The New David - His House and Kingdom

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Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build Me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for My dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?” ‘Now, therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over My people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over My people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house… And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me. Your throne shall be established forever’” (2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

In the New Testament, one certainty about the identity of the Messiah is that He is a royal descendant of David. Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus acclaims Him “the Son of David” even before His lineage is given. In the Gospels, those who appeal to Jesus as Christ often refer to Him as the “Son of David.” Jesus compares Himself to David in the narrative of Samuel, where David and his army ate the holy bread from the temple (1 Samuel 21:1-6) to justify allowing His disciples to eat the grain they had plucked from the field on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:3-4; Mark 2:25-26; Luke 6:3-4). Moreover, in a well-known conversation about the Messiah, even Jesus’ opponents acknowledged that Christ is “the Son of David” (Matthew 22:41-46; cf. Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44).

Luke’s narratives leading to Jesus’ birth also emphasize His connection to David. Gabriel announces that Mary’s child will occupy “the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:32). John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, prophesies that salvation is to come from “the house” of God’s “servant David” and that his son will go before “the Lord” to prepare His ways (Luke 1:69, 76). The angel of the Lord announces Jesus’ birth “in the city of David” (Luke 2:11; cf. John 7:42). Paul also emphasizes Jesus’ descent from David (Romans 1:3; 2 Timothy 2:8), and this was no doubt part of his “proving that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 9:22; cf. Acts 17:2-3). In Revelation, Jesus is identified three times as the descendant of David’s house (3:7; 5:5; 22:16).

Of course, this emphasis on the Messiah as the descendant of David follows the trajectory already outlined in the prophets. The identity of the Messiah is so closely bound up with David that at times, the prophets simply call the promised Savior “David” (Jeremiah 9:6-7; Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5). The New Testament affirmation of the Davidic identity of the Messiah certainly draws on the prophets’ depiction of a specific descendant of David as the coming Savior, King, and Shepherd (Isaiah 9:6-7; 16:5; Jeremiah 23:5; 30:9; 33:15; Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24-25). This messianic prophecy connected to David is first seen in our Old Testament lesson from 2 Samuel 7.

For so much of his life, David had been in the business of war and fighting. A courageous warrior, he had carried out some of the most successful military campaigns in Israel’s history. But now he found himself in a unique situation, at least as far as his life was concerned. David experienced a time of rest and peace because “the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies” (2 Samuel 7:1).

As David relaxed and enjoyed his beautiful new palace, truly fit for a king, something struck him as wrong. It didn't seem right that he should be living in such splendor in a palace with walls lined with beautiful cedar while the ark of the Lord was kept in a tent. David determined he would build a house for the Lord! It would be a house of wood and stone—a permanent place for the ark of the covenant to be kept. There was nothing selfish about this thought; he was not out to make a name for himself. He wanted only to glorify God.

David shared his plan for the house of God with Nathan, his good friend and counselor, who also happened to be his pastor. Nathan was most enthusiastic about David’s proposal. “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you” (2 Samuel 7:3). But both David and Nathan had failed to consult the Lord.

That night, the Lord handed down a message for David through Nathan. The message was this: “Are you the one to build Me a house to dwell in? Did I ask you to do this for Me? Is this something I’ve said I’m eager to have done?" These were challenging words for Nathan to pass along or for David to hear. But there was no mistaking what God was saying. His answer was no.

It wasn’t that God was punishing David for something in his past. And it wasn’t that God had no use for David. It was just that it wasn't God's plan that David would build a temple for Him. God had other things for David to do. “David,” he said in effect, “I’ve appointed you to be a king, not a builder of the temple. You have been given the gift of ruling over My people. You’re a man of war, a brilliant military strategist. I’ve blessed you in such a way that all your enemies have been subdued. But your hands are stained with blood, and I want a man of peace to build My temple, a house for My name” (see 1 Chronicles 28:3).

 But God’s no to David in one area was not to be taken as a no in every other area of his life. God sometimes closes one door so He might open another more suited to us.

The Lord then made three promises to David (2 Samuel 7:9b-16).

