In the ancient world, what did kings do when they had no wars to fight? Nebuchadnezzar surveyed his city and boasted, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?” (Dan. 4:30). Solomon collected wealth and wives, entertained foreign guests, and wrote books, while Hezekiah seems to have supervised scholars who copied and preserved the Scriptures (Prov. 25:1). But it appears from 2 Samuel 7:1–3 that in David’s leisure hours, the king thought about the Lord and conferred with his chaplain Nathan about improving the spiritual condition of the kingdom of Israel. David wasn’t simply a ruler; he was a shepherd with a heart concern for his people. In rest, he thought of work he could do, and in success he thought of God and His goodness to him.
In this chapter, the Lord revealed to Nathan and David what is usually called the Davidic covenant. This declaration not only had great meaning for David in his day, but it has significance today for Israel, the church, and the world at large.
What the covenant meant to David (vv. 1–9). That David wanted to build a house for the Lord doesn’t surprise us, because David was a man after God’s own heart and longed to honor the Lord in every possible way. During his years of exile, David had vowed to the Lord that he would build Him a temple (Ps. 132:1–5), and his bringing the ark to Jerusalem was surely the first step toward fulfilling that vow. Now it troubled David that he was living in a comfortable stone house with cedar paneling while God’s throne was in a tent, and he shared his burden with Nathan.
This is the first appearance of Nathan in Scripture. Gad had been David’s prophet during his exile (1 Sam. 22:5), and after David’s coronation, Gad didn’t pass from the scene (2 Sam. 24:1–18). In fact, he and Nathan worked together keeping the official records (1 Chron. 29:25, 29) and organizing the worship (2 Chron. 29:25), but Nathan seems to have been the prophetic voice of God to David during his reign. It was Nathan who confronted David about his sin (chap. 12) and also who saw to it that Solomon was crowned king (1 Kings 1:11ff.). David had four sons by Bathsheba and named one of them Nathan (1 Chron. 3:1–5). When Nathan told David to do what was in his heart, he wasn’t affirming that David’s desires were actually God’s will. Rather, he was encouraging the king to pursue his desires and see what the Lord wanted him to do. God answered by giving Nathan a special message for the king, and Nathan faithfully delivered it.
In the first part of the message, God reminded David that at no time had He ever asked any tribe or tribal leader to build Him a house. God had commanded Moses to make a tabernacle for His dwelling, and He had been satisfied to travel with His pilgrim people and dwell with them wherever they camped. Now that Israel was in the land and had peace, they needed a caring leader, not a temple, and that’s why God called David to shepherd the people of Israel. God had been with David to protect his life and prosper his service and had made David’s name great. In spite of his desires and his oath, David would not build the temple. The best thing he could do for the Lord was to continue shepherding the people and setting a godly example.
This announcement must have disappointed David, but he accepted it graciously and gave the Lord thanks for all His goodness to him. When Solomon dedicated the temple, he explained that God accepted David’s desire for the deed: “Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart” (1 Kings 8: nkjv; see 2 Cor. 8:12). God’s servants must learn to accept the disappointments of life, for as A. T. Pierson used to say, “Disappointments are His appointments.”
What the covenant means to Israel (vv. 10–15). The foundation for God’s purposes and dealings with the people of Israel is His covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3; 15:1–15). God chose Abraham by His grace and promised him a land, a great name, multiplied descendants, and His blessing and protection. He also promised that the whole world would be blessed through Abraham’s seed, and this refers to Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:1–16). God called Israel to be the human channel through which His Son and His Word would come to the world. God’s covenant with David builds on this covenant with Abraham, for it speaks about the nation, the land, and the Messiah.
The Lord began with the subject of Israel’s land (v. 10) and promised “rest” to His people. The word “rest” is an important word in the prophetic vocabulary and refers to a number of blessings in the plan of God for His people. The concept of “rest” began with God’s rest when He completed creation (Gen. 2:1–3), and this was a basis for Israel’s observance of the Sabbath (Ex. 20:8–11). After God delivered Israel from Egypt, He promised them “rest” in their own land (Ex. 33:14; Deut. 25:19; Josh. 1:13, 15). David was so busy fighting wars that he couldn’t build the temple (1 Kings 5:17), but when God gave rest to Israel, Solomon built the temple using the plans and materials that God gave his father David (1 Kings 5:1–4; 8:56; Ps. 89:19–23).
The concept of “rest” goes beyond any of these matters because it speaks also of the spiritual rest that believers have in Christ (Matt. 11:28–30; Heb. 2:10–18; 4:14–16). The concept also looks ahead to Israel’s future kingdom and the rest that God’s people will then enjoy when Jesus Christ sits upon David’s throne (Isa. 11:1–12; 65:17–25; Jer. 31:1–14; 50:34).
Then the Lord turned from promises concerning the land and the nation to promises concerning David’s throne and family (vv. 11–16). Every king is concerned about the future of his kingdom, and the Lord promised David something above and beyond anything he could have imagined. David wanted to build God a house (the temple), but God promised to build David a house—a dynasty forever! The word “house” is used fifteen times in this chapter and refers to David’s palace (vv. 1–2), the temple (vv. 5–7, 13), and David’s dynasty, culminating in Messiah, Jesus Christ (vv. 11, 13, 16, 18–29).
