1 Chronicles 17:1-15

1 Chronicles 17:1-15

[1] Now it came to pass, as David  sat  in his house,  that David  said  to Nathan  the prophet,  Lo, I dwell  in an house  but the ark  of the covenant  of the LORD  remaineth under curtains.  [2] Then Nathan  said  unto David,  Do  all that is in thine heart;  for God  is with thee. [3] And it came to pass the same night,  that the word  of God  came to Nathan,  saying,  [4] and tell  David  my servant,  Thus saith  the LORD,  Thou shalt not build  me an house  to dwell in:  [5] For I have not dwelt in  an house  since the day  that I brought up  Israel  unto this day;  but have gone from tent  and from one tabernacle  [6] Wheresoever I have walked  with all Israel,  spake  I a word  to any  of the judges  of Israel,  whom I commanded  to feed  my people,  saying,  Why have ye not built  me an house  [7] Now therefore thus shalt thou say  unto my servant  David,  Thus saith  the LORD  of hosts,  I took  thee from the sheepcote,  even from following  the sheep,  that thou shouldest be ruler  over my people  Israel:  [8] And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked,  and have cut off  all thine enemies  from before  thee, and have made  thee a name  of the great men  that are in the earth.  [9] Also I will ordain  a place  for my people  Israel,  and will plant  them, and they shall dwell  in their place, and shall be moved  no more; neither shall the children  of wickedness  waste  them any more,  as at the beginning,  [10] And since the time  that I commanded  judges  to be over my people  Israel.  Moreover I will subdue  all thine enemies.  Furthermore I tell  thee that the LORD  will build  thee an house.  [11] And it shall come to pass, when thy days  be expired  to be with thy fathers,  that I will raise up  thy seed  after  thee, which shall be of thy sons;  and I will establish  his kingdom.  [12] He shall build  me an house,  and I will stablish  his throne  for  ever.  [13] I will be his father,  and he shall be my son:  my mercy  away  it from him that was before  thee: [14] But I will settle  him in mine house  and in my kingdom  for ever:  and his throne  shall be established  for  evermore.  [15] According to all these words,  and according to all this vision,  so did Nathan  speak  unto David. 

What does 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The main reason God did not allow David to proceed with his plans to build Him a house (temple) was that God, not David, was sovereign. A secondary reason was that David was a man of war ( 1 Chronicles 22:8; 1 Chronicles 28:3). God reserved the right to choose who should build such a place, as well as when and where he should build it. It was inappropriate for David to decide these things, though his desire to honor God in this way was certainly commendable. David"s plans were premature and presumptuous (cf. Israel"s desire to have a king like all the other nations), though pardonable because he sought to glorify Yahweh.
"In Near Eastern thought there was a widely recognized relationship between the earthly kingship and the temple of the protecting deity of the city-state. The state was seen as a reflection of the cosmic reality of the divine government, which stood behind the state. The state, with its various hierarchies, culminated in the earthly kingship at its apex. This was thought to be parallel to a cosmic state of affairs with its own gradations in which the major deity headed a pantheon of lesser deities. The ultimate kingship of the protecting deity was thought to be expressed through, and paralleled by, the empirical kingship exercised by the ruler of the city-state on earth. This concept was given concrete expression in the relationship that existed between the temple of the city-state and the palace of the king of the city-state. The temple was the earthly residence of the deity, and the palace was the residence of the earthly representative of the deity, that Isaiah , the king." [1]
"Often we may have to accept that the work which we would dearly like to perform in terms of Christian service is not that for which we are best equipped, and not that to which God has in fact called us. It may be, like David"s, a preparatory work, leading to something more obviously grand. Recognition and acceptance of our true measure is the first and necessary step towards seeing the significance of what, in God"s purposes, we really can achieve and have achieved." [2]
God"s plan was that David"s son would build Him a house, and He revealed this to David ( 1 Chronicles 17:11-15). However, these words look beyond Solomon to One who would not fail to fulfill all God"s purposes as David"s descendant.
"This verse 13] along with Psalm 2:7; Psalm 2:12, is one of the major OT revelations on the deity of the Messiah. It foretells Jesus" being uniquely God"s son ( Hebrews 1:5; cf. Acts 13:33; Hebrews 5:5), for it is not really applicable to Solomon (cf. comment on 1 Chronicles 22:10) or to any other of David"s more immediate successors ..." [3]
In2Samuel7 , the warnings of discipline if David"s descendants failed God focused attention on Solomon and the kings that followed him through Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. In1Chronicles17 those warnings are absent. This fact probably indicates that the Chronicler was looking beyond the kings of Judah who had failed and died to the King who was yet to come. This king would carry out God"s will perfectly (cf. Isaiah 9:6; John 4:34). This would have given the restoration community renewed hope. [4]
"Though there can be little argument that the covenant with David was unconditional both in its granting and in its perpetuity, the benefits of that covenant to David and to the nation depended on their obedience to the terms of the Mosaic Covenant within which the monarchy functioned. In this respect and only in this respect was the Davidic Covenant conditional." [5]