomon (whose kingdom did not last) but rather in the Son of David Jesus Christ, whose kingdom lasts forever.
When the Lord says in verse 14, “I will be his father, and he will be my son”, it’s talking about Jesus (Hebrews 1:5).
When verse 14b says, “When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men”, this is foretelling how Jesus would be punished and flogged for our wrongdoing. And yet God would never stop loving this Son despite all the punishment this Son would endure (v15).
Praise God! Just as David would live and reign forever through Jesus Christ (v16), so we too get to live and reign forever through Jesus Christ.
King Jesus, You are the fulfillment of all these promises the Father spoke to David. You are the Son of God. You are the One who was flogged for our failures. You are the One whose kingdom is forever. Thank You that just as David lives and reigns forever through You, so I too can live and reign forever through You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
