When your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
Parallel Translations
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When your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
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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.
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When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy body, and I will establish his kingdom.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Messianic Prophecies (1)
Passages read as foretelling the Messiah, with the fulfillment reading and the counter-reading set side by side.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 7:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 8:20 Yahweh has established his word that he spoke; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
- Acts 2:30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
- 1 Kings 2:1 Now the days of David came near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
- Acts 13:36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.
- 1 Chronicles 17:11 It will happen, when your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your offspring after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.
- Psalms 132:11-12 Yahweh has sworn to David in truth. He will not turn from it: “I will set the fruit of your body on your throne. If your children will keep my covenant, my testimony that I will teach them, their children also will sit on your throne forever more.”
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up and play the prostitute after the strange gods of the land where they go to be among them, and will forsake me and break my covenant which I have made with them.
- Matthew 22:42-44 saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?’
- 1 Kings 1:21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”
- Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
- Isaiah 11:10 It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
- Genesis 15:4 Behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.”
- Psalms 89:29 I will also make his offspring endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
- Isaiah 11:1-3 A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit. Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears;
- Daniel 12:2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 7:12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and…
2Sa 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.
Ver. 12. And thou shalt sleep with thy fathers.] Quando cubitum te contuleris, When thou shalt go to bed. When God’s children have done their work, he sendeth them to bed. {Isa 57:2}
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I will set up thy seed after thee.] Solomen; {1Ch 28:6} as also Christ: for this and the following promises are, some peculiar to Solomon, some to Christ; and some to both, as the types and antitypes.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain When thy days be fulfilled; when the time of…
When thy days be fulfilled; when the time of thy life shall expire. This phrase implies that his days shall be completed and prolonged to the usual course and stint of nature, and not out off in the midst, by any violent or untimely death.
I will set up thy seed after thee; I will set up in thy stead and throne thy posterity, first Solomon, and then others successively, and at last the Messias. So the following words may be understood diversely, part of his posterity in general or indefinitely taken, part of Solomon, and part of Christ only, according to the differing nature of the several passages.
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Out of thy bowels; out of thy inward parts, or from thy loins; who shall be begotten by thee.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when thy days be fulfilled,.... The days of…
And when thy days be fulfilled,.... The days of his life, which were appointed by the Lord for him to live, and when he had filled up the common term of man's life, as he exactly did; for he lived just seventy years, see Sa2 5:4,
and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; die and be buried; for this is a phrase expressive of death, and the grave the common portion of men:
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I will set up thy seed after thee; sons to succeed in the kingdom, as they did for the space of five hundred years; though here it respects one particular seed or son, even Solomon, as appears by what follows:
which shall proceed out of thy bowels; be begotten by him, and born unto him, and has regard to a future son of his not yet born; not Absalom nor Adonijah, nor any of the rest born in Hebron were to succeed him in the kingdom, but one as yet unborn:
and I will establish his kingdom; so that he shall have a long and happy reign, as Solomon had.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And when, &c. - When the time of thy…
And when, &c. - When the time of thy life shall expire. This phrase implies, that his days shall be prolonged to the usual course of nature, and not cut off in the midst, by any violent or untimely death. I will set - I will set up in thy throne, thy posterity, first Solomon, and then others successively, and at last the Messiah. So the following words may be understood, part of his posterity in general, part of Solomon, and part of Christ only, according to the different nature of the several passages.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Sa 7:12. And when thy days are fulfilled, &c.…
2Sa 7:12. And when thy days are fulfilled, &c. — When the time of thy life shall expire. This phrase implies, that his days should be prolonged to the usual course of nature, and not cut off in the midst, by any violent or untimely death. Thy seed, which shall proceed out of thy bowels — This manner of speaking shows that it was intended to be understood of one who was not yet born, namely, Solomon; and that Absalom, Adonijah, and the rest who pretended to the kingdom, were not designed for it, having already proceeded from him. I will establish his kingdom — Solomon reigned a long time himself, and his posterity after him, and the Messiah, his seed, will reign for ever. So the following words may be understood, part of Solomon, part of his posterity in general, and part of Christ only, according to the different nature of the several passages.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The prophet, having detailed God’s past mercies to David,…
The prophet, having detailed God’s past mercies to David, now passes on to direct prophecy, and that one of the most important in the O d Testament.
I will set up the seed - In one sense this mannifestly refers to Solomon, David’s successor and the builder of the temple. But we have the direct authority of Peter Act 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. (See also Isa 55:3; Act 13:34.)
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain I will establish his kingdom. This prophecy partly relates…
I will establish his kingdom. This prophecy partly relates to Solomon; but much more to Christ, who is called the Son of David in Scripture, and the builder of the true temple, which is the Church, his everlasting kingdom, which shall never fail, nor be cast off for any iniquity of her children. (Challoner) --- God passes over all the children whom David had already, 3 Kings ii. 15. The temporal kingdom was enjoyed by David’s posterity for a long time, sufficient to verify the expression for ever, as it is often used in Scripture. (Calmet) --- But the spiritual kingdom of the Messias will last till the end of time, and be perfected in eternity. (Haydock) --- In these predictions we must always distinguish the type from the reality. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain I will set up thy seed after thee, &c.--It…
I will set up thy seed after thee, &c.--It is customary for the oldest son born after the father's succession to the throne to succeed him in his dignity as king. David had several sons by Bath-sheba born after his removal to Jerusalem (Sa2 5:14-16; compare Ch1 3:5). But by a special ordinance and promise of God, his successor was to be a son born after this time; and the departure from the established usage of the East in fixing the succession, can be accounted for on no other known ground, except the fulfilment of the divine promise.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. I will set up thy seed after thee…
12. I will set up thy seed after thee — Here is the germ of those Davidic prophecies of Messiah which come out in greater boldness and precision in some of his psalms. Psalms 2, 110. Thy seed refers primarily to Solomon and his successors, but it reaches on in its prophetic significance, and includes that Greater Son in whom alone the kingdom finds its eternal perpetuity.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. And when] And is not in the Hebrew…
12. And when] And is not in the Hebrew text; perhaps and it shall come to pass, which is found in the LXX., has dropped out. Nathan now passes on from recounting God’s past mercies to Israel and David to a direct prophecy concerning the establishment of David’s house.
I will set up thy seed] First Solomon, who recognises the fulfilment of this promise in his elevation to the throne (1Ki_8:15-20); then the line of David’s descendants who succeeded him on the throne of Judah; and finally Christ, in whom the prophecy reaches its highest fulfilment. See Luk_1:31-33; Act_2:29-31; Act_13:22-23.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) Which shall proceed.—The promise here given certainly has…
(12) Which shall proceed.—The promise here given certainly has immediate reference to Solomon, and it is thought by many that the use of the future shows that he was not yet born. This may be the fact, and if so, the expression will give an important indication of the point in David’s reign to which this passage belongs. But the same expression might have been used after Solomon’s birth, the future tense being merely an assimilation to the futures of the whole passage, and the point of the promise being that David’s son shall succeed to his throne.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Thy seed which shall proceed. As the son is…
Thy seed which shall proceed. As the son is to be established in the kingdom and to build the house, he must be Solomon, who plainly, therefore, was not as yet born (see note on ver. 1). Vers. 12-29. The facts are:
1. The prophet declares to David
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(1) that he shall have a seed who shall build a house for the Lord;
(2) that this successor shall be regarded as a son, and, while the subject of discipline, if needed, shall not be cast off as was Saul; and
(3) that the house and kingdom thus established shall endure forever.
