It's Biblical: 2 Samuel 7

It's Biblical • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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A great prophetic word of a future king in the line of David but first it is important to understand how this interaction of Yahweh and David for in the context of Samuel. This study is a look into the interaction of David around building a house for God.

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The Daily Text:

Acts 26:24–25 NIV

At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.” “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable.

Acts 26:

CONSIDER THIS

The gospel is neither rational nor reasonable. Yet it is true. The idea that the Creator God of all the cosmos would become a human being and allow himself to be murdered by the people he created . . . and rise from the dead . . . is neither rational nor reasonable. Yet it is true.

Why must we try to dress the truth in the garments of perceived plausibility? It is implausible, but it is true.

Why do we insist that truth must pass the test of reasonability and plausibility instead of allowing truth to define those things? I think it is because we want our truth to be within our control, manipulation and management. We want truth to be scientifically verifiable to the point that it requires nothing resembling faith.

Paul said, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” .

Have you come to this realization yet?

THE PRAYER

COME HOLY SPIRIT!

THE QUESTION

So how about you? Do you tend to try and press the gospel into your own mold of what seems reasonable and plausible? If so, why? Or are you growing in your comfort level with “the foolishness of the cross?”

Introduction

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2 Samuel 7 NIV

After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 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. 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?” ’ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 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 on earth. 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 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: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ” Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human! “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight. “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Background of Samuel

So anything that I offer right now in a few minutes is overly general and simplified but I do want to give some background as it pertains to and our work in that text.

There are a lot of complications to the story in that there are probably 3 primary sources. We can tell because as you read through the book there are changing views on even the idea of a king.

The structure of Samuel is around 4 main characters and the changing of Kingship throughout 3 individuals. The prophet Samuel is a pivotal piece of the story as he takes on this role in the failures of Eli’s sons. The story at the beginning of Samuel picks up largely where the book of Judges leaves off. Everything is a mess even in the priestly line. Israel wants a king and they make it clear time and time again. Eventually they get their king, Yahweh honors their wishes and gives them Saul. He is with Saul and blesses this kingship until Saul turns away from God. God in turn abandons Saul, so to speak. So now Yahweh through the prophet Samuel turns to the new king. In the descent of Samuel, there is the ascent of David the anointed one. Until finally David’s kingship overtakes that of Saul’s. Even Saul’s children are in David’s corner. Parts of the Saul fall from grace is harsh at times and we dont have all the details, and then other parts Saul is a hot mess. Then we have David’s continue rise and eventually his rule under the curse from the Bathsheba episode. Even in his failures God sticks it out with David and promises to stick with his household. Then Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba. What is interesting is even in David’s curse Solomon is spared while the other sons go nuts. Solomon’s reign is a topic of 1 Kings...

The structure of Samuel is around 4 main characters and the changing of Kingship throughout 3 individuals. The prophet Samuel is a pivotal piece of the story (and his corrupt family including Eli his father). The story at the beginning of Samuel picks up largely where the book of Judges leaves off.

Main theme: Election:

The book of Samuel works to legitimize several of Israel’s core institutions by asserting that God elected or chose them. For example, it recounts the priest Eli’s lack of perception (), the wickedness of his sons (2:12-17, 22-25), and the prediction of an anonymous prophet (2:27-36). These passages work together to legitimize Solomon’s later rejection of the family of Eli and his choice of the family of Zadok (, ) to serve as Jerusalem’s priests. The behavior of the ark indicates that God has chosen Jerusalem as the site of the chief sanctuary, not Shiloh (). Moreover, God chose David and his line as the true kings, not Saul and his descendants (6:21, 7:8). God’s hidden involvement in the succession to David’s throne indicates that God specially elected the royal line of Judah. The story of David’s successful altar on the threshing floor outside Jerusalem Temple (24:18-25). These divine acts of election attest that, although Israel may undergo radical changes and reversals, God’s selection of them as a people holds firm (1 Samuel 7:23-24; ).

(The Historical Books by Richard Nelson, p. 128. My book. )

This includes.....

election of priestly line

election of kingship

election of Jerusalem

establishment of the temple

If I say election again, some of you might accuse me of being a calvinists. The sovereignty of God is on full display here.

