2 Samuel 7:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

NIV: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.

NASB: When your days are finished and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from you, and I will establish his kingdom.

CSB: When your time comes and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

NLT: For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong.

KJV: And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

NKJV: “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

David wanted to build God a "house": a stationary temple as a permanent dwelling place for the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:10). God tells him that's not his job. Instead, God will build David a "house": a reputation as a great man, rest for his people, and an eternal dynasty (2 Samuel 7:1–11).

God's promise that David's son will inherit his throne and position seems obvious to us. We tend to take this for granted because of our own experiences. The royals of Britain, for example, have come from only a few families. In Bible times, this direct inheritance was rarer. The northern kingdom of Israel, as well as Babylon / Persia / Greece, prove that political intrigue and war are as influential on who will be king as family line.

But God will ensure that a descendant of David sits on the throne of first the united Israel and then the southern kingdom Judah until the Babylonian captivity. Jacob prophesied this as he lay dying: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples" (Genesis 49:7).

Solomon's throne doesn't last forever. Because of his idolatry, the nation is split when he dies (1 Kings 11). About 330 years later, Judah falls to the Babylonians. That's a strong hint that God's promise has a dual fulfillment. On the surface, it applies to Solomon. More deeply, He's talking about Jesus.

Second Samuel 7:8–17 records God's counteroffer. David wants to build God a house: a temple for the ark of the covenant to dwell permanently. God doesn't want him to (2 Samuel 7:1–7). Instead, God will build David a "house." Not a palace, but an everlasting dynasty. It will start with Solomon and continue through David's descendants who will rule the southern kingdom of Judah. But it will be fulfilled when Jesus returns and rules from Jerusalem (Luke 1:32). The Davidic Covenant is also recorded in 1 Chronicles 17:7–15.

In 2 Samuel 7, David wants to build a temple for the ark of the covenant. He's convicted that he has a big house, so the ark doesn't belong in a tent (2 Samuel 5:11–12; 6:17). God declines David's request. Rather, God will build David a "house": a dynasty. David's son will be king—and that sone will build the temple. David's throne will be established forever. David responds with a humble prayer of gratitude and praise, asking God to do all He has promised for David and for Israel. God will, through Jesus (Revelation 22:16). First Chronicles 17 records the same events.

In 2 Samuel 7, David learns he can't out-give God. God has made him king and given him a mansion and a family (2 Samuel 5:3, 11–15). He's allowed David to bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1–15). Now, David wants to build the ark a proper temple. Instead, God says David's son will build the temple, and God will build David a lasting dynasty. Solomon does build the temple (1 Kings 5), and Jesus will fulfill David's dynasty (Luke 1:32).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.