2 Samuel 6–7

2 Samuel 6 :1–2, 14–23, Bring up the ark…David danced…Michal…despised him. Some people who are purveyors of dead, stale and fossilized religious systems may turn their noses airward in diffidence at the tokens or symbols of YHVH’s presence. On the other hand, there are those of equally petrified and lifeless religious systems that look to religious icons and tokens to somehow breathe life into that which is spiritually dead. Such can easily become nothing more than thinly veiled idolatry and relic worship. Neither of these situations was the case with David when he sought the return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. The ark was, for the Israelites, the symbol of Elohim’s blessed presence among them. With passionate zeal from a heart of worship, David longed for the ark’s placement in Jerusalem in a place of honor, and YHVH honored David’s desire. Yet there were those, even in David’s own family, who in an effort to keep old dead systems alive, despised the anointed presence and David’s zeal for it.

As physical humans, YHVH knows that we need points of contact to aid us in connecting to the deeper things of life—especially to those things of the heavenly realm. In the physical realm, a cherished photo of a loved one, a wedding ring, a souvenir from a trip, a gift from a friend or a family heirloom may serve to refresh our memories and to stir the emotions reminding us of the people, places or events behind the keepsakes. A souvenir is something we purchase while on a trip to remind us of good memories when we return home. The word souvenir is a direct borrowing from the French word of the same spelling meaning “to remember.” The power of keepsakes, heirlooms or souvenirs over one’s mind and emotions can be so strong that they can cause us to shed a tear, go into a depression, or bring us great joy. Our emotional attachments are so strong to them that often they will be the things that we will retrieve before anything else from our burning home. These things serve as points of contact with important events that have happened in our lives. 

In our spiritual lives, we have similar points of contact. It could be a favorite Bible or another token of our faith and devotion to YHVH. The Bible reveals that anointing oil or an anointed cloth can be a point of contact with YHVH the Healer. Communion and baptism are both points of contact to higher spiritual truths. It is heresy, possibly even idolatry, to say that the water of baptism actually spiritually cleanses the sinner, or the bread and wine become the actual the body and blood of the Savior. But they are important in that they are a physical representation of deeper spiritual truths or realities.

Perhaps now we can appreciate better David’s zeal over the ark of the covenant’s return to Jerusalem. Embodied in that box was the very heritage and future of Israel, for it represented YHVH’s divine presence in the midst of his people. David recognized this and knew that, like Moses, unless YHVH was with him (Exod 33:14–15), the future looked bleak and he despaired about going forward without YHVH’s presence among them.

What are the points of contact in your spiritual life that serve as points of reference, contacts, milestones, road signs, or souvenirs either reminding you of or pointing you toward YHVH’s grace in your life? 

David literally danced for joy before the people when the ark of the covenant paraded into Jerusalem. Do we have a similar emotional tenderness, enthusiasm and exuberance about spiritual things that we too, like David, can worship our Creator with total abandon? Or do we, like Michal, the daughter of King Saul and wife of David, criticize those who, like David, did so? In reality, everything in that ark pointed to Yeshua—the Living Word of Elohim. No doubt David, a spiritually attuned man after YHVH’as own heart, recognized the deeper symbolism of the ark and its contents, and he would have loved every bit of it unreservedly as evidenced by his zeal at the ark’s return. Similarly, do we still possess such a love for Yeshua, or have we lost it? (Read Rev 2:4–5.) What did YHVH-Yeshua threaten to do to the assembly at Ephesus if they did not reignite the passions of their first love for him?

 2 Samuel 6:3–7, The house of Abinidab. While in the house of Abinadab, the ark’s presence had become so commonplace such that, as Matthew Henry states in his commentary, the familiarity of it engendered contempt (or at least a casual disregard) for it. Perhaps an irreverence for YHVH’s set-apart things had gripped Uzzah’s heart prompting him to touch that which was forbidden to do so. In our modern culture, and Christianity is not exempt from this, there is very little respect for authority, one’s elders, the law or other’s property, much less holy or set-apart things. In YHVH’s order of things, this is unacceptable behavior. Scripture draws strict lines of demarcation between that which is holy (kadosh or set-apart) and that which is commonplace or profane. YHVH has designated certain times, places, things and even people to be honored and respected—even revered. Are we in danger of incurring Elohim’s wrath, as Uzzah did, for not properly recognizing this?

 2 Samuel 6:16, [Michal] despised [David] in her heart. In reality, what was Michal despising—David or the ark itself? Often humans in actuality are despising the things of YHVH even though they misdirect their disregard and spite toward his human agents. Scripture reveals that the children of Israel’s rebellion against Moses was really against YHVH himself. Similarly, if the ark was a prophetic picture of Yeshua, then for whom was Michal really showing contempt? Yeshua is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to many people. Many Christians claim to follow Yeshua, yet they despise his Word and his messengers. They also despise those who are passionate devotees and worshipers of Yeshua referring to them as right-wing fanatics, extremists, unbalanced, Bible-thumpers, Jesus freaks and other derisive terms. How passionate for Yeshua and his ways are you? What does YHVH say about this attitude? (Read Rev 3:15–19.)

