God s Promise to David. David s Prayer. 1 Chronicles 17:1-27

1 God s Promise to David David s Prayer 1 Chronicles 17:1-27

2 God s Promise to David David s Prayer Text: 1 Chronicles 17:1-27, 1. When David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, Look, I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of the Lord s covenant is under a tent. 2. Nathan said to David, You should do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you. 3. That night God told Nathan the prophet, 4. Go, tell my servant David: This is what the Lord says: You must not build me a house in which to live. 5. For I have not lived in a house from the time I brought Israel up from Egypt to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. 6. Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, Why have you not built me a house made from cedar? 7. So now, say this to my servant David: This is what the Lord who commands armies says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you a leader of my people Israel. 8. I was with you wherever you went and I defeated all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. 9. I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle them there; they will live there and not be disturbed anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning 10. and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. I will subdue all your enemies. I declare to you that the Lord will build a dynastic house for you!

3 11. When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. 12. He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent. 13. I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you. 14. I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent. 15. Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him. 16. David went in, sat before the Lord, and said: Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point? 17. And you did not stop there, O God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant s family. You have revealed to me what men long to know, O Lord God. 18. What more can David say to you? You have honored your servant; you have given your servant special recognition. 19. O Lord, for the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing in order to reveal your greatness. 20. O Lord, there is none like you; there is no God besides you! What we heard is true! 21. And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation in the earth? Their God went to claim a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deeds when you drove out nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods. 22. You made Israel your very own nation for all time. You, O Lord, became their God. 23. So now, O Lord, may the promise you made about your servant and his family become a permanent reality! Do as you promised, 24. so it may become a reality and you may gain lasting fame, as people say, The Lord who commands armies is the God of Israel. David s dynasty will be established before you,

4 25. for you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a dynasty for him. That is why your servant has had the courage to pray to you. 26. Now, O Lord, you are the true God; you have made this good promise to your servant. 27. Now you are willing to bless your servant s dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Lord, have blessed it and it will be blessed from now on into the future. (NET) Introduction: I. Hicks observed that the word house occurs 14 times in 1 Chronicles 17 and has various meanings ranging from palace to temple to dynasty. A. Hicks also noted that the movement of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem leads thematically to God s establishment of a covenant with David. B. Also, as David built a house for himself and intended to build a house for God, the Lord promised to build a house (dynasty) for David. (Hicks) II. Notice the following descriptors of the temple found in Chronicles: (Hicks) A. 2 Chronicles 36:17, He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered their young men in their temple. He did not spare young men or women, or even the old and aging. God handed everyone over to him. (NET) B. 1 Chronicles 29:3, Now, to show my commitment to the temple of my God, I donate my personal treasure of gold and silver to the temple of my God, in addition to all that I have already supplied for this holy temple. (NET)

5 C. 2 Chronicles 3:8, He made the most holy place; its length was 30 feet, corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet. He plated it with 600 talents of fine gold. (NET) D. 1 Chronicles 28:11, David gave to his son Solomon the blueprints for the temple porch, its buildings, its treasuries, its upper areas, its inner rooms, and the room for atonement. (NET) E. 1 Chronicles 28:2, He gave him the blueprints of all he envisioned for the courts of the Lord s temple, all the surrounding rooms, the storehouses of God s temple, and the storehouses for the holy items. (NET) F. 2 Chronicles 7:12, the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him: I have answered your prayer and chosen this place to be my temple where sacrifices are to be made. (NET) G. 1 Chronicles 9:23, They and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the Lord s sanctuary (that is, the tabernacle). (NET) III. Hicks observed that 1 Chronicles 17 is based on 2 Samuel 7 with some significant differences. A. 2 Samuel 7:1-29, The king settled into his palace, for the Lord gave him relief from all his enemies on all sides. The king said to Nathan the prophet, Look! I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of God sits in the middle of a tent. Nathan replied to the king, You should go and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you. That night the Lord told Nathan, Go, tell my servant David: This is what the Lord says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in? I have not lived in a house from the time I

6 brought the Israelites up from Egypt to the present day. Instead, I was traveling with them and living in a tent. Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, Why have you not built me a house made from cedar? So now, say this to my servant David: This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you leader of my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle them there; they will live there and not be disturbed any more. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that he himself will build a dynastic house for you. When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent. I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings. But my loyal love will not be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will stand before me permanently; your dynasty will be permanent. Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him. King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point? And you didn t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant s family. Is this your usual way of dealing with men, O Lord God? What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition, O Lord God! For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose you have done this great thing

