26867756 ii-samuel-7-commentary

TARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
Many of the resources that I quote can be found by anyone,but I have brought them together in a
verse by verse study that makes it easier for those interested in Bible study to have this
information available. It saves a lot of time, and hopefully this will enable Bible students to be
more willing to study the Word. I have tried to quote the best thoughts of other commentators,
but cannot quote all they say, and so each of them can be googled for more details of what they
write. Some I quote are not named, and if you know who is the author I will be glad to give them
credit. If there are some who do not wish their wisdom to be shared in this way, I will delete it if
asked to do so by the author. I can be notified at my e-mail address which is
glenn_p86@yahoo.com
I

1. David Roper, “David's life falls into three distinct eras. During one part of his life he was in the
court of Saul, serving there as an armor bearer and musician. The second period was his exile,
when he was forced to flee from Saul's court. He spent some twelve to fifteen years being pursued
by Saul, and part of the time dwelt with the Philistines down in Ziklag. The final period of his life
is his reign. 2 Samuel is preeminently the book of David's reign. It begins with his being anointed
king over the southern tribe of Judah and reigning at Hebron. It concludes some forty years later
with David a venerable seventy-year-old monarch, reigning over a united Israel. So the book is
essentially the account of David's forty years of rule.”
2. “Walter Brueggemann identifies this David and

athan story as 'the dramatic and theological
center of the entire Samuel corpus . . . one of the most crucial texts in the Old Testament for
evangelical faith.'d” Many commentators agree that this is a central text, and some say it is the
most important chapter in the Old Testament up to this time. It's importance is stressed by the
fact that I Chron. 17 is a duplicate passage of this one, with some interesting details not included
here. Robert Gordon called this chapter the “ideological summit . . . in the Old Testament as a
whole.” John Levenson contended that God’s covenant with David “receives more attention in
the Hebrew Bible than any covenant except the Sinaitic.”
3. “2 Samuel chapter 7 is one of the most important chapters in the OT and in the unfolding
history of salvation. It lays the groundwork for a great deal of what is to come and, of course, for
our understanding of the predictions of the coming of the Messiah and of the coming of the
kingdom of God that litter the Psalms and Prophets and then are cited in reference to the Lord

ew Testament. The fact that the Messiah would be a "shoot from the stump of
Jesse" or that he would be born in Bethlehem or that he would sit on David's throne all hark
back to the promise of God to David in this chapter. If you understand this chapter and can fit it
into the Bible's unfolding plan for salvation and for the history of the world, then you are a
biblical theologian!” Author unknown
4. This chapter contains the Davidic Covenant. God made covenants with the people. He made
one with Abraham which is spelled out very clearly in Genesis. He promised Abraham a seed that
would bless all the earth with all spiritual blessings. Jesus Christ is the answer to that, of course.
He also promised Abraham's physical descendents a land which ran from Egypt all the way up to
the Euphrates, ostensibly most of the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean, that they would
possess forever. This is the Promised Land the Jews are looking for.

ow God makes a covenant
with David which involves not only the physical children of Abraham, the Israelites, but also the
spiritual children of Abraham. It has a twofold meaning. Interwoven in this covenant is both the
picture of David's dynasty which he established on earth and also the picture of the eternal reign
of the Son of David, Jesus Christ.
5. GotQuestions.org has this paragraph on the Davidic Covenant: “Question: "What is the
Davidic covenant?"
Answer: The Davidic Covenant refers to God’s promises to David through

athan the prophet
and is found in 2 Samuel 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16.
This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises
David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the
tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:10-13). The
Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon
its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not
depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience.”
6. This chapter can be broken down into these categories:
DAVID'S PLA

God's Promise to David
1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD
had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
1. It is about time that David reached a place in his life where he could actually rest and take it
easy. His has been a life on the run from his own king, or the kings of enemy peoples like the

