seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Samuel 7:18 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? 19 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![c]
20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
22 “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. 23 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?[d] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 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.
27 “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. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 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.”
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 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![c]
20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
22 “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. 23 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?[d] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 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.
27 “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. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 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.”
c. 2 Samuel 7:19 Or for the human race
d. 2 Samuel 7:23 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 17:21; Hebrew wonders for your land and before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt, from the nations and their gods.
Puffed Up.... That's the term I'd use for David in the first part of this chapter. David was all Puffed Up with himself. He thought God needed him to be nice to Him. David wanted to be nice and build God a house. Up until now... David has talked to God through others. That's how it was done. Now, now that God turned down the house David wanted to build for God... David actually sat down and talked to God.
This is from Bible.org.
Verses 18-21 are an expression of David's regained humility, of his realigned self-appraisal. Here is the kind of self-esteem that ought to characterize every Christian, especially (but by no means exclusively) in worship. At the beginning of chapter 7, David is a little too full of himself. Three times he is called “the king” in the first three verses. He is also referred to as “the king” in verse 18, but only to highlight the change in David's thinking from earlier in the chapter. It is not found again in this chapter.
Is David impressed with his position and power, with being the king? Does David think more in terms of what he can do for God than in terms of what God has and will do for him? Well, he has it right now, at least for the moment. Instead of finding the word “king” three times in verses 18-21, we find the word “servant.” Are we surprised? That is what God calls David in verse 5. David now stands in awe of the fact that God takes him, a man of no status or standing, and makes him king of Israel. This too is what God has reminded David through Nathan. David sees his standing and status as Israel's king as the result of God's sovereignly bestowed grace, and not as the recognition of his potential greatness. It is amazing how pride and arrogance distort our thinking. No wonder humility is the starting point, the prerequisite, for wisdom (Proverbs 11:2; 15:33; 18:12; 22:4; 29:13).
Is David impressed with his position and power, with being the king? Does David think more in terms of what he can do for God than in terms of what God has and will do for him? Well, he has it right now, at least for the moment. Instead of finding the word “king” three times in verses 18-21, we find the word “servant.” Are we surprised? That is what God calls David in verse 5. David now stands in awe of the fact that God takes him, a man of no status or standing, and makes him king of Israel. This too is what God has reminded David through Nathan. David sees his standing and status as Israel's king as the result of God's sovereignly bestowed grace, and not as the recognition of his potential greatness. It is amazing how pride and arrogance distort our thinking. No wonder humility is the starting point, the prerequisite, for wisdom (Proverbs 11:2; 15:33; 18:12; 22:4; 29:13).
David has fallen into the very trap that God warned Israel to avoid. He has begun to take credit for what God has done. He begins to think of God as dependent upon him, rather than to worship God as a dependent creature. When David sees life from God's point of view, he sees life clearly, as it is. He sees life as Israel was supposed to view it. Now he is thinking clearly, and when he does, he recognizes that both he and Israel are great by the grace of God and nothing else. And for this David humbly praises God.
The first Israeli king was a fine looking man from a good family. He was also presumptuous. He didn't want to wait on Samuel to tell him what God wanted. He went insane and now he and his family [with the exception of a crippled grandson] are all dead. that first Israeli king spent his whole time on the throne trying to prove he was better than the shepherd boy God chose for the second king.
I noted here.... David sat down and talked to God. No one talks to God in those days! Well the prophets do... the priests do... but that's their job. Everyone else talked to God through them... and it wasn't even words most of the time. Most of the time the people went to the prophet or priest and asked a yes or no question. The priest would pick out a stone... if it was white.. the answer was yes... black meant no.
Now Nathan broke protocol when he just assumed God would be ok with David building a house for God. Nathan didn't pull out the stones... he just spoke.... but God set it straight.
The commentaries all seem to go down that hole about David being too big for his britches. I wonder... just to give the other side some time in the sun.... could it have been that David was just so overjoyed that he blurted out an offer... and then God let him know not to worry about it. Could it be that David was happy to hear that God was going to continue to Bless David and his family?
I think David was a good man who genuinely believed totally in the greatness of God.
Last edited: