2 Samuel 7:1

MESSIAH THE SON OF DAVID PROMISED

"This chapter is a milestone of O.T. revelation."[1] "Nathan's prophecy here (2 Samuel 7:1-17) is in many ways the most important (part) of the books of Samuel."[2] Our own conviction is that there is not a more important prophecy of the Messiah anywhere in the O.T.

There are also two exceedingly important considerations which must be observed if one hopes to understand what is written here. First, the real explanation of what God said here is to be found in the writings of subsequent prophets of the O.T. and especially in the inspired writings of the sacred authors of the N.T. In the second place, those commentators who have attempted to deny the Messianic thrust of this chapter on the basis of certain words or phrases of the O.T. text should not be allowed to challenge what the inspired authors of the N.T. declare to be the truth. As we have often pointed out in our series of writings, one word from the N.T. outweighs a ton of scholarly comments to the contrary!

On the basis of some passages in the O.T., as it has come down to us, some of those denials might appear plausible, but such plausibility is checkmated and denied by the simple fact that, this is by no means a perfect text which has reached us. H. P. Smith referred to a number of passages here as "evidently corrupt";[3] Caird also labeled a number of verses as "corrupt," "interpolations," "difficult," or disputed.[4] Adam Clarke, one of the great scholars of modern times, also effectively challenged the mistranslation which has clouded the meaning of 2 Samuel 7:14.[5] We have mentioned this as background for our absolute confidence in the N.T. explanations and references to what the Lord says in this chapter. If one really wishes to know what is said here, he will find the sure and certain answer in the N.T.

DAVID PROPOSED TO BUILD THE LORD A HOUSE

"Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies round about, the king said to Nathan the prophet, `See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.' And Nathan said to the king, `Go, do all that is in your heart; for the Lord is with you.'"

"When the king dwelt in his house" (2 Samuel 7:1). This "house" referred to here was that magnificent palace built of the cedars of Lebanon; and we agree with Willis that, "David's conscience began to hurt him,"[6] due to the contrast between his own palatial residence and the humble quarters where the ark of God was kept. David is not here quoted as saying that he intended to build a better place for the ark, but Nathan the prophet (mentioned here for the first time in the Bible) properly understood what was on the king's mind.

"Go, do all that is in your heart" (2 Samuel 7:3). It is significant that Nathan did not here speak as God's messenger, but as merely a friend of the king. He did not say, "Thus saith the Lord." Such an omission justifies our rejection of the false notion that this passage shows that, "We are not intended to regard every utterance of a prophet in Scriptures as the infallible Word of God."[7] Such a viewpoint applies only to statements in which the prophet speaks merely as a man and without the formula, "Thus saith the Lord."