The King, the Prophet, and God's House (2 Samuel 7:1-16)
By Jon W. Quinn
(http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4051/)
It seemed like a good idea to everyone. David, the king of Israel, decided a change needed to be made. Nathan, the prophet, thought it sounded good. Certainly David's motive was good. The worship of God had centered on the tabernacle from a time before the children of Israel even entered the Promised Land. This was a movable tent-like structure which had been built my Moses about five centuries before. It was needful that such a structure be portable because the Israelites were on their way from where they had been liberated from slavery in Egypt to the land God had promised them as Abraham's descendants.
Those wilderness travels were now a part of the distant past.
David decided to build a more permanent structure for the worship
of Jehovah at Jerusalem. He would build God's house, or temple.
Who could doubt that David was the one to do it? He was described
as "a man after God's own heart." And God had blessed
the nation with victory over its enemies and prosperity. It seemed
the least that a righteous king could do for God.
David's Desire
"Now it came about when the king lived in his house,
and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,
that the king said to Nathan the prophet, 'See now, I dwell in
a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.'
And Nathan said to the king, 'Go, do all that is in your mind,
for the Lord is with you.'" (2 Samuel 7:1-3). Now, it
seemed to both David, the king, and Nathan, the prophet that David's
idea was something to go with. In fact, Nathan does not even consult
the Lord about it. At David's suggestion, Nathan, apart from inspiration,
assures David that the Lord is with him in this endeavor. He was
not speaking from God. He was not being "moved by the Holy
Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20,21). He was simply following his impulse
that such a plan must be a good thing.
God's Answer
"But it came about in the same night that the word
of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 'Go and say to My servant
David, 'Thus says the Lord," Are you the one who should build
Me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since
the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this
day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle.
"Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I
speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded
to shepherd My people Israel, saying, 'Why have you not built
Me a house of cedar?'"' (2 Samuel 7:4-7).
Though David was sincere and genuine, and though it seems that he probably had a good and commendable idea, the Lord quickly let both Nathan and David know that such was not the case. The first mistake David made was thinking that God needed him, or at least needed a house in which He could dwell. The Lord says He does not really need one (see Acts 17:24,25). But secondly, and more seriously, David presumed what God wanted. He assumed that he should be the one to build God a house. Often people today presume what God wants rather than seek out the answers in His word, the Scriptures. There is lesson after lesson in the Bible illustrating the need to stay with the Lord's word and not to presume beyond that (1 Samuel 15:22,23; Matthew 15:9).
But why not David? God has His reason. We'll look at that in
a moment.
God's Promise
"When your days are complete and you lie down with
your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will
come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall
build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be
a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with
the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness
shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I
removed from before you. "And your house and your kingdom
shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established
forever."' " (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
This is a very touching passage. In it, to comfort David in
what must be a very big disappointment, God gives certain assurances.
It was not that God did not approve of David any longer, or that
He was displeased with David. He gives David magnificent promises
concerning his descendant and kingdom. But who is the fulfillment
of these promises? Is it Solomon, David's immediate son, or Jesus,
David's future descendant? The answer: They both do! The Lord
God will use Solomon and his building of the physical temple to
be a pattern of what David's future Descendant will do when He
builds a spiritual temple, the church (See Matthew 1:1; Acts 2:29-33;
Hebrews 1:8). In these promises, some are fulfilled by Solomon,
some by Jesus, and some by both. Solomon would reign as King in
Israel; Jesus would reign as king over his spiritual kingdom (Colossians
1:13). Solomon would build a temple in Jerusalem; Jesus would
build His out of living stones from all over the world (Ephesians
2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5).
But Why Not David?
"Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him
to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. And David said to
Solomon, "My son, I had intended to build a house to the
name of the Lord my God. "But the word of the Lord came to
me, saying, 'You have shed much blood, and have waged great wars;
you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed
so much blood on the earth before Me. 'Behold, a son shall be
born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest
from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon,
and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 'He shall
build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will
be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
over Israel forever.' (1 Chronicles 22:6-10).
David had fought wars, and God did not want a man to had shed so much blood to build His house. David had done what had been necessary for him to do, and this ought not to be though of as a punishment, but rather as a clear message of the peace God desires among men. But that age is past. Jesus has built an even better house for God.
Just Be Yourself by Ken Green (kengreen@kemperheights.com)
"And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps
as she came through the door, he said, 'Come in, wife of Jeroboam.
Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent
to you with bad news" (1 Kings 14:6).
There was trouble at the palace. The son of King Jeroboam was
gravely ill. Jeroboam had made Israel to sin in worshipping other
gods and molded images. But now he could find no help from those
sources. In desperation he instructed his wife to disguise herself
as a peasant, take a gift, and go inquire of Ahijah, the prophet
of Jehovah. He and other true prophets had been separated from
the king's court for many years.
The prophet was now old and blind. But he recognized, through
the Lord, the wife of Jeroboam the moment she stepped into his
presence. Her pretense became an obstacle rather than a stepping-stone.
I think that's true of us all. It is always better to just be
ourselves. We do not help our cause or ourselves by play acting
and putting on. Unaffected sincerity will always be appreciated
and received more than wearing a mask will. When we try to make
an impression by exaggerating how important or how dignified or
smart or clever we are, we generally fall on our faces before
we are done.
I've noticed that little dogs generally bark a lot more than big
dogs. Big dogs don't have to show off.
I heard one of the old-time Nashville musicians talking about
Bill Monroe's habit of singing out of the side of his mouth. This
method was occasioned because Mr. Monroe, in his younger years,
had bad teeth. "But it was a wonder," he said, "how
many younger singers started singing out of the sides of their
mouths."
As a young preacher, I tended to model myself after certain speakers
who impressed me, even adopting some of their mannerisms. I've
noticed others doing the same. That's not all bad. There's a
sense in which there's nothing wrong with being a copycat. If
there is someone who does his work effectively, we will be wise
to learn all we can from that fellow. Our personalities are composed
of an inner condition that is capable of being developed to a
great extent. If there are desirable qualities that we are lacking,
we can be helped by studying those attributes in others and putting
them into practice. But we need to be sure that such stems from
within, and is not merely an external pose. When this is true
we will develop our own personalities and create our own natural
and unique mannerisms.
The Good Book says things like, "Man looks on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).
And "As he thinks in his heart so is he" (Prov 23:7).
The Son of God said things like, "You make clean the outside
of the cup and platter...cleanse first that which is within...that
the outside of them may be clean also" (Matt 23:25,26).
We need an ideal. And make no mistake; we're all in need of a
makeover. God has provided the ideal. "For to this you were
called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that you should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21). The needed
makeover will come as our new self is progressively "conformed
to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29).
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Our weekly services are held at 1318 Griffin Road, Leesburg, Florida
34748.
Phone: (352) 365-9946 for times of services.
Web site: http://www.geocities.com/~cdillinger/cocbs/cocbshp.htm
This Months Bible Reading: 1 and 2 Samuel.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
BIBLE INSIGHT is published for the members of, and
visitors to, the Church of Christ at Beverly Shores, Leesburg,
Florida, USA.
Carey Dillinger is the editor. He can be reached at the church
address or via e-mail: dillinc@yahoo.com