God’s first announcement of the coming of the Savior was given in Genesis 3:15, informing us that the Savior would be a human being and not an angel. Genesis 12: tells us that He would be a Jew who would bless the whole world, and Genesis 49: that He would come through the tribe of Judah. In this covenant, God announced to David that Messiah would come through his family, and Micah 5: prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem, the City of David (see Matt. 2:6). No wonder the king was so elated when he learned that Messiah would be known as “the Son of David” (Matt. 1:1)!
In this section, the Lord speaks about Solomon as well as about the Savior, who is “greater than Solomon” (Matt. 12:42). Solomon would build the temple David longed to build, but his reign would end; however, the reign of Messiah would go on forever. David would have a house forever (vv. 25, 29), a kingdom forever (v. 16), and a throne forever (vv. 13, 16), and would glorify God’s name forever (v. 26).
All of this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Ps. 89:34–37; Luke 1:32–33, 69; Acts 2:29–36; 13:22–23; 2 Tim. 2:8) and will be manifested when He returns, establishes the promised kingdom, and sits on David’s throne. The spiritual blessings God offered to David are today offered in Jesus Christ to all who will trust Him (Isa. 55:1–3; Acts 13:32–39). They will be fulfilled literally by Jesus Chirst in the future kingdom promised to Israel (Isa. 9:1–7; 11:1–16; 16:5; Jer. 33:15–26; Ezek. 34:23–24; 37:24–25; Hos. 3:5; Zech. 12:7–8). The throne of David ended in 586 BC with Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, but the line of David continued and brought Jesus Christ the Son of God into the world (Matt. 1:12–25; Luke 1:26–38, 54–55, David expands the borders (8:1— 68–79). 10:19)
Humanly speaking, the nation of Israel would have perished quickly had not God been faithful to His covenant with David, who was “the light [lamp] of Israel” (21:17). No matter to what depths the kings and people descended, the Lord preserved a lamp for David and for Israel (1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19; 2 Chron. 21:7; Ps. 132:17). Whether they recognized it or not, the Jewish people were heavily indebted to David for their temple, the instruments and songs used in the temple, the organization of the temple ministry, and the protection the nation had from the enemy nations. We today are indebted to David for keeping the light shining so that the Savior could come into the world. In spite of the nation’s sins, God chastened His people, but He did not break His covenant or take His mercy away (v. 15; 22:51; 1 Kings 3:6; 2 Chron. 6:42; Ps. 89:28, 33, 49).
What the covenant means to believers today (vv. 18–29). We have already noted that there is a church today because God used David’s family to bring the Savior into the world, and there is a future for Israel because God gave David a throne forever. The way that David responded to this great Word from God is a good example for us to follow today. He humbled himself before the Lord and at least ten times called himself the servant of God. Servants usually stand at attention and wait for orders, but David sat before the Lord. The covenant God gave David was unconditional; all David had to do was accept it and let God work. Like a little child speaking to a loving parent, the king called himself “David” (v. 20), and he poured out his heart to the Lord.
First he focused on the present as he gave praise for the mercies God bestowed on him (vv. 18–21). It was God’s grace that had brought David this far—from the sheepfolds to the throne—and now God had spoken about his descendants far into the future. In verses 18–20 and 28–29, David addressed God as “Lord God,” which in Hebrew is “Jehovah Adonai, the Sovereign Lord.” (In vv. 22 and 25, it’s “Jehovah Elohim,” the God of power.) Only a God of sovereign grace would give such a covenant, and only a God with sovereign power could fulfill it. “Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord?” (v. 19 nlt). In one sense, the answer is no, because God chose the house of David to bring His Son into the world; but in another sense, the answer is yes, because any sinner can trust Jesus Christ and be saved and enter into the family of God. David saw the promises of this covenant as a “great thing” (v. 21) because of the dependability of God’s Word and God’s love.
In verses 22–24, David looked at the past and God’s amazing grace toward Israel. The Lord chose Israel instead of the other nations on the earth, and He revealed Himself to Israel by giving the law at Mount Sinai and speaking the Word through His prophets. The Jews were to remember the uniqueness of the Lord and not bow before the idols of the other nations. (See Deut. 4:34; 7:6–8; 9:4–5; Neh. 9:10.) God is the Lord of all nations but He did great things for Israel, His chosen people. David recognized the wonderful truth that God had chosen Israel to be His people forever!
The third part of David’s prayer and praise (vv. 25–29) looked to the future as revealed in the covenant just delivered to the king. God gave the Word, David believed it, and David asked God to fulfill that Word for His people. He wanted Israel to continue as a nation and the Lord to be magnified through Israel. He asked that his house be built just as the Lord had promised (v. 27), even though it was disappointing to David that he wasn’t permitted to build a house for the Lord. “Thy kingdom come” is the thrust of verse 27, and “Thy will be done” the thrust of verse 28. It was enough for David simply to hear the promises and believe them; he also prayed to the Lord to fulfill them.
In his humility, faith, and submission to God’s will, David is a good example for us to follow.