“…and as they did from the time I ordered judges to be over my people Israel; instead, I will give you rest from all your enemies. ‘Moreover, Adonai tells you that Adonai will make you a house.
When your days come to an end and you sleep with your ancestorsWhen your days come to an end and you sleep with your ancestors, I will establish one of your descendants to succeed you, one of your own flesh and blood; and I will set up his rulership.”-2 Samuel 7:11-12
So the Lord flips the script on David.
He tells him…
“Instead of you building Me a house, I will make you a house.“
So, we see the Lord expressing a bit of verbal irony here.
The Hebrew word for “house” is BETH.
It has multiple meanings.
It can mean a normal residence like where a family lives.
It can also refer to a place characterized by a certain type of activity.
Like a “house of prostitution”, a “house of learning”, or a “house of worship.”
Yeshua was born in BETH-LECHEM, which means the “House of Bread.”
Finally, this word can also mean a “family” or a “dynasty.”
For example, Jeremiah uses the word in this sense when speaking of the New Covenant.
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel,
and with the house of Judah:”
-Jeremiah 31:31
This is the sense the Lord is using the word here.
He is telling David He is going to build him a permanent dynasty.
Now look at the expression the Lord uses when referring to David’s death
“When your days come to an end
and you sleep with your ancestors”
God isn’t expressing a theological truth here.
Rather He is kowtowing to the ancient Middle East’s primitive understanding of how death and the afterlife operated.
The Israelites didn’t seem to know yet that the righteous dead didn’t stay in Sheol.
The real theological truth is that they went to a place called Abraham’s Bosom.
This was where the faithful waited for the Messiah.
When the Messiah came and died, He cleansed them in a way their own good deeds never could.
That’s what opened the door for them to leave their waiting place and enter Heaven.
So here’s your takeaway for today.
Isn’t it awesome that God has a sense of humor and knows how to talk to us in ways we understand?
He is not like the dead stone idols the pagans worshipped that couldn’t hear or speak.
When He talked about David “sleeping with his ancestors”…
He was using language the people of that time could relate to…
Even though His plans for the afterlife were far greater.
We worship a God who is not only wise but also approachable…
A God who patiently teaches and leads us step by step.
Ain’t that awesome?
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