There is no indication how soon after the bringing up of the ark these things occurred, but it was probably at no long interval.

When the king sat in his house - That is, when he became resident in the palace which Hiram, king of Tyre, had built for him.

And the Lord had given him rest - This was after he had defeated the Philistines, and cast them out of all the strong places in Israel which they had possessed after the overthrow of Saul; but before he had carried his arms beyond the land of Israel, against the Moabites, Syrians, and Idumeans. See 2 Samuel 8:1-14.

And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house,.... Which Hiram's servants had built for him, having no occasion to go out to war:

and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; both at home and abroad; though this rest and peace did not last long; for the next chapter gives an account of each of the people he was engaged in war with, 2 Samuel 8:1.

When David was dwelling in his house, i.e., the palace of cedar (2 Samuel 5:11), and Jehovah had given him rest from all his enemies round about, he said to Nathan the prophet: "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God dwelleth within the curtains." היריעה in the singular is used, In Exodus 26:2., to denote the inner covering, composed of a number of lengths of tapestry sewn together, which was spread over the planks of the tabernacle, and made it into a dwelling, whereas the separate pieces of tapestry are called יריעת in the plural; and hence, in the later writers, יריעות alternates sometimes with אהל (Isaiah 54:2), and at other times with אהלים (Sol 1:5; Jeremiah 4:20; Jeremiah 49:29). Consequently היריעה refers here to the tent-cloth or tent formed of pieces of tapestry. "Within (i.e., surrounded by) the tent-cloth:" in the Chronicles we find "under curtains." From the words "when the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies round about," it is evident that David did not form the resolution to build the temple in the first years of his reign upon Zion, nor immediately after the completion of his palace, but at a later period (see the remarks on 2 Samuel 5:11, note). It is true that the giving of rest from all his enemies round about does not definitely presuppose the termination of all the greater wars of David, since it is not affirmed that this rest was a definitive one; but the words cannot possibly be restricted to the two victories over the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-25), as Hengstenberg supposes, inasmuch as, however important the second may have been, their foes were not even permanently quieted by them, to say nothing of their being entirely subdued. Moreover, in the promise mentioned in 2 Samuel 7:9, God distinctly says, "I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies before thee." These words also show that at that time David had already fought against all the enemies round about, and humbled them. Now, as all David's principal wars are grouped together for the first time in 2 Samuel 8 and 10, there can be no doubt that the history is not arranged in a strictly chronological order. And the expression "after this" in 2 Samuel 8:1 is by no means at variance with this, since this formula does not at all express a strictly chronological sequence. From the words of the prophet, "Go, do all that is in thy heart, for the Lord is with thee," it is very evident that David had expressed the intention to build a splendid palatial temple. The word לך, go (equivalent to "quite right"), is omitted in the Chronicles as superfluous. Nathan sanctioned the king's resolution "from his own feelings, and not by divine revelation" (J. H. Michaelis); but he did not "afterwards perceive that the time for carrying out this intention had not yet come," as Thenius and Bertheau maintain; on the contrary, the Lord God revealed to the prophet that David was not to carry out his intention at all.

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;

7:1 Sat - That is, was settled in the house which Hiram's men had built for him, then he reflected upon the unsettled state of the ark.

CHAPTER 7

2Sa 7:1-3. Nathan Approves the Purpose of David to Build God A House.

7:1-3 David being at rest in his palace, considered how he might best employ his leisure and prosperity in the service of God. He formed a design to build a temple for the ark. Nathan here did not speak as a prophet, but as a godly man, encouraging David by his private judgment. We ought to do all we can to encourage and promote the good purposes and designs of others, and, as we have opportunity, to forward a good work.