Philistines. His life has been one long war up till now, and finally he has some peace and rest. It
gives him time to think and meditate, and that is where this story begins; with David's thoughts
about the ark of God.
2. Unfortunately, it did not last long, and as Gill wrote, “...this rest and peace did not last long;
for the next chapter gives an account of each of the people he was engaged in war with, ( 2 Samuel
8:1-18) .”
2 he said to

athan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a
palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
1. It seems that David is feeling guilty as he rests in the lap of luxury while God, who dwells in a
tent, is living in relative poverty compared to him. It does not seem right in his eyes, and he is
thinking that it is time to update God's situation. It is time for an extreme makeover, and time to
get God out of the tent.
2. Pink, “ Instead of being occupied with his achievements and self-satisfied with the position
which he now occupied, David was concerned about the lowly abode of God’s ark. Very beautiful
indeed is it to see the recently crowned monarch solicitous, not for the honor of his own majesty,
but, for the glory of Him whom he served.
It is not often that those in high places manifest such interest in spiritual things: would that more
of the Lord’s people who are entrusted with a considerable amount of this world’s goods were
more exercised in heart over the prospering of His cause. There are not many who make
conscience over spending far more upon themselves than they do for furthering the service of
God. In this generation, when the pilgrim character of the saints is well-nigh obliterated, when
separation from the world is so largely a thing of the past, when self-indulgence and the
gratification of every whim is the order of the day, few find their rest disturbed in the conviction
that the worship is languishing. Thousands of professing Christians think more about the welfare
of their pet dogs than they do in seeing that the needs of God’s servants and impoverished
believers are met, and spend more on the upkeep of their motorcars than they do in the support
of missionaries. Little wonder that the Holy Spirit is quenched in so many places.”
3. “This is the first mention of one of the most eminent men appearing in the history of the reigns
of David and Solomon,

athan, who, later, was to rebuke David for his sin with Bathseba, the
man who became the tutor of Solomon (12:25). And who was the author of a history of the reign
of David, and of a part of the reign of Solomon (I Chron. 29:29; II Chron. 9:29) from which in all
probability a large portion of the books of Samuel, kings and Chronicles is derived.” A. F.
Kirkpatrick.
3B. Gill, “ This is the first time this prophet is made mention of, but often afterward, yet who he
was, and from whence he came, is not known; he appears to be a man of great piety and

prudence, as well as endowed with a prophetic spirit, and was very familiar with David, and
perhaps dwelt in his palace; being a man on all accounts fit for conversation with princes, to
whom David imparted what he had been meditating upon in his heart. The Jews have a tradition
that he was the same with Jonathan the son of Shimea, the brother of David, (2 Samuel 21:21) ;
which is not very likely:”
3C. Michael

athans in the Old Testament. One was a prophet who
counseled both King David and King Solomon. He is frequently identified as

athan the prophet
—the Hebrew word means inspired man—perhaps to distinguish him from

athan the son of
David. It is possible David named one of his sons

athan because of the esteem he had for this
outstanding man of God. We are told that the “first and last” acts of David are written in the
book of

athan the prophet (1 Chronicles 29:29) and that the “first and last” acts of Solomon are
written in the book of

athan the prophet (2 Chronicles 9:29). If this last statement is literally
true,

athan must have lived long into the reign of Solomon which would imply that he was
considerably younger than David. Although our Bible does not contain a “book of

athan,” some
of what we have in Kings and Chronicles might well have come from him.”
4. Bob Deffinbaugh, “Somehow it seems inappropriate for David to live in such splendor, while
the ark of God is kept in such plain and seemingly provisional surroundings. The idea comes to
him that he can build another house; this second house will be a temple in which the ark can be
kept in far more fitting surroundings. It is settled in David's mind. That is what he will do. And so
David confides in

athan the prophet, who seems also to be a friend and confidant of the king.
How can such a generous gesture possibly be wrong? Why shouldn't God have a more fitting
dwelling place? And so, without consulting God,

athan gives David the go ahead. In effect,

athan says to David, “Sounds good to me, and I'm sure it will be okay with God as well.”
5. Criswell, “"Look now," he says, "I dwell in an house of cedar." Hiram, king of Tyre, had sent
to David carpenters and workmen and cedar from Lebanon. And in their ingenuity and their
gifts and their craftsmanship, they had built for David, a beautiful house. And David
remembered those days when as a shepherd boy, he slept under the starry sky. If he had a place.
It was a mere hut. And David remembered when he was a refugee and an outcast fleeing for his
life before Saul, and he lived in the cave of Adullam. And now, this beautiful home. And then
David remembered his reign in Hebron for seven and a half years, with no palatial
embellishments and surroundings and accouterments. And now, this beautiful and gorgeous
palace. And he said within himself, "How is it that I live in so glorious a place, but the ark of the
Lord is in curtains?"
3

athan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in
mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."
1.

athan is a positive thinker, and he says go ahead David, and do whatever you desire to do
better than a tent for the dwelling of God.

