2 Samuel 7:18-29

2 Samuel 7:18-29

[18] Then went  king  David  in, and sat  before  the LORD,  and he said,  Who am I, O Lord  GOD?  and what is my house,  that thou hast brought  me hitherto?  [19] And this was yet a small thing  in thy sight,  O Lord  but thou hast spoken  also of thy servant's  house  for a great while to come.  And is this the manner  of man,  O Lord  [20] David  say  more  unto thee? for thou, Lord  GOD,  knowest  thy servant.  [21] For thy word's  sake, and according to thine own heart,  hast thou done  all these great things,  to make thy servant  know  [22] Wherefore thou art great,  God:  beside  thee, according to all that we have heard  with our ears.  [23] And what one  nation  in the earth  is like thy people,  even like Israel,  whom God  went  to redeem  for a people  to himself, and to make  him a name,  and to do  for you great things  and terrible,  for thy land,  before  thy people,  which thou redeemedst  to thee from Egypt,  from the nations  and their gods?  [24] For thou hast confirmed  to thyself thy people  Israel  to be a people  unto thee for  ever:  and thou, LORD,  art become  their God.  [25] And now, O LORD  God,  the word  that thou hast spoken  concerning thy servant,  and concerning his house,  establish  it for  ever,  and do  as thou hast said.  [26] And let thy name  be magnified  for  ever,  saying,  The LORD  of hosts  is the God  over Israel:  and let the house  of thy servant  David  be established  before  [27] For thou, O LORD  of hosts,  God  of Israel,  hast revealed  to thy servant,  saying,  I will build  thee an house:  therefore hath thy servant  found  in his heart  to pray  this prayer  unto thee. [28] And now, O Lord  GOD,  thou art that God,  and thy words  be true,  and thou hast promised  this goodness  unto thy servant:  [29] Therefore now let it please  thee to bless  the house  of thy servant,  that it may continue for ever  before  thee: for thou, O Lord  GOD,  hast spoken  it: and with thy blessing  let the house  of thy servant  be blessed  for ever. 

What does 2 Samuel 7:18-29 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

"The heartfelt response of King David to the oracle of the prophet Nathan is one of the most moving prayers in Scripture ..." [1]
Structurally the prayer moves from thanksgiving for the present favor ( 2 Samuel 7:18-21), to praise for what God had done in the past ( 2 Samuel 7:22-24), to petition for future fulfillment of God"s promises ( 2 Samuel 7:25-29). David included humility ( 2 Samuel 7:18), gratitude ( 2 Samuel 7:19), praise ( 2 Samuel 7:22), remembrance ( 2 Samuel 7:23-24), and acknowledgment ( 2 Samuel 7:25-29), as ingredients in this prayer. Normally Israelites stood or kneeled to pray. Perhaps David "sat" back on his heels to pray in a kneeling position because he was a king. [2]
In this prayer David revealed a proper attitude toward himself, toward Yahweh, and toward their relationship. Ten times he referred to himself as Yahweh"s servant, and eight times he called God his Master (Heb. Adonai). David saw his own role in the larger context of God"s purpose for Israel. In all these particulars David contrasts with Saul. We also see why God blessed him personally and used him as a channel of blessing to others.
"Thus it came about that David gave up his intention of building the Temple. Though he was king of Israel, he accepted that he had to defer to a higher authority, that of the God of Israel, to whom he owed his calling through the prophet Samuel, his preservation in mortal danger at the hand of Saul, and his accession to the throne by common consent of the people. Recognition on the part of the king that he owed the throne of his kingdom to the sovereign Lord God involved humble acceptance of the role of servant, thy servant, as David calls himself ten times over in this prayer. David was far from perfect, as the subsequent narrative is to demonstrate, but he had grasped this all-important truth about himself, and it was because he valued so highly his call to serve the Lord God that he was sensitive to rebuke and repented when he stepped out of line. For this reason, he knew forgiveness and restoration of fellowship, both of which had eluded Saul because he could never bring himself to take his hands off the reins of government, or readily admit to being in the wrong. Saul, by clinging tenaciously to what he regarded as his kingly prerogative, lost the kingdom; David, more concerned about honouring the Lord than guarding his own reputation, had his kingdom made sure for ever." [3]
Chapter7 is a high point in the fertility motif that runs through1,2Samuel. Here the ultimate in blessing came to David. If the giving of this covenant followed David"s sins with Bathsheba and Uriah, as I believe it did, we have extraordinary evidence of God"s grace. God chose to bless David in spite of his sins because, overall, David was a man who sought to glorify God and to serve Him acceptably with his life. The covenant came in response to David"s desire to honor God in Israel by helping the people perceive His true position as head of the nation (ch6).
We should probably date God"s giving of this covenant after David completed his own palace and the new tent for the ark in Jerusalem. It also probably took place after David moved the ark to Jerusalem, recovered from Absalom and Sheba"s rebellions, took the ill-fated census of the people, and purchased the site of the temple. This seems most likely in view of textual references that make it clear that these events took place in this order. Probably David received the Davidic Covenant about973 B.C. [4]