Bible Materials

GOD’S PROMISE TO KING DAVID

by M. William Shin   04/03/2022   2_Samuel 7:1~17

Question


UBF Message 2Sam 7 03/27/2022

Do you care for God and God’s house?

2Samuel 7 Key verse 2b

Here I am living on a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent

In this passage David cared about God and His house. So he wanted to build God’s house. However, through His Word to Nathan, God revealed that He cared about David and his house. God wanted to establish David’s house forever. Here we find a beautiful relationship between David and God. They cared for each other. Here God showed David three things: first, He did not care about His own house (5-7), second, He cared for His people Israel (8-11a), and third, He cared for David’s house (11b-16).

First, God did not care about His own house (5-7)

Verses 1-2 state, “After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, ‘Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.’” David became king over Israel, and conquered Jerusalem and defeated the Philistines in chapter 5. David secured his kingship politically and spiritually. He was settled now in his royal palace. He had everything he wanted. He was at the best time of his life. He brought even the ark of God in his city. He was spiritually high as well. What would you do when you feel like you are spiritually at the top, like after a spring retreat, or Sunday worship service? I usually watch soccer highlight on YouTube. David also could do whatever he liked to do. But he thought about God. He cared about God’s house. He realized that he lived in a very big, beautiful, and luxurious palace while God lived in a very small shabby tent. David felt sorry for God. So, he mentioned it to the prophet Nathan. Nathan replied to the king in verse 3, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”

But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying in verses 5-7, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’” God reminded David that at no time had He ever asked any tribe or 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 people and dwell with them wherever they camped. God did not care about His own house. He cared about His people and their home.

Second, God cared for His people (8-11a)

Verses 8-9 state, “Now then, tell my servant David, “This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth.” David might have been disappointed that God did not allow him to build His house. So God told David how much God had loved him and cared for him, staying with him and appointing him as a ruler over His people. Here God also told him that he would provide a place for his people Israel and would plant them so that they could have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed by the wicked people. In the past, the nation Israel had been oppressed by so many nations, such as the Midianites, the Philistines, etc. As God promised, the nation Israel found a home in Palestine, having safety and security under King David and Solomon. When David and Solomon kept the covenant with God, God blessed Israel. The king David and Solomon conquered many surrounding wicked nations and expanded their land. Some historians even refer to Israel as “The empire of Israel” during their reign because Israel had become so big and prosperous. The fame of Israel reached many surrounding nations.

Third, God cared for David’s house (11b-17)

Verses 11b-13 state, “The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

David wanted to build a house for God. However, God said, “Thank you David, but no thanks. Let Me build you a house instead.” God promised to build a house, a dynasty, for David. Here we learn the beautiful relationship between David and God. From young age, David had a personal relationship with God. Today’s passage shows this beautiful relationship between them. When David cared for God and His house, God cared for David and his house. They cared for each other. Do you know what the New Testament says about this? Mat 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” When we care for God’s house by seeking his kingdom, God will care for us by providing our needs. God promised David that he would raise up David’s offspring to succeed him and to establish his kingdom. God also said that he is the one who would build a house for God. Here, God made a covenant with David. The scholars call this “the Davidic Covenant.” In this covenant, we learn three things.

The first element of the Davidic Covenant is offspring. Here, offspring physically refers to Solomon. Solomon succeeded David’s throne. He built God’s house, the temple. However, the word, “offspring” has a deep spiritual meaning. It brings us all the way back to the beginning of history when God cursed the serpent after the Fall of humans. God said to the serpent in Ge 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers, he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.” Here God, for the first time, spoke about the offspring of women. God promised that the offspring of women would crush the head of Satan while the Satan would strike his heel. The scholars called this promise “the Primitive Gospel,” or “Adamic Covenant,” which reveals that the Savior or Hero would be a human, not an angel. God prophesied that one day, the Savior would be born as an offspring of woman and crush the Devil through his blood that would be shed from his heel. So, God, in his sovereign wisdom, made a plan to bring the offspring of woman in history. For that, God made a covenant with people. Covenant is like a marriage vow between God and a person. When we make a marriage vow, we must keep it to the end. God did the same thing. Abraham was the first person God made a covenant with, after Noah. In this covenant, God promised him that he would bless him and make him into a great nation. God also referred to Abraham, “offspring.” God promised him that his offspring would take the land of Palestine and bless the whole world. This promise, called “the Abrahamic Covenant,” reveals that the Savior, the offspring of woman, would be a Jew, an offspring of Abraham. In today’s passage God made a covenant with David and promised that he would raise up his “offspring” to succeed him and build his house. So the Davidic Covenant reveals that the Savior would be a son of David. Through these covenants God revealed the identity of the Savior, offspring of woman, in detail: a human, a Jew, and a son of David.

