2 Samuel 7:1-17

The Davidic Covenant: An Everlasting Kingship Promised

The very first line in the New Testament comes from Matthew 1:1 “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The covenant that God makes with David here in 2 Samuel 7:1-17 pierces through the pages of Scripture and culminates in the life of Jesus Christ.

This is not merely a promise to David but a promise that reaches back to Genesis 3:15 with the promise of a great and triumphant Redeemer who will crush the snake’s head. David is provided a glimpse of this blessed hope.

a proper perspective (vv. 1-3)

a problematic presumption (vv. 4-7)

a prophetic proposal (vv. 8-11)

a providential promise (vv. 12-17

[1] a proper perspective (vv. 1-3)

2 Samuel 7:1–3“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.””

The parallel account to this narrative is found in 1 Chronicles 17:1-27. David finds himself where no other judge or king of Israel has. The Lord Himself has given unto David rest from all of his enemies. It was a befitting era considering the fact that Jerusalem, the City of Peace, has been conquered.

This is the same rest that was given to Joshua in Israel’s first conquest of the land. We are told in Joshua 11:23 “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.”

The Hebrew word for rest is where we derive Noah’s name. As Noah found rest in the ark from the great deluge in wiping out sinful humanity, David has rest from the wicked and rebellious, anti-Christian, anti-God, nations around him. And this word for rest indicates that God is the one who brought it about. It refers to the cessation of all hostilities, true Shalom and true peace is given but solely based upon the Lord’s active involvement in the life of His beloved people.

The idea of rest in a sinful world is benign and unknown to us as Christians. Yet, this is but a foretaste of the eternal rest which will be given to those whose name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We are told in Romans 8:19 “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” The entire creation anticipates and looks forward to the ultimate rest and the eternal Sabbath.

Even now, the Lord gives us a type of rest from our own enemies. We see this in the participation of the sacraments, particularly, the Lord’s Supper. Psalm 23:5 tells us, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Even amidst the presence of our own enemies, God prepares a table for you. Despite the barrage of spiritual warfare, the Lord provides His people with temporary rest on the Sabbath day as a picture of the greater things to come.

David, in recognizing the irony that he is dwelling in a magnificent palace and God merely dwells in a tent demonstrates that he has the proper perspective when it comes to the Lord. Why should we gain? Why should we benefit?

To dwell means to have a resting place but also implies ruling and reigning. It is as if David says, “How can I, a sinful man, be dwelling, reigning, and ruling, yet the Lord is placed in a substandard location amidst the ark?” And so Nathan, in recognizing this, adds, to do what is in David’s heart. Do according to the very seat of your own affections and emotions, David. As we discussed previously, David was joyful in his God-centered worship, and therefore comes to the conclusion that even more worship should be given to the Lord.

Do we have the same response toward the Lord? Do we recognize our worth and unworthiness compared to His worth and holiness? Do we have a proper perspective when coming to the Lord in holy, reverent, and glorious worship?

We have looked first at a proper perspective, and secondly, we will look at a problematic presumption.

[2] a problematic presumption (vv. 4-7)

2 Samuel 7:4–7“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 [dwelled] 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?” ’”

The Lord sees the heart of David, yet explains the problem with David’s own presumption. First, we are told that the “word of the Lord” comes to the prophet Nathan. “The word of the Lord” is significant in that it is a declaration made to those who were appointed by God, namely, the prophets. This is affirmed in Numbers 12:6 “And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.” Likewise, the prophet Amos responds in 3:7 ““For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.”

The reality that God brings to bear upon David through Nathan, is that the Lord needs no dwelling place in reality. The prophet Isaiah exclaims in Isaiah 66:1“Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?” God’s kingdom and throne is in the heavens above, truly he does not require or need a temple made of human hands.

We also see the lovingkindness in display by the Lord of Hosts. In a way, God has patiently waited for His own people to have rest in the land and to dwell in the land before He “rests” or “dwells.” Yet, even though God did not have a dwelling or resting place, He still went with His people, and paved the path for His people all throughout their wanderings.

