What we read about here in this chapter and the next, go together with what we read in 1 Chronicles 17, and 1 Chronicles 18. They are not recorded in chronological order, rather they are written to let us know about the events which happened after the Ark was brought to Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 6:12-15.
When we read 1 Chronicles 17:1-29, we read the parallel account. There are small variations in the two accounts, but nothing significant. God’s prohibition against David’s intention of building God a house was stated in the form of a question in 2 Samuel, but appears here as a positive commandment forbidding it, the meaning is the same either way.
After settling into his palace and having peace from his enemies, 2 Samuel 8:1-14, David goes to Nathan the prophet and tells him he’s living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God is in a tent, 2 Samuel 7:1-2 / 1 Chronicles 17:1 / Exodus 26:14, that is, a tabernacle. Nathan goes ahead and tells David to do whatever he had planned because God is with him, 2 Samuel 7:3 / 1 Chronicles 17:2.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning Nathan.
‘Here is Nathan is first mentioned, but playing an important part afterward, 2 Samuel 12:1 / 1 Kings 1:10 / 1 Chronicles 29:29 / 2 Chronicles 9:29. From the two last passages it appears that he wrote the history of David’s reign, and a part at least of Solomon’s. His distinctive title is the prophet, that of Gad the seer, 1 Samuel 9:9. He was probably much younger than David. In 2 Samuel 7:3, he spoke his own private opinion, in 2 Samuel 7:4, this was corrected by the word of the Lord.’
Nathan receives word from God concerning David’s idea about building a temple, 2 Samuel 7:4 / 1 Chronicles 17:3, and tells him to go and rebuke David for having such an idea. God says that He had moved in a tent for over four-hundred years with Israel, 2 Samuel 7:4-6 / 1 Chronicles 17:4-6.
He asked, ‘should a house of cedar be built for Him?’ 2 Samuel 7:7 / 1 Chronicles 17:4 / 1 Kings 7:2-3 / 1 Kings 10:17 / 1 Kings 10:21 / Jeremiah 22:14 / Jeremiah 22:23. In other words if God could move in a tent for four-hundred years then, why couldn’t He continue to do so?
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Beams of cedar marked a costly building. The cedar of Lebanon is a totally different tree from what we improperly call the red or Virginian cedar, which supplies the sweet-scented cedar wood, and is really a kind of juniper. The cedar of Lebanon is a close-grained, light-coloured, yellowish wood, with darker knots and veins.’
The way God speaks here clearly tells us that even the temple that Solomon was eventually going to build was never a part of His plan for His people. The Israelites were to use the tabernacle and tabernacle only, throughout their entire history and when they wore it, they were to make another one to replace it. this was God’s plan.
Nathan was to tell David that God raised him up as a shepherd and then anointed him as ruler over His people, 2 Samuel 7:8 / 1 Chronicles 17:8. God was the One who protected him and will give him a great name and God says that He will give David a house, and rest from his enemies, 2 Samuel 7:9-11 / 1 Chronicles 17:9-10. In the context of God is saying, ‘now that we’re on the subject of ‘houses’, let Me tell you about the real spiritual house that I am building’, 2 Samuel 7:11 / 1 Chronicles 17:11.
The reason why God was against having a temple built was because it would give the impression that God was limited to a certain location. David was a man of war and guilty of much bloodshed and David didn’t have the time to build the temple, 1 Kings 5:3-4. Of course, the main reason why God didn’t want a temple built is simply because it was never a part of His plans to do so.
Coffman in his commentary, says the following.
‘Did the Jewish temple have God’s approval? The answer to this question is an unqualified negative. If it had been God’s will, He would never have destroyed it twice! Jesus Christ referred to the temple as ‘a den of thieves and robbers’, Matthew 21:13. It was the temple crowd who engineered the crucifixion of Christ and opposed the preaching of the Gospel. They were not merely thieves and robbers but liars and murderers as well.’
Significantly, the Book of Hebrews bypasses and ignores the Jewish Temple altogether, identifying all of the typical functions mentioned in Exodus, NOT with the temple, but with the tabernacle. Christ himself is the True House, or Temple of God, John 2:10. And that means that the Jewish edifice was the False Temple. The true temple of God today is the ‘spiritual body’ of Christ, namely, his holy church, 1 Corinthians 6:19.
