Blessing and Disobedience: The Paradox of David's House Text: 1 Chronicles 14:1-7
Introduction: Reading the Mail Correctly
When we read the Old Testament narratives, we are not reading a collection of Aesop's fables. These are not simple stories with a tidy moral tacked on at the end: "and the moral of the story is..." The Bible is far more robust, far more realistic, and far more glorious than that. It presents us with the unvarnished reality of God's dealings with sinful men, men whom He has nevertheless chosen to love and use for His own purposes. This requires us to be careful readers. We must distinguish between what the Bible records and what the Bible approves. The fact that the Scripture records a man's actions does not mean that God endorses those actions. The Bible is an honest book, and it records the sins of its heroes with unflinching honesty.
This passage in 1 Chronicles 14 is a prime example of this principle. We see two things happening side by side, and our modern sensibilities want to force them apart. On the one hand, we see the manifest and undeniable blessing of God upon David. His kingdom is established, his international reputation is growing, and he is being recognized by foreign powers. God is clearly with him. On the other hand, right in the middle of this account of blessing, we see David's clear and deliberate disobedience to the law of God regarding kings. He multiplies wives to himself, in direct violation of the command given in Deuteronomy.
How do we hold these two things together? Our temptation is to either downplay the blessing because of the sin, or to excuse the sin because of the blessing. We want to say, "Well, if God was blessing him, then the extra wives must not have been that big a deal." Or we say, "How could God bless a man who was actively disobeying Him?" Both of these reactions fail to understand the nature of God's covenant faithfulness and the insidious nature of sin. This passage teaches us a crucial lesson: God's covenant blessing is steadfast, even when His people are not. But it also teaches us that sin, even when it is committed by a blessed man, always has consequences. The seeds of the future turmoil in David's house are being sown right here, in the midst of his prosperity.
The Text
Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and craftsmen of walls and craftsmen of wood, to build a house for him.
Thus David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was lifted up, for the sake of His people Israel.
Then David took more wives at Jerusalem, and David became the father of more sons and daughters.
These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,
Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,
Elishama, Beeliada and Eliphelet.
(1 Chronicles 14:1-7 LSB)
God Establishes the Kingdom (v. 1-2)
The first two verses show us the external and internal confirmation of David's kingship.
"Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and craftsmen of walls and craftsmen of wood, to build a house for him. Thus David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was lifted up, for the sake of His people Israel." (1 Chronicles 14:1-2)
First, we see the external confirmation. Hiram, the pagan king of Tyre, a major commercial power, recognizes David's legitimacy. He doesn't just send a congratulatory note; he sends the materials and the skilled labor to build David a royal palace. This is a significant political and economic endorsement. The cedar of Lebanon was the finest building material in the ancient world. This is like a foreign power offering to build the White House. This act shows that David's kingdom is not some backwater, tribal confederacy. It is becoming a serious player on the international stage. God is granting David favor in the eyes of the surrounding nations.
But the Chronicler is not interested in mere political history. He immediately gives us the theological interpretation of these events. Verse 2 is the internal confirmation. "Thus David knew..." Hiram's embassy was not just good diplomacy; it was a sign from God. David perceived God's hand in this. He understood that Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, was the one who had "established him as king." David's throne was not the result of his own military genius or his political maneuvering. It was a gift of God's grace.
Furthermore, David understood the purpose of his exaltation. His kingdom was "lifted up, for the sake of His people Israel." This is a crucial point. God did not exalt David for David's sake. He exalted David for Israel's sake. The king was not an end in himself; he was a servant of God for the good of the people. This is the fundamental principle of all godly authority. A husband's authority is for the sake of his wife. A pastor's authority is for the sake of the flock. A magistrate's authority is for the sake of the people. When leaders forget this, and begin to think that the position exists for their own benefit, tyranny is the inevitable result. David, in this moment of clarity, understood that his glory was a derived glory, and its purpose was to bless the people of God.
