2 Samuel 7:15-18 - My love will never be taken away from him

7:15,16

“But my love will never be taken away from him ...” There are those who say that the nation of Israel no longer has a special part in God’s plan. As I see it, this cannot possibly be true, for there are so many promises from God towards Israel. We should also bear in mind that God was and is fully aware of the depths of Israel’s sinfulness. Now those who are ardently “pro Israel” can sometimes be blind to Israel’s sin, and can also forget that God’s plans have always gone much further than Israel (Gen 12:3).

7:17

Nathan, being the faithful prophet that he was, reported all these words to David. He did not hide anything from him.

7:18

David accepted the Lord’s word, given to him through Nathan. Instead of objecting to it, or reacting against it, he humbly accepted the word and worshipped the Lord because of it. God’s plans for us are always better than what we think is the best for us. David recognised that it was the Lord who had brought him and his family so far. There is a danger that when the Lord blesses us we start to think we are blessed because of our own goodness or wisdom.

Mark 1:15-18 - Repent and believe

1:15

There are several key elements of the good news which are so succinctly summed up in this one verse. First, “the time has come”. This is the time when God’s purposes and plans are being made manifest, they are being actualised. Second, “kingdom of God has come near”, or “is at hand”. There is a different kingdom at hand. We can probably all agree that man’s kingdom is not very good, often utterly evil and horrendous. We may replace the current rulers, whether by the ballot box or by revolution, but then we find that things are no better, or even worse. In the words of the Who “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. It then goes on “won’t get fooled again”, yet we do keep on falling for the same trick. God’s kingdom is different. Thirdly, we need to repent. Our rulers may be a bunch of incompetents, sometimes positively evil, but we are also part of the problem. We, you and I, need to repent. We need to acknowledge the wrongness of ourselves and our ways. Finally we need to “believe the good news”. We need to follow Jesus.

1:16-18

We now read of Jesus calling His first disciples. The “Sea of Galilee” was actually a lake, and only the locals referred to it as a “sea”, this reflects the information in the gospels coming from locals. Andrew and Simon had been influenced by John the Baptist (John 1:40-42). John was now in prison, so they were back at their “day job” of fishing. Jesus calls to them “follow me”. “At once they left their nets and followed Him”. Mark is demonstrating what it means to believe in Jesus. Jesus calls them out, and sets them out on a different purpose for their lives, namely to be “fishers of men”. As disciples we are to be “influencers”, to have an effect on the lives of others, calling them to Christ.

2 Samuel 7:12-14 - I will establish his kingdom

7:12

It is now made clear that God’s plans do not end with David. God’s plans will continue through David’s offspring.  This is ultimately fulfilled through Christ, who, humanly speaking, is a descendant of David (Rom 1:3).

7:13,14

In one sense what we have here is confused. There are two key characters in mind. One is Solomon, the other is Jesus. Solomon did build the temple, and there was a time of peace, but it did not end well. Solomon went off the rails, and the kingdom split after his death. On the other hand, while the ultimate fulfilment is certainly in Christ, the words such as “When he does wrong ...” do not apply to Jesus for He was without sin, and had to be in order to be the perfect sacrifice. So we have an intermingling of the partial immediate fulfilment, and eternal perfect fulfilment.

Mark 1:12-14 - The Spirit sent Him out into the wilderness

1:12,13

We are then told that the Spirit sent Jesus out into the wilderness. There He was tempted for forty days. Again, Mark gives the briefest account possible, with no mention whatsoever of the specific temptations. When we are tempted the root usually lies with our own sinful desires, this was not the case with Jesus. Mark doesn’t even say that Jesus successfully resisted the temptation! Though we can take that as read.

1:14

This is consistent with Matt 4:12. Jesus begins His ministry when John’s ministry has essentially ended. The messenger has proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, and the Messiah has now come. Jesus’s early ministry was mostly carried out in Galilee. “Good news of God” could be read as “good news about God”, or “good news sent by God”. In actual fact, both are true. It is about God, it is about God’s mercy and salvation for us through Jesus Christ, and it is the good news sent by God. Man did not make the message up or discover the message, rather God sent it to us.

