Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 7
When Israel first became a nation, its people were living in Egypt. The rulers of Egypt dealt cruelly with them. They forced Israel’s people to become slaves; they even murdered their baby boys in order to reduce their numbers (Exodus chapter 1).
At the time of Moses, God freed Israel from Egypt. God led the people to Canaan, the land that he had promised for them to live in. However, even in Canaan, they were unable to gain control over much of the country (Joshua 13:1-7; Judges 1:27-36).
During the period of the Book of Judges, the nations that surrounded Israel often attacked Israel. Those nations dealt cruelly with Israel, so God appointed the rulers called Judges to rescue Israel. Even during the rule of King Saul, Israel was constantly at war (1 Samuel 14:52).
David had wanted to build a temple, in other words, a house, a permanent place for God in Israel. However, first God needed to establish a permanent and safe place for Israel’s people in their land. To do that, he would establish David’s royal family. When a person builds a house, he first establishes a firm place for it. So to build David’s royal ‘house’ (in other words, his family), God would first establish a firm place for them (compare Matthew 7:24-25). The result of that would be that someone from David’s family would always rule Israel (Revelation 22:16). So, God’s plan was that his king, from David’s family, would defeat all of Israel’s wicked enemies (Psalms 2 and 110). God establishes a permanent home for his people, so that he will have his permanent home among them (Jeremiah 31:27-37).
Next part: The Messiah, and the other kings from David's family (2 Samuel 7:12-13)
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© 2023, Keith Simons.