1 Now when David was living in his house, he said to Nathan the prophet, See, I am living in a house of cedar-wood, but the ark of the Lord's agreement is under the curtains of a tent.
For from the day when I took Israel up, till this day, I have had no house, but have gone from tent to tent, and from living-place to living-place.
And David made houses for himself in the town of David; and he got ready a place for the ark of God, and put up a tent for it.
Who was pleasing to God; and he had a desire to make a holy tent for the God of Jacob.
You were looking for much, and it came to little; and when you got it into your house, I took it away with a breath. Why? says the Lord of armies. Because of my house which is a waste, while every man takes care of the house which is his.
At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of his great house in Babylon. The king made answer and said, Is this not great Babylon, which I have made for the living-place of kings, by the strength of my power and for the glory of my honour?
I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my place, and all things were going well for me in my great house:
Till I have got a place for the Lord, a resting-place for the great God of Jacob.
Now it was in the heart of my father David to put up a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord said to David my father, You did well to have in your heart the desire to make a house for my name: But you yourself will not be the builder of the house; but your son, the offspring of your body, he it is who will put up a house for my name.
Stretching the outer tent over it, and covering it, as the Lord had given him orders. And he took the law and put it inside the ark, and put the rods at its side and the cover over it; And he took the ark into the House, hanging up the veil before it as the Lord had given him orders.
Now all the acts of David, first and last, are recorded in the words of Samuel the seer, and the words of Nathan the prophet, and the words of Gad the seer;
Then they took in the ark of God and put it inside the tent which David had put up for it; and they made offerings, burned offerings and peace-offerings before God.
And he sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they put him on the king's beast:
And they said to the king, Here is Nathan the prophet. And when he came in before the king, he went down on his face on the earth.
And he sent word by Nathan the prophet, who gave him the name Jedidiah, by the word of the Lord.
And the Lord sent Nathan to David. And Nathan came to him and said, There were two men in the same town: one a man of great wealth, and the other a poor man.
Now when the king was living in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from war on every side; The king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God is housed inside the curtains of a tent. And Nathan said to the king, Go and do whatever is in your heart; for the Lord is with you. Now that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and say to my servant David, The Lord says, Are you to be the builder of a house, a living-place for me? For from the day when I took the children of Israel up out of Egypt till this day, I have had no house, but have gone from place to place in a tent. In all the places where I went with all the children of Israel, did I ever say to any of the judges of Israel, to whom I gave the care of my people Israel, Why have you not made me a house of cedar? Then say these words to my servant David, The Lord of armies says, I took you from the fields, from keeping the sheep, so that you might be a ruler over my people, over my people Israel: And I have been with you wherever you went, cutting off before you all those who were against you; and I will make your name great, like the name of the greatest ones of the earth. And I will make a resting-place for my people Israel, planting them there, so that they may be living in the place which is theirs, and never again be moved; and never again will they be troubled by evil men as they were at the first, From the time when I put judges over my people Israel; and I will give you peace from all who are against you. And the Lord says to you that he will make you the head of a line of kings. And when the time comes for you to go to rest with your fathers, I will put in your place your seed after you, the offspring of your body, and I will make his kingdom strong. He will be the builder of a house for my name, and I will make the seat of his authority certain for ever. I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son: if he does wrong, I will give him punishment with the rod of men and with the blows of the children of men; But my mercy will not be taken away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. And your family and your kingdom will keep their place before me for ever: the seat of your authority will never be overturned. So Nathan gave David an account of all these words and this vision. Then David the king went in and took his seat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have been my guide till now? And this was only a small thing to you, O Lord God; but your words have even been about the far-off future of your servant's family, O Lord God! What more may David say to you? for you have knowledge of your servant, O Lord God. Because of your word and from your heart, you have done all this great work, and let your servant see it. Truly you are great, O Lord God: there is no one like you and no other God but you, as is clear from everything which has come to our ears. And what other nation in the earth, like your people Israel, did a god go out to take for himself, to be his people, and to make a name for himself, and to do great and strange things for them, driving out a nation and its gods from before his people? But you took and made strong for yourself your people Israel, to be your people for ever; and you, Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, may the word which you have said about your servant and about his family, be made certain for ever, and may you do as you have said! And let your name be made great for ever, and let men say, The Lord of armies is God over Israel: and let the family of David your servant be made strong before you! For you, O Lord of armies, the God of Israel, have clearly said to your servant, I will make you the head of a family of kings: and so it has come into your servant's heart to make this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God and your words are true and you have said you will give your servant this good thing; So may it be your pleasure to give your blessing to the family of your servant, so that it may go on for ever before you: (for you, O Lord God, have said it,) and may your blessing be on your servant's family line for ever!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 17
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 17 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 17
This chapter contains an account of David's intention to build an house for God, which, he signified to Nathan the prophet, who first encouraged him to it; but afterwards was sent by the Lord to him with an order to desist from it, assuring him, at the same time, that his son should build it, and that his own house and kingdom should be established for ever; for which David expressed great thankfulness, the whole of which is related in 2 Samuel 7:1 with some little variation, see the notes there; only one thing has since occurred, which I would just take notice of, that here, 1 Chronicles 17:5 as there also, it is said by the Lord, that he had "not dwelt in an house since the day he brought up Israel out of Egypt"; which seems to suggest that he had dwelt in one before, as has been hinted on 2 Samuel 7:6 even while the people of Israel were in Egypt, though it is nowhere mentioned by Moses, or any other writer; yet it is not unreasonable to suppose it; for as the ancestors of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when only travellers from place to place, built altars for God wherever they came; so their posterity, it is highly probable, not only did the same, but when they found themselves settled in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, might build places of worship; and when we consider the wealth of Joseph, and his family, and indeed of all Israel, who enjoyed for many years great plenty, prosperity, and liberty, before their servitude, the vast numbers they increased to and the long continuance of them in Egypt, more than two hundred years; it will not seem strange that they should build houses for religious worship, and even one grand and splendid for public service, to which also they might be led by the example of the Egyptians; who, as Herodotus saysF9 , were the first that erected altars, images, and temples to the gods, and who in the times of Joseph had one at On, where his father-in-law officiated as priest, Genesis 41:45 or rather to this they might be directed by some hints and instructions of their father Jacob before his death, who it is certain had a notion of a Bethel, an house for the public worship of God, Genesis 28:17 and I find a learned manF11Dickinson. Physic. vet. & vera, c. 19. sect. 24. of our own nation of this opinion, and which he founds upon this passage; and he supposes the house God dwelt in, in Egypt, was not a tent of goats' hair, as in the wilderness, but a structure of stones or bricks, a firm and stable house, such an one as Abraham built at Damascus when settled there; which continued to the times of Augustus Caesar, as related by Nicholas of DamascusF12Apud. Joseph. Antiqu. l. 1. c. 7. sect. 2. . See 2 Samuel 7:1.cf13 (i) Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 4.
See Chapter Introduction