The first of these promises is that David would have “a great name.” There are only three great names in the Old Testament” Yahweh (the Lord Himself), Abraham, and David. At his call from Haran, Abram was promised a great name (Genesis 12:2). The promise to David of an everlasting kingdom is similar to the promise to Abram that he would be a father of kings (Genesis 17:6). The great patriarch of Israel was also promised a descendant who would be the royal work of conquering the gates of his enemies and through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. In addition, the promise to Abraham included the land of Canaan for the people of Israel (Genesis 12:7; 15:7,18), a promise reiterated to David (2 Samuel 7:10). It is impossible to escape the conclusion that David had been designated Abraham’s heir and had received the same promises first given to the patriarch.

The second promise was that the Lord would “appoint a place” for Israel and “plant” them there (2 Samuel 7:10-11a). This also was part of God’s promise to Abraham. It was fulfilled in part during the days of Israel's conquest of the land under Joshua. However, it would not be wholly fulfilled until God chose a place to put His name and dwelt there (Deuteronomy 12:4-7). The Lord would fulfill this promise by delivering Israel and David from oppressors and enemies and by David's descendant constructing a house for His name (cf., 2 Samuel 7:12-13). With the coming of the ark to Jerusalem, God had already begun the final steps in keeping the promise concerning the land of Canaan, and it was logical that David wanted to complete it by building a temple for the ark that bore God’s name (c. 2 Samuel 6:2; 7:1-2). Eschatologically, the prophets looked even farther ahead to the permanent home of all God's people in the new Jerusalem in the new heavens and new earth.

The third promise (2 Samuel 7:11b-15) concerns God making a “house” for David. The Hebrew word translated "house" can refer to an extended family or household (2 Samuel 7:18), a family domicile (e.g., 1 Samuel 1:19), the tabernacle (1 Samuel 1:7) or a temple (2 Samuel 7:5, 6, 7, 13) as God’s house, or a royal palace (2 Samuel 7:1-2), but the contextual emphasis here is on another of its meanings, a royal dynasty (2 Samuel 7:11, 16, 19, 25, 26, 27. 29).

The Lord would “build a house” for David (2 Samuel 7:11b) and raise up one of David’s descendants (2 Samuel 7:12-15). This descendant would come from David’s “own body” (2 Samuel 7:12a). The Lord would “establish his kingdom” (2 Samuel 7:7a). The descendant would “build a house” for the Lord’s “name” (2 Samuel 7:13a). The Lord would “secure… His kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13b). The descendant would be the Lord’s son, and the Lord would be his father—and would discipline him as a father would (2 Samuel 7:14). The Lord would not remove His “favor” from the descendant as He had from Saul (2 Samuel 7:15). David “house,” “kingdom,” and “throne” would last forever (2 Samuel 7:16). It would be an eternal kingdom.

The immediate fulfillment of those words was that Solomon, David’s son, would oversee the building of the temple. But included in that promise was an even greater promise. God said, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me. Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). Obviously, someone greater than Solomon is meant here. It is none other than Jesus Christ. Of the coming Savior, the prophet Isaiah wrote: "Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His kingdom, establish it and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forever” (Isaiah 9:7). In the days of His ministry, Jesus made it clear: “Behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42).

This promise to David was like the one made to Abraham. Only now was the promise more clearly defined. "David, the Savior will come from your descendant and your throne will be established forever in Him."

Anyone who has ever heard the Christmas story knows how this promise was fulfilled. As the account begins, we hear how Mary and Joseph went down from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, because they both were of the house and line of David. Mary would be the Virgin from when comes the Messiah. Mary will be the mother of Jesus. The promises to David, indeed all the promises of God to His people, were fulfilled when Mary conceived and gave birth to a Son and called His Name Jesus. For indeed, He saved His people from their sin. Christ has come! We are saved!

The new David, Jesus, rode into Jerusalem as king, humble and mounted on a donkey to the shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9). The Son of Man overturned the tables and drove out the moneychangers who had made His Father’s house of prayer a den of thieves (Matthew 21:13). The King of the Jews was nailed to a cross for the sins of the world (Matthew 27:37). As David prophesied, the Lord did not abandon his Son’s soul to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption (Acts 2:30-31). After three days, Jesus raised the Temple of His body from the grave. It rose majestic and beautiful, a holy and precious dwelling place (Matthew 26:61). Having ascended to the Father’s right hand, David’s Son, yet David’s Lord, has put all His enemies under His feet (Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:34). One day, our King will return in glory to raise the living and the dead and take all believers in His name to His kingdom, where we will dwell with Him forever in the new Jerusalem temple.

Go in the peace of the Lord. Serve your neighbor with joy. For Jesus’ sake, you are forgiven for all your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.