It is no contradiction of this truth that God’s Spirit did indeed, for a time dwell within the temple of Solomon, but Ezekiel gives a dramatic account of how that Spirit left it with the sound of a mighty rushing wind, Ezekiel 11:22-23. Also, God’s command through the prophets for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah cannot be interpreted as God’s approval of the temple.
That command to rebuild the temple is in the same category as Christ’s command to Judas Iscariot to ‘get on with the betrayal’, John 13:27, or the holy angel’s command for Baalam to, ‘go with the men’, Numbers 22:35. It was far too late in Israel’s history to change their infatuation with an earthly temple, Amos 9:11 / Acts 7:47 / Acts 15:16-18.
Nathan was to tell David after he had died, God would raise up David’s offspring to succeed him, 2 Samuel 7:12 / 1 Chronicles 17:11. These words are highly prophetic which concerned the throne of David, which represented the authority of God on earth. God promised David that He would set up his offspring after him and establish his kingdom, 2 Samuel 7:12 / 1 Chronicles 17:11.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In one sense this manifestly refers to Solomon, David’s successor, and the builder of the temple. But we have the direct authority of Peter, Acts 2:30, for applying it to Christ the seed of David, and His eternal kingdom and the title the Son of David given to the Messiah in the rabbinical writings, as well as its special application to Jesus in the New Testament, springs mainly from the acknowledged Messianic significance of this prophecy, Isaiah 55:3 / Acts 13:34.’
God says He, that is, Solomon ‘will build a house for His Name’, 2 Samuel 7:13 / 1 Chronicles 17:12 / 1 Chronicles 22:8. Here He is describing what He would do through this One whom He would eventually raise up after David, 1 Chronicles 17:1-15. A careful reading of this prophecy shows us there were two promises made. God would set up David’s descendants upon his throne, 2 Samuel 7:13 / 1 Chronicles 17:12.
The use of the words ‘his’ and ‘he’, 2 Samuel 7:13-14 / 1 Chronicles 17:11-12, tells us this is an individual, although there is a secondary fulfilment of the prophecy that referred to the Messiah. Obviously, the first individual to sit on David’s throne would be his son, Solomon, 1 Kings 8:16-20, but the fuller fulfilment is found in Christ, John 1:12 / Ephesians 1:20-22 / 1 Timothy 3:15 / Hebrews 3:6 / Zechariah 6:12-13. This reference to ‘I will be his father, and he will be my son’, 2 Samuel 7:14 / 1 Chronicles 17:13, also speaks about the Messiah who would come in the future, Psalm 2:7 / Psalm 89:26-27 / Acts 13:33 / Hebrews 1:5-7.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The words forever, emphatically twice repeated in 2 Samuel 7:16, show very distinctly that this prophecy looks beyond the succession of the kings of Judah of the house of David, and embraces the throne of Christ according to the Angel’s interpretation given in Luke 1:31-33, where the reference to this passage cannot be mistaken. This is also brought out fully in Psalms 89:29 / Psalms 89:36-37. See also Daniel 7:13-14 / Isaiah 9:6-7 / Jeremiah 23:5-6 / Jeremiah 33:14-21 / Ezekiel 34:24 / Zechariah 12:7-8 / Hosea 3:5, etc.’
Notice that God says, ‘when he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands’, 2 Samuel 7:14. These words are applied to David but in Hebrews 1:5, this text is applied to Christ. In 1 Chronicles 17:13 / 1 Chronicles 22:9-10 / 1 Chronicles 28:6, it is expressly appropriated to Solomon.
Although the N.I.V uses the word, ‘when’ which implies that this person will do wrong, the K.J.V. correctly uses the word, ‘if’, which implies this person has the choice to do wrong. The point is that this verse isn’t speaking about Solomon, it’s speaking about the Christ, Isaiah 53:5. God says His love will never be taken away from him, as He took it away from Saul, whom He removed from before David, 2 Samuel 7:15 / 1 Chronicles 17:13.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The family of Saul became totally extinct, the family of David remained till the incarnation. Joseph and Mary were both of that family, Jesus was the only heir to the kingdom of Israel; he did not choose to sit on the secular throne, he ascended the spiritual throne, and now he is exalted to the right hand of God, a PRINCE, and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins, 2 Samuel 7:25.’
