Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 7
No person can establish a permanent place for God in this world, because nobody will live here always. No ruler and no government can do it, unless God establishes that government to last for all time.
So of course David would die, as every person must die. However, that would not be the end of his rule, because God had established the rule of David’s family (Acts 2:29-30). Of course, not all of David’s family would rule. God had chosen particular members of David’s family to be the kings after him. They began with David’s son, Solomon. The last of them, God’s perfect king called the Messiah or Christ, also comes from the family of David, who was Jesse’s son (Isaiah 11:1-10). The rule of the Messiah, or Christ, will never end (Luke 1:32-33).
As God promised, Solomon did build a temple, a great house to give honour to God (2 Chronicles chapter 3).
That temple lasted for as long as David’s family were kings in Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:8-9). Then, Babylon’s army destroyed Solomon’s temple. So, it was clear that God’s promises to David did not end with Solomon’s temple. Only the rule of Messiah can complete God’s promises to David.
The house of God that the Messiah establishes, must last as long as the Messiah’s rule - in other words, always. That is what Christ was teaching in John 2:19-21. In the present age, it is only by the Messiah that people can have a right relationship with God (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:19-21). In the future age, God and his Messiah will be constantly present, with God’s people, on the new earth. So, the real meaning of the temple, the house of God, is God and his Messiah (Revelation 21:22).
Next part: The kings from David's family as God's sons (2 Samuel 7:14-15)
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