Tag Archives: 1 Chronicles 17-19

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2023 Bible Study — King David Believed There Was Only One God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Chronicles 17-19.

When David first spoke to Nathan the prophet about building a temple for God, Nathan’s gut response was to tell David to go ahead.  Nathan did not feel a need to ask God about it because his experience was that David made choices of which God approved (Note: this was before David encountered Bathsheba).  However, when Nathan meditated on God/prayed that night*, God revealed to him that He did not want David to build Him a temple.  This teaches us something important: we should take time to consult God before committing ourselves to a course of action.

The significance of the next section I am going to comment on depends on how you view the Bible and the way it was written.  If you believe that those who wrote down this book paraphrased their sources so as to put their own beliefs in the mouths of their ancestors, this next section is not very significant.  On the other hand, if you believe, as I do, that those who wrote down the various books of the Bible (particularly this one) based what they wrote on sources that dated to the time about which they are writing, perhaps selecting which sources they relied upon based on their biases and intentions, then this is very significant.  So, many biblical scholars have suggested that before the Babylonian Exile, particularly going back to the time of David and before, the Israelites believed that God was one of many gods, but was the only one worth worshiping.  While I believe that was true for many of the Israelites, it was not what was taught by the teachers of the Law, or what was believed by those, such as David, who strove to do God’s will in their lives.  Instead, I see in David’s prayer of praise to God recorded here a belief that God was the only real god.  So, if you believe, as I do, that this prayer of David recorded here actually reflects what David prayed, then this is evidence that the belief that YHWH is the only God was not a post-Exile “innovation”, but instead goes back to the very beginning of Israel as a people.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2022 Bible Study — Nathan Prophesies About The Coming Messiah

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Chronicles 17-19.

Initially, when King David proposed building a Temple for God in Jerusalem, the prophet Nathan approved the idea.  However, that night God came to him and revealed that David should not be the one to build the Temple.  Instead, God tells Nathan to tell David that one of his offspring will be the one to build the Temple for God.  Now, the simple view of Nathan’s prophecy holds that King Solomon fulfilled it when he built the Temple.  However, the prophecy also says that his throne would be established forever and that God would set him over His kingdom forever.  Considering that Solomon died and was buried, remaining in his grave, I would argue that Solomon was not the fulfillment of Nathan’s prophecy, or, not the complete fulfillment of it.  Instead, Nathan was prophesying the coming of the Messiah, who I believe to be Jesus Christ.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2021 Bible Study Nathan Prophecies The Coming Of The Messiah

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Chronicles 17-19.

When David decided that he should build a Temple for God, God sent him a message through the prophet Nathan.  In that message, God told David that He had never asked any of the leaders of Israel to build Him a house.  Then God told David that He would raise up his offspring to succeed him.  That son would build a house for God.  The easy reading of this is that God was promising that Solomon would succeed David as king and build a Temple.  Yet, God goes on to tell David that this particular offspring will be established forever.  This leads me to conclude that while God was referring to Solomon, He was also referring to Jesus.  It was Jesus whom God set over His house and kingdom forever.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2020 Bible Study Nathan Prophecies of the Coming Messiah

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 17-19.

The message which God gave to David through the prophet Nathan contains some prophecies which clearly apply to the Messiah and not to Solomon.  In fact, in many ways it more closely tracks as a Messianic prophecy than one fulfilled by Solomon.  While Solomon did indeed build a temple to God, he did not truly keep God’s favor his entire life, as God chose Jeroboam to take the Northern Tribes away from Solomon’s son while Solomon yet ruled.  On the other hand, the Church is indeed God’s Temple, built by Jesus.  Jesus suffered death at God’s command and has His favor for all of eternity.  Speaking of eternity, Jesus will reign over God’s people for all of eternity.

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2019 Bible Study — God Promises David a Son Who Will Rule Forever

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 17-19.

When David had built secured his control over Israel and built himself a palace to rule from, he felt that he should build a Temple for God. Through Nathan, God told David that He did not desire a fixed location house to live in and that David should not build Him one. But God did have Nathan tell David that He would raise up one of David’s descendants to be king after him. That descendant would build a temple for God, and God would establish his throne forever. While this was interpreted by David and Nathan as referring to Solomon, in many ways it was not truly fulfilled in Solomon. God said that He would never take His favor away from this descendant of David. Yet we know that, because of Solomon’s idolatry, God chose to take His favor from Solomon and split the kingdom upon Solomon’s death. Clearly the descendant to whom God was referring was the Messiah, Jesus Christ. While Solomon built a physical Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus built a spiritual Temple. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed, while the Temple which Jesus built will never be destroyed.

David’s response to the message which God gave him through Nathan tells us a some things about the theology of those who worshiped God in his time. Throughout the Old Testament we read things which reveal to us that the people of Israel tended to view God in ways which were influenced by the beliefs of those around them. The people around them viewed gods as being geographically limited. They worshiped a god of the hills and a god of the plains. To them God was just another god who ruled over a limited geographic area. Some of those gods were able to extend their geographic reach a bit further. Some of them were more powerful than others, and the power relationship between them shifted over time. However, the exchange here between God and David reveals that God is not like those other gods. God tells David that His home is not a fixed location. God is not limited to a geographic location. His power extends to the whole earth. David responds by stating that the people of Israel know that God is different from all other gods. None of the other gods had done for their people anything even vaguely resembling what God had done in bringing the Isrealites out of Egypt.

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2018 Bible Study — Nathan Prophecies About One Of David’s Descendants

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 17-19.

    When David decided to build a Temple for God, the prophet Nathan initially told him to go ahead. But that night Nathan received a message from God telling David not to build it, that one of his descendants, one of David’s sons, would build a house for God. I do not read Hebrew, but as I understand it, the word translated as son here does not necessarily mean just the male’s fathered by someone. It is sometimes used to reference all of the male descendants of that person (e.g. “sons of Abraham” does not necessarily mean just Ishmael, Isaac, etc, but may refer to all of those to whom God’s promises to Abraham apply). My point in bringing this up is that this prophecy did not necessarily apply to Solomon building the Temple. Indeed, while I believe that this prophecy did predict Solomon building the Temple, I more firmly believe that its true meaning was a reference to Jesus building the Church. Solomon’s throne was not established forever, after his death the kingdom was split and some time later the Babylonians destroyed the kingdom altogether. Further, when the Temple was built, God did not live within it, although it did hold a place dear to His heart. On the other hand, Jesus will rule from His throne for all eternity. More importantly, God lives within the house which Jesus built for Him, the Temple which is the Church

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2017 Bible Study — David Waited For God’s Time

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 17-19.

    After David built himself a palace he felt guilty for not building a temple for God. Actually, I am not sure that he did. Throughout his career David showed a clear understanding of politics. One of the motivations behind building himself a palace was to create a focus for political unity. A temple would also provide a focus for political unity. More importantly, a temple would provide a focus for religious unity. David’s interest in religious unity was not just, perhaps not even primarily, a matter of strengthening his power. Greater religious unity means that people are less likely to interpret their own desires as God’s will. However, David was wise enough to consult with others before putting his plans in motion. In particular, David was wise enough to consult his spiritual adviser(s).

    At this point, the spiritual adviser whom David consulted was Nathan the prophet. Nathan’s immediate response was that building a temple for God was a good idea. However, once he had time to think about it, God revealed to Nathan that this was not the time, and David was not the king, to build a temple for God. As part of God’s message to David telling him not to build the Temple Nathan was to tell David that one of his sons would build the Temple. While the writer of this book certainly believed that promise to apply to Solomon, there are definite Messianic overtones to it. The prophecy was that God would never take His favor from this descendant of David. Yet, God later promised to tear 10 of the tribes of Israel from Solomon’s heirs. It is Jesus who truly fulfilled this prophecy. Jesus built a temple for God which will last for all time. That Temple is the Church, the Body of Believers.

    I want to stress that David did what he did because of his faithfulness to God, not just because they were the best thing to do to secure his throne. That is the key to David’s success. He did many things which advanced and protected his power, but his first concern was doing what was God’s will. We see this as early as when Saul was chasing him and David had the opportunity to kill Saul. David chose not to take advantage of that opportunity because Saul was God’s anointed ruler over Israel. David knew that he had been anointed to take Saul’s place, yet he had both the patience and the faith to wait for God to make that happen. In today’s passage it would have benefited David to build a temple for the worship of God in Jerusalem, but when God let him know that it was not his will for David to do so, David refrained. David managed to walk that fine line of acting according to God’s will and waiting for God’s time. I struggle with that myself.

Daily Bible Study

May 14, 2016 Bible Study — God Does Not Live In a House

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 17-19.

    When David wanted to build a Temple, a house for God, God told him not to do so. God reiterates that His home is not a house, is not a building of any sort. God is not fixed to one locale. Other gods were specific to certain locales, but God is not so limited. The Tabernacle was the perfect idiom for God’s home. It was mobile and could be moved from place to place. Furthermore, God proclaimed that he would build a house for David. It would not be a house made of stone and timber. Rather it would be a house made up of David’s descendants who would serve the Lord. This passage reminds us that we, as humans, are constantly trying to limit God by building structures to contain Him. Sometimes those structures are buildings. Sometimes they are the organizations we create. We often do this with the best of intentions. Whatever our intentions, God has to intervene to remind us time and again that He is not limited to those structures, nor is He limited by those structures. We, the people who worship Him, are where He desires to live. We need to allow God to live in us. We need to live lives that make God welcome. When we do not behave in a holy manner we are desecrating the only Temple God desires.