The Eternal House of David – 2 Samuel 7

God spoke through the prophet Nathan to assure King David that his house and throne were not only secure for his life, but would last into eternity.

¹² When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever… ¹⁶ And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” ¹⁷ In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. 2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16-17 (NKJV)

When he was finally settled in his Jerusalem home, with his throne secure and his nation overcoming its enemies, David’s thoughts turned to the Lord. This is a sign of his faith.  Often, we are guilty of turning to God only when we need something, but quickly forgetting about Him once He has provided what we need, and settled everything down around us.

But not David – he was a person of true faith.  David wanted to do something for the Lord, to build Him a beautiful temple in Jerusalem to replace the tent that the ark of the Covenant resided in.  Nathan the prophet liked the sound of this idea, as it reflected a heart of faith and thanksgiving to God. But God let Nathan know that it was not to be.

Thoughtful as David’s intentions were, God said no.  As often happens when we hear a “no” from God, He has a different plan, one better than ours, with eternal consequences. 

The prophecy about David’s descendant building a temple and establishing the eternal throne of the house of David has a two-fold fulfillment.  In the short-term, the temple would be constructed by David’s son, Solomon, and he would reign in David’s stead.  But longer term, the eternal temple, the Church, will be “constructed” by a further descendant, the Son of David, Jesus Christ. It will be a temple comprised of the hearts of believers worldwide, in which the presence of the Holy Spirit will reside.

Two-fold prophecies are common in the Bible.  God often chooses to reveal His coming plans this way.

The Holy Spirit inspires a prophet to see into the future and to write about a coming event that God wishes to reveal. Looking far down the road, God will show two separate events that appear as one to the prophet.  The distant event will be fulfilled as well as the near-term, representative event.

Some have used the analogy of looking at two mountains in the distance to explain this type of prophecy. The two mountains appear to be close together, or even as a single mountain, when viewed on the horizon.  But the second, larger one may be much further away than the first, appearing to be close, by illusion.

There is a lake with a park on its shore that my wife and I enjoy walking at. We always admired the view of a distant hill on the lake’s opposite shore.  It was not until months after our first viewing that we drove around the lake and realized that the “hill” was actually two very distinct hills, separated by a broad valley.

Such is the case with the Bible’s two-fold prophecies – the “local” meaning gives information about a coming human king or event, while the second, longer-term prophecy reveals a truth about the coming King of Kings, Jesus Christ. 

This is the case with God’s promise about the house and the throne of David, as given through the prophet Nathan. David’s son, Solomon, would build a beautiful temple that would not last, but Jesus will replace it with an eternal one that will. He will return one day to reign on the throne of David in the New Jerusalem, over a temple that resides in the hearts of redeemed women and men from every nation and tongue. May we all enjoy eternity together as we worship our King and Redeemer, the worthy Lamb of God.

Reflection

David remembered God’s blessings and wanted to build Him a temple. Are there blessings in your life that you want to thank Him for? 

Jesus was born into the line of David to reign on an eternal throne.  What can we do to acknowledge His kingship over us today?

Father God, thank You for establishing an eternal throne for Your only begotten Son Jesus to reign on. His goodness, mercy, and grace are immeasurable. May we walk in His light today, forgiven and healed, and sharing His love and mercy with those around us. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.