 2 Samuel 7:2–3, Nathan the prophet. This is one of the few examples in Scripture where a prophet of YHVH “missed” the Word of Elohim and delivered an inaccurate prophetic word represented as being from YHVH. Unlike many modern “prophets” who deliver “words” from “the Lord” that are inaccurate or fail to come to pass, Nathan quickly recognized his mistake and corrected it. Nathan heard a word from YHVH, but he “missed” it in that YHVH wanted to raise up the house of David instead of David raising up the house of Elohim, which the following verses go on to show us was the accurate word YHVH wanted delivered. This is an important point to which our attention needs to be called.

The office of a prophet is a valid one—even in our day. (See Eph 4:11.)

Because many people in religious circles today wrongly teach a cessationist view pertaining to gifts of the Spirit and the commonly-called five-fold ministry offices of Ephesians 4:11, the office of the prophet is often demeaned in an effort to invalidate its present legitimacy. Furthermore, in light of the fact that the church-system has produced so many self-proclaimed “prophets” who are no more than prophets for hire seeking financial profit—giving all the more fuel to the fires of those claiming the prophetic gifts are passé—what must our view be toward those who have prophetic gifts? What does the Bible say? (Read Joel 2:28.) What should be our view of prophecy in our assemblies? (Read 1 Thess 5:19–20; 1 Cor 14:1 and 39.) If anyone gives forth a prophetic word what should be our response to it? (Read 1 Cor 14:28–31.) Note what verse 29 says about prophets judging the words of other prophets. This is something that seldom occurs in the church system. How does the Scripture define a false as well as carnal prophets? (Read Deut 13:1–11; Jer 23:9ff; Ezek 13 and 22:25ff.)

2 Samuel 7:9, I have…cut off all your enemies.YHVH informed David through Nathan the prophet that he had cut off all David’s enemies. However, this didn’t occur by David sitting on his thumbs and doing nothing, while, at the same time, expecting YHVH to defeat his enemies for him. No. David had to actively and aggressively literally fight against his enemies. Only then did YHVH help David to defeat them. There is a lesson here for us. If we need deliverance from our enemies (e.g., sin, addictions, sickness, poverty, demons, persecution, evil people or whatever), we have to do our part. Sometimes, YHVH will give us novel and unconventional ways to defeat our enemies as he did on many occasions with David and the Israelites. Nevertheless, for YHVH to intervene miraculously on behalf of his saints, they still needed to be doing their part: seeking him and trusting in and obeying him. Although it appears nowhere in the Scriptures, it would seem that the old adage that Elohim helps those who help themselves has some merit.

2 Samuel 7:12–14, After. A Messianic prophecy. After (in verse 12) is the Hebrew word achar meaning “following, hereafter, afterwards, behind.”Was this prophecy of Nathan fulfilled in Solomon, David’s son and the subsequent king over Israel? Certainly Solomon’s reign followed, was after or behind David’s kingly reign. Furthermore, when this prophecy was given Solomon was not yet born. This did not happen until David’s liaison with Bathsheba in chapter 11. So it appears that this prophecy could have been fulfilled by Solomon…until we come to verse 13, 16 and Whoever the subject of this prophecy is, it is said that his kingdom will last forever (verses 13 and 16). This certainly was not the case with Solomon. The biblical record shows us that the kingly line of David ceased in 586 B.C. (lasting only a little more than 400 years) with the conquering of Judah by the Babylonians.

Furthermore, this prophecy speaks in verse 19 of David’s house lasting “a great while to come”(KJV).The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach renders the same passage as follows: “in the distant future.” The Complete Jewish Biblereads “on into the distant future.”Additionally, it was said of David’s descendant who would build this house (temple) and establish a throne that it would last a long while into the future and that YHVH would be his father and he would be YHVH’s son (verse 14). This was the case with Solomon for a while until he became apostate in his latter years. There is no clear biblical record that he ever returned to YHVH, his father.

It is true that YHVH promised to establish Solomon’s throne forever (1 Kgs 2:45; 9:5; 10:9; 1 Chron 17:12, 14; 22:10), but conditional only upon Solomon’s faithful obedience to YHVH (1 Kgs 9:4, 6–9). This Solomon failed to do and his throne was not established forever. 

There was one Person, however, who descended from David who was obedient to all of YHVH’s commandments, whose father was YHVH-Elohim, and who established the throne of David forever: It was Yeshua the Messiah. In fact, 2 Samuel 7:14 even speaks of the virgin birth of this Messianic figure when it says quite literally, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son.”

To add more validity to our contention that 2 Samuel 7:12–19 is a prophetic reference to the Messiah, let us look at Psalm 45:6ff (cp. Heb 1:8), which is a notable messianic passage: “Thy throne, O Elohim, is for ever and ever: the scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter.” Isaiah 9:6–7 contains a similar messianic prophecy: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty Elohim, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the YHVH of hosts will perform this.

It is our belief in light of the above facts that Nathan the prophet gave David a prophecy about his throne being established forever through the yet unborn Solomon who, had he remained obedient to YHVH’s commandments, would have been the recipient and fulfiller of this prophecy. However, since Solomon turned away from YHVH the prophecy of Nathan defaulted to its secondary and more important fulfillment, that is, Yeshua the Messiah would become the eventual recipient of King David’s throne forever.