survey the answer in light of the biggest human problem: communication. It seems as though most everyone answered a question they weren’t really asked. If the question was, “Why did DAVID say he couldn’t build the temple?”, then the “blood on his hands/man of war” answer would have been accurate, at least in terms of what David said. But the question is “What did God—YHWH Elohim say?”
But David said ‘God said’ so isn’t that enough? This objection is expected, with extra attention to this being the greatly worshipped King David, but if we are to take the whole counsel of the transcript into consideration, then we need to know if the unabridged text agrees, especially on such an important matter, and certainly if God had something different to say! When we check the text we find two other passages that directly oppose David’s claims, and each of these passages preceded David’s claims.
Let’s have a look at what YHWH Elohim said:
[2 Samuel 7:1-17 KJV Freevised Version] 1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and [YHWH] had given him rest round about from all his enemies; 2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwell[s] within curtains. 3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that [is] in [your] heart; for [YHWH] [is] with you. 4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of [YHWH] came unto Nathan, saying, 5 Go and tell my servant David, This [says YHWH] [Should you] build me a house for me to dwell in? 6 Whereas I have not dwelt in [any] house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7 In all [the places] wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spoke I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why [don’t you] build me [a] house of cedar? 8 Now therefore so [shall you] say unto my servant David, This [says YHWH] of hosts, I took [you] from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: 9 And I was with [you] [wherever you went], and have cut off all [your] enemies out of [your] sight, and have made [you] a great name, like unto the name of the great [men] that [are] in the earth. 10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them anymore, as before time, 11 And as since the time that I commanded judges [to be] over my people Israel, and have caused [you] to rest from all [your] enemies. Also the LORD [tells you] that he will make [you] [a] house. 12 And when [your] days be fulfilled, and [you shall] sleep with [your] fathers, I will set up [your] seed after [you], which shall proceed out of [your] bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build [a] house for my name, and I will [establish] the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit[s] iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took [it] from Saul, whom I put away before [you]. 16 And [your] house and [your] kingdom shall be established for ever before [you]: [your] throne shall be established forever. 17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
Special attention should be paid to verse 14 in 2 Samuel 7. This is YHWH directly stating the prophecy of the Messiah; I will be his father and he shall be my son. This has nothing to do with Solomon, unless you want to embrace the daylights out of typology!
This prophecy-talk concerning the Messiah exists in many passages throughout the accepted cannon like [Luke 1:31-33 KJV Freevised Version] 31:
And, behold, [you shall] conceive in [your] womb, and bring forth a son, and shall] call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
We see this kingdom power in Psalm 2 that concludes with “kiss the son lest he be angry”, encompassing the relevance of the overall story of the Kingdom of YHWH. This same prophecy from 2 Samuel 7.14 is repeated in verse 13 of 1 Chronicles 17 below:
[1Ch 17:1-15 KJV Freevised Version] 1 Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of [YHWH remains] under curtains. 2 Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that [is] in [your] heart; for [Elohim is] with [you]. 3 And it came to pass the same night, that the word of [Elohim] came to Nathan, saying, 4 Go and tell David my servant, [YHWH says], [you shall] not build me a house to dwell in: 5 For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from [one] tabernacle [to another]. 6 [Wherever] I have walked with all Israel, spoke I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have [you] not built me an house of cedars? 7 Now therefore this [shall you] say unto my servant David, [This says YHWH] of hosts, I took [you] from the sheepcote, [even] from following the sheep, that [you should] be ruler over my people Israel: 8 And I have been with [you wherever you have] walked, and have cut off all [your] enemies from before [you], and have made [you] a name like the name of the great men that [are] in the earth. 9 Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them anymore, as at the beginning, 10 And since the time that I commanded judges [to be] over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all [your] enemies. Furthermore I tell [you] that [YHWH] will build [you] [a] house. 11 And it shall come to pass, when [your] days be expired that [you] must go [to be] with [your] fathers, that I will raise up [your] seed after [you], which shall be of [your] sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build me a house, and I will [establish] his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took [it] from [him] that was before [you]: 14 But I will settle him in [my] house and in my kingdom forever: and his throne shall be established forevermore. 15 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
When you pay attention to the details of what YHWH said, you will see glaring contrasts to what David spoke. Like in verse 11, YHWH will raise up the Seed “after” David expires, whereas in David’s story he raises up Solomon before he expires (1 Chronicles 22 and 28). We can also readily see that verses 13 and 14 above could not have been fulfilled in Solomon. The testimony is more and more telling the further you dig in. As David says “alone” (one/echad), according to only what King Solomon could have fulfilled in 1 Chronicles 29.1: …Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen. But Solomon did not fulfill the established throne forever, nor the Kingdom of God, for he was not the Messiah. Yet Solomon also says (repeats), like David spoke, that he is “the one son”; so Solomon says in 1 Kings 5 and 8. The best-case scenario in all of this is David misunderstood what YHWH said to him through Nathan the Prophet, and then Solomon just fell in line to recite the story of his father David. This leeway is much more believable with Solomon, but not so much with David when you put all the pieces together. Maybe it’s just that David lied and Solomon validated the lie. Whatever the exact truth is, their interpretation is different than God’s command, seeing that the Word of YHWH came through the prophet Nathan, otherwise we can’t rely on any of the text. The true inspiration of infallibility and inerrancy is to clarify the exact facts as written. Otherwise we come to foul elucidations when we don’t abide in the word of Yahh.
For those who want to question the whole lot here by bantering the idea of pesher interpretation (which is redundancy at best), or multiple fulfillment, or partial fulfillment in prophecy, and argue such with the famously challenged 2 Samuel 7.14 verse in full view, ask yourself this question: was the “if” fulfilled in Solomon or Christ, as Solomon sinned, and Jesus did not. Watch for the “when” vs. “if” translations, unless your personal faith professes Christ sinned, and consider this verse is not in the
