The Lord Establishes a Covenant with David
7:1 The king settled into his palace, for the Lord gave him relief from all his enemies on all sides.
King David was now living in his new palace in Jerusalem. At this time, Israel was living in peace and safety.
7:2 The king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of God sits in the middle of a tent.”
This is the first introduction of Nathan the prophet. King David informed the prophets that David was living in a palace made of cedar, while the ark of God was sitting in a tent.
7:3 Nathan replied to the king, “You should go and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”
Notice that David or Nathan did not ask God His will on this matter. Nathan saw no harm in building the temple.
7:4 That night the Lord told Nathan,
Jehovah spoke to Nathan that same night.
7:5 “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in?
Nathan was to give a message to David. Jehovah asked this question, expecting a “no” answer. God was omnipresent, living everywhere. He did not need a temple. Many of the other foreign false gods demanded temples, but not Jehovah. He was everywhere at once and he wanted this known by all nations.
7:6 I have not lived in a house from the time I brought the Israelites up from Egypt to the present day. Instead, I was traveling with them and living in a tent.
Jehovah never lived in a cedar house, nor did He ever request to do so. During the Exodus, God traveled in a tent for the sake of Israel. His Shechinah Glory was present in the tent, but God was omnipresent over all of the universe.
7:7 Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?”’
God never asked Israel to build him a temple.
7:8 “So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you leader of my people Israel.
God made David the shepherd of Israel.
7:9 I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth.
Jehovah was the strength behind David. Jehovah would now make David more famous than any man on earth.
7:10 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle them there; they will live there and not be disturbed any more. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning
Jehovah will eventually fulfill this prophecy. He will eventually establish Israel in her land and she will never be attacked again by violent nations. This prophecy will be fulfilled during the Millennial Kingdom.
7:11 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that he himself will build a dynastic house for you.
Instead of David building a house of cedar for Jehovah, Jehovah would build a dynastic house for David.
7:12 When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom.
When David dies, Jehovah will raise up one of David’s sons to succeed him. This son will be revealed later by Nathan as Solomon. Jehovah would establish Solomon’s kingdom.
7:13 He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent.
David’s hands were too bloody to build God’s temple. Therefore, Solomon ouldl build the temple. Solomon’s dynasty would exist forever. Solomon’s dynasty is also David’s dynasty. since David was the father of Solomon.
The Hebrew word for “permanent” is עוֹלָֽם (olam), meaning a very long time. The name of this kingdom will at first be called the Messianic Kingdom. Revelation 20 recorded that the Messianic Kingdom will last for a literal 1,000 years. It will be renamed as the Millennial Kingdom. Therefore, עוֹלָֽם (olam) in this passage means 1,000 years.
7:14 I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings.
Jehovah would become the father of Solomon. He would correct Solomon when necessary. This verse in the immediate context cannot be talking about Jesus, because Jesus would not sin and would not be corrected for sin.
7:15 But my loyal love will not be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
Saul’s monarchy was removed from his family line, because of disobedience. The monarchy of Solomon would last forever. This does not mean that it cannot be interrupted. It will be interrupted by the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, as explained in the Book of Daniel. When Christ returns at His second coming, then Jesus will fulfill this prophecy during the Millennial Kingdom. David will be raised from the dead to serve as His co-regent over Israel.
7:16 Your house and your kingdom will stand before me permanently; your dynasty will be permanent.’”
Every king wanted an eternal dynasty. King Henry VIII married six wives unsuccessfully to produce a male heir, but he failed. David’s dynasty would go through Solomon and then through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Hebrew word for “permanently” is עוֹלָֽם (olam), meaning a long time. The long time is 1,000 literal years, as mentioned six times in Revelation 20.
7:17 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him.
Nathan revealed God’s plan to King David.
David Offers a Prayer to God
7:18 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point?
David never asked God for an eternal dynasty. King David told God that he was not worthy of this honor.
7:19 And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family. Is this your usual way of dealing with men, O Lord God?
David understood that the prophecy went further than Solomon. More details of this prophecy from a messianic point of view were revealed in 1 Chronicles 7:10-14.
