1. Why was Saul rejected from being king of Israel? "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king." (1 Samuel 15:23)
2. Who was chosen in his stead? "Now therefore so shall you say unto my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel." (2 Samuel 7:8)
3. By whom was David chosen to be ruler?
4. Where do you find the record of his anointing? (1 Samuel 16:1-13)
5. Repeat the promise which the Lord made to David concerning his house and kingdom. "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you; your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16)
6. What promise did the Lord make at the same time concerning His people Israel? "Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them anymore, as beforetime." (2 Samuel 7:10)
7. What did He say He would appoint for them?" (2 Samuel 7:10)
8. Where should they dwell?" (2 Samuel 7:10)
9. From what should they be free?" (2 Samuel 7:10)
10. From 2 Samuel 7:10, quoted above, what conclusion must we draw concerning the promises made to Abraham, and to the Israelites at Sinai?
We must conclude that those promises were not fulfilled in the possession of the land of Canaan by the Israelites. If they had been, we would not at this time find the Lord renewing the same promise, when they were already in the land that the Lord had given to them.
11. In what condition was the kingdom of Israel when the Lord made the promise recorded in 2 Samuel 7:10? "And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies" (2 Samuel 7:1)
12. Then what must we conclude concerning that promise of rest and peace?
Since the Israelites were already dwelling in the land that the Lord had given them by Joshua, and were at peace with all around them, it follows that the promise of a land of their own, and of rest and peace, must refer to something in the future, something far greater than anything yet known. This can only be found in that perfect inheritance when "The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom." (Daniel 7:27)
This will be the perfect rest that remains for the people of God, for when "the meek shall inherit the earth, [they] shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:11)
13. Who was David's immediate successor? "And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. Then you shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so be He with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David. So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon. And Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon." (1 Kings 1:32-39)
14. What had the Lord said concerning him? "And when your days be fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, which shall proceed out of your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever." (2 Samuel 7:12-13)--Signs of the Times, July 16, 1885--Lesson for the Pacific Coast - August 8--2 Samuel 7
E.J. Waggoner