Two Samuel Seven

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

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;

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.

2 Samuel 7:3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.

2 Samuel 7:4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,

2 Samuel 7:5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?

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.

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 an house of cedar?

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:

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.

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,

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 an house.

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.

thy seed. As with many Old Testament prophecies, this remarkable “Davidic Covenant” has both a near and far application. Solomon was David's “seed,” and he did “build an house for my name,” but the ultimate fulfillment is in the greater “Son of David,” the Lord Jesus Christ, who was “a son over His own house; whose house are we” (Hebrews 3:6).

2 Samuel 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

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:

my son. Here is an ancient testimony that this son of David would also be uniquely “the Son of God,” as cited and confirmed in Hebrews 1:5.

commit iniquity. Christ never committed iniquity, but “He was bruised for our iniquities,” for “the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5, 6).

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.

shall not depart. Saul's kingdom was completely removed, but David was not. Even though Solomon's sins resulted in the divided kingdom and ultimately in the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, the covenant was reconfirmed through Christ, who was made of “the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3), entitled legally to David's throne through Solomon (Matthew 1:6-16) and biologically through Mary, the daughter of Heli (Luke 3:23-31).

2 Samuel 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

for ever before. As the angel Gabriel promised Mary: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

2 Samuel 7:17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

2 Samuel 7:18 Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

2 Samuel 7:19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?

2 Samuel 7:20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.

2 Samuel 7:21 For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.

2 Samuel 7:22 Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

2 Samuel 7:23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

2 Samuel 7:24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.

unto thee for ever. It is evident that David understood these promises of the Davidic covenant to apply specifically to the people of Israel, as well as to himself and his promised son. That being so, it is significant that God said nothing to modify this understanding. It is true that eventually God will indeed give “my Son ... the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psalm 2:7, 8), but He also promised Israel that “David my servant shall be king over them; ... And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; ... and my servant David shall be their prince for ever” (Ezekiel 37:24, 25). As Gabriel promised Mary: “He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever” (Luke 1:33).

2 Samuel 7:25 And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.

2 Samuel 7:26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.

2 Samuel 7:27 For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

2 Samuel 7:28 And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:

thy words be true. David's prayer is a marvelous example of God-pleasing prayer, that of simply reciting and claiming God's gracious promises, recognizing first of all that whatever God has said is true, and whatever He has promised, He will do.

2 Samuel 7:29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.