Notice God also said, ‘your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever,’ 2 Samuel 7:16 / 1 Chronicles 17:14. There’s no misunderstanding of what God means here, and Who He is referring to. This is all about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who is the One who would sit upon David’s throne, not to Solomon, Psalms 16:10 / Acts 2:25-31.
God is speaking about the Messiah, who in the future would sit on his throne and rule, Psalm 110:1 / Acts 2:34 / 1 Corinthians 15:26-28 / Ephesians 1:20-22. The immediate fulfilment of the prophecy refers to Solomon, but David knew that this was speaking about Someone way beyond his heirs, we know that David knew these words referred to Someone who was coming sometime in the future because he says so himself, 2 Samuel 7:19 / Psalm 89:34-37 / Acts 2:30. We are told that Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation, 2 Samuel 7:17 / 1 Chronicles 17:15.
When David goes to speak to the Lord while sitting, 2 Samuel 7:18 / 1 Chronicles 17:16 / Exodus 17:12 / 1 Kings 8:22 / 1 Kings 8:54-55. Notice he uses the words, ‘Sovereign LORD’ on several occasions. He begins by asking, ‘who am I?’ 2 Samuel 7:18 / 1 Chronicles 17:16.
This tells us that David fully understood the enormity of the prophecy concerning his house. He obviously didn’t understand the prophetic references concerning the Messiah who was to come, 1 Peter 1:10-12, but he did understand that God was going to do great things through his descendants to accomplish something incredible, 2 Samuel 7:18-19 / 1 Chronicles 17:17.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following, concerning 1 Chronicles 17:17 / 2 Samuel 7:19.
‘Does he refer to the promise made to Adam, The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent? From my line shall the Messiah spring, and be the spiritual and triumphant King, for ever and ever, 2 Samuel 7:25.’
It’s clear that David is incredibly thankful and humbled that God was going to use him and his family to create a wonderful future for Israel as a whole, 2 Samuel 7:20-21 / 1 Chronicles 17:18-19. He says there is no God like Him, 2 Samuel 7:22 / 1 Chronicles 17:20, and there is no other nation like Israel whom God redeemed from Egypt, 2 Samuel 7:23 / 1 Chronicles 17:21-22. It was God who established them as His people and He has become their God, 2 Samuel 7:24 / 1 Chronicles 17:23.
He boldly prayed to God from his heart and asks God to just do what He promised He would do, 2 Samuel 7:25-26 / 1 Chronicles 17:23-24. Because God said He will build a house for him, David too courage to pray to God the way he did, 2 Samuel 7:27 / 1 Chronicles 17:25. He knew that God was God, 2 Samuel 7:28 / 1 Chronicles 17:26, and that every word which comes from His mouth are true, 2 Samuel 7:29 / 1 Chronicles 17:27 / Psalm 119:160 / Proverbs 30:5 / John 17:17, David knew that God can be trusted.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following concerning David’s prayer.
‘There’s no doubt that David’s prayer was a plea on behalf of his physical posterity, but God’s answer to such a prayer uttered by a faithful and loving parent must always depend to a great extent upon the descendants of such a parent. When the physical descendants of David became wicked and reprobate, they, along with all of the apostate nation, were displaced and punished by their exile in Babylon. However, there were two very significant ways in which God answered this prayer.’
1. The descendants of David were indeed continued upon the earth ‘before the Lord’ until, in the fullness of time, the terminal heir to David’s throne, namely, Joseph the son of Jacob, was able to pass it on to Christ the Messiah, who was the legal heir of Joseph, but not his literal son, Matthew 1:16.
2. The other way consisted in the continuity of David’s personal descendants through his son Nathan until Jesus Christ was born miraculously of the Virgin Mary, whose husband Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli, Mary’s father, Luke 3:23, the daughter of Heli, directly descended from David through Nathan.
Thus in this manner, David’s house was continued ‘forever’, 2 Samuel 7:29 / 1 Chronicles 17:27, before the Lord, especially in consequence of the fact that Christ himself and the total of that Israel, of all races and kindreds of men, which constitutes his ‘spiritual body’ are also reckoned in the ‘house of David’, Matthew 1:1.