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