New Year: 2 Sam 7-9 for Mar 31

Although these chapters (2 Sam 7-9) speak for themselves, there are many aspects of this climactic section of the whole portion of the word of God since Joshua (2 Sam 7:11) to point out, and to continue to point out.

How have things gone for the people between the death of Joshua until now? Back in 1 Sam 8 the "elders of Israel" (8:4) demanded a king, yet God told Samuel this was "the voice of the people" (8:7). That voice was the same as what characterized them all the way back to the day they left Egypt (8:8). Could we ever say that Exodus through 1 Samuel is the story of the great accomplishments of the people?

When success comes to David, and David wants to build something that builds on his success, to God, even the prophet Nathan is convinced by that arrow (2 Sam 7:3). God begins this chapter by correcting Nathan and David (7:4-6). The arrow is pointed in the wrong direction. So the Lord rehearses David's life for him, so far (7:7-8), and points far into "the distant future" (7:19).

To the reader, at the very time we would love more explanation of the chapters and chapters of the history of so many failures so far, David's success makes us ask whether perhaps the idea David gets from his success (7:2) is not a worse thing than what he had been taught under his stressful past.

In any case, this correction, the correction of David's big idea to build God a big house, has been hinted at in various ways. The idea of taking care of God Himself is condemned in the stories of the punishments that come for trying to handle, literally, the ark. Just in the previous chapter, David was off base in dealing with it (6:6-9). The ark's use had to wait for a sign of God's blessing (6:12). It, and Whom it represented, could not be commandeered.

So the Lord has David at a time when he is quick to learn, and he uses Nathan the prophet: "the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you" (7:11).