2 Samuel 7:10,11 - I will provide a place for my people Israel

7:10

See that God’s concern for David is combined with His concern for Israel.  God promises to provide a place for Israel, a place where they can dwell in peace, free from the risk of oppression. Israel has never received this, except possibly for very brief phases. I suspect that God has still to completely fulfil this promise, and that one day it will be fulfilled. In our own lives when God works in them it will be for our benefit, but not just for our benefit. When we look at ourselves we need to realise that we are someone through whom God aims to bless others.

7:11

Israel’s history had always been a troubled history. When they came out of Egypt they were pursued by the Egyptians. When they entered the Promised Land they faced much trouble. Now, we also need to recognise that this was because of their failure to live by the Law. Indeed, we should note that what we have here is only part of the story. In fact for a lot of the Old Testament the focus is on one part of the story or the other, occasionally both coming together. The two parts are (i) God’s promises and purposes for Israel; and (ii) Israel’s sinfulness. And this applies to the whole human race as well. “The Lord Himself will establish a house for you.” This is achieved through Jesus Christ.

Mark 1:9-11 - Jesus was baptised by John

1:9

We now get mention of the baptism of Jesus and His temptation in the wilderness. Mark gives the briefest of accounts of these two incidents. Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptised by John. Mark gives no indication of why Jesus needed to be baptised, Matt 4:13-17 gives more explanation, Mark simply states that Jesus was baptised. In a sense that is enough. We may ask why do we need to be baptised? Well, Jesus was baptised, and no servant is greater than his master, so we should just get on with it!

1:10.11

As Jesus came up out of the water Jesus saw heaven opened and the Spirit descended on Him like a dove. These two verses are more or less identical to Matt 3:16,17. Our repentance and faith opens up the way for our receiving of the Holy Spirit. Then a voice from heaven came declaring that Jesus was God’s Son, and that God was well pleased with Him. Any “theology” that sees Jesus as less than the Son of God is completely mistaken.

2 Samuel 7:6-9 - I have not dwelt in a house

7:6,7

God reminds David that since He led the Israelites out of Egypt He had not dwelt in a house, a tent had been His dwelling place throughout that time. Moreover, while God had issued many commandments, not once did He command them to build a house for Him. He never complained that they had not built a house of cedar for Him. Clearly having a temple of that form was not a priority for God!

7:8,9

God now reminds David of what He has done for David. He took David from tending the sheep to shepherding the nation of Israel. Throughout that time God had been with David and had defeated all David’s enemies, be these ones from within Israel (namely the house of Saul) or enemies without, the Canaanites and Philistines. Now He is going to make David’s name great. It was a matter of what God had done for David, and what He was going to do for David, rather than what David could do for God! We need a right balance here, but it is more a matter of what God does for us, than what we do for Him.

Mark 1:7,8 - And this was his message

1:7

John the Baptist is at pains to stress that he is not the main man. In the gospel of John a key feature of the early chapter or two is its emphasis on the fact that John the Baptist came to point people towards Jesus. Here John first stresses his own inferiority compared to Jesus. Jesus is more powerful than John the Baptist, and John is the most lowly of servants in comparison to Jesus. Tying or untying the straps of someone’s sandals was the most menial of tasks.

1:8

John then emphasises the greatness of Jesus. John baptised with water, it was a baptism of repentance (Acts 19:4), in a sense it was what we could do (I know God is instrumental in leading us to repentance). Jesus would baptise with the Holy Spirit. God Himself would come to live within us, we would be born again, a wok of inner transformation would begin. John could not do this, nor was he meant to. The Old Testament made clear the need for us to be born again. It catalogues the repeated failure of even the “good men”, men such as Moses, David etc. It spoke of a day coming when God would pour out His Spirit on mankind (e.g. Is 32:15; 44:3; Ezek 39:29; Jer 31:31-34; Joel 2:28,29).