Background of immediate context:

Things are a mess and then the death of Saul and Jonathan take place....the loss of Jonathan is hard and the death of Saul should have brought about relief for our hero, David, but the followers of Saul are trying to kill David too. However, by the time we make it to David is at the height of his political and war campaign defeating any enemies that are attacking him.

What did you find?

1. Look for themes

2. Can you break it apart into thematic sections?

3. Repetition, comparison, other literary devices?

4. What questions do you have about the passage?

5. Journal a couple of paragraphs....anyone want to share?

Structure: Who Builds the House?

I chose this passage because of easier breaks in the narratives but very clear literary implications in these breaks....Do you see the breaks?

Let me build you a house, God (7:1-3)

God Rebukes David (7:4-17)

God Rebukes David (7:14-17)

God: From the beginning... (7:4-11b)

God: …and Until the End of time (7:11c-17)

Humbled David (7:18-29)

Prayer of Honesty (7:18-27)

Benediction (7:28-29)

Draw chart on board.

Major Divisions:

See attached chart for descriptive layout. I found that there is a major division in this segment following verse 3 and verse 17. The opening section acts as an introduction of sort as David shows some motive to want to build God a dwelling place. The next section presents God’s response to David and then the final major section is David’s humbled response. These divisions are fairly obvious breaks and the simplicity plays to the conversation that is happening between God and David. The next breaks within these divisions are not as clear cut but there does seem to be a flow to the argument from God and the response of David.

Literary Structures

A. Contrast

Contrast of what David wants to give/do and the reality of what God has done and will do. The implication is that David wants to do something for God and God spends the rest of the section explaining that He is the major mover.

David:

V. 2: “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”

V. 7: “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” While this is God speaking and saying that he has never asked for this, it does imply again what David wants to do for God.

God:

V. 1: “Lord had given him rest from all of his enemies.”

V. 6: “I brought up the people….”

V. 8: “I took you from the pasture…”

V. 9: “I have been with you….”

V. 9: “and have cut off all your enemies from before you…”

V. 9: “and I will make for you a great name…”

V. 10: “and I will appoiont a place for my people…”

V. 10: “and I will appoint a place for my people…”

V. 11: “from the time I appointed judges…”

V. 11: “and I will give you rest from all of your enemies.”

V. 12: “I will raise up your offspring…”

V. 12-13: “and I will establish his kingdom…and I will establish the throne…”

V. 14: “I will be his father…I will chasten him…”

(David responds in humility to all that God has done)

V. 20: “Thou knowest thy servant…”

V. 21: “thou hast wrought all this greatness…”

V. 22: “thou art great…none like thee…”

V. 23: “making himself a name, and doing for them great and terrible things, by driving out…”

V. 24: “didst establish for thyself thy people…and thou didst become their God.”

There is causative movement here that I will argue as we continue.

B. Contrast by recurrence:

There is a repetition of the house and dwelling in the text which leads to a contrast of the house that David is able to build and the house that God will build.

I am not pointing all the verses out here, but a recurrence of house and dwelling. A difference between the house that David will build and God will. What is intended by this comparison? Well think about it…at the heart of this is the temporary house that David will build, though it may be grand and something to see it is temporary....The house that God will build will be something else. and within this is this.....

C. Climax:

There is a movement and a heightening from David’s proposal to build a house for God to dwell in that leads to God responding and eventually a climax when God declares that He intends to build house that will last forever.

V. 2: “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”

—>

V. 5: “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?”

—>

V. 11b (climactic statement): “Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.”

V. 13: “He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

Interpretation:

In exegetical interpretation I want to explore something very specific. Even as you study some of scripture, look at one verse....what does it mean to be perfect in ? What is the meaning of “deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me?”

My interpretation of the climactic statement in 11-12

What is the theological significance of this climactic response from God to build the house?

This segment is centered around a dialogue between two major players; God and David, with Nathan only mentioned briefly. Interestingly, the author chooses to insert a break in the action of the book to slow down and highlight an important conversation and a unprecedented rebuke of the hero, David. First, the segment opens with David living content in a luxurious house built of cedar and what appears to be some conviction of the tent that God is “living” in. I think it is up to the interpreter to consider the motive of this conviction from David to understand the significance of God’s forceful response. Then, if it is not clear that God responds aggressively then the reader will begin to understand the weight when looking at the sudden humility from David in his prayer to close the segment. God’s declaration to David causes a complete retraction for previous plans and David prays for God’s will moving forward.