7:20 What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition, O Lord God!
King David was speechless. He did not know how to answer this wonderful news of such special recognition.
7:21 For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant.
This covenant is often called the Davidic Covenant. It is unconditional. God would keep this promise that He made to David, even if the millennialists and postmillennialists disagree.
7:22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true!
David praised Jehovah for His uniqueness.
7:23 Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation on the earth? Their God went to claim a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land, before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods.
God made Israel a unique nation. No other nations were given the opportunities of Israel. God revealed Himself only to the Jews. The Jews recorded Scripture. The Jews would give birth to the Messiah. The Messiah will bless all believing Jews and Gentiles.
7:24 You made Israel your very own people for all time. You, O Lord, became their God.
Israel can never be destroyed as a nation, because of the promises of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants.
7:25 So now, O Lord God, make this promise you have made about your servant and his family a permanent reality. Do as you promised,
David asked God to execute His divine plan.
7:26 so you may gain lasting fame, as people say, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel!’ The dynasty of your servant David will be established before you,
God made a promise to David and to Israel. God must keep this promise, or He is a liar. Therefore, God must resurrect David from the dead and make him king of the land. God must raise up the believing Israelites and plant them in the land of Israel. During the Millennial Kingdom, the name of God will not be blasphemed and censored. His name would be well-known throughout the entire Millennial Kingdom era.
7:27 for you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have told your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’ That is why your servant has had the courage to pray this prayer to you.
Jehovah is the master of the angelic army. He promised that He would build David a dynasty, so David believed that God would keep His promise.
7:28 Now, O sovereign Lord, you are the true God! May your words prove to be true! You have made this good promise to your servant!
Jehovah is sovereign. He is the true God. God keeps His promises. God will keep this promise as well.
7:29 Now be willing to bless your servant’s dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant’s dynasty be blessed on into the future!”
David asked God to bless the dynasty of David. The seed of David will rule for 1,000 years during the Millennial Kingdom. The seed of David will be fulfilled in the Messiah, which is Jesus.
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Appendix: The Davidic Covenant
2 Samuel 7 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible, because it gives the details of the Davidic Covenant. 1 Chronicles 7:10-14 gives more of the details of the messianic aspects of the covenant. Listed below is some of Dr. Fruchtenbaum's insights on this issue:
The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 17:10b–14 is very similar, yet there are significant differences. In II Samuel the son is immediate; in I Chronicles he is distant. In II Samuel the son is a sinner; in I Chronicles there is no mention of sin. In II Samuel the reference is to Solomon; in I Chronicles the reference is to Messiah.
The three promises of II Samuel are repeated here, but a fourth is also added: an eternal son. “I will settle him in my house forever.” David’s line will eventually culminate in the birth of an eternal Person whose eternality will guarantee David’s dynasty, kingdom and throne forever.
Previously “the seed” was to be born of a woman, Abraham, Jacob and Judah. Now we are told which family within the tribe of Judah—the family of David; Messiah is to be a son of David. This automatically requires that Messiah come prior to 70 a.d. since, in that year, all of Israel’s genealogical records were destroyed along with the Temple by the Romans. Within a few decades of 70 a.d., it was impossible to prove who was a son of David and who was not.
There is one further limitation placed upon the descent of Messiah. We are told that He will come from one of David’s sons, but in Jeremiah 22:24–30 we are told of one family, cursed by the prophet, which was excluded. This is the family of Coniah, also known as Jeconiah or Jehoiachin. Because of the kind of man that he was in the days of Jeremiah, God pronounced a curse on him. The curse, given in Jeremiah 22:30, is that no descendant of Jeconiah will ever have the right to sit on the Throne of David. Messiah therefore had to be born a son of David but apart from Jeconiah.
We are told in Matthew’s Gospel that Joseph, husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a son of David via Solomon and Jeconiah. He and his children were therefore under God’s curse and would never fall heir to the Throne of David. Luke’s Gospel clearly gives Jesus’ lineage as being via Mary back to Nathan and David and, therefore, proves the legitimacy of Jesus’ claim to be Messiah.