God’s Promise to David

1 Chronicles 17

            David will not be the one to build a temple for the Lord. No, David’s role was to provide peace and security for his people. Coincidentally, Solomon, who has not yet been named in Chronicles, is named exactly that. Solomon is a form of the word shalom, which in Hebrew means peace. David establishes God’s peace in Israel; Solomon is the beneficiary of it.

            A note about forever. In Hebrew the phrase translated forever literally means for the age (s). That is to say, the phrase might not mean to eternity. It might mean as long as this age of the world endures, until the next age, or simply, a really long time. Context has to be the determiner. I bring it up because, on the one hand, David’s throne did not endure forever. Yes, there was a Davidic king until the exile, and after the exile there were heirs of David who were (kind of) in charge, but the throne of David seems to have petered out. Of course, on the other hand, from a Christian point of view, Jesus is the heir of David, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father for eternity, so the question is less about, “What does forever mean?” and more about the surprising ways that God keeps His promises.