Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of I Chronicles Chapter 17
Metaphysically Interpreting I Chronicles 17:1-15
17:1And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah dwelleth under curtains. 17:2And Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.
17:3And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 17:4Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in: 17:5for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel, unto this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. 17:6In all places wherein I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar? 17:7Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be prince over my people Israel: 17:8and I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast gone, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee; and I will make thee a name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth. 17:9And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first, 17:10and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will subdue all thine enemies.
Moreover I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house. 17:11And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, who shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 17:12He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever. 17:13I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee; 17:14but I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever. 17:15According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
August 21, 1927: I Chron. 17:1-12
What is meant by the Scriptural reference to the house of the Lord?” The house of the Lord is the body of man. Paul said, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
How does man's body become the permanent dwelling place of the Lord? The body takes on permanency as man advances in his understanding of the law of Being, expressed through love.
What did David mean when he said that he dwelt in a house of cedar but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah dwelt under curtains? David meant that he had a consciousness of the substance of Spirit, but the true [life?] was concealed [in?] him.
It was David’s ambition to build the permanent body. Why could he not fulfill his ambition? The Bible (in I Chron. 22:8 and I Chron. 28:3) states that David was told that he could not build the house of the Lord because he was a man of war.
Why is it impossible for one who has warlike thoughts to build an enduring body? Warlike thoughts are destructive. Such thoughts react on the fine essences out of which the enduring body is primarily composed and prevent its taking shape.
What did Jehovah mean by the statement that he had no permanent dwelling place with Israel, but had gone from tent to tent? In the early stages of its growth the soul has no clear concept of its identity in omnipresent mind; it wanders in various incarnations from body to body (“from tent to tent”), until it acquires the Christ understanding of the law that overcomes death.
In verses 9 and 10 Jehovah promises that Israel shall be established in a place of peace in which He will build the house. To what does this refer? This promise of a house, or final dwelling place, pertains to Israel as a race. The other verses for today's lesson refer to the promise of a dwelling place of universal peace for the individual.
How will this promise of universal peace be fulfilled? Through one soul’s demonstration of perfect peace. David, the first ruler to express forgiveness and love toward his enemies, was the plant that flowered in Jesus Christ, through whom universal peace will finally become an abiding state in the whole earth. “He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever.”
September 1, 1918: I Chron. 17:1-14
What in consciousness, does “David” symbolize? “David” symbolizes the I Am established in Love, not yet spiritualized and regenerated.
What is the symbolical meaning of the “house of David,” referred to in this lesson? The “house of David” is the real body consciousness. David had built a body for his soul, but was not yet established in the consciousness of a spiritual body.
Why was David not allowed to build the temple? David was a man of war, and warring thoughts in consciousness are detrimental to the bringing forth of a permanent structure.
What does the “building of the temple of the Lord” typify? The “temple of the Lord” typifies the spiritual body. The love of the personal man must be transmuted into the love and desire for Divinity, before the Spirit of God in man can erect the permanent body.
What, in consciousness, do the “tents” and “tabernacles” refer to? As man unfolds in spiritual consciousness, new states of mind are set up, all of which bear a definite relation to the spiritual body. These temporary states of mind are referred to as “tents” and “tabernacles.”
How were God's promises to David fulfilled? David passed from the “warrior state of mind” to the “Solomon state,” or one of I Am dominion and mastery, and at this point made union with the Spirit. However, the permanent body-temple can only be built through Christ, as Jesus perfected his body.
Metaphysically Interpreting I Chronicles 17:16-27
17:16Then David the king went in, and sat before Jehovah; and he said, Who am I, O Jehovah God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? 17:17And this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; but thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Jehovah God. 17:18What can David say yet more unto thee concerning the honor which is done to thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant. 17:19O Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things. 17:20O Jehovah, there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 17:21And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem unto himself for a people, to make thee a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou redeemest out of Egypt? 17:22For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Jehovah, becamest their God.
17:23And now, O Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, be established for ever, and do as thou hast spoken. 17:24And let thy name be established and magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and the house of David thy servant is established before thee. 17:25For thou, O my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build him a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray before thee.17:26And now, O Jehovah, thou art God, and hast promised this good thing unto thy servant: 17:27and now it hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Jehovah, hast blessed, and it is blessed for ever.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 12-12-2013