Leviticus 26:11–12“I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

Numbers 10:33–36“So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.””

Deuteronomy 23:14 “Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.” God has always been in the business of going before His people.

Likewise, God still makes his dwelling place amongst His own people through the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 6:16 “What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” What glorious truth is it that the Living God dwells in you.

Therefore, as Paul notes, we are not to presume for one minute that becoming a Christian is a free license to sin. God dwells in you, what use is adultery, pornography, hatefulness, divisiveness, theft, covetousness, or any other sinful action? God has chosen you, God has Redeemed you through the blood of Jesus Christ, and God has sealed you with the Holy Spirit.

In verse 7 God continues to explain the problematic presumption of David. God did not require it of Israel. In the ESV, the text uses the term “judges of Israel.” The same word can be translated as “tribes of Israel” as in the NASB and KJV. The important point is that God did not speak amongst any of the tribes or leaders of Israel regarding this dilemma.

However, God did preemptively promise to one tribe the very prophetic proposal he is about to pronounce in the following verses. In Genesis 49:10 we are given but a glimpse into the very purposes that God brings about in the present passage, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

The Hebrew people would have been well aware of the Pentateuch. David, coming from the tribe of Judah, is gifted a God-given guarantee for an eternal reign. This is what we will explore next.

We have looked first at a proper perspective, second, a problematic presumption, and thirdly, a prophetic proposal.

[3] a prophetic proposal (vv. 8-11)

2 Samuel 7:8–11“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.”

Recall David’s early beginning as the future King of Israel. We are told in 1 Samuel 16:11–12 of his own low beginning. He was the youngest of the sons of Jesse. Later, we are told in Psalm 78:70 “He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds;” God explicitly chose David to be the Messianic bearer of the prophecy proclaimed to the tribe of Judah in Genesis 49:10.

We also see in the life of David a shepherd after the heart of God. This was and still is a critical theme amongst those who lead the people of God through ministry. In Jeremiah 3:15 ““ ‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” and in Jeremiah 23:4 “I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.” God will provide the people with true shepherds of the flock, the under shepherds of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The great Shepherd to come is likewise given through prophecy. Isaiah 40:11 “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

Ezekiel 34:15 “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.”

Micah 5:4 “And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.”

David’s lowly beginning as a meager shepherd pointed to the fact that the coming everlasting Kingdom of God through the King of kings, would also serve as the Lord’s Shepherd.

What will the Lord do? The first promise God makes is “I will make for you a great name.” David’s name was already great. He was the great military conquerer and king of Israel. But to make David’s name great looked backward to the promises given to Abraham.

Regarding Abraham’s initial calling, Genesis 12:2 “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”

Regarding Abraham’s offspring, the child of promise, Isaac, Genesis 17:16 “I will bless [Sarah] her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.””

It also points forward to the ministry of Ezekiel. No remember, David has already died before this is proclaimed, just to set a bit of the context: Ezekiel 37:25–27 “They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

None of this is new. None of this is God changing what he has already established. Rather, God is building upon the framework or the groundwork for what has been promised in the covenant of grace.

The second promise God makes is that David shall have rest from all of his enemies (v. 11). This was unheard of for Israel. They have been in a constant state of warfare since their beginnings. To have no enemies would nearly imply that sin has lost its dominion and reign over mankind. Once again, it is pointing to the everlasting peace given in the New Heavens and the New Earth as believers are benefactors of the perfect obedience and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We live as a people entrenched in total warfare. It is spiritual primarily, though some are involved in physical warfare. Nonetheless, the Lord is the one who goes before us and fights our own battles. This is the eager anticipation Paul talks about in Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Yet how does he conclude? Romans 8:24–25“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Patiently wait and endure for the Lord is with you. It is a guarantee and a promise. Even the Lord Jesus exclaims, “Behold, I am with you until the end of the age.” Why be downcast if the Lord is preparing you for an eternal glory?