1. David, in response to the message, acknowledges,the condescensionand bounty of God in what he had done and promised.
2. He confesses that all is of the free unmerited loving kindness of God,and regards this wonderful superhuman goodness as being an illustration of the existence of a love transcending all that is known to man.
3. He recognizes the blessedness of Israel in being under the care andguidance of One so supremely good, and in being honoured to be distinctively his people.
4. He prays that the good and glorious things said of his house and ofIsrael may come to pass, and so bring out into public view and forever the glory of God.
5. He concludes with a prayer, based on the faithfulness and goodness ofGod, that grace may be bestowed on the house of David, so that it may fulfil the purpose so graciously formed and now more explicitly revealed.
The testing period, and its rewards.
We have here brought out a contrast between Saul and David. Both were accepted of God. (1Sa_9:15-17 1Sa_16:7-12, 1Sa_16:13) A period of testing was assigned to each of them, and Saul failed in his, (1Sa_13:13, 1Sa_13:14) while David succeeded. (2Sa_7:8-12, 2Sa_7:15) The whole facts show that for each of them, in his official capacity, there was a probation or testing time, which was not coextensive with the duration of life, but sufficient to prove fitness for being the instrument for the furtherance of the Divine purpose of redemption through the Messiah. David was found fit for Divine use, and hence, in the prime of his days, he was assured of the completion of his life"s work and of issues most glorious.
I THE EARLY STAGES OF A CAREER DETERMINE ITS ISSUE. From his call and anointing up to his desire to build a house for the Lord, David had been taking the first steps of his public life; on the whole, he had been wise, devout, loyal to God, zealous for the Divine kingdom among men. The great work of his entire life was thereby virtually ensured. All future successes were now germinal. Saul"s future was blasted because the early testing years were unimproved; David"s future was made sure because his trial had proved his sterling qualities. The years of early manhood carry in them the future of the man. A Christian "found faithful" enters on a wider ministry. (1Ti_1:12) The Church that has kept true in trial is safe in view of future perils. (Rev_3:10-12) The proper use of five talents carries with it the promise of use of ten talents. According to the development of Christian character in the early stages of religious life will be its power and victories unto the very end. The beginnings of things are the ends of things in miniature. Character is a prophecy. Ultimate successes lie hidden in first adjustments.
II THE BLESSED ISSUES OF A PROBATION ARE IN THE ORDER OF NATURE. The bestowment of the honour of being founder of a great line of kings on David was an act of Divine favour, marking approval of his fidelity during the testing time of life; but it was not a mere artificial, arbitrary arrangement. It was the announcement of the fact that God had so ordered things that he, by faithfulness, thus far had acquired the qualities which a holy God could and would use up in bringing to pass his great purposes. Saul was proved naturally unfit to inaugurate a permanent line; David was proved naturally suited for that end. This runs through all things. A sapling that has, in spite of storms, passed well through the ordeals of early life contains within itself the vital qualities which will develop into a perfect tree. It is by force of the virtues and acquirements of the testing time Of early manhood that subsequent achievements are won. The spiritual characteristics of the man "counted worthy" of a ministry explain the triumph of his life"s work; for, though the blessing of God is essential, yet it is the order of nature in the religious sphere that the blessing comes where those characteristics find exercise. The future blessedness of the saints is the outgrowth of the individual character acquired during the earthly period of trial. Continuity, order, and, in proper sense of the term, nature, characterize the succession of events in individual and Church experience from first to last.
III THE ASSURANCE OF FINAL SUCCESS HELPS A TRUE MAN TO ITS REALIZATION. The promise of a "house" and a permanent "kingdom" would not excite vanity and presumption" in David, because he was a true man of God. There is an adaptation in the assurance given to the tested character of the man. It was to David as the warm sun and gentle dew to the good seed hidden in good ground. A true heart responds to God"s love and bounteous gifts by increased devotion. Thus the assurance has a natural tendency in a true heart to fulfil itself. Wherever other tendencies appear, it is evidence that the heart is not right, anti that the assurance is not intended for the individual. The free grace of God and abounding assurances that he will keep his people from falling are never abused except by those who are not children of God (Rom_6:14, Rom_6:15; 2Co_5:14, 2Co_5:15)
The blending of the temporal and the eternal.
The prophecy in vers. 12-16 is not as be regarded as a sudden and isolated revelation of the purpose of God, which burst upon the mind of one who had no previous conceptions of a great purpose being wrought out in the line of human history. All along David was aware of his being used for more than ordinary issues in relation to the great promise made to Abraham. The Aurora Borealis seems, to ignorant men, a disconnected unaccountable phenomenon, but others know it to be a natural occurrence in a beautiful order of things correlated to all else in the material world. In like manner, we now know that this prophecy is part of an order of revelation, coming in at just the right time, and interpretable on principles well ascertained. The temporal and eternal are blended
I IN THE MATERIAL ORDER. The results of research into the constitution and order of material things show that the visible, changeable forms of matter coexist with a permanent something which works in and through them. They vary; it abides. They prepare the way for others of kindred nature and form; it uses up the old and the new and marks out its eternal course by means of them. Men call it force. Possibly, probably, there is a persistent something answering to that name the correlative of our exertion of will power but it, at all events, is only the mode in which the Divine purpose works itself out into visible forms and changes. The temporal and eternal are ever blended.
II IN THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN. The changeful form, the visible appearance, is ever associated with the permanent invisible spirit; the one exists for the other, and is used by the other for expressing its thoughts and purposes. "Mortal and immortal" may be written of man. He comes forth and passes away: he abideth forever. Paradox is true, because the perishable and imperishable coexist and work one through the other.
III IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST. Our Saviour was frail, subject to death; and yet the strong, unchangeable, deathless Son of God. The temporal and eternal were most mysteriously united in him, and the visible and perishable were the vehicle through which the unseen and eternal worked out our redemption. There is language by which men, if they will, can prove his simple humanity, and other language by which they can prove his true Divinity. It is the ignoring of this blending of the temporal and eternal which accounts for certain heresies and perversities of thought.
IV IN THE PROGRESS OF REVELATION. The revelation which God is pleased to give of his will concerning our redemption is intended for the entire race, and adapted in matter and form to the progressive character of the race. It was not given once for all in concise abstract form; nor was its matter and form given to suit the later ages of the world only; it ran along the line of history from the very first, and was suited as time went on to men of diverse ideas and conditions. But from first to last the Divine imperishable truth was blended with the temporal history of men. The natural development of families and nations was the vehicle through or along which, as occasion required, the one unchangeable purpose gradually marked itself out into the clear light that shone in the face of Christ.
