4-17. it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan—The command was given to the prophet on the night immediately following; that is, before David could either take any measures or incur any expenses. read more
God’s purpose to honor David 7:4-17The promises Yahweh made to David here are an important key to understanding God’s program for the future.God rejected David’s suggestion that he build a temple for the Lord and gave three reasons. First, there was no pressing need to do so since the ark had resided in tents since the Exodus (2 Samuel 7:6). The tent it currently occupied was the one David had pitched for it in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:17), not the tabernacle that stood then at Gibeon (1... read more
The Promise of God to David in Requital of his Desire to Build the TempleThis chapter affords an excellent illustration of the way in which prophecy has often two quite distinct applications, one to the more immediate and the other to the more distant future. The primary reference is to Solomon (see especially 2 Samuel 7:12-14), but the prophecy looks beyond him to a greater Son, of whom he was only an emblem and type. We get a somewhat similar instance in Isaiah 7:14-17 (see especially 2... read more
(14) If he commit iniquity.—The promise has plainly in view a human successor or successors of David upon his throne; and yet it also promises the establishment of David’s kingdom FOREVER by an emphatic threefold repetition (2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:16), which can only be fulfilled, and has always been understood as to be fulfilled, in the Messiah. There is a similar promise of a prophet, human and yet more than human, in Deuteronomy 18:15-22, and the explanation in both cases is the same. The... read more
The Message of the Second Book of Samuel 2 Samuel 7:7 The second book of Samuel does not contain any very definite divisions, but seems most naturally to fall into three parts. In the first, which includes chapters one to eight, we have the account of David's public doings. In the second section, containing chapters nine to twenty, we have the history of David's court life. At chapter twenty the third and closing section of the book begins. This section constitutes an appendix of... read more
CHAPTER IX.PROPOSAL TO BUILD A TEMPLE.2 Samuel 7:1-29.THE spirit of David was essentially active and fond of work. He was one of those who are ever pressing on, not content to keep things as they are, moving personally towards improvement, and urging others to do the same. Even in Eastern countries, with their proverbial stillness and conservatism, such men are sometimes found, but they are far more common elsewhere. Great undertakings do not frighten them; they have spirit enough for a... read more
4. The Lord’s Promise to David and the Covenant CHAPTER 7 1. David’s desire (2 Samuel 7:1-3 ) 2. Nathan receives the message for David (2 Samuel 7:4-17 ) 3. David in the presence of Jehovah (2 Samuel 7:18-29 ) We reach now a climax. The Lord speaks and reveals His great purposes He had in His eternal councils for David, the king after His own heart. We behold the king in peace sitting in his own house; he had rest from all his enemies. In pious meditation the heart of the king had but... read more
7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the {f} rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:(f) That is, gently, as fathers use to chastise their children. read more
The Lord having given grace to David to subdue the nations surrounding Israel, it is understandable that David's thoughts turned to a serious consideration of what is due the God of Israel. Why should David enjoy a house of cedar while the ark of God was housed in a tent (v.2)? This is a case similar to the previous chapter, where David's godliness deceived him. Of course his godliness was commendable, but it is not to be depended on for guidance. A godly man, out of genuine desire for the... read more
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Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 2 Samuel 7:13-16
2 Samuel 7:13-16. I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever— We have often had occasion to remark, in the course of these notes, that the phrase for ever and those similar to it, frequently signify in the Old Testament only a considerable length of time. There can be no doubt that these words, in their primary sense, refer to Solomon and his kingdom. But as David was heir of that two-fold government, concerning which we have spoken at large on the book of Genesis; (see particularly... read more