Faithfulness: House
God’s Faithfulness Exceeds his Promise
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. July 18th, 2021
God always remains faithful to his promises. God might not remain faithful quite in the ways that we expect. But God is always exceeding our expectations. Today’s reading is about God’s promise to David, and we have known how God remained faithful to his promise.
King David has settled in his house because God has given him rest from his enemies. It is then that David notices that he lives in a house of cedar, while God dwells in a tent. Or so David thinks. But he thinks this arrangement is all wrong. God should have a glorious house for his name. Certainly a much finer house than David’s. So he calls the prophet Nathan into his presence and tells him his plans. Nathan says, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you.”
But Nathan, it seems, spoke too hastily. That night God appears to Nathan and says, “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?” God reminds Nathan that the Ark has been in a tent since the days of Moses and he has never once asked that a Temple be built to his name. God, it seems, is perfectly fine to dwell in a tent, to not have his own house. After all, God did not dwell in the Tabernacle anymore than he dwelt in the Temple when it was built. God is in all places. If a Temple were to be built, it would not be because God needs it. No Temple could contain God.
And so God reminds Nathan, and by extension David, all that it is he has done. How he chose David from the pastures, gave him victory over his enemies, and has always remained with them. “Will you build me a house?” We might imagine God asking. “No, but I will build you a house.” That is, not a house a cedar but a dynasty. “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.”
God promises David that his son will get to build the Temple, and his son will have an eternal kingship. Imagine the joy David must have felt. The blessing of knowing his son would have success, that his kingdom would have success, that the Temple he had set his heart on would be built. And in a literal sense God keeps this promise. David’s son Solomon does succeed him, though not without bloodshed. He is a wise and prosperous King. He does build the Temple. But as soon as Solomon dies the Kingdom is rent asunder. The ten northern tribes go their own way. The throne of David is left to Judah. Is this an eternal kingdom? Perhaps God’s promise was not kept.
Maybe we have felt this way. We read all sorts of promises in the Bible that God makes for us. The lion and the lamb will lie down together, those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength, all things work for the good of those who love God. We can read these promises and wonder, “Really? When? How?”
Solomon’s son Rehoboam may have wondered about the promise of God. God promised his grandfather an eternal kingdom, but now it feels like it’s on its last legs. Certainly Zedekiah, Judah’s last king, must have wondered the same, as he was being sent into exile.
The Bible is full of all sorts of promises and prophecies that mean something in the immediate context, but point to a winder and more fuller fulfillment. This is one of them. David certainly understood the more literal meaning of the prophecy he was given. His son Solomon would rule and build the temple and the kingdom would last a long time. But there is a fuller meaning to this prophecy that David may have understood but could only be known when it had come to its fulfillment. The deeper promise God had made to David and to his house. And that is the promise of Christ.
When God says “I will raise up your offspring after you” he doesn’t just mean Solomon, he means Jesus who is born of the House of David. When he says “I will establish his Kingdom” he is talking about Jesus life, death, and resurrection. Remember Jesus is proclaimed King on his cross, and vindicated in his resurrection. And the Kingdom of Jesus is not an earthly kingship. It’s not like David’s rule or Solomon’s rule. It is something far greater than David could have imagined. It is a rule over life and death. It is a rule over the forces of wickedness and over Satan. It is an eternal rule that cannot be defeated or overcome or falter or split. And he lives and reigns now and forevermore, and decrees that we might have forgiveness and life.
That is the fuller promise God made. And it is a promise not many understood. But it is a promise that we have seen fulfilled. An eternal kingdom for the House of David. How amazing. How breathtaking. But such is the faithfulness of God.