Bible Commentaries
2 Samuel 7

Verses 1-29

2 Samuel 7:0

1. And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies;

2. That the king said unto Nathan the prophet [the first mention of him], See now, I dwell in an house of cedar; but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains [compare Hag 1:10 ].

3. And Nathan said [speaking from the impulse of his own heart] 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 [the night following Nathan's conversation with David], 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 an 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 this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.

7. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes [judges?] of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?

8. Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote [pastures], from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:

9. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.

10. Moreover I will [I have] appoint a place for my people Israel, and will [have] plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,

11. And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.

12. ¶ And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom [Solomon may have been already born].

13. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

14. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

15. But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

16. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever [David was the head of the line which culminated in Christ Jesus].

17. According to all these words, and according to all this vision [a word applicable to every divine communication], so did Nathan speak unto David.

18. ¶ Then went king David in [to the tent he had pitched for the ark], and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

19. And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?

20. And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant.

21. For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.

22. Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any god beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears [the same word applies to written records, and to divine communications made in any way].

23. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel whom God went [in the Hebrew both the divine name and the verb are plural] to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you [for them in the Vulgate] great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

24. For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, Lord, art become their God.

25. And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.

26. And let thy name be magnified [hallowed be thy name!] for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.

27. For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

28. And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:

29. Therefore now let it please thee [it will please thee] to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

Verse 19

"Handfuls of Purpose"

"Is this the manner of man, O Lord God?" 2 Samuel 7:19 .

David was surprised by the greatness of the divine promise. Not only did the Lord speak of David himself, but he spake of David's house, saying of his son, "He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: but my mercy shall not depart away from him." This astounded David; he said Thou hast not only spoken well of me, "thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come." David saw in the divine procedure a method that was contrary to all known analogies. This is what we must always see in the Scripture, and in all the religion which it discloses. The Bible realises its greatness in its distinctiveness. When we read it we say, Is this the manner of our books? The same characterises the whole service of Jesus Christ. The people who heard him, said, "Never man spake like this man;" and others said, "What manner of man is this?" Jesus Christ cautioned his disciples against merely mimicking the good manners of the pagans; he said, "What do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? " When he left his disciples, he said, "Not as the world giveth, give I unto you." If Christianity is a mere variety of religion, if it is one of a hundred other systems, if it is willing to sit down amongst them, and to take what applause it can extract from men in competition with other religions, then indeed it is not worth receiving, certainly not worth dying for; it is when the Christian religion discloses its uniqueness that it discloses its un-approachableness; when it does for men what no other religion can do, then it shows how truly it came out of heaven from God. We are not called upon to exhibit a common morality, but a special spirituality.