V IN THE PROPHETIC REFERENCES TO THE MESSIAH. The duality of temporal and eternal thus seen to run through all things, becomes, therefore, a priori natural in any predictions concerning him whose throne is from everlasting to everlasting. That in vers. 12-16 we have reference to a mortal Solomon, who should build a perishable temple, sit on a visible throne, and hand down to a terminable though long succession of kings an earthly kingdom, is the interpretation required by subsequent facts. That the "seed" refers also to Christ the "Son of David," the house to a spiritual temple, the "throne" and "kingdom" to the absolutely everlasting dominion of Christ over the redeemed people of God, is the sense put on this and kindred passages by the New Testament (Psa_72:17 Psa_89:35-37; cf. Luk_1:31-33, Luk_1:68-79; Heb_1:5-13) That the two references should be couched in one form of expression is natural when we consider
(1) that the temporal and eternal are blended, as just seen, in one form of nature, in one human being, in the one Christ Jesus, and in the one historic revelation;
(2) that this harmonizes with the twofold sense of the prediction made to Abraham (Gen_21:12 Gen_22:17-19; cf. Rom_9:7-9; Acts, Gal_3:26) and with the twofold meaning of our Lord"s words in reference to "the end". (Mat_24:9-14, Mat_24:29-44) The human relationship, the human throne, the possible human frailty, and the human relative permanence, are the lower earthly vehicle by which the Divine and absolutely enduring are set forth and inaugurated.
GENERAL LESSONS.
1. God secures to all his truly faithful ones the realization of their highestand holiest ambitions, as surely as he secured to David the realization of his desire for a seed, and the completion of his life"s work in the establishment of his throne; for he makes life here to issue in the glory, of the kingdom of Christ.
2. It behoves us to remember that there is an eternal element interwoven with common life, and to subordinate everything temporal to its action.
3. The fact that chosen instruments are used in working out eternalpurposes does not exempt them from the frailties of their nature and the corrections necessary to their preservation for the service of God (ver. 14).
4. The chastisement due to the literal son of David for sins of his ownforeshadows dimly the spiritual fact that the great Son of David took upon himself the iniquities of us all, and experienced the "chastisement of our peace
5. The strong and repeated assurances of the universality and permanenceof Christ"s reign should inspire us with calm confidence and untiring zeal.
6. Human fidelity in God"s service is a condition of the progressivebringing into clearer view and nearer realization the glorious end for which all things consist.
The educational influence of God"s great love.
In vers. 18-29 we have described, in broken sentences, the effect on the spirit of David of the marvellous loving kindness of God in having guaranteed unto him such a glorious completion of life"s work, and the unspeakable honour of being associated in name and work with the Redeemer of the world. The real nature of a man is tested in seasons of great prosperity as well as in adversity. David bears the strain. Never in the past history of the world had God spoken so distinctly and emphatically to any of his people of the personal honour he would confer. In the effect of this on David we may see an illustration of the general educational influence of God"s love on his people.
I IT INDUCES INEXPRESSIBLE WONDER. When David had heard the strange words he at once went and "sat" before the Lord! The first impulse was to get near to the visible symbol of the Divine presence, and simply sit still in amazement. That silence held his tongue for a while seems indicated in the embarrassment (ver. 20). What could a devout man do but muse and wonder at the largeness of the grace? There was a marvel in what God had done in the past (ver. 18), in what was to be in the future, and in the ordination or law, hrwOT, in respect of the man, or otherwise in the superhuman bearing towards one so unworthy. (cf. Isa_4:6) This is the general effect of a recognition of God"s love to us, whether seen in the unspeakable gift of Christ, in the greatness of his long suffering, in the tenderness of his pity, in the provision for our temporal and eternal good, in the use he makes of us in his service, or in the blessed inheritance promised in the future. There is a devotion of feeling which consists in a permanent silent wonder that God should have dealt so with us. This tones our spirit into quiet gentleness, and we can in some measure understand why seraphim and cherubim should be absorbed in wonder at his ways.
II IT INDUCES DEEP HUMILITY. It was not because of any good in himself that all these things were done to David, but because God was pleased out of his own heart so to deal with him (ver. 21). Nothing tends more to develop humility than a survey of the wonderful love of God. The contrast of our deserts with his grace bows the spirit down, not to abjectness and loss of heart, but to the tender feeling of self-depreciation and self-abnegation which ever becomes a sinful creature in the presence of the Eternal. Great grace bestowed is an educator in what most befits one who was lost but is now found (Psa_115:1; Rom_3:27; 1Co_15:10; 1Jn_3:1)
III IT FEEDS THE SPIRIT OF ADORATION. The word "wherefore" (ver. 22) seems to complete the silent reasoning which must have gone on in the mind of David for many a year. The general care of man, (Ps 8) the heavens, (Ps 19) and the terrible works of God among the nations, (Psa_48:4-7, Psa_48:10, Psa_48:11) had ever furnished occasion for adoration; but all this is surpassed by the great love wherewith he has now loved his servant, and in this lies the moral greatness which most of all wins the adoring love of the soul. It is a well-known psychological truth that the feelings are not under the direct control of the will, and especially not obedient to a bare command.Nor are they developed in noblest form by mere externals. It is when the actual love of God, as seen in deeds done for us and blessings freely showered on us, is manifest to the eye of the soul, that true worship arises. The greatness of love draws forth the homage of the redeemed. (Rev_1:5, 6 5:9, 10)
IV IT STRENGTHENS INTEREST IN OTHERS. Some who do not know what personal piety is imagine that it consists in selfish delight in one"s own favoured condition a continuous self-congratulation that we are snatched as brands from the burning. David"s deep interest in others, as seen in vers. 23, 24, establishes the reverse. The love we share in is a love embracing others, and it awakens and nourishes a joy in them and their happy lot. It is an unspeakable delight to a true Christian that a multitude that no man can number are the people of God, "redeemed" by the wondrous grace which amazes while it blesses himself.
V IT LEADS TO EVER-INCREASING CONSECRATION. Such is the meaning of David in vers. 24-27. He surrenders his heart and life afresh to the one great purpose which has been graciously revealed. It is not mere acquiescence that so it should be, but intense desire, self-identification afresh with the work and ways of God. He wants to be used in the accomplishment of the great design. This was the secret of the Apostle Paul"s ever-deepening consecration. The love of God to him and others was a constant subject of thought, and hence he was daily "constrained" to live for him who had died to make him what he was. (2Co_5:14-16) The love of God contemplated and felt renders every yoke welcome and easy.
