God Keeps His Promises

Read 2 Samuel 7.

  For about 500 years, the Ark of God and the center of Israel's worship had been a tent.  It bothered David that his house was better than God's.  A beautiful place, worthy of the LORD, became his lifelong dream.

God responded with a special message through Nathan, the prophet.
-The LORD did not ask for house.  Though God's presence was over the Ark in the Tabernacle, God cannot be contained, nor does He need humans to take care of Him.
-The LORD reminded David that it was He who took care of the nation.  Indeed, God took David from a pasture to the palace.
-The LORD made eternal promises to David and his descendants.  This is commonly called the Davidic Covenant. 
     1. He will make for David a great name.
     2. He will plant the people on this land and give them peace.
     3. He will give David a son and establish his kingdom forever.

As we shall see later, that son was Solomon and it is he who will actually build the temple that David only dreamed about.  Also, this promise of a forever kingdom underscores the importance of Messiah's lineage.  According to the family tree in Matthew 1, Jesus was born into the royal family, direct descendants of David.  The familiar, so-called Christmas story explains it: "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David" (Luke 2:4).

Such an announcement humbled David.  It caused him to go immediately to prayer.  He praised God for what He had done and for who God is.  "For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you..." (v.22).