Emphasis Preaching Journal
A house without walls
Commentary
It's a shame and a judgment on us that we have to limit our worship services in such a way that we often read only part of a significant text on a given Sunday. That surely is the case on this day and with this text. As Walter Bruggemann puts it, this chapter is "the dramatic and theological center of the entire Samuel corpus. Indeed, this is one of the most crucial texts in the Old Testament for evangelical faith." (Walter Bruggemann, First and Second Samuel, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1973, p. 253.) All of chapter 7 should be read.