VI IT DRAWS OUT A SPIRIT OF TRUSTFUL DEPENDENCE. To be the instrument of this working in the line of the great purpose required distinguished qualities, and a revelation of it (ver. 27) very naturally made David sensible of the insufficiency of himself and successors, and called forth the prayer for a blessing on his house (vers. 28, 29). The blessing of God is necessary to man"s successful working out of the Divine will; and the heart that appreciates the honour of being so employed will earnestly plead the promises in seeking the grace required.
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.
1. It is one of the sweetest joys of life granted by God when, in hisprovidence, he gives intimation to parents that their immediate posterity are likely to take up the religious work they love, and carry it on towards the completion of God"s will on earth (ver. 12).
2. What parents need is that God would "set up," in positions ofrighteousness and true honour, their offspring, and "establish" whatever work or interest they may have in hand (ver. 12).
3. To "build a house" for God is an unspeakable privilege (ver. 13). It maybe done variously:
(1) by rearing up a personal character of our own on the One Foundation, (1Pe_2:6) so that it may be a fit habitation of God through the Holy Spirit; (1Co_3:16 1Co_6:19)
(2) by teaching the cardinal truths of the gospel among men, so that on the One Foundation (1Co_3:9-11) there may be reared a Christian Church, as is still often done by missionaries in heathen lands;
(3) by devoting money to the erection of a sanctuary where needed. (Luk_7:5) A more noble use of wealth can scarcely be conceived. 4, God"s purposes are unfolded and wrought out in human history with full prevision of the imperfections and sins of his people, and with providential provision for their correction (ver. 14). Not one of the distinguished men who prepared the way for Christ was perfect. The Antitype alone is free from sin. It was in the occupying of a throne, not in the details of private conduct, that Solomon the son of David prefigured the true Son of David.
1. There are fundamental errors and failures in the lives of some men whichdisqualify them utterly from sharing in the highest and noblest work. Saul"s obstinacy, self-will, and inability to rise to the conception of the purpose and scope of the theocracy, rendered it unfit that he should found the line by which the Christ should come (ver. 15). Solomon"s imperfections were those of another character, springing more from unwatchfulness against certain snares of his position. These imperfect workers suffer loss and
2. shame, but the substantial part of their work abides. (1Co_3:12-15)
3. It is a great consolation to a Christian that God knows him (ver. 20). He knows our unexpressed thoughts and feelings, our depth of love and gratitude, our sorrow over sin, our most secret motives, and the path we take. Our ease of mind in remembrance of this is one of the marks of true sonship and service.
1. A review of the gradual revelation of God"s purposes will surely inducea profound conviction of his greatness and glory (ver. 22). Men who study only the physical aspects of nature lose much. The moral universe is the grandest arena on which the power and blessedness of the Eternal shines forth.
2. It was ancient Israel"s being chosen and used as the people of God (ver.23) which conferred on them the most enduring distinction. As a fact, Israel has done more than either Egypt, Greece, or Rome for the true elevation of mankind; for Israel was the means of bringing into universal operation the mighty renovating principles of the kingdom of God, which alone can secure the permanence of civilization, and also educate the higher nature of man for time and eternity. "Blessed is that people whose God is the Lord!
3. The whole question of the final triumph of Christ rests on the word ofGod, "Thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it" (ver. 29). Modern speculations are beside the mark. The first question covers all Have we historically the declaration of God? Then, if he has said a thing, it must be so. Difficulties are relative to man"s ignorance and weakness, and have no place with the Eternal. Faith in God is a rational exercise of the human mind; it is not blind superstition.
Ver. 12. (JERUSALEM.)
The prospect of death.
The view of earthly glory is apt to suggest, by contrast, the thought of its transitory duration, and no one can look forward to the days to come without having "the shadow of death" presented before his mind. Of its unavoidable approach, the message which David received, telling of his present prosperity and future prospects, reminded him. It is:
1. An event of inevitable occurrence. "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death?". (Psa_89:48) "The small and great are there". (Job_3:19) "The path of glory leads but to the grave.
Death comes with irrespective feet, And beats upon the door That shuts the palace of the great, The cabin of the poor. (Horace.)
1. An end of allotted time. "When thy days be fulfilled." There is "an appointed time to man upon earth" (Job_7:1 Job_14:5; Psa_31:15) in which to pass his probation, form his character, and perform his work. Unknown to him, it is determined by God, and, however brief, it is sufficient for that purpose. Happy is he who therein "serves his own generation by the will of God". (Act_13:36)
2. An exit from earthly cares, labours, conflicts, and sorrows. "Thou shalt sleep," and be at rest (Job_3:17; Joh_11:11; 1Th_4:14) not necessarily in absolute unconsciousness and inactivity. Death is a "decease", (2Pe_1:15) departure, exodus of the spirit from "this tabernacle" to an eternal home. (2Co_5:1, 2Co_5:8)
1. An entrance into heavenly.fellowship. "With thy fathers;" in the possession of conscious, personal, immortal life, of a common heritage in God, and happy communion with each other 2Sa_12:23;
2. (Psa_16:11 Psa_17:15) David"s hope of this, indeed, was dim, in comparison with the Christian hope, as the morning twilight compared with the perfect day (2Ti_1:10; Mat_8:11)
3. An enlargement of beneficent influence. "I will set up thy seed after thee," etc. He lives in his children; his words; his works; the manifold influences which he exerted on others, and which continue operating after his decease, and contribute to the building up of the temple and kingdom of God. His departure is even expedient and necessary in order to the activities of others; and, instead of becoming extinct, his power for good is thereby extended and exalted. His name "liveth forevermore" (Ecc 44:14).
1. An object of profitable contemplation. By meditating on it, especially in its moral and spiritual aspects, he learns to moderate earthly attachments, sanctify earthly relationships, to be humble in prosperity, patient in trial, and diligent in duty. "Thou must shortly die! O man, set thy house in order. There is a house of thy conscience, a house of thy body, a house of thy family, a house of eternity. All these must be set in order" (Christopher Sutton, "Disce Mori"). Learn to die. Learn to live. Learn to pray. D.
Vers. 12-16 (JERUSALEM.) (1Ch_17:11-15)
The promise of an outlasting kingdom.
And thy house and thy kingdom shall be permanent; Thy throne shall be established forever. (Ver. 16.)
1. The position of David was a very exalted one. He was the chosen earthly head of the theocracy, or kingdom of God; and on him rested the hope of its glorious consummation. He was the Lord"s messiah mediator through whom Jehovah dispensed help, safety, and blessing" (Riehm).
2. But was the hope of Israel to be completely realized in him? And werehis dynasty and kingdom to be permanent, or to pass away, like others?
3. To these questions the promise now given furnished an adequateanswer. David would be succeeded in the theocratic throne by his posterity, and his dynasty and kingdom would endure forever.