The second element of the Davidic Covenant is a kingdom. God declared to David, “I will establish his kingdom. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” Here God repeated the word, “kingdom” and “throne” five times. God promised to David that he would establish the throne of his kingdom forever. But when we read Jewish history, we find that David’s kingdom lasted only 400 years. And then Israel was ruled by the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Greek and Roman empires. Although David’s kingdom was gone, David’s line had been kept throughout history before the birth of Jesus. Matthew and Luke traced David’s line all the way down to Joseph and Mary. Mat 1:1 states, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David and the son of Abraham.” Before the birth of Jesus the Savior, the Angel Gabriel told Mary about the son she would bear in Lk 1:31-33, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” The angel’s message is almost identical to God’s Word to David here in 2 Samuel 7. The New Covenant reveals that the offspring of women in the beginning is Jesus, a son of David, who crushed Satan’s head with his blood that was shed from his heel. Jesus was born as a king at Bethlehem, a town of David. When he began his ministry, he, as a king, proclaimed the arrival of His kingdom in Mk 1:15, “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” But Instead of ruling on the throne of David, the king was killed on the cross for the sin of the world. People thought that the kingdom was gone. However, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, establishing spiritual kingdom. Now Jesus reigns over the world as a king sitting at the right hand of God in heaven, not on earth. But in due time, He will come down, sit on the throne of Daivd and reign over the world on earth, fulfilling the Davidic Covenant.

The third element of the Davidic Covenant is house. God said to David in verse 13a, “He is the one who will build a house for my Name.” In these 17 verses, the word “house” is repeated seven times. God said that David’s son Solomon would build a house for God, which Solomon did, the temple. But spiritually the Son of David, the Messiah, built God’s house, the church in our time. To build the temple, Solomon needed a lot of wood, stones, money, workers, etc. But to build a spiritual temple, Jesus had to sacrifice his life. He had to shed his blood from the hands and feet. He had to die on the cross to purchase God’s house. We are His house.

Lastly, God said in verses 14-16,” I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielding by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” God promised him that He would never take his love from his son, meaning He would never reject him. If he sins, God will discipline him out of love. Punishing is not the same as rejecting. Sometimes, we perceive God’s punishment as God’s rejection, thinking that God does not love us. So we doubt God’s love, asking “Does God really love me?” But God said, “My love will never be taken away from him.” God would never take his love away from us because he made a covenant with us, a wedding vow, that He would love us no matter what. Once we believe in Christ, we are in a new covenant with God.

In conclusion, David cared about God and His house. So he wanted to build God’s house. However, God said, “Thank you David. But no thanks.” Instead, God cared for David and his house. God promised David that his offspring would build God’s house, and that David’s dynasty and kingdom would last forever. As God promised, the son of David, Jesus, built God’s house, the church, through his lifeblood.

From this passage, I am convicted of my sin of not caring for God’s house. I realized that I have cared for myself and my ambition more than God and His house. The result is to serve NYU. I realized that I do not really care for God’s house, namely, NY UBF. Of course, I do care for it, yet not as much as God wants me to. At the same time, my heart is little conflicted in serving NYU ministry because it is the result of my ambition. Early this year, while studying 1Cor 3, I got convicted by verses 12-15, which say, “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames.” Especially, the phrase, “quality of each person’s work” hit me hard. I had to examine my work. I realized that I have been more focused on quantity, not quality, of my work. I repented of my sins. This really scared me because I do not want to experience total loss at the Day of Judgment. I am scared to hear from my God and Jesus, “William, I gave my life for you. I loved you. I taught you to do work out of love. What have you done?” His words would break my heart. I decided to do my work out of love and focus on quality not quantity. While preparing this message, I again was hit by the Word and thought, “Do I really care for God and God’s house?” I want to care for God and God’s house. Our second gen is the future of God’s church. But I neglect them many times. I pray that in a small way I may help them grow either through prayer or one to one mentoring. May God help me.

How about you? Do you care for God and God’s house?

I pray that you and I may care for God and God’s house so that He may dwell within us, and that we may become a blessing to the world.


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