2 Samuel 7:12–13: “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.”

June 16th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This prophecy of “your seed” is one of many Scriptures emphasizing God’s promise of a coming Messiah, a King of Kings, who would establish David’s throne forever. Although there was a long time gap (this prophecy was given 1000 years before Jesus physically came), God’s promises to David were completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus does reign, and will continue to reign on David’s throne forever. He is right now building the Father a magnificent house in the sense that believers are God’s temples:

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4)

This New Testament picture is one of God building a spiritual temple (a spiritual house), using living stones (believers), who have surrendered to the Living Stone (Jesus). Jesus is alive and He makes us living stones because we are connected to Him, the only source of real life. We living stones are not of real use to Him until we take up our correct place in the wall of His building.

There is an ancient story about a king of Sparta, in Greece, who boasted to a visiting monarch about the mighty walls of Sparta. But as the king’s guest looked around, there were no walls in sight. Finally the guest said, “I’d like to see these walls. Show them to me!” The Spartan ruler pointed with great satisfaction to some disciplined, well-trained troops, part of Sparta’s mighty army, and exclaimed, “There they are! Those are the walls of Sparta!” Just as each Spartan soldier was viewed by their king as a brick in his mighty wall, so we are viewed by God as “living stones . . . [building] up a spiritual house.”

“LORD, use us this day, and make us solid stones, useful in Your hands as You continue to build Your house.”

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1 Samuel 7 KJV

¹ And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. ²And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. ³ And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. ⁴ Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. ⁵ And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. ⁶ And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. ⁷ And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it , they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. ⁹ And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.  ¹⁰ And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. ¹¹ And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. ¹² Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us. ¹³ So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. ¹⁵ And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.  ¹⁷ And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.