4. This promise, the great charter of the house of David, was "the foundation of all Messianic prophecies and hopes in the prophets concerning the completion of the kingdom of God, its revelations of grace and its blessings of salvation" (Erdmann). It was
I AN EXPRESSION OF ABOUNDING GRACE. The free, condescending, unspeakable favour of God toward David, this it was which so deeply affected him (vers. 19-21). The good pleasure of the Lord had been shown in "the word of the Lord by Samuel," in David"s exaltation to the throne after long suffering and trial (ver. 8), and in his subsequent prosperity (ver. 9); and it was further manifested in this great promise of continued grace to his house, "for a great while to come;" whereby his noblest aspirations would be fulfilled, (2Sa_23:5) and through him and for his sake blessings would abound unto many. In like manner "the exceeding riches of his grace" are apparent in all the promises pertaining to eternal life and salvation, and the whole history of the progress of the kingdom of God from its commencement to its consummation. "The progress of God"s kingdom, or of true religion, should be the progress of David"s line, This point constituted the Messianic element in the prophecy. It limited the hopes of the world"s redemption to David"s line, as Jacob"s prophecy had long ago limited it to the tribe of Judah" (P. Thomson).
II AN ASSURANCE OF EXTRAORDINARY GOOD. To the view of David the future was, by means of the promise, lighted up with glory. He beheld:
1. The existence of the royal house, of which he was the founder, made sure by the Divine oath. "Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will build thee a house" (ver. 11; Psa_132:11 Psa_89:3, Psa_89:4) This was the general substance of the promise. "The royal office was elevated to the position of being the controlling and centralizing point of all the theocratic main elements of the national life.
2. The elevation of his posterity, and especially of one of his sons, to the royal dignity. "I will set up thy seed after thee" (ver. 12; 1Ch_17:11) "Behold, a son shall be born to thee Solomon," etc. (1Ch_22:9 1Ch 38:10; 1Ki_5:5 1Ki_8:19)
3. The establishment of the kingdom in security, peace, and happiness, all enemies being subdued; "and I will establish his kingdom;" which was necessary to the fulfilment of David"s purpose.
1. The erection of the temple and the dwelling of the Divine King in the midst of his people. "He shall build a house for my Name, and I will
2. stablish the throne of his kingdom forever" (ver. 13). "The building of the house here goes hand in hand with the eternity of the kingdom. The essence of the temple consists in its being a symbol an outward representation of the kingdom of God under Israel. The real import of our passage, then, is that henceforth the kingdom of David and the kingdom of God should be closely and inseparably linked together" (Hengstenberg, "Christology"). "The idea of a number of descendants following one another (a line of kings) is evidently contained in the promise" (Keil); and in this sense David must have understood it. "The collective he (vers. 13, 14) includes in itself like (Gen_3:15) the Son of David in the highest sense and the Founder of the true temple of God, which is his Church.
3. The relation of Father and son subsisting between God. and the theocratic king. "I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a son." Such was the relationship between Jehovah and Israel (Exo_4:22; Deu_14:1 Deu_32:6; 1Ch_29:10; Isa_64:8; Jer_31:9; Hos_11:1) and it would be made specially manifest in the head and representative of the chosen people. A son
(1) derives his being from his father, bears a close resemblance to him, stands near him, represents him, and shares his possessions;
(2) is an object of his tender affection, under his protecting care, and subject to his merciful discipline; and
(3) is bound to reciprocate his affection, to honour him, and obey. his commandments. The fatherly love of God is here more particularly presented to view; and "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth". (Heb_12:6) "If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him," etc. (ver. 14).
1. The unchanging mercy of God, founded on this relation. "But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul," etc. (Ver. 15). If, indeed, the individual king should forsake the Lord, he would be "cast off forever". (1Ch_28:9) "The contrast is that between the punishment of sin in individuals and the favour that remains permanently with the family, whereby the promise becomes an unconditional one" ("Christology"). The kingdom of God is a kingdom of righteousness.
2. The eternal duration of his dynasty and kingdom once more assured, with all the advantages of a government faithfully exercised according to the will of God. This was "the everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure;" and these were the "sure mercies of David". (Isa_55:3)
revelation was an epoch making one for his inner life. It brought an entirely new element into his consciousness, which, as his psalms show, moved him powerfully. He received the promise of the perpetual ascendency of his tribe, of the establishment of his kingdom amid the changing of all earthly things" ("History of the Kingdom of God under the Old Testament"). "This promise, like that made to Abraham, has a twofold aspect. One points to David"s natural posterity and temporal kingdom; the other to the Messiah and the kingdom of Jehovah, which respected the former only as types and pledges of the latter.
III A FOUNDATION OF IMPERISHABLE HOPE. The promise was one of an eternal monarchy rather than directly of an eternal Monarch, "the King Messiah;" but it could only be completely fulfilled in such a Person, "since the eternity of a purely human kingdom is inconceivable;" and it became the basis of a hope of "his power and coming," which, notwithstanding repeated failure and disappointment, was to be renewed with undying strength. David was himself the centre of the Messianic idea and hope. "He regarded himself as the messiah of God; although, through his experience and words, he was only a means for representing the future One before his coming" (Delitzsch, "Messianic Prophecies"). And, amidst the glorious prospect which the promise presented before him, he perceived (all the more clearly because of his own conscious infirmities) the ideal theocratic monarch; "a kingly image, in which all that the present manifests is far surpassed, and the kingship of David and Solomon seen in typical perfection" (Oehler, "Theology of the Old Testament." See ch. 23:4; Psalm 2.; 110.; 72.; 45.). The promise "refers neither only to Solomon nor only to Christ; nor has it a twofold application; but it is a covenant promise, which, extending along the whole line (of David"s posterity), culminates in the Son of David, and in all its fulness applies only to him" (Edersheim). "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end," etc. (Isa_9:6; Luk_1:32, Luk_1:33; Act_2:25-36)
Observe that:
1. Men"s views of the glory of the future age are naturally and necessarily formed according to the facts and ideas with which they are already familiar.
1. The Word of God, in promise and prophecy (being the gradual unfolding of his eternal purpose), had a larger signification than was understood by those to whom it at first came. (1Pe_1:11) "Divine prophecies are of the nature of their Author, with whom a thousand years
2. are but as one day; and therefore are not fulfilled punctually at once, but have a springing and germinant accomplishment throughout many ages, though the height or fulness of them may refer to one age" (Bacon, "Advancement of Learning").
3. The promises of God are faithful and true; his covenant is a sure foundation of hope amidst human failures and earthly changes. (Psa_89:1-37; 2Co_1:20; Heb_6:18)
1. The hope of humanity is in "the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star! D. (Rev_22:16)
Vers. 12-16.
David"s everlasting kingdom.
These words relate, first, to Solomon; then to successive generations of David"s posterity; and, finally, to the Christ. They promise that David"s son should be God"s son, and should build the house for God which David had desired to build. They promise also that the rule over Israel should continue in the line of David"s posterity, and that his house and kingdom should be established forever. They were partly fulfilled in the long continuance of the reign of David"s descendants. They receive their most ample and splendid fulfilment in the eternal kingdom of the greatest Son of David, our Lord and Saviour a fulfilment beyond all that David could ask or think.