7 in order to reveal it to your servant. Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true! Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation on the earth? Their God went to claim a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land, before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods. You made Israel your very own people for all time. You, O Lord, became their God. So now, O Lord God, make this promise you have made about your servant and his family a permanent reality. Do as you promised, so you may gain lasting fame, as people say, The Lord of hosts is God over Israel! The dynasty of your servant David will be established before you, for you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have told your servant, I will build you a dynastic house. That is why your servant has had the courage to pray this prayer to you. Now, O sovereign Lord, you are the true God! May your words prove to be true! You have made this good promise to your servant! Now be willing to bless your servant s dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant s dynasty be blessed on into the future! (NET) 1. Compare 2 Samuel 7:1-17 with 1 Chronicles 17:1-15. 2. Compare 2 Samuel 7:18-29 with 1 Chronicles 17:16-27. IV. Emphasis is here placed on David s eternal dynasty to which there were temporal and messianic aspects. (See Hicks.) A. Luke 1:26-33, In the sixth month of Elizabeth s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, Greetings, favored

8 one, the Lord is with you! But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. So the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God! Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end. (NET) Commentary: God s Promise to David 1 Chronicles 17:1-15, When David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, Look, I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of the Lord s covenant is under a tent. Nathan said to David, You should do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you. That night God told Nathan the prophet, Go, tell my servant David: This is what the Lord says: You must not build me a house in which to live. For I have not lived in a house from the time I brought Israel up from Egypt to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, Why have you not built me a house made from cedar? So now, say this to my servant David: This is what the Lord who commands armies says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you a leader of my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went and I defeated all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle them there; they will live there and not be disturbed anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. I will subdue all your enemies. I

9 declare to you that the Lord will build a dynastic house for you! When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent. I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you. I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent. Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him. (NET) I. After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent. A. Hicks observed, David s desire (to build God a house) was not unusual in the ancient Near East. If the king has a house (palace), then the God who gave it also deserves a house (temple). When a king builds a temple, it is an expression of gratitude. B. Was David feeling guilty that he lived in a house while God lived in a tent? C. Nathan was a prominent prophet in the times of David and Solomon who figured prominently in: (1) God s promise to David of a perpetual dynasty, (2) God s punishment of David in the matter of Bathsheba and (3) Solomon s succession to the throne. (Bromiley) D. Nathan, the prophet: 1. 1 Chronicles 29:29, 30, King David s accomplishments, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Samuel the prophet, the Annals of Nathan the prophet, and the Annals of Gad the prophet. Recorded there are all the facts about his reign and accomplishments, and an

10 account of the events that involved him, Israel, and all the neighboring kingdoms. (NET) 2. 2 Chronicles 9:29, The rest of the events of Solomon s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Vision of Iddo the Seer pertaining to Jeroboam son of Nebat. (NET) E. Cedar is mentioned in numerous biblical passages and refers to valuable building materials, not necessarily the trees/lumber we know as cedar. (Pulpit Commentary) II. Nathan replied to David, Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you. A. This was Nathan s personal opinion and was without the support of a thus saith the Lord. III. That night the word of God came to Nathan, saying: A. Nathan s opinion was not in keeping with God s revelation. B. That night God s word by revelation came to Nathan. 1. Hebrews 1:1, After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, (NET) IV. Go and tell my servant David, This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. A. Nathan delivered God s word faithfully, a thing absolutely required of all who would speak for God.

11 B. God said, You will not build me a house. (Hicks) 1. Moses led Israel out of Egyptian captivity and through the wilderness, but was not permitted to lead Israel into the Promised land. 2. David was a man of war who united the nation under God, but he was not permitted to build the temple. a. 1 Chronicles 22:8, But the Lord said to me: You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me. (NET) b. 1 Chronicles 28:3, But God said to me, You must not build a temple to honor me, for you are a warrior and have spilled blood. (NET) C. God directed Nathan, Go and tell my servant David,... 1. God s inspired biblical writers have been directed to tell us certain things as well! 2. We had better listen and obey! V. I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. A. God said, I have never lived in a house. (Hicks) B. God had never asked for a house nor had he ever expressed any interest in having a house.

