Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 17-19.
I am torn about whether to write about what God tells David about his idea for building a temple along with David’s prayer of response, or about the timeline of David’s conquests. I am going to start with what God told David through Nathan and see where this goes. First, God tells David that He will provide a place for His people so that they have a home where wicked people will not oppress them. As I read that I think both of modern Israel, which is a home for the descendants of Jacob, and the new Heaven and new Earth which God has promised to those who follow His Son. The latter is very definitely a fulfillment of this prophecy. Modern Israel as a home for the Jewish people of today represents a foreshadowing of that much greater home which the new Heaven and Earth will be for all of God’s people. God shows us again and again throughout history that until all people bow to His son, wicked people will arise again and again to oppress His people.
God goes on to tell David through Nathan that He will raise up one of David’s sons who will build a house for God. God says that He will establish this son’s kingdom and will set this son of David over God’s house and God’s kingdom forever. Now most would interpret this as referring to Solomon, and I think we are to understand this prophecy as being fulfilled by Solomon. But we are also to understand that it was not truly fulfilled by Solomon. For Solomon only lived for a normal lifespan, and upon his death, the kingdom of Israel was divided. So, clearly this prophecy also applied to another descendant of David, who would be able to forever rule over God’s house and God’s kingdom. That prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus Christ who built a different house for God, a house composed of those who accepted Him into their hearts, and allowed His Spirit to transform them into God’s likeness, as God had intended from the beginning.
I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.