David Disobeys the King's Law (v. 3-7)
Immediately following this high point of theological insight, the Chronicler records a jarring note of disobedience.
"Then David took more wives at Jerusalem, and David became the father of more sons and daughters." (1 Chronicles 14:3 LSB)
The text then lists the sons born from these unions. The narrative simply states the fact, without comment. But no Israelite, reading this account, would have been ignorant of the law for the king laid out in Deuteronomy 17. The Lord had given specific instructions for any future king of Israel.
"And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold." (Deuteronomy 17:17 LSB)
David's action is a direct violation of a clear command from God. Why did he do it? For the same reason kings have always done it: political alliances, dynastic security, and personal pleasure. Taking wives from various factions or neighboring peoples was a way to cement treaties. Having many sons was a way to ensure the succession and project an image of strength and virility. It was the standard operating procedure for any successful monarch in the ancient Near East. But David was not supposed to be like any other monarch. He was to be Yahweh's king, ruling according to Yahweh's law.
Here we see the subtle temptation of success. In the very moment that God is blessing him and making him like the great kings of the earth, David begins to act like the great kings of the earth, instead of acting like God's king. He adopts the methods of the world to secure the blessings of God. This is a perennial temptation for the church. We see God blessing us, and we think we need to adopt the world's marketing techniques, the world's leadership structures, and the world's entertainment models to keep the blessing going. But God's kingdom is not advanced by the world's methods.
The Chronicler's silence is deafening. He doesn't need to write, "And this was a bad thing." He just lays the fact down next to the account of God's blessing and lets it sit there. He shows us the list of sons: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, and all the rest. And every reader who knows the rest of the story will see the storm clouds gathering. This harem will become a hornet's nest. The rivalry between these sons, born of different mothers, will tear David's family and his kingdom apart. Amnon's rape of Tamar, Absalom's murder of Amnon, Absalom's rebellion, Adonijah's attempted coup, all of these tragedies flow directly from the sin recorded in this verse. David is sowing the wind, and he will reap the whirlwind.
Conclusion: The Greater David
So what are we to make of this? This passage shows us the tragic complexity of a godly man's life. David is a man after God's own heart, and yet he is also a man capable of flagrant and destructive sin. God's blessing on him is real, and his sin is also real. The two coexist, but not peacefully. The blessing does not nullify the sin, and the sin does not ultimately thwart God's covenant purpose.
This should be a warning to us. We can be genuinely experiencing the blessing of God in our lives, our families, or our churches, and at the same time be tolerating or cultivating sins that will bring future devastation. Success is no guarantee of sanctification. We must never allow the presence of God's blessing to make us complacent about the presence of our sin.
But this passage should also be a great comfort to us. It points us to the fact that God's plan of redemption does not depend on the flawless obedience of His people. God established David's kingdom "for the sake of His people Israel." And through this flawed king, and through this tangled and tragic family line, God would bring forth the true King. Notice the names in that list of sons. There is Nathan, and there is Solomon. Both are listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1 and Luke 3). God, in His inscrutable wisdom, weaves even the results of David's sin into the tapestry of redemption.
This does not excuse the sin. David paid a bitter price for his polygamy. But it does magnify the grace of God. God's purposes are so robust that they cannot be derailed by our foolishness. This story makes us long for a better king, a king who would not be like the kings of the nations, a king who would be perfectly obedient to the law of God. It makes us long for the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the truly established King. He did not build His house with the cedars of Tyre, but with living stones, with His redeemed people. He was lifted up, not on a throne in Jerusalem, but on a cross at Golgotha, for the sake of His people. And He did not take many brides, but set His love upon one Bride, the Church. And He gave Himself up for her, to make her holy and blameless. David's story is a story of blessing marred by disobedience. The gospel is the story of the perfectly obedient King who took the curse for our disobedience, so that we might receive the fullness of His blessing.