The seventh chapter of 2 Samuel marks the beginning of a new epoch the settled life of the nation Israel. Previous chapters have dealt with David's wars and conquests with seizing the land and defeating the Philistine enemies within her borders. With the entry of the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem (chapter 6) a different kind of existence confronts David and his people. Instead of being outsiders and upstarts, they are now suddenly numbered among the established nations of the region. It is a new identity and the prospect is disquieting to the long nomadic David.

David's discomfort with this new situation is evident from the question he nervously poses for the prophet Nathan. In verse 2 David asks his prophet whether it is proper for him to now live comfortably in a settle…