1 Chronicles
Chapter 17
Nathan’s Prophecy
Once David was living in his palace, he said to the prophet Nathan: “Here am I living in a house of cedar, while the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant is under a tent.”
Nathan said to David: “Do all that is in your mind, for God is with you.”
But that very night the Lord said to Nathan:
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘The Lord says this: You are not to build a temple for me to live in.
I have never lived in a temple from the day I brought Israel out until today, but went from tent to tent, from one shelter to another.
In all my journeying with the whole of Israel, did I say to any one of the rulers of Israel whom I had appointed as shepherds of my people: Why do you not build me a temple of cedar wood?
This you must say to my servant David: This is the word of the Lord Sabaoth: I took you from following the sheep, to be the leader of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make your name as great as the name of the greatest on earth.
I will provide a place for my people Israel; I will plant them there, and they shall live in that place and never be disturbed again; nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did
in the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel. For now, I will subdue all their enemies. Moreover, I tell you that I will build you a house.
And when your days are ended, and you must die and be buried with your ancestors, I will raise your offspring after you, one of your sons, and I will make his kingdom strong.
He will build a temple for me, and I will make his throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him and a son to me. I will not withdraw my support from him, as I withdrew it from Saul.
I will put him in charge of my people, and his kingdom shall be established forever.”
Nathan told David all these words and this vision accordingly.
King David then went in and seated himself before the Lord, said: “I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, the Lord God, nor is my family.
In your eyes, O God, this is still insufficient. You have promised my descendants to reach into the distant future and have looked at me as a great man.
What more can I say to you? For you know your servant David.
You have done this because you looked kindly on your servant and wanted to show your greatness.
O Lord, there is none like you, no God except you alone, that we have ever heard of.
Is there another people on the earth like your people Israel, whom you rescued from slavery in Egypt to make them your people, giving yourself a name for great and terrible things by driving nations out before your people whom you rescued from Egypt?
You made your people Israel your people forever; and you, Lord, have become their God.
Now, Lord, let the promise you have made to me and my descendants always be kept.
May this promise hold good and your name be exalted forever; may they say, ‘The Lord Sabaoth, the God of Israel, is God for Israel.’ And let my descendants be established before you forever.
O my God, you have just told me you will build me a house; because of this, I have to offer this prayer in your presence.
Yes, Lord, you are God indeed and have made this kind promise to me.
Be pleased to bless my house so that it may remain forever in your favor. You, Lord, are the one who blesses, and your blessing will rest on them forever.”
Commentaries
Transfer of the Ark to Jerusalem.
Based on 2 Samuel 6:1-23, the Chronicler greatly expands the story of bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. The account highlights two key moments: the first attempt at transfer (13) and the final transfer of the Ark to Jerusalem (15-16). These events are separated by the story of the war against the Philistines (14). It concludes with Nathan’s prophecy (17). The focus shifts to the religious significance: the Ark, as a symbol of God’s presence; the worship in the city; and the Temple that Nathan foresees.
Nathan’s Prophecy.
Following 2 Samuel 7, the Chronicler highlights that although David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, the Lord did not permit him because he was a “man of war” (28:3). Instead, it would be his son Solomon, a “man of peace” (22:9), who would accomplish this. David will be the moral author of the Temple: he acquires the land (chapter 21), gathers the construction materials (chapter 22), and organizes the personnel (chapters 22-26); however, Solomon is the one who builds it. Additionally, the Chronicler emphasizes that the construction of the Temple is a direct initiative of God, not of the king (4:11, 14). David’s prayer in 17:16-27 demonstrates his humility in the face of God’s majesty and his request that God’s promises be fulfilled.