12 C. God is not confined to any one place. 1. God is with his people wherever they may be. D. God s tabernacle moved from Mt. Sinai, all thorugh the wilderness over a period of forty (40) years, across the Jordan River near Jericho, on to Gilgal, to Nob, to Shiloh, to Gibeon. (See Clarke.) VI. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? A. God said, I never asked to have a house built for me. (See Hicks) VII. Now then, tell my servant David, This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. A. Hicks observed that God now points out what God had done and would do for David. 1. God has taken David from being a shepherd boy and had made him king over all Israel. VIII. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth. A. In all his troubles with Saul and Israel s enemies, God had always been with him. B. God had not kept David from suffering, but he had seen David through all these trials.

13 C. Today the righteous suffer, but God will see them through all their trials. D. God promised to make David famous and his accomplishments truly great. IX. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning... A. God will grant Israel the promised land in which to dwell and in which they will enjoy peace. 1. God had made a similar promise to Abram. a. Genesis 12:1-3, Now the Lord said to Abram, Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father s household to the land that I will show you. Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing. I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name. (NET) b. Genesis 13:14-17, After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, Look from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then

14 your descendants also can be counted. Get up and walk throughout the land, for I will give it to you. (NET) c. Genesis 15:18-21, That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites. (NET) B. Israel would never again be slaves as they were in Egypt, was the promise. 1. In view of the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, it appears that this promise was contingent, conditioned on Israel s remaining faithful to God, a thing they failed to do. X.... and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies. I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: A. House here means dynasty, an unfailing line of descendants. (See Pulpit Commentary.) XI. When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. A. While Solomon was the immediate reference of verse 1b, Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of the promise. 1. Acts 2:29, 30, Brothers, I can speak confidently to you about our forefather David, that he both died and was

15 buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. So then, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, (NET) 2. Acts 13:34, But regarding the fact that he has raised Jesus from the dead, never again to be in a state of decay, God has spoken in this way: I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David. (NET) 3. Luke 1:32, 33, He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end. (NET) XII. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. A. David s dynasty would last forever. 1. Considering the fact that Jesus Christ, David s son, is eternal, the Lord of Lords, David s kingdom is indeed eternal. 2. Isaiah 9:7, His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David s throne and over David s kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore. The Lord s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this. (NET) B. Solomon would build the temple for God, but it would not last forever.

16 C. Some of the booty taken by David in his victories financed construction of the temple. 1. 2 Chronicles 5:1, When Solomon had finished constructing the Lord s temple, he put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and all the other articles) in the treasuries of God s temple. (NET) 2. 1 Chronicles 18:8, 11, From Tibhath and Kun, Hadadezer s cities, David took a great deal of bronze. (Solomon used it to make the big bronze basin called The Sea, the pillars, and other bronze items.) King David dedicated these things to the Lord, along with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, including Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek. (NET) XIII. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from his predecessor. A. I will not cut off his family from the throne, as I did that of his predecessor Saul, Clarke interpreted this passage. 1. Psalm 89:26-37, He will call out to me, You are my father, my God, and the protector who delivers me. I will appoint him to be my firstborn son, the most exalted of the earth s kings. I will always extend my loyal love to him, and my covenant with him is secure. I will give him an eternal dynasty, and make his throne as enduring as the skies above. If his sons reject my law and disobey my regulations, if they break my rules and do not keep my commandments, I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club, their sin by inflicting them with bruises. But I will not remove my loyal love from him, nor be unfaithful to my promise. I will not break my covenant or

17 go back on what I promised. Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness, I will never deceive David. His dynasty will last forever. His throne will endure before me, like the sun, it will remain stable, like the moon, his throne will endure like the skies. (Selah) (NET) 2. Isaiah 9:7, His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David s throne and over David s kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore. The Lord s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this. (NET) 3. Jeremiah 23:5, 6, I, the Lord, promise that a new time will certainly come when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David. He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding and will do what is just and right in the land. Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety and Israel will live in security. This is the name he will go by: The Lord has provided us with justice. (NET) 4. Hebrews 1:5, For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my son! Today I have fathered you? And in another place he says, I will be his father and he will be my son. (NET) 5. Hebrews 3:6, But Christ is faithful as a son over God s house. We are of his house, if in fact we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope we take pride in. (NET) XIV. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever. A. These temporal promises are evidently conditional.