The third promise God makes is that David will have a house. We are far removed from what house meant back that. It was not merely a dwelling place. House meant dynasty. It needs to be thought of as the Lord making a dynasty from David. Which brings us to the last point as,

We have looked first at a proper perspective, second, a problematic presumption, third, a prophetic proposal and finally, a providential promise

[4] a providential promise (vv. 12-17)

2 Samuel 7:12–17“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.”

Like all prophecy, the words proclaimed by the Lord are not happening linearly. Prophecy occurs like concentric circles around one another. Part is fulfilled, the other part is not. It tends to circle back upon itself and pick up certain themes as it gains momentum and escalates.

The Lord explains that after David has died, his own offspring will be established. This is fulfilled first in Solomon. 1 Kings 8:20 “Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”

Yet it is fully realized and accomplished in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 89:29 “I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.”

Psalm 132:11–12“The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.””

Even when we come to the Messianic promises found in Isaiah, the prophet proclaims,

Isaiah 9:7 “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Isaiah 11:1–3“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,”

This is precisely what the Lord Jesus Himself poses to the people in Matthew 22:42–44“saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?” Peter, likewise, carries this along, Acts 2:30 as well.

This very kingdom will be an everlasting and eternal kingdom. The Hebrew word translated as “forever” is tied into eternity. This kingdom will have no end. Solomon’s kingship had an end just as the Solomonic temple had an end, Christ’s kingdom has no end. John 2:19–22“Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”

The eternal kingdom of Christ was prophesied to Mary as well, Luke 1:31–32“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,” Jesus brings about the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.

Of note, and a challenging part of this prophecy is found in verse 14. Both Jesus and Solomon are in mind. “When he commits iniquity” refers to Solomon’s own shortcomings as king. Once again, this is a twofold prophecy. Solomon is the one who will in fact commit iniquity and be disciplined accordingly. As the prohibition against having many wives lest they turn the kings heart from the Lord comes to pass, Solomon’s kingship ends. Yet, because of the covenant made with David, the promise of an heir on the throne is seen in in 1 Kings 11:13.

This will spark the complexity within the kingdom as the era of wicked kings runs amuck and Israel is later divided then taken into captivity.

In contrast to Solomon, Jesus Himself does not commit iniquity yet is disciplined and bears the sins of His own people for their iniquity. 1 John 3:5 “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.” Jesus Kingdom is forever Revelation 11:15 “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.””

This providential promise is absolutely grounded and guaranteed all throughout the Old and New Testament. Again the Psalmist exclaims,

Psalm 89:28 “My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.”

Psalm 89:34 “I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.”

The Lord Himself, as He does here, promises an infallible and unending guarantee that this covenant will be fully made manifest. Likewise, in the New Testament we are told”

Acts 13:34–37“And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore he says also in another psalm, “ ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.”

Hebrews 1:8 “But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.”

David died and stayed in the grave. Jesus died but rose again. By His resurrection, His eternal Kingdom was firmly established. Jesus Himself tells us that the Solomonic kingdom was but a foreshadow of what was to come:

Matthew 12:42 “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

Indeed, Jesus is greater than Solomon. Just as the temple complex would be destroyed and never built again, so also would Jesus’ be destroyed but rebuilt by way of His resurrection. The failure of the kings would lead Israel, the people of God, into exile, yet Jesus Himself as our true King leads us out of exile into the New Heavens and the New Earth.

How does the Davidic covenant encourage us as Christians? What hope does it bring?

It encourages us because Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father. He is seated meaning His work is finished. The earth is His footstool. He is reigning and ruling and therefore sovereign over all things. When the mundane parts of life are overbearing, when we are afflicted, mocked, and scorned by family, co-workers, and friends, Jesus is still reigning and ruling.

Our circumstances change, but Christ’s rule does not. He leads and guides us. He has gone before us. He has paved the way of Redemption. Now walk the road. Be not distracted as Christian was in the Pilgrim’s Progress, allured away from the road to the celestial city by sinful endeavours and desires. Rather, look to Christ your king. Walk to His kingdom which has no end.