2 Samuel 7:4,5 - Go ahead and do it

7:4

That night the Lord speaks to Nathan. It is interesting that God does not speak to David directly, but via the prophet Nathan. How does this apply today? One could argue that now that we have the Holy Spirit, God will speak to us directly. On the other hand, prophets and prophecy are part of God’s equipping gift to the church, and receiving advice from godly men and women is a normal part of God’s economy. There is in reality no opposition between the two. God will often guide us through the advice or prophecy of others, at the same time there will be “inner witness” (i.e. from the Holy Spirit).

7:5

We now come to what God actually wants, to what is the heart of God. God begins with a question “are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?” David’s whole perception is misguided, or lacking. God’s plans for mankind in general, and for David in particular, are much better and deeper than David’s idea. The fundamental difference is that man (David here) will design a man driven plan (i.e. David building a temple), albeit one seeking God’s help. The real plan is a God designed and driven plan. We are called to follow Christ.

Mark 1:5,6 - The whole Judean countryside

1:5

John and his message had mass appeal. Mark tells us that “the whole Judean countryside and all the people went out to him”. They confessed their sins and were baptised in the Jordan. Luke 3:15 tells us that there was a general air of expectation. Too much of the church tries to gain popularity by following cultural trends. This is a foolish approach. The “common people” often recognise that there is something wrong, they won’t know what exactly, and won’t put it down to rebellion against God. But we need to preach God’s word, not some cultural nonsense.

1:6

The description of John is reminiscent of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). Locusts were the only insect that the Law allowed them to eat. Apparently they could be boiled or roasted, either way, I don’t fancy them. 

2 Samuel 7:1-3 - Living in a house of cedar

7:1

“The Lord had given him rest from all his enemies”. Chapter 8 will record more battles, and it is likely that chronologically the events in chapter 8 preceded the events recounted in this chapter. This chapter has been placed before chapter 8 for thematic reasons. In the previous chapter we read of the eventual return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. This only happened after an initial ill-fated attempt. This chapter too tells of David’s own plans being mistaken, and telling us what God’s actual plans are. In chapter 6 there was a harsh rebuke from God, in the death of Uzzah, and David seems to work out for himself what the correct way to do things was, i.e. follow the pattern set out in the Law. Now David is rebuked again, but in a far gentler fashion, and the revelation goes beyond the Law. 

7:2,3

Nathan the prophet is introduced for the first time. There is no information regarding his background. David speaks to Nathan and tells him that he thinks it is wrong that he, David, is living in “a house of cedar” (i.e. is living in very comfortable surroundings) while the ark remains in a tent. Nathan’s initial response is “whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you”. This response is well meaning, but was not inspired by the Lord. Not everything a prophet says is a word from God.

Mark 1:3,4 - John the Baptist appeared

1:3

The Isaiah part of the quotation comes from the well known Isaiah 40. This passage speaks of Israel’s sins being forgiven, of all human power being like grass, i.e. very temporal, and of the greatness of God’s love for His people.

1:4

Malachi identifies the Messenger as one who would come like Elijah (Mal 4:5,6), and Jesus later identifies John as Elijah (Mark 9:13), though interestingly John the Baptist himself denied being Elijah (John 1:21). John appeared in the wilderness and preached a baptism of repentance. Repentance is the gateway to knowing God. We need to acknowledge that our ways are wrong, that we need a change of direction, a change that aligns ourselves with God’s ways, indeed aligns ourselves with God.

The fertile area around the Jordan soon became wilderness. Baptism was used for Gentiles converting to Judaism, and represented a complete turnaround in their way of life. The unique feature of John’s baptism was that this was applied to the Jews themselves. The Jews, along with all of humanity, needed a complete turnaround.