2 Samuel 7:12

THE GLORIOUS PROMISE OF THE MESSIAH

"When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men; but I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.'" In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David."

Not one word of this paragraph applies to Solomon. It is immaterial that David probably misunderstood it (at first) and that many so-called "great" Bible scholars find Solomon in every other word of it. Note the following:

"I will raise up your offspring after you" (2 Samuel 7:17). Solomon was not "raised up" after David, but during David's reign, the authority of David himself being the key factor in the enthronement of Solomon.

"I will be his father, and he shall be my son" (2 Samuel 7:14). Not even an angel of heaven deserved such a line as this, much less the reprobate Solomon with his seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines! The inspired author of Hebrews makes that fact absolutely indisputable. "To what angel did God ever say, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son."? (Hebrews 1:5-7).

Psalms 2:7; 89:26-27; Acts 13:33 and other passages in the Bible make it clear that only of Jesus Christ was it ever said that God was his father and that He was God's son. Any notion that this refers to Solomon is ridiculous. "There is neither proof nor evidence that Solomon was a saved person,"[12] much less that God was his father and that he was God's son in any sense whatever.

"When he commits iniquity" (2 Samuel 7:14). These are the words, seized upon by many who wish to apply these words to Solomon; but they don't fit Solomon at all. When did God ever punish Solomon with the rod of men, or inflict upon him the stripes of the sons of men? On the other hand, the inspired Isaiah, using these very words, said, "The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5). Such glaring facts which are totally at variance with any intelligent application to Solomon are the background of this writer's total distrust of the translation which we find here in many of the current versions. We cannot accept this translation as valid, because it contradicts the rest of the passage.

We are happy indeed that the noted Adam Clarke, one of the truly great scholars of the past couple of centuries, gives us the correct translation, as follows:

EVEN IN HIS SUFFERING FOR INIQUITY; I SHALL CHASTEN HIM WITH THE ROD OF MEN (WITH THE ROD DUE TO MEN) AND WITH THE STRIPES (DUE TO) THE CHILDREN OF MEN.[13]

Yes indeed, Christ suffered "for iniquity," but not for iniquity committed by Him. As stated in that verse already cited from Isaiah, "He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities." Clarke has several pages regarding this true rendition of the passage here, backed by Lowth's Commentary on Isaiah (p. 187), Lowth, being one of the outstanding scholars of the 18th century.

If the current translations represent the true teaching of this passage, it is simply incredible that the inspired N.T. authors would have unequivocally applied the passage to Jesus Christ. To suppose that they actually did such a thing is not merely a reflection upon their inspiration, but likewise upon their common intelligence as well.

"I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul" (2 Samuel 7:15). The word "Saul" simply does not belong in this verse at all. We usually reject the notion of scholars that this or that verse is an interpolation; but we heartily agree with H. P. Smith that such is the case here.[14] The reference to Saul crept into the text here evidently through the opinion of some scribe who erroneously read the passage as applicable to Solomon.

"Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure before me; your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). This great prophecy was doubtless misunderstood by those who first heard it; but there is no excuse for misunderstanding now, that the long centuries intervening have revealed the exalted meaning of the promise. We are not left in doubt as to what that meaning is. Inspired writers of the N.T., moved by the Holy Spirit, tell us exactly what the passage means.

DAVID'S INTERPRETATION OF THIS PROMISE

The apostle Peter tells us that "David says concerning Christ, `Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see Corruption'" (Psalms 16:10). David being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption." (Acts 2:25-31). This passage applies this prophecy of 2 Samuel 7 to Jesus Christ, as the One who would sit upon David's throne, not to Solomon; and as noted in our chapter introduction, one word from the apostle Peter is worth a ton of opinions to the contrary!

"Your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). This did not mean that the earthly dynasty of David over Israel would be continued forever. As a matter of fact, the throne of David over "all Israel" lasted only until the death of Solomon, when ten of the twelve tribes of Israel rejected that authority. The conceit of racial Israel being as intense as it was, the vast majority of the people most certainly accepted the promise as a guarantee of the perpetual continuity of the earthly dynasty of David. God's removal of the whole nation to Babylon was designed to enlighten Israel on that very point.

But what does it mean? that David's throne shall continue forever? The Davidic Psalms 89 gives the full explanation of this:

I (GOD) WILL NOT LIE UNTO DAVID. HIS SEED SHALL ENDURE FOREVER; AND HIS THRONE AS THE SUN BEFORE ME. IT SHALL BE ESTABLISHED FOREVER AS THE MOON AND AS A FAITHFUL WITNESS IN HEAVEN (2 Samuel 7:35-37).

None of the writings of David in the Psalms should be understood as contradicting the misunderstanding which he probably had about the application of this passage. Peter himself tells us that the prophets frequently were not able to understand the meaning of their own prophecies (1 Peter 1:10-12); and it is not unlikely that David construed much of this passage as applicable to Solomon, as did the vast majority of his contemporaries. People are still misunderstanding the passage.

By way of summary, what the Lord promised here was that a spiritual reality, "the throne of David" would have a perpetual and eternal existence, it would not be located in Jerusalem, but in heaven. Note the underlined phrase from Psalms 89:37, above. The enthronement of "the Son of David" upon that throne is a reference to the resurrection of Christ and to his being seated at the Right Hand of the Majesty on High. There is no reference whatever to any earthly continuity forever of the fleshly descendants of David as rulers over Israel. Those descendants appear in the passage only in that line where God promised to "build David a house" (2 Samuel 7:11).

This passage, along with other related passages throughout the Bible, is one of the most important prophecies of the Messiah to be found in Holy Writ; and the N.T. honors it with the very first verse, "Jesus Christ the Son of David the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1).