I THE GREAT KING.
1. Is David"s son. He is much more than this; but he is this. A man is at the head of God"s kingdom!
1. Is God"s Son. (Ver. 14; comp. Heb_1:5 and Rom_1:3, Rom_1:4) Both as to his human and his Divine natures, Jesus Christ is the Son of God as none other only begotten Son of God." This shows his greatness, and accounts for his triumphs. The Eternal and Almighty Father recognizes and proclaims him as his Son; declares by the miracles accompanying the personal mission of Jesus, by his Word, Spirit,
2. providence, through the ages, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.
3. And this illustrious person is King. King over God"s people, his true Israel; King of men; "King of kings, Lord of lords;" King of angels, King over all things in heaven and earth. The kingdom of David has expanded till it extends over the universe.
II THE PERPETUITY OF HIS REIGN. It shall be literally eternal. "He shall reign forever and ever". (Rev_11:15) It is surely more than a coincidence that a system of dominion over men, originating in a Man who had sprung from the reduced family of David, and was accepted by many of his fellow Jews as the Son of David, the Messiah foretold by the prophets a system proclaimed at the first as the kingdom of God should have taken root in the world, have spread so widely and lasted so long; that it should have proved to be the system in and through which especially the best influences of Heaven operate, and the divinest principles rule the hearts and lives of those who receive it; and that it should today be more extensively prevalent than ever, and that amongst the most enlightened and powerful nations (to whose enlightenment and power it has largely contributed), and giving promise of becoming the ruling power everywhere. It is a veritable kingdom, uniting all who belong to it as one "holy nation" which acknowledges Jesus of Nazareth as its King, and submits to his rule. It has continued nearly nineteen centuries, and gives no sign of decay. In all this the Christian recognizes the fulfilment of the promise made to David and repeated so frequently afterwards by the prophets; and through his faith in that promise he anticipates the everlasting duration of the reign of Christ, the eternity of the King, and the eternity of his reign. We are sure that he must reign forever; and our assurance rests on:
1. The promises of God. The "God who cannot lie," and who has power to fulfil all his Word, and subdue all that opposes.
2. The nature of the kingdom. "A kingdom which cannot be moved". (Heb_12:28) It is spiritual, and cannot be put down by the material forces which destroy other reigns. It is the reign of Divine truth, righteousness, and love; and we cannot doubt but that these will triumph and be perpetuated.
1. The nature of the King. "The First, and the Last, and the Living One," who, though he "was dead," is "alive forevermore". (Rev_1:17, Rev_1:18, Revised Version)
2. This King literally "lives forever." He is Divine as well as human. His reign is the reign of the Almighty God, which cannot be destroyed.
3. Past experience. The kingdom of Jesus Christ has survived in spite of all opposition. All possible hostile powers have done their utmost, and have failed. Christianity has outlived many kingdoms, which to human appearance promised to survive it. It has been assailed by brute force in a variety of forms, and by the forces of intellectual subtlety, of Political power, and of spiritual error, and it has conquered. It has seemed to be seriously endangered by the folly and wickedness of its professed friends, but still it survives and flourishes. In a word, the prince of this world has used all arts and energies at his command to crush the power of Christ, but in vain. "He that sitteth in the heavens laughs" at all that opposes his Son, saying, "Yet have I set my King on my holy hill of Zion". (Psa_2:4, Psa_2:6) And in the everlasting future this kingdom will continue. A great change is, indeed, predicted in 1Co_15:24. But as the kingdom of the Son is the kingdom of the Father, so the kingdom of the Father will still be that of the Son. Let, then, all the loyal subjects of Christ cast away fear for his kingdom, whatever forms opposition to it may take, and however formidable they may appear. And let all be concerned to be his loyal subjects.
III THE GREAT WORK HE WOULD EFFECT. "He shall build a house for my Name" (ver. 13). The words may be taken as applicable not only to the temple which Solomon built, but to the nobler structure which our Lord is rearing, of which he is the chief Cornerstone (1Pe_2:4-6) temple of the living God", (2Co_6:16) built of "living stones" quickened and consecrated by the Holy Spirit habitation of God through the Spirit". (Eph_2:20-22) From age to age the work of erecting this spiritual temple goes on in the conversion of men to Christ, and their addition to his Church; and, when completed, the building will be for the everlasting honour of the Builder. May we all have a place in it! G.W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 2Sa_7:11. “And as since,” etc. The first clause of…
CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES—
2Sa_7:11. “And as since,” etc. The first clause of this verse should be connected with 2Sa_7:10, thus, neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as before and as since, or from the day, etc.
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2Sa_7:8-11. “The connection between these verses and 2Sa_7:5-7 is as follows: Thou shalt not build a house for Me, but I, who have from the very beginning glorified myself in thee and my people, will build a house for thee.… The kingdom of God in Israel first acquired its rest and consolation through the efforts of David … and the conquest of Zion and the elevation of this fortress into the palace of the king formed the commencement of the establishment of the kingdom of God. But this commencement received its first pledge of perpetuity from the Divine assurance that the throne of David should be established for all future time. And this the Lord was about to accomplish. He would build David a house, and then his seed should build the house of the Lord. No definite reason is assigned why David himself was not to build the temple; we learn this first from 1Ch_22:8.… But this did not involve David in any blame … but inasmuch as these wars were necessary and inevitable, they were practical proofs that David’s kingdom and government were not yet established, and therefore that the time for the building of the temple had not yet come.” (Keil.)
2Sa_7:12. “Thy seed.” “Not the whole posterity, as is clear from the explanatory words in 1Ch_17:11, nor merely a single individual, but a selection from the posterity.” (Erdmann.)
2Sa_7:14. “A father,” etc. This denotes in the first place the most cordial mutual love, which attests its enduring character by fidelity, and demonstrates its existence towards the Lord by active obedience. But besides this ethical relation of David’s seed to God we must, from the connection, note—first, the origin, or descent of the son from the father. The seed of David, entrusted with everlasting kingly dignity, has, as such, his origin in the will of God—owes his origin to the Divine choice and call (comp. Psa_2:7; Psa_89:27-28). Secondly, in the designations father and son is denoted community of possession. The seed as son receives dominion from the father as heir, and as this dominion is an everlasting one he will, as son and heir, reign for ever in the possession of the kingdom. The father’s kingdom is an unlimited one, embracing the whole world; so in the idea of sonship there lies, along with everlastingness, the idea of all-embracing-world-dominion.” (Erdmann.)
2Sa_7:14. “With the rod of men,” etc. Such punishments as are inflicted on all men when they sin. Grace is not to release David and the Davidic line from this universal human lot, is not to be for them a charter to sin,” (Hengstenberg.)
2Sa_7:15. “As I took it from Saul,” etc. “The contrast is between the punishment of sin in individuals and the favour that remains permanently with the family, whereby the Divine promise becomes an unconditional one.” (Hengstenberg.)