athan gives this word before he goes to the Lord in

prayer, for he is jumping the gun, for God does not want David to build him a better place. This
was a job he is reserving for David's Son Solomon. So

athan is giving the go ahead sign without
the Lord's permission. Has nothing been learned from the disaster of the last chapter when they
went off to move the ark without first checking with what God had revealed about how to do it
properly. Here again we see men making up plans without first consulting with the Lord. We
need to learn that it is not good to rush ahead to do things for God when we don't know what
God wants. The obviously want to please God, but they forget to ask God first about what pleases
him. I see this happening when men get excited about buying their wives a great gift, and when
she gets it she is not happy because they bought something they thought was great, but which she
did not want. It is nice to surprise a mate with a gift, but make it small so if your wrong it will not
be a negative thing in your marriage. Large gifts should always be openly talked about so that
what is done is truly pleasing. David wanted to build a great temple for God, but it was not what
God wanted, and had God not said so, David would be doing what was folly.
2. David Roper, "David lived in a very ornate house of cedar which had been built for him by the
Phoenicians, and it didn't seem right to him that he should live in an expensive home while the
ark of God dwelt in a tent.

ow, David knew that God did not dwell in that ark, but David
wanted to do something symbolic for God -- to build a house which at least would be the
equivalent of his own. And

athan's response was, "David, do what's in your heart; the Lord is
with you."

athan was a prophet in Israel, but this is a classic example of counting on good
common sense instead of the word of God, because it was not God's intention for David to build
him a house.

athan was acting on what appeared to be common sense, but he was wrong. This is
another of the warnings in Scripture that our desires, no matter how noble they may be, and our
hunches, all must be subject to the word of God, which is the final authority.”
3. Jamison, “The piety of the design commended it to the prophet's mind, and he gave his hasty
approval and encouragement to the royal plans. The prophets, when following the impulse of
their own feelings, or forming conjectural opinions, fell into frequent mistakes. (See on 1Sa 16:6;
2Ki 4:27).”
4. This is the first time

athan appears and speaks and he blows it. He is fresh out of prophet
school and so not really great at it yet. Are there mistakes in the Bible? Yes, here is one right here,
and it is recorded like the many mistakes of men that are recorded because they happened, such
as the fall of David, and others, and the false prophets and lies of men. It is life and history and
not all the spoken word of God. All Scripture is inspired and profitable, but not all is expressing
the will and truth of God. Gill adds, “

athan said this as a pious and good man, in a private
capacity, not as a prophet, or under a spirit of prophecy; for prophets did not always speak under
such an influence, but, as private men, said some things ignorantly and through mistake; see (1
Samuel 16:6) (2 Kings 4:27).”
4 That night the word of the LORD came to

1. Why God so often speaks to people at night makes sense, for in the business of the day they are
not focused and ready to listen. In the quietness and peacefulness of the night the mind is ready
to hear the voice of God. Often it is even when a person is asleep that God speaks to them. If

athan was dreaming, he learned from God that David's dream that he supported so completely,
was not God's dream at all.
2. Brian Morgan, “I imagine that both king and prophet went to bed that night charged with
enthusiasm for the new venture. David dreamt of raising the venture capital needed; and he
began planning the new tax structures necessary to fund the project. He dreamt of recruiting the
best architects and gathering thousands of workers--stonemasons, metal craftsmen, weavers and
embroiderers--all to leave behind a permanent place for God in Israel. What a legacy--a temple,
with David's name on it, forever etched in stone! Sweet dreams for David. But

athan did not get
much sleep that night. His repose was interrupted with a visit from the Lord. God put an abrupt
halt to David's dream, and unveiled his dream for the king.”
As is the case with many visions in the Bible, God makes his appearance at night, when people
are alone, asleep and still. It is at night, when our senses are shut down, that God speaks to the
hearts of men (see Job 4:13; Ps 16:7). And he speaks personally and intimately ("you and Me").
God calls David "my servant." This is a remarkable title, one that is seldom conferred by God on
anyone in the Old Testament. Previous to this time, the only two men considered worthy of being
called this were Moses and Joshua. As Fokkelman observes: "It is a sign of great trust. God
expects his servant to run things properly."
3. Henry, “The same night, that

athan might not continue long in an error nor David have his
head any further filled with thoughts of that which he must never bring to pass. God might have
said this to David himself immediately, but he chose to send it by

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