"Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: 'Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in Your sight, Sovereign Lord, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant---and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!'" (2 Samuel 7:18-19) David goes into the tent where the ark is housed to speak these words to the Lord. The Lord's promise to him is too great for him to make a prayer of thanks in his own home or anywhere else. He wants to be near the symbol of the Lord's presence when he makes his prayer of thanks.
We know that the Lord is everywhere and that we can call upon Him at any time. But there's something special about giving thanks to Him in a house consecrated to His name. There's something comforting about making our requests in a building where so many other prayers have been prayed. It's not that the Lord pays more attention to words of prayer or praise spoken in His house; I've had to make quick and desperate prayers in many other locations. But making the effort to go to a building dedicated to His name shows respect for Him.
David humbly asks, "Who am I that you have chosen me to lead Your people Israel? I am an ordinary person from an ordinary family. We have done nothing worthy of such honor!" David is to be commended for such a humble spirit. He won't always be this humble; there will be a time in his life when he thinks he can behave like kings of other nations and get away with it. But to his credit he won't remain in that mindset for long.
He continues, "What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of Your word and according to Your will, You have done this great thing and made it known to Your servant. How great You are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like You, and there is no God but You, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like Your people Israel---the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for Himself, and to make a name for Himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed from Egypt? You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever, and You, Lord, have become their God." (2 Samuel 7:20-24)
David uses the term "Sovereign Lord" over and over in his prayer. This is a reference to the free will of God and His power and authority to carry out His will. The Lord was free to choose whomever He wanted to sit upon the throne of Israel. He chose David while he was still tending the sheep and He had the power and authority to make David king, no matter how many obstacles rose up in his path. The Lord was free to choose Israel as His special people and He did so, rescuing Israel from the iron fist of a wicked pharaoh and showing Egypt---which was the strongest nation on earth at the time---that no power is greater than His and that no "god" could stand against Him. David thanks the Lord for taking the Israelites out of Egypt and giving them the promised land. He thanks the Lord for making him king over Israel. Without the Lord's help, none of this would have happened.
When Nathan came to David with the Lord's message in yesterday's study, David immediately accepted the Lord's decision that he would not be the man to build the temple. The Lord is bestowing an even greater honor upon him than allowing him to build a house of worship. He is establishing a house for David---a continuing dynasty---and in making this promise He is clearly demonstrating that the Messiah will come from among David's descendants. Long ago the patriarch Jacob foresaw that the family line of his son Judah would be the royal line of Israel but no one knew from which branch of the family tree of Judah that the Messiah would eventually come. Now it has become clear. What greater honor could there be than this for David, that the Redeemer of all mankind would be of his bloodline? The building of temples pales in comparison to this! In our next segment below we find David saying something like, "Amen! So be it, Lord! May every word of this precious promise come true!"
"And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise You have made concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You promised, so that Your name will be great forever. Then people will say, 'The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!' And the house of Your servant David will be established in Your sight." (2 Samuel 7:25-26) In Genesis 49 we found Jacob blessing his sons and making prophecies regarding the futures of their family lines. He said of his son Judah, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nations shall be his." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob said, "A king is coming from among your descendants, Judah. All of the nations of the earth will bow to him." This prophecy began to be fulfilled when David, a descendant of Judah, was crowned king of Israel. More of this prophecy was fulfilled when the Lord made His promise to David in our current chapter---when He said the dynasty of David would be everlasting. But the complete fulfillment of the prophecy will be when the Messiah is seated on the throne of Israel and all the nations are under His authority. David won't live to see this happen but he believes in it. Because he believes, he has the faith to thank the Lord for it in advance. "Lord Almighty, God of Israel, You have revealed this to Your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You." (2 Samuel 7:27)
David knows he can count on the promises of God because God never breaks a promise. It is not possible for the Lord to be dishonest. Whatever He says is as good as done, whether it happens in the next five minutes or many years in the future. "Sovereign Lord, You are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and You have promised these good things to Your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever in Your sight; for You, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant will be blessed forever." (2 Samuel 7:28-29)
There is no king of Israel here in the year 2022 but that doesn't negate the promises of God. The Lord promised David that his kingdom would last forever and He hasn't gone back on His word just because there has been no king since Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in around 586 BC. There will again be a throne in Israel. There will again be a king in Israel. And His kingdom will never end. The first half of this promise already came true when the Lord Jesus Christ was born of the tribe of Judah of the family line of David. He is the One of whom it was said: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given." (Isaiah 9:6a) The remainder of this prophecy will be fulfilled when He returns to reign forever over all the nations of earth. "And the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:6b-7)
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