God’s Promise to David
1 Chronicles Chapter 17 After David had moved into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in this nice palace made of cedar, but the Box of the Lord’s Agreement sits in a tent.”
2 Nathan answered David, “You may do what you want to do. God is with you.”
3 But that night the word of God came to Nathan. 4 God said,
“Go and tell this to my servant David: The Lord says, ‘David, you are not the one to build a house for me to live in. 5-6 Since the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until now, I have not lived in a house. I have moved around in a tent. I chose people to be special leaders for the Israelites. They were like shepherds for my people. While I was going around in Israel to different places, I never said to any of them: Why haven’t you built a house of cedar wood for me?’
7 “Now, tell this to my servant David: The Lord All-Powerful says, ‘I took you from the fields and from taking care of the sheep. I made you king of my people Israel. 8 I have been with you everywhere you went. I went ahead of you and I killed your enemies. Now I will make you one of the most famous men on earth. 9 I am giving this place to my people Israel. They will plant their trees, and they will sit in peace under those trees. They will not be bothered anymore. Evil people will not hurt them as they did at first. 10 Those bad things happened, but I chose leaders to care for my people Israel. And I will also defeat all your enemies.
“‘I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you.[a] 11 When you die, and you join your ancestors, then I will let your own son be the new king. The new king will be one of your sons, and I will make his kingdom strong. 12 Your son will build a house for me. I will make your son’s family rule forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. Saul was the king before you, and I took away my support from Saul. But I will never stop loving your son. 14 I will put him in charge of my house and kingdom forever. His rule will continue forever!’”
15 Nathan told David about the vision and everything God had said.
David’s Prayer
16 Then King David went to the Holy Tent and sat before the Lord. David said,
“Lord God, you have done so much for me and my family. And I don’t understand why. 17 Besides all these things, God, you let me know what will happen to my family in the future. Lord God, you have treated me like a very important man. 18 What more can I say? You have done so much for me. And I am only your servant. You know that. 19 Lord, you have done this wonderful thing for me and because you wanted to. 20 There is no one like you, Lord. There is no God except you. We have never heard of any god doing wonderful things like those! 21 Is there any other nation like Israel? No, Israel is the only nation on earth that you have done these wonderful things for. You took us out of Egypt and you made us free. You made yourself famous. You went in front of your people, and forced other people to leave their land for us. 22 You took Israel to be your people forever, and you, Lord, became their God!
23 “Lord, you made this promise to me and my family. Now, keep your promise forever. Do what you said you would. 24 Keep your promise so that people will honor your name forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord All-Powerful is Israel’s God!’ I am your servant. Please let my family be strong and continue to serve you.
25 “My God, you spoke to me, your servant. You made it clear that you would make my family a family of kings. That is why I am being so bold—that is why I am asking you to do these things. 26 Lord, you are God, and you yourself promised to do these good things for me. 27 You have been kind enough to bless my family. You were kind enough to promise that my family will serve you forever. Lord, you yourself blessed my family, so my family really will be blessed forever.”
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 17:10 build a house for you This does not mean a real house. It means the Lord would make men from David’s family kings for many years.
Psalm Chapter 2
1 Why are the nations so angry?Why are the people making such foolish plans?
2 Their kings and leaders join together
to fight against the Lord and his chosen king.[a]
3 They say, “Let’s rebel against them.
Let’s break free from them!”
4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs at them.
The Lord makes fun of them.
5 He speaks to them in anger,
and it fills them with fear.
6 He says, “I have chosen this man to be king,
and he will rule on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 Let me tell you about the Lord’s agreement:
He said to me, “Today I have become your father,[b]
and you are my son.
8 If you ask, I will give you the nations.
Everyone on earth will be yours.
9 You will rule over them with great power.
You will scatter your enemies like broken pieces of pottery!”
10 So, kings and rulers, be smart
and learn this lesson.
11 Serve the Lord with fear and trembling.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son,[c]
or the Lord will be angry and destroy you.
He is almost angry enough to do that now,
but those who go to him for protection will be blessed.
Footnotes
- Psalm 2:2 his chosen king Or “his anointed one.”
- Psalm 2:7 I have become your father Literally, “I fathered you.” Originally, this probably meant God was “adopting” the king as his son.
- Psalm 2:12 Show … his son Literally, “Kiss the son.”
A praise song of David.
Psalm Chapter 110
1 The Lord said to my lord,[a]
“Sit at my right side, while I put your enemies under your control.”
2 The Lord will cause your kingdom to grow, beginning at Zion,
until you rule the lands of your enemies!
3 Your people will gladly join you
when you gather your army together.
You will wear your special clothes
and meet together early in the morning.
Your young men will be all around you
like dew on the ground.[b]
4 The Lord has made a promise with an oath
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever—
the kind of priest Melchizedek was.”
5 My Lord is at your right side.
He will defeat the other kings when he becomes angry.
6 He will judge the nations.
The ground will be covered with dead bodies.
He will punish the leaders of powerful nations all around the world.
7 The king will drink from a stream on the way.
Then he will lift his head and become strong![c]
Footnotes
- Psalm 110:1 my lord That is, the king.
- Psalm 110:3 The Hebrew text here is hard to understand. Literally, “Your people will be freewill offerings on your day of power. In holy splendor from the womb of dawn your dew of youth will be yours.”
- Psalm 110:7 lift his head and become strong Literally, “lift his head.” Here, the poet probably means two things: “he will raise his head after drinking the water,” and “he will become strong or important.”
Next: Study 14 Reflection & Discussion