18 1. 1 Chronicles 22:12, Only may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he places you in charge of Israel, so you may obey the law of the Lord your God. (NET) 2. 1 Chronicles 28:7, 9, I will establish his kingdom permanently, if he remains committed to obeying my commands and regulations, as you are doing this day. And you, Solomon my son, obey the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit, for the Lord examines all minds and understands every motive of one s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him, but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently. (NET) B. God s promise to David is the faith (hope) of postexilic Israel, and it grounds the expectation that God will again raise up a Davidic king to restore his people. The Davidic dynasty is not independent but participates in the kingdom of God. (Hicks ) 1. 2 Samuel 7:16, Your house and your kingdom will stand before me permanently; your dynasty will be permanent. (NET) 2. 1 Chronicles 17:14, I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent. (NET) 3. 1 Chronicles 28:5, From all the many sons the Lord has given me, he chose Solomon my son to rule on his behalf over Israel. (NET)

19 4. Matthew 1:21, She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (NET) 5. John 1:14, Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. (NET) 6. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Flee sexual immorality! Every sin a person commits is outside of the body but the immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. (NET) 7. Revelation 21:1-4, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. And I saw the holy city the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist. (NET) XV. Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. A. The narrative here transitions from Nathan s oracle to David to David s prayerful response to God.

20 XV. Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. A. The narrative here transitions from Nathan s oracle to David to David s prayerful response to God. David s Prayer I. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? A. Hicks wrote, apparently, David entered the tent where the ark of the covenant had been placed and offered his prayer. 1. 1 Chronicles 16:1, They brought the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. (NET) 2. 1 Kings 19:3-9a, Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there, while he went a day s journey into the desert. He went and sat down under a shrub and asked the Lord to take his life: I ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I m no better than my ancestors. He stretched out and fell asleep under the shrub. All of a sudden an angelic messenger touched him and said, Get up and eat. He looked and right there by his head was a cake baking on hot coals and a jug of water. He ate and drank and then slept some more. The Lord s angelic messenger came back again, touched him, and said, Get up and eat, for otherwise you won t be able to make the journey. So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights

21 until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. He went into a cave there and spent the night. (NET) B. Japhet via Hicks discerns three movements in this prayer. 1. First, David humbles himself before the Lord as he submits to God s word. a. 1 Chronicles 17:16-19, David went in, sat before the Lord, and said: Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point? And you did not stop there, O God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant s family. You have revealed to me what men long to know, O Lord God. What more can David say to you? You have honored your servant; you have given your servant special recognition. O Lord, for the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing in order to reveal your greatness. (NET) b. David accepts the fact that he is not the person to build the temple. 2. Second, David bears witness to the exalted place of God who has graciously chosen Israel as his people. a. 1 Chronicles 17:20-22, O Lord, there is none like you; there is no God besides you! What we heard is true! And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation in the earth? Their God went to claim a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deeds when you drove out nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods. You made

22 Israel your very own nation for all time. You, O Lord, became their God. (NET) 3. Third, David petitions God to fulfill his promise by blessing his house forever. a. 1 Chronicles 17:23-27, So now, O Lord, may the promise you made about your servant and his family become a permanent reality! Do as you promised, so it may become a reality and you may gain lasting fame, as people say, The Lord who commands armies is the God of Israel. David s dynasty will be established before you, for you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a dynasty for him. That is why your servant has had the courage to pray to you. Now, O Lord, you are the true God; you have made this good promise to your servant. Now you are willing to bless your servant s dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Lord, have blessed it and it will be blessed from now on into the future. (NET) C. The prayer moves from submission to awe to petition. (Hicks) D. In twelve verses David invokes the name of the Lord ten times reflecting the great excitement in which the prayer is uttered as well as the overwhelming sense of relationship with God. (Hicks and Jophet via Hicks) E. The questions, Who am I? and What is my family? indicate David s awe and humility and a recognition of his being dependent on and a servant of God. (See Hicks.)

23 1. David recognized that God s grace had brought him thus far, that he had in no way merited such divine favor. (See Hicks.) 2. David said that he was of no regal family and had no natural right to the throne. (Clarke) II. And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of our servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O Lord God. III. What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, O Lord. IV. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises. V. There is no one like you, O Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. A. The first part of this verse exalts the God of Israel as the only true God. (Hicks) B. The second part acknowledges the divine election of the people of Israel. (Hicks) VI. And who is like your people Israel the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? VII. You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, O Lord, have become their God.

