In The Word
Read 1 Chronicles 17
God’s Covenant with David
And it came about, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I am dwelling in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under curtains.” Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
It came about the same night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,“Go and tell David My servant, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’”’ Now, therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a name like the name of the great ones who are in the earth. I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and not be moved again; and the wicked will not waste them anymore as formerly, even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies.
Moreover, I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you. When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”’” According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
David’s Prayer in Response
Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? This was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the standard of a man of high degree, O Lord God. What more can David still say to You concerning the honor bestowed on Your servant? For You know Your servant. O Lord, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things. O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make You a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt? For Your people Israel You made Your own people forever, and You, O Lord, became their God.
“Now, O Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as You have spoken. Let Your name be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and the house of David Your servant is established before You.’ For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build for him a house; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You. Now, O Lord, You are God, and have promised this good thing to Your servant. And now it has pleased You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
David desired to build a house (temple) so that the Lord could dwell among His people. God refused, but He promised David that He would raise up his seed to build a temple and that David’s seed would rule forever. This is a great picture of why the genealogies of the Jewish people were so important in scripture. In 1 Chronicles 22:8-10, God told David that Solomon, his son, would build the house (temple) of the Lord. Solomon did, in fact, build a beautiful temple, but he later died; his throne did not last forever. Many generations later, a direct descendant of Solomon, Joseph, was espoused to a young virgin girl named Mary. Mary, like Joseph, was also a direct descendant of King David. But unlike Joseph, she was a descendant of King David’s son Nathan. Mary gave birth to a virgin-born son who they called Yahshua. This child had a double line of ancestry to King David. This was the seed that would rule forever on the throne of David (1 Chronicles 17:12 and Luke 1:31-33).
For God to bring this prophecy to pass in this great way is awesome! Truly, the glory of God is expressed mightily in His Word. This same Yahshua is the God we worship and serve. Prophecy like this is a great encouragement to Christians. We know that God has everything in His control. This includes all things past, present, and future! Wow! What a mighty God we serve! There is no other God but the Lord (Exodus 34:14 and Acts 4:12)!