GOD MAKES A PROMISE TO DAVID

PROCLAMATION

“… I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own … rest from all thine enemies.  Also The Lord telleth thee that He will make thee an house … I will set up thy seed after thee … I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build an house for My name …”  2 Samuel 7:10-13 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  After the king was settled in his palace, The Lord gave him rest from all of his enemies.  David said to Nathan the prophet that he was living in a house of cedar while the ark of God is in a tent. (2 Samuel 7:1-2)  Nathan told David to do whatever he wanted to do because The Lord God was with him.  However, The Lord appeared to Nathan that night and corrected him saying that while He appreciated David’s desire to build Him a house, He would not let him do so.  That honor would go to David’s son.  However, The Lord said that He would build a house for David. (2 Samuel 7:3-16)  The remainder of the chapter is David’s prayer to The Lord in response to what Nathan had told him. (2 Samuel 7:17-29)

 

APPLICATION

There is an old saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” (Henry G. Bohn)  It is not what we intend to do, but what we actually do that counts.  However, in this text, The Lord God gives King David credit and also a reward for his desire to build a house for the ark of God. (2 Samuel 7:11)  The Lord knows our thoughts, intentions, and motives. (Hebrews 4:12)  He knows our hearts. (Luke 16:15)  For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)  So, we need to ask The Lord God to create within us a clean and righteous heart. (Psalm 51:10)