2Sa_7:16. “For ever.” It is obvious that this promise related primarily to Solomon, and had a certain fulfilment in him and in his reign.… At the same time, the substance of the promise is not fully exhausted in him. The threefold repetition of the expression “for ever,” the establishment of the kingdom and throne of David for ever, points incontrovertibly beyond the time of Solomon, and to the eternal continuance of the seed of David.… We must not reduce the idea of eternity to the popular notion of a long incalculable period, but must take it in an absolute sense as it is evidently understood in Psa_89:30. No earthly kingdom, and no posterity of any single man, has eternal duration like the heaven and the earth; but the different families of men become extinct as the different earthly kingdoms perish. The posterity of David, therefore, could only last for ever by running out in a person who lives for ever; i.e., by culminating in the Messiah.… The promise consequently refers to the posterity of David, commencing with Solomon and closing with Christ; so that by the seed we are not to understand Solomon alone, with the kings who succeeded him, nor Christ alone to the exclusion of the earthly kings of David’s family; nor is the allusion to Solomon and Christ to be regarded as a double allusion to two different objects.” (Keil.)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—2Sa_7:12-16
THE MESSIANIC PROMISE TO DAVID
This promise—
I. Reveals the special purpose of God in the election of David. As the king now sits in his palace of cedar, God takes him back to the days when as a youth he followed the sheep. During all the years that had intervened, and in all the manifold experiences through which he had passed, he had been the object of special Divine care and guidance. His life had been such that, however he might have sometimes yielded to despair in the past, he must have now felt deeply conscious, upon looking back, that he had been highly favoured above all the men of his nation. Doubtless he was more gifted than most—perhaps than any,—but the gifts that fitted him for the throne were from the same Divine giver, and only increased his obligation. But he is here reminded that he had not been made thus great for his own sake alone, or chiefly. He was to use all that had been bestowed upon him for the people over whom he had been called to rule, and was to be the founder of a race through whom not only Israel but all the families of the earth were to be blessed. This is always the purpose of God’s electing grace, whether of the individual or the nation. Men receive special favours that they may dispense special blessings, and are intended to be, not like those lakes in which a mighty river is ever emptying itself, and yet from which no stream ever flows, but like the fountain-head of that river which, as fast as it is fed by the mountain snows, sends forth its waters and becomes a channel of blessing to all around. The spirit of many of David’s psalms reveal that he entered fully into the Divine purpose of his election, but the spirit of many, both of his immediate and remote descendants, shows that they utterly failed to discern it.
II. It reveals the progressive nature of the Divine dispensations in relation to man. A dim outline is here given to Nathan by prophetic vision of a kingdom far more glorious than that which David founded. We, who live after the earthly sceptre has departed from Judah, can fill in the details, and recognise in David’s Lord the only Son who could establish his house for ever. In the kingdom of God under the Old Testament, the name of David takes a high place, and among the kings of Israel he holds a deserved pre-eminence, on account of the great national blessings which attended his powerful and beneficent rule. But One who descended from him according to the flesh has, by the majesty of His person, and the excellence of His character, and the transcendent glory of His kingdom, caused the name of David to sink into nothing in comparison. The kingdom of Christ endures because it is founded upon a purely spiritual basis; it knows no limit of time or place because its laws have their origin in the eternal moral necessity of the universe. For its King rules always and everywhere because His throne is in the heart of each of His subjects “He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, and break in pieces the oppressor;” and therefore “He shall be feared as long as the sun and moon endure.” “He shall spare the poor and needy” and “redeem their soul from deceit and violence,” and the name of such a King must “endure for ever” and “be continued as long as the sun” (Psalms 62). His name is called “Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins,” and as a necessary consequence, “He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luk_2:33). David was elected by God to shepherd Israel, and his reign was upon the whole fraught with blessing to his subjects. But the dispensation in which he ministered was, in comparison with that of the New Testament, only as the acorn to the oak, and he could as little conceive of the glory of these latter days as we could picture to ourselves some monarch of the forest, if we had never seen anything more than the tiny seed which enfolds its germ. And God has yet more in reserve for the race for whom the Great Shepherd laid down His life. We as little comprehend what wonders of grace and glory are yet to be unfolded under the reign of Christ, as David comprehended all that was included in the word of the Lord which came to Nathan. We have the King of whom it spake, and who can never be succeeded by another; but we have no conception of the infinite possibilities yet hidden in God in connection with that kingdom which can never be removed but abideth for ever. “Eye hath not” yet “seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1Co_2:9).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
In considering this prophecy we need to bear in mind the peculiar form of the revelations respecting Messiah which God communicated to David. To other prophets, revelations of the Messiah were made objectively—apart from themselves; they were shown Christ and His day afar off; they had no more personal relation to the thing revealed than other believers around them. But when revelations of Messiah were made to David, they were usually connected with something in his own life, history, or experience; they had a shadowy foundation in something subjective or pesonal to himself; that thing enlarged, purified, glorified, constituted the revelation of Christ. This was in keeping with the typical relation which David and his kingdom had to Christ and His kingdom. As this was the character of the revelations made to David respecting Christ, so also was it the character of many of his prophetic songs.… Melting and shading insensibly into each other as the two classes of objects do, it is often extremely difficult to say which of them is meant.—Blaikie.
It is plain that the building of a house of rest for the ark was designed to stand out prominently in the sight of Israel as a great and mighty undertaking—as a work of sufficient magnitude and importance to form the one great enterprise of a king who could give himself to it without distraction or disturbance. Such was obviously the impression which the Divine appointment, regarding the building of a house for the name of God, must have made upon the minds of the people of Israel—the church of that day; and the reason why David was forbidden and Solomon permitted to build that house is still more clearly unfolded to us now that the promises and predictions connected with that work have been and are in the way of being fulfilled.… David was honoured to be an eminent type of the Messiah, inasmuch as, by his trials, his conflicts, and his conquests, he did very significantly prefigure a suffering, but at the same time, a triumphant Saviour. This however, was only one aspect of Christ’s kingly office … there is another view—even the relation in which, as king, He stands to His church.… This view God was also graciously pleased to typify or prefigure in the kingly office as it had been established in Israel; and we cannot fail to perceive the wisdom which provided that this should be done, not in the person of the same king who was employed to represent Christ in His conflict and His victory, but in that of another who should be pre-eminently a peaceful king.—Gordon.
The fulfilment of the great and gracious promise of God to David in Christ the Son of David.
1. In His person, He is not merely David’s seed—seed of the woman—Abraham’s seed, but also God’s Song of Solomon 2. In His office, He is King over the kingdom of God, King of all Kings.
3. In His possession of power, He has an everlasting kingdom, to Him is given all power in heaven and on earth.
4. In His work. He builds for the name of God the Father a house, a spiritual temple in humanity, out of living stones. (Comp. Joh_2:19.)—Lange’s Commentary.
