There is a question in I Chronicles 17 of exactly who is building who a house.
At first David comes up with the idea to build the Lord a house for the Ark of the Covenant. Nathan the prophet initially gives him the green light, saying, "Do all that you have in mind, for God is with you" (vs. 2).
However, the Lord switches the plan around. He says He doesn't want David to be the one to build Him a house. Instead, God reveals that He will be the One to build David a house (vs. 10). He promises that one of David's sons will be the one to build the Lord a house, and that, in turn, God will establish his throne forever (vs. 12).
"Forever" appears several times in this chapter, in such places as, "I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever" (vs. 14). "Forever" is an interesting word. It literally means without an end. I believe when God says forever, He means it. Yet where is the king of Israel today? Who sits on David's throne in 2016 as I write these words? That throne has been vacant for nearly 2000 years. Today it is nonexistent.
Except - what if God is talking about a kingdom not of this world? Christians believe that Jesus, not Solomon, is the son of David who will govern a kingdom without end and reign forever. Forever means forever, and Christ is the best candidate to be seen as the fulfillment of this prophecy of an everlasting dominion, rather than any strictly human descendant of David.
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