But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle.’ ” ’ ... Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house. “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” ’ ” 2 Samuel 7:4–6, 11–13
This passage contains one of the most remarkable of God’s promises to any man. When David expressed his desire to build a house for God, God denied him the right to build such a house. But what started out as bad news turned into great news, for although David could not build a house for God, God was going to build a house for David. When man builds a house, it is sure to be destroyed someday (as was Solomon’s temple), but when God builds a house, nothing can bring it down (cf. Psalm 127:1)!
David could not have bought a better house than the one God built for him. God made his house strong (2 Samuel 3:1) and tore down every house that stood against it (2 Samuel 21:1–9). When David was crowned, the king of Tyre sent cedars from Lebanon with which to build a physical house for David (2 Samuel 5:11), and as grand as that structure must have been, the house that God built him would stand far longer.
In spite of human frailty, God glorified the house of David. The house was dreadfully abused by many of its inhabitants, beginning with David himself, whose sin with Bathsheba invited the plague of the sword upon his house (2 Samuel 12:10–11). David was followed by his son Amnon, who raped his sister Tamar and then suffered the wrath of his brother Absalom, who later led a conspiracy against his father and perished in the conflict (2 Samuel 14–18). And yet in spite of the tragedies that befell David’s house, God held it together. When Solomon turned to other gods and the kingdom was torn asunder, God vowed to give one tribe to his son “for the sake of my servant David” (1 Kings 11:13). When Jehoshaphat’s son walkedin the ways of the house of Ahab and married Ahab’s daughter, God still “would not destroy Judah, for the sake of his servant David, as He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever” (2 Kings 8:16–19). When the Assyrians captured the cities of Judah because of their sins and Hezekiah cried out to God, He said, “I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake” (2 Kings 19:34). Not only did God hold the house of David together; He exalted it through leaders like Josiah, Zerubbabel, and ultimately Jesus. The house of David stood the test of time not because of the men who resided in it, but because of the one who built it.
Years later, the Son of David built a house for the Lord to inhabit. Solomon built a house for God that was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC, but the house that Jesus the Son of David built will stand forever. As a carpenter (Mark 6:3), Jesus likely built many physical dwellings (all of which have perished), but He built one house that would be eternal. Jesus said, “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). For centuries men have tried to tear down this house, but to no avail. For just as long, men have brought reproach upon this house, and yet it stands. It was David who said it so beautifully: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).