MPV Commentary

David Forbidden to Build God a House.

1. As David sat in his house, he was reminded of the covenant God had made with him (2Sa 7:1-29). The exact chronology is not specified, but it was likely towards the end of David's reign, after all his wars had ceased.

5. David said, "I have been walking from tent to tent and from one tabernacle to another." This emphasizes that God was a traveling God who went from place to place with His entire dwelling, including the forecourts and altar of burnt offerings.

6. The Lord spoke to Nathan, saying, "Why have you not built me an house of cedars?" In other words, why has no one constructed a solid and magnificent temple for Me?

7. The Lord continued, "I took you from the sheepcote, elevated you to the throne by My own act of divine grace, and enabled you to acquire renown equal or superior to any other monarch." David's reign would be remembered as the best and brightest era in Israel's history, securing a settled inheritance of prosperity and peace.

9-10. The Lord said, "At the beginning, and since the time that I commanded judges," referring to the entire period from Joshua to Saul. "I tell you that the Lord will build you an house." This was Nathan's message to David, assuring him not only of personal blessing but also of a continuous line of royal descendants.

11. The Lord promised, "I will raise up your seed" (2Sa 7:12).

13. The Lord said, "I will not take My mercy away from him as I took it from the one who was before you." If David's misconduct required personal chastisement, God would spare his family. Any withdrawal of favor and help would be a corrective discipline to reform and restore.

14. The Lord declared, "I will settle him in My house over My people Israel, and in My kingdom forever." This asserts God's right of supreme sovereignty in Israel, with David and Solomon serving as vicegerents whom He nominated or permitted.

15. According to all this vision, the revelation of the divine will was made to Nathan in a dream.

16. David the king sat before the Lord, saying (2Sa 7:18).