I think it is important to see this segment in the greater context of the book of Samuel and the journey that David has already been on. Previous to this event there is quite a bit of chaos in the narrative. Just a few chapters earlier, David has learned of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. The death of Saul, however, does not stop the fighting as Saul’s followers are still intent on fighting David for some time. God continues to provide for David and deliver his enemies into his hands and then when there is finally a bit of peace in the land, the text shows David in a new home and wanting to build God one too. There are several possibilities, in my opinion, to David’s motive here. Perhaps, David innocently feels guilty for the dichotomy of the tent of God’s dwelling and his new cedar home. It is also interesting that the ark has just been brought to Jerusalem and David is in the height of his political/military campaign. It is almost as if he is trying to “secure” his kingdom by giving God a permanent dwelling place where he is. Consistently this is what you would find in the greater culture of the Ancient Near East—namely, that kings would build a shrine to point to their achievements and their authority moving forward. David’s building of a place for the ark could be just a shrine that points to himself. Furthermore, it could be that God was upset with the motive and not the act of building a place for the ark. So what could David’s motive be?

No matter the intention, it is clear that God feels the need to remind David who is in charge and who is the one that makes things happen. God begins his rebuke with a blunt historic reminder of all He has done up to this point before He ever gets to his own plan. Then, finally he says that it is not David who will build a house that will secure the kingdom, rather it is himself that will establish a kingdom forever. This clearly surpasses the power and weight of David’s small dream.

So, not only is God making it clear that He is the one who establishes the kingdom, but He is also making it clear that there will be a descendent that will build the house that God dwells in and it will not perish. This seems to be a prophetic word of the coming son of David, Jesus, that will come and build the house. This becomes even more clear as God says he will “be my son.” This prophecy is a huge theological marker for the modern audience, but to David and the original audience this is at least a continuation of covenantal promises between Yahweh and His people.

The New American Commentary: 1, 2 Samuel (6) The Lord Makes Eternal Promises to the House of David (7:4–17)

Brueggemann sees it as “the dramatic and theological center of the entire Samuel corpus” and in fact “the most crucial theological statement in the Old Testament.”

This is a theological marker that the NT authors would look immediately back to. Critical prophetic verses like , and here become these texts that are fully realized in Jesus. This is why so many in NT grab onto Jesus being the son of David. jumps right in there....

Matthew 1:1 NIV

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

This is a profound statement that would grab the hearts immediately. Other places, of course, go there too: , , , just to name a few. This interaction with God, I believe, is what has convinced David that there is another one coming that will do everything promised and inspires … (Yahweh says to adonai). And what is amazing about this prophetic stance is it becomes partially true in Solomon, but fully true in Jesus. Deeper meaning of the text is 1000 years from development. However in its development the words of God to David become less of prophetic vision and concrete.—established throne forever is not just “prayer language” Jesus makes it clear....he really meant an established throne forever. Finally as to this theological markers, these authors took their cue from Jesus himself as he said things like “I will tear down the temple and rebuild it” (; ; , talking about an eternal throne, and an imperishable kingdom.

The promise comes in the midst of a chaotic time under the leadership of Saul and a frenzied experience following his death. Now as peace settles God strongly reminds the king who is truly in charge while teaching that the kingdom established now will far outlive David.

Application:

What do we do with this? What does this mean for you and me? How does this make your tomorrow different?

In this book, I want to argue a singular point: the Bible is a form of divine communication meant to lead us more fully into the life of God. Put in theological terms, we might say that through the Bible we receive divine revelation, the purpose of which is soteriological. In other words, the purpose of God’s Word is salvation for the world.

The New American Commentary: 1, 2 Samuel (6) The Lord Makes Eternal Promises to the House of David (7:4–17)

Brueggemann sees it as “the dramatic and theological center of the entire Samuel corpus” and in fact “the most crucial theological statement in the Old Testament.”

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