Why is there this frequent repetition in this promise? (2Sa_7:13; 2Sa_7:16). Three times is the perpetuity declared. Why is this? It is to meet the difficulties of our faith, arising from the lengthened suspension of the promise, and the apparent improbability of Christ’s everlasting monarchy.—Bickersteth.
We have seen that David was himself a prophecy of Christ. It follows from that, therefore, that the Temple which he so desired to build is a prophecy of the Church. With all its grandeur under Solomon, that stately building was, after all, only a type of that more glorious spiritual fabric which is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth into an holy temple in the Lord.” Now, in the erection of this living temple we may all take part. When by faith in Jesus Christ we become united to Him, and receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts, we, as it were, build ourselves, or, in another aspect of it, are built by God, as living stones into that glorious edifice which Jehovah through the ages is rearing for His own eternal abode. When, again, by our instrumentality, either directly in the efforts which we put forth at home, or indirectly through the labours of those whom we sustain abroad, we work for the conversion of others, we are engaged as under-builders, on the same spiritual edifice, David would have counted it the highest privilege of his life if he had been permitted to build the Temple on Moriah; and even after the prohibition came by the mouth of Nathan, it was the joy of his latter years to collect materials wherewith Solomon, his son, might raise a house worthy of Jehovah’s worship. Nay, more, in the days of Solomon himself, after the gorgeous structure had been raised, everyone who had done anything, however small, in the way of helping on its erection, was invested with a peculiar honour in the eyes of his fellow-countrymen. As the Psalm expresses it: “A man was famous according as he had lifted axes upon the thick trees.” But a higher privilege, and a more lasting renown, will be the portion of him who assists in the most humble capacity in the uprearing of that Church which is to be “for a habitation of God through the Spirit.” “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”—Taylor.
2Sa_7:13. Where Jesus reigns in power men must yield obedience of some sort. His kingdom, moreover, is no house of cards or dynasty of days; it is as lasting as the lights of heaven; days and nights will cease before He abdicates His throne. Neither sun nor moon as yet manifest any failure in their radiance, nor are there any signs of decrepitude in the Kingdom of Jesus, it is but in its youth, and is evidently the coming power, the rising sun.… Throughout all generations shall the throne of the Redeemer stand. Humanity shall not wear out the religion of the Incarnate God. No infidelity shall wither it away, nor superstition smother it; it shall rise immortal from what seemed its grave; as the true phœnix, it shall revive from its ashes. As long as there are men on earth Christ shall have a throne among them. Instead of the fathers shall be the children. Each generation shall have a regeneration in its midst, let Pope and devil do what they may. Even at this hour we have the tokens of His eternal power; since He ascended to His throne eighteen hundred years ago, His dominion has not been overturned, though the mightiest of empires have gone like visions of the night. We see on the shores of time the wrecks of the Cæsars, the relics of the Moguls, and the last remnant of the Ottomans. Charlemagne, Maximilian, Napoleon, how they flit like shadows before us! They were and are not; but Jesus for ever is. As for the houses of Hohenzollern, Guelph, or Hapsburg, they have their hour; but the Son of David has all hours and ages as His own.—Spurgeon.
2Sa_7:16. The advantages of civil government contrasted with the blessings of the spiritual kingdom of Jesus Christ.
1. The first and primary advantage expected from every well constituted human government is security, and the sense of security.… Whatever may be the imperfections attaching to various modes of government, the worst is preferable to a state of society destitute of public authority and law; in such a state there can exist not only no security, but no tranquillity.… But the utmost that can be enjoyed under any form of civil power is a most imperfect shadow of the safety which Jesus Christ bestows upon the subjects of His spiritual reign …
2. The second benefit expected from human government is liberty. So far as this advantage is consistent with the former, the more largely it is enjoyed the better. Every diminution of our liberty, except such as is necessary to our protection from evils which might otherwise be apprehended, is itself just so much redundant evil.… Restraint that cannot be justified by the production of some greater benefit than could be attained without it, is not imperfection, it is injustice.… But suppose the utmost degree of civil liberty to be enjoyed, what is that in comparison with that real spiritual freedom which Jesus Christ confers?… From the moment the Christian enters into the kingdom of grace and truth, he leaves his bonds behind; invigorated with a Divine strength he purposes and it stands fast; he triumphs over himself; is victorious over the world.… tramples upon the greatest tyrants—the powers of darkness.…
3. The next advantage from a good government is plenty. To secure this is sometimes beyond human power and policy.… In general it may be asserted that human laws should not interfere too much … Everyone should be left at liberty, as far as possible, to choose his own way in pursuing his prosperity.… Under the best systems of government there must remain many cases of want and distress; but in the kingdom of Jesus Christ there exists an infinite plenty for all the wants of the soul.…
4. A tendency to improvement in its social institutions ought to accompany every well-ordered government. The best of those institutions are such as will be at once permanent and progressive by their intrinsic wisdom and excellence—by their adaptation to all the varying circumstances of the nation—by their power of providing for possible emergencies—they will gradually rise from security to convenience, and then exalt convenience into ornament—into just refinement and diffused illumination.… The gospel empire possesses within itself interminable energies and tendencies to benefit its subjects.… All those elysian images of prophecy which paint with so much beauty the latter days of the world, are nothing in their substantial fulfilment but the impress of Jesus Christ on the minds and manners of mankind—the image of Christianity embodied in society, and righteousness dwelling in the new-created universe.…
5. The fifth and last element is stability; this is the crown of all its other advantages. Nothing can be wanting to such a reign but that it should last; and this is what the text emphatically expresses.—Robt. Hall.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues describing his promises to King David through the prophet Nathan.
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When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers
These two phrases have similar meanings and are combined for emphasis. They both are polite ways to refer to death and dying. (See: Parallelism and Euphemism)
I will raise up a descendant after you
Yahweh appointing David's descendant is spoken of as if Yahweh would raise or lift him up. (See: Metaphor)
one who will come out from your body
This is an idiom that means the person will be David's descendant. (See: Idiom)
I will establish his kingdom
Here "his kingdom" represents his power to rule. AT: "I will make him to be a very powerful king" (See: Metonymy)
a house for my name
Here "name" refers to Yahweh. AT: "a permanent dwelling for me" (See: Metonymy)
I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever
Here "throne" represents the person's power to rule as king. AT: "I will make his rule over Israel to last forever" (See: Metonymy)
I will be a father to him, and he will be my son
The prophecy in 2Sa 7:12-14 refers to Solomon, David's son. But, aspects of the prophecy will be fulfilled by Jesus. So, here it is best to translate the words "father" and "son" with your normal words for a biological father and son.
translationWords
fulfill
ancestor
raise
descend
body
kingdom
house of God
throne
eternity
son
sin
discipline
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 7:12-13 one of your descendants . . . will…
7:12-13 one of your descendants . . . will build a house . . . for my name: David’s son Solomon would build the Temple; David’s personal involvement in military conflict and bloodshed disqualified him from building God’s Temple (1 Chr 22:8-9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.