II Samuel 18 Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 19 And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord God, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man, O Lord God. 20 Again what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God! 21 For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know. 22 For this reason You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods? 24 For You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, O Lord, have become their God. 25 Now therefore, O Lord God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as You have spoken, 26 that Your name may be magnified forever, by saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel’; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You. 27 For You, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You. 28 Now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. 29 Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord God, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”
I and II Samuel were originally one book. These were combined with I and II Kings - also originally one book - in the Septuagint which divided the books into I-IV Kingdoms, later changed to I-IV Kings in the Vulgate. I Samuel continues the story of the judges, Samuel being the last judge. (Samuel also anointed the first two kings, Saul and David.) Of I and II Samuel one commentator wrote: the author pictures “Samuel as the man of prayer; Saul as the king who played the fool; and David as the man after God’s heart.”
II Samuel follows immediately upon the death of Saul with David becoming King of Judah (chapter 2) and then over all Israel (chapter 5). II Samuel may be divided into three parts: chapters 1-10 David’s early success; 11-12 David’s grievous sins; 13-24 David’s struggles and sorrows.
II Samuel 7’s central theme is the building of a “house”: for God and for David. (“House” is mentioned 15 times in chapter 7.) At the beginning of chapter 7, David, at rest from his enemies and living in his house of cedar in Jerusalem, wants to build a house for God. God comes to Nathan in a dream telling him that the Lord will make a house for David, but David’s son, not David, will build a “house for My Name.” The house or dynasty the Lord will make for David will endure forever. God’s unfailing promise of an eternal kingdom for David’s descendant St Peter applies to Jesus in his sermon on Pentecost:
Acts 2:29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 And so, 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, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
As with the promises made to Abraham and Abraham’s seed, so God’s promises to David and to David’s Son, Jesus Christ, made thousands of years ago, are fixed, certain and unfailing … despite the shortcomings and failures of men, the plots and schemes of Satan, the scourges of men and nature. All of God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (II Cor 1:20). In Jesus Christ we are made partakers of God’s promises, of forgiveness and redemption, of eternal life. We rightly ask:“Who am I, O Lord God …? … For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness … .
JSH+