2 Samuel 7:4

_AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT NIGHT, THAT THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO NATHAN, SAYING,_ It came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan. The command was given to the prophet on the night immediately following - i:e., before David could either take any measures, or incur any expenses....

4-17 Blessings are promised to the family and posterity of David. These promises relate to Solomon, David's immediate successor, and the royal line of Judah. But they also relate to Christ, who is often called David and the Son of David. To him God gave all power in heaven and earth, with authority to execute judgment. He was to build the gospel temple, a house for God's name; the spiritual temple of true believers, to be a habitation of God through the Spirit. The establishing of his house, his throne, and his kingdom for ever, can be applied to no other than to Christ and his kingdom: David's house and kingdom long since came to an end. The committing iniquity cannot be applied to the Messiah himself, but to his spiritual seed; true believers have infirmities, for which they must expect to be corrected, though they are not cast off....

EXPOSITION 2 SAMUEL 7:1 WHEN THE KING SAT IN HIS HOUSE. The order is not chronological; for the words, JEHOVAH HAD GIVEN HIM REST FROM ALL HIS ENEMIES ROUND ABOUT (so the Revised Version, rightly), imply the successful termination, not of all wars necessarily, but certainly of something more than that with the Philistine invaders in the Rephaim valley. A general summary of all David's wars is given in 2 Samuel 8:1; and it was probably after he had subdued the Philistines and Moab, and his throne was now fully established, that in some time of peace, possibly before Hanun forced him into wars which won for him an empire, David sent for Nathan, and told him his full desire. Its position here immediately after the account of the bringing o

AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT NIGHT,.... The same night following the day in which David and Nathan had had the above conversation, that neither of them might continue long in their error and mistake, and especially lest David, in his great zeal and warm affection, should take an hasty and improper step: THAT THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO NATHAN; the word of prophecy, as the Targum; before he was not under a prophetic influence, but spoke in his own words, and had not the word of God; but now it came to him: SAYING; as follows....

4. THE LORD'S PROMISE TO DAVID AND THE COVENANT CHAPTER 7 _ 1. David's desire (2 Samuel 7:1)_ 2. Nathan receives the message for David (2 Samuel 7:4) 3. David in the presence of Jehovah (2 Samuel 7:18) We reach now a climax. The Lord speaks and reveals His great purposes He had in His eternal councils for David, the king after His own heart. We behold the king in peace sitting in his own house; he had rest from all his enemies. In pious meditation the heart of the king had but one great thought, one great ambition. The prophet Nathan is in his presence and to him he speaks. “See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.” And Nathan told him to

2 SAMUEL 7. DAVID PROPOSES TO BUILD A TEMPLE FOR THE ARK BUT YAHWEH PREFERS TO DWELL IN A TENT, AS HERETOFORE. HE PROMISES DAVID THAT HIS DYNASTY SHALL ALWAYS OCCUPY THE THRONE (D). An independent narrative, complete in itself; not from any of the main sources, but probably composed towards the close of the Jewish Monarchy by a writer of the Deuteronomic school. 2 Samuel 7:13, referring to Solomon and his Temple, is a later addition. This Divine promise of permanence to the Davidic dynasty is an early form of the Messianic Hope of Israel. 2 SAMUEL 7:1. David proposes to build a house of cedar for the Ark; Nathan assures him of the Divine approval. 2 SAMUEL 7:4. Nathan, however, was premature.

THAT NIGHT. After these words all the MSS. have. hiatus, marking. solemn pause, and pointing back to the corresponding night of Genesis 15:12, thus connecting the two great unconditional Covenants. See note on 2 Samuel 7:1....

_the word of the_Lord _came unto Nathan_ Observe the clear distinction between Nathan's own judgment, which approved David's resolution, and the divine message which he was commissioned to deliver to David....

2. God's Covenant With David, 2 Samuel 7:1-29. _David's Desire to Build a Temple Thwarted._ 2 Samuel 7:1-11 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; 2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. 3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that _is_ in thine heart; for the Lord _is_ with thee, 4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, 5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in? 6 Whereas I have not dwelt in _any_ house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to th

THE PROMISE OF GOD TO DAVID IN REQUITAL OF HIS DESIRE TO BUILD THE TEMPLE This chapter affords an excellent illustration of the way in which prophecy has often two quite distinct applications, one to the more immediate and the other to the more distant future. The primary reference is to Solomon (see especially 2 Samuel 7:12), but the prophecy looks beyond him to a greater Son, of whom he was only an emblem and type. We get a somewhat similar instance in Isaiah 7:14 (see especially 2 Samuel 7:16). Chronologically this chapter should follow 2 Samuel 8....