2 Samuel 7:5

_GO AND TELL MY SERVANT DAVID, THUS SAITH THE LORD, SHALT THOU BUILD ME AN HOUSE FOR ME TO DWELL IN?_ Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? The interrogation here, according to the Hebrew idiom, expresses a strong negation, and is equivalent to, "Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in" (1 Chronicles 17:4: see similar instances, 2 Samuel 22:6; Genesis 4:9; Amos 5:25....

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....

Verse 2 Samuel 7:5. _SHALT THOU BUILD ME A HOUSE_] That is, Thou shalt not: this is the force of the interrogative in such a case....

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

GO AND TELL MY SERVANT DAVID,.... The Lord speaks very honourably and respectfully of him, owns him to be his servant in other things, though he did not choose to employ him in this; and though he was not the person, nor this the time, to build the house of the Lord, yet, as he showed a good will towards it, so far it was acceptable to God: THUS SAITH THE LORD, SHALT THOU BUILD ME AN HOUSE FOR ME TO DWELL IN? no, thou shalt not, as appears from 1 Chronicles 17:4; which seems to be expressed with much spirit, and some degree of resentment, to resolve on such a work, without seeking to know his mind in it. Eupolemus u an Heathen, confirms this account, only instead of a prophet he speaks of an angel, whose name he says was Dinnathan, who, when David was desirous of building a temple for God, and very anxious to be shown the place where the altar was to be erected,

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.

MY SERVANT. Note the repetition of this word throughout this chapter. See note on 2 Samuel 7:18....

The Lord's message to David The connexion of thought in 2 Samuel 7:5 is as follows: "_Thou_shalt not build a house for _Me_(5 7), but _I_, who have chosen thee to be the ruler of my people, will build an house _for thee_(8 11), and thy son shall erect an house for me" (12, 13). The reasons why David's zeal was thus checked must be carefully considered. The unsettled condition of the nation had made a fixed sanctuary impossible hitherto, and even now the time for it was not yet fully come. The house of David must be firmly established and peace secured, before this great step in the history of the national religion could be advantageously taken. Again, David was not to build the house "because he had shed much blood, and had made great wars" (1 Chronicles 22:8;...

SHALT THOU BUILD ME AN HOUSE, &C.— The interrogation here has the force of a negative. The meaning is, _Thou shalt not build me,_ &c. See Psalms 132:3; Psalms 132:18....