Life Application Study Bible2 SamuelChapter 7

2 Samuel 7

New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 473, 474, 475

← 2 Samuel 6 2 Samuel 7 of 24 2 Samuel 8 →

A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.

72 Samuel 7

The LORD’s Covenant Promise to David

1When King David was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, 2the king summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace,* but the Ark of God is out there ina tent!” 3Nathan replied to the king, “Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you.” 4But that same night the LORD said to Nathan, 5“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? 6I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling. 7Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s tribal leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, “Why haven't you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’ 8“Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. 91 have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! 10And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won't oppress them as they've done in the past, "starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. 11Eyrthermore, the LORD declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 12For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 'SHe is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. 14I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, J will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. *But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. ‘Your house and your kingdom will continue before me* for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.” 17S Nathan went back to David and told him everything the LORD had said in this vision,

David’s Prayer of Thanks

1818Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, a 828 46-27 “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this TN et far? 9And now, Sovereign LORD, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your 1 Sam 18:18 servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign LORD?* 7:19 20”What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign heteg? LORD. 2*Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these 7:22 great things and have made them known to your servant. Exod 102 22"How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you. We have never 1 Sam 2:2 even heard of another God like you! 22What other nation on earth is like your people Ps 44:1 Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own Ld 4:32: 9:26: people? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from 10:24 Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations and gods that 728 ng stood in their way.* 24You made Israel your very own people forever, and you,O LORD, — Exod 6:7 became their God. Deut 326 25“And now, O LORD God, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever. 26And may your name be honored forever so that everyone will say, ‘The LORD of Heaven's Armies is God over Israel!’ And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever. 27"O LORD of Heaven's Armies, God of Israel, I have been bold enough to pray this prayer to you because you have revealed all this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings!’ 28For you are God, O Sovereign LORD. Your words are truth, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29And now, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you have spoken, and when you grant a blessing to your servant, O Sovereign Lor, it is an eternal blessing!” 3. David conquers the surrounding nations

Textual footnotes

instruction for all humanity, O Sovereign Lonp.
You made a great name for yourself and performed awesome miracles for your land. You did this in the sight of your
people, whom you redeemed from Egypt, from nations and their gods.
I
7:5. In this message from Nathan, God is saying that he doesn’t David's request, he promised to continue the house (or dynasty)
want David to build a temple for him. God told David that his of David forever. David's earthly dynasty ended four centuries
job was to unify and tead Israel and to destroy its enemies. This later, but Jesus Christ, a direct descendant of David, was the
huge task would require David to shed a great deal of blood. In ultimate fulfiliment of this promise (Acts 2:22-36). Christ will
built by a warrior. Therefore, David made the plans and collected —_and later, on earth, in the new Jerusalem (Luke 1:30-33; Revela-
the materials so that his son Solomon could begin work on tion 21). Have you prayed with good intentions, only to have
the Temple as soon as he became king (1 Kings 5-7). David God say no? This is God’s way of directing you to a greater
accepted his part in God’s pian and did not try to go beyond it. purpose in your life. Accepting God's no requires as great a
Sometimes God says no to our plans. When he does, we should faith as carrying out his yes.
utilize the other opportunities he gives us. 7:18ff This section records David's prayer expressing his humble
7:8-16 David's request was good, but God said no. This does acceptance of God’s promise to extend his dynasty forever. David
not mean that God rejected David. In fact, God was planning realized that these blessings were given to him and his descen-
to do something even greater in David's life than allowing him dants in order that Israel might benefit from them. They would
the prestige of building the Temple. Although God turned down help fulfill God’s greater purpose and promises that through the
nation the whole world would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3).
7:2 Hebrew a house of cedar.
7:14 Chronicles 28:3, we learn that God did not want his Temple reign for eternity—now in his spiritual kingdom and in heaven.
7:16 As in Greek version and some Hebrew manuscripts; Masoretic Text reads before you.
7:19 Or This is your
7:23 As in Greek version (see also 1 Chr 17:21); Hebrew reads

Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages

Personality profile · page 473

Profile: Michal

Sometimes love is not enough—especially if that love is little more than the strong emotional attraction that grows between a hero and an admirer. To Michal, Saul’s daughter, the courageous young David must have seemed like a dream come true. Her feelings about this hero gradually became obvious to others, and eventually, her father heard about her love for David. He saw this as an opportunity to get rid of his rival for the people’s loyalty. He promised Michal’s hand in marriage in exchange tor David's success in the impossible task of killing 100 Philistines. But David was victorious, and so Saul lost a daughter and saw his rival become even more popular with the people. Michal’s love for David did not have time to be tested by the realities of marriage. Instead, she became involved in saving David's life. Her quick thinking helped him escape, but it resulted in Saul’s anger and her separation from David. Her father gave her to another man, Palti, but David eventually took her back. Unlike her brother Jonathan, Michal did not have the kind of deep relationship with God that would have helped her through the difficulties in her life. Instead, she became bitter. She could not share David's joyful worship of God, so she hated it. As a result, she never bore David any children. Beyond feeling sorry for her, we need to see Michal as a person mirroring our own tendencies. How quickly and easily we become bitter with life’s unexpected turns. But bitterness cannot remove or change the bad things that have happened. Often bitterness only makes a bad situation worse. On the other hand, a willingness to respond to God gives him the opportunity to bring good out of the difficult situations. That willingness has two parts: asking God for his guidance and looking for that guidance in his Word.

Strengths and accomplishments

• Loved David and became his first wife

• Saved David's life

• Could think and act quickly when it was needed

Weaknesses and mistakes

• Lied under pressure

• Allowed herself to become bitter over her circumstances

• In her unhappiness, she hated David for loving God

Lessons from her life

• We are not as responsible for what happens to us as we are for how we respond to our circumstances

• Disobedience to God almost always harms others as well as harming us

Vital statistics

• Occupations: Daughter King Saul, wife of King David

• Relatives: Parents: Saul and Ahinoam. Brothers: Abinadab, Jonathan, Malkishua. Sister: Merab. Husbands: David, Palti

Key verse

“But as the Ark of the LORD entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she was filled with contempt for him” (2 Samuel 6:16).

Michal’s story is told in 1 Samuel 14—2 Samuel 6. She is also mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:29.

T:1ff This chapter records the covenant God made with David, promising to carry on David’s line forever. This promise would be fully realized in the birth of Jesus Christ. Although the word covenant is not specifically stated in the Bible text here, it is used elsewhere to describe this occasion (23:5; Psalm 89:28, 34). 7:2. This is the first time Nathan the prophet is mentioned. God made certain that a prophet was living during the reign Of each of the kings of Israel. The prophet’s main tasks were to urge the people to follow God and to communicate God's laws and plans to the king. Most of the kings rejected the Prophets God sent. But at least God had given them the

🗺 This feature includes a map, chart or picture — view the original page image.

Study feature · page 475

Sign Pain of childbirth Rainbow Smoking firepot and flaming torch The Exodus

God's Promise Satan and mankind will be enemies. God would never again destroy the earth with a flood. Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation if they obeyed God. God would be their God forever. Israel would be God's special people, a holy nation. But they would have to keep their part of the covenant— obedience. Aaron’s descendants would be priests forever. Salvation would come through David's line through the birth of the Messiah. Forgiveness and salvation are available through faith in Christ.

COVENANTS A covenant is a legally binding obligation (promise). Throughout history God has made covenants with his people— he would keep his side if they would keep theirs. Here are seven covenants found in the Bible.

Name and Reference In Eden Genesis 3:15 Noah Genesis 9:8-17 Abraham Genesis 15:12-21; 17:1-14 At Mount Sinai Exodus 19:5, 6 The Priesthood Numbers 25:10-13 David 2 Samuel 7:13; 23:5 New Covenant Hebrews 8:6-13

The Aaronic priesthood David’s line continued, and the Messiah was born a descendant of David Christ's resurrection

← 2 Samuel 6 2 Samuel — all chapters · Contents 2 Samuel 8 →