24 A. God wanted then and now a people of his own, Israel then and Christians now. 1. Exodus 6:7, I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians. (NET) 2. Jeremiah 7:23, I also explicitly commanded them: Obey me. If you do, I will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you and things will go well with you. (NET) 3. Ezekiel 11:20, so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. (NET) 4. 2 Corinthians 6:16, And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. (NET) 5. Leviticus 26:11, 12, I will put my tabernacle in your midst and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you, and I will be your God and you will be my people. (NET) 6. 2 Corinthians 6:16, And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. (NET) 7. Revelation 21:3, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: Look! The residence of God is among

25 human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. (NET) VIII. And now, Lord, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised,... IX. so that I will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel s God! And the house of your servant David will be established before you. A. Chronicles appears to relate selected facts about David which picture David from a messianic or golden age perspective. B. Certain things critical of David found in 1 and 2 Samuel are not mentioned in Chronicles which enhances the majestic view of David. (See Hicks.) X. You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. A. What behooves us, made from the dust of the ground, to speak to the Creator of heaven and earth? B. Therefore thy servant hath found an opening of mouth, that he might pray before thee. (Targum via Clarke) XI. O Lord, you are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. XII. Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.

26 A. Psalm 2:6-12, I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill. The king says, I will announce the Lord s decree. He said to me: You are my son! This very day I have become your father! Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your personal property. You will break them with an iron scepter; you will smash them like a potter s jar! So now, you kings, do what is wise; you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! Serve the Lord in fear! Repent in terror! Give sincere homage! Otherwise he will be angry, and you will die because of your behavior, when his anger quickly ignites. How blessed are all who take shelter in him! (NET) Conclusion: I. The eternal aspects of David s kingdom can only be understood in light of Jesus Christ, David s son, and the everlasting kingdom of heaven. A. Isaiah 9:7, His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David s throne and over David s kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore. The Lord s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this. (NET) II. God s chosen people are those in every age who, without regard to race, hear and do the will of the Lord.

27 Questions 1 Chronicles 17:1-27 (Questions based on NIV text.) 1. Define house as used in 1 Chronicles 17. 2. Identify the theme presented in 1 Chronicles 17 and outline its development. 3. List descriptors of the temple found in Chronicles. 4. What biblical passage is parallel to 1 Chronicles 17:

28 5. Of what did David s eternal dynasty consist? 6. What influenced David to want to build a house for God? 7. For what three things is Nathan best remembered? 8. Exactly what was the biblical cedar wood? 9. Was Nathan the prophet speaking the truth in verse 2? If not, how do you account for the disparity?

29 10. What did God say to Nathan in verses 4-14? List the main points. _ 11. Why was David not permitted to build God s house? 12. How important is it for preachers to deliver the exact word of God? How important is it for hearers to listen carefully to God s word and to obey it fully? 13. How important was it to God that he have a house in which to dwell? Explain the rationale behind this attitude. 14. What had God done for David? Why had he done these things for David rather than someone else?

30 15. had not kept from, but he had seen through all these trials. Today the, but will see them through all their. 16. Was God s promise to Israel conditional or absolute? Answer in view of Israel s history. Support your answer with facts. 17. Define/describe David s kingdom to which there would be no end. _ 18. What was the hope, faith of postexilic Israel in regard to the kingdom?

31 19. reported to all the of this. Then went in and before the, and he said: 20. Where did David pray as recorded in 1 Chronicles 17:16-27? Give reasons for your answer. 21. Into what three topical sections does Japhet via Hicks say David s prayer can be divided? 22. What was David s attitude toward himself as reflected in this prayer? In what respects was he correct and in what respects was he incorrect? _ 23. Is physical Israel still God s chosen people or are Christians now God s chosen people?

32 24. In what way can it be said that David s dynasty is to last forever? 25. In what ways are the pictures of David as presented in 1 and 2 Samuel and in 1 and 2 Chronicles alike and in what ways are they different? How can you account for this? 26. Why was David not permitted to build the temple? Who would be the builder of the temple? What led to this selection of the builder? 27. What led David and what leads us to believe the Creator of heaven and earth is interested in hearing what we have to say? Is attempting to speak to God a sign of human audacity?

33 28. How can the eternal aspects of David s dynasty be best understood in light of history? 29. What lessons have you learned from your study of 1 Chronicles 17 that will help you serve God better? 30. The temple was an extremely elaborate, expensive structure. Should our church buildings be elaborate, expensive structures as a means of expressing our high regard and deep respect for God? Give reasons to support your answer.