2 Samuel 7:1-14a: Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you.”
4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.
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Today’s lectionary reading is the continuation of last week’s story of David. Last week we talked about why King David was greatly bless? Generally he was like most of us that have the God given gifts and strength, as well as human weaknesses. But what makes him different from most other people is his intimate relationship with the Lord. The Bible says, he was a man after God’s own heart. That’s why he was greatly blessed.
So, last week we looked at how he lived a life of a man after God’s own heart. We talked about if King David were alive today and we could consult him about how to be a man after God’s own heart, I believe he would advice us to do at least the following four things.
1 – Stay Close to the Presence of God
2 – Remember to Count the Blessings
3 – Resist the Temptation of the Flesh
4 – Fellowship with Godly People
When King David’s wife Michal rebuke him and lure him to walk in the flesh, Dave insisted that he would walk in the spirit. David said, "I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in my own eyes;" The Bible said, because Michal rebuked a man after God’s own heart, she had no child to the day of her death.
In today’s passage we continue to learn how to be a person after God’s own heart.
1 - Make a grateful return for God’s blessings
Now, this is what David meant by making himself yet more contemptible in the eyes of his unspiritual wife. He wanted to build a house for the Lord.
David was a man of war, but he didn’t like war. In one of his psalms he said that "I am for peace" (Ps. 120:7). Now he has a lot of free time because he has no war to fight. The scripture says, "Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.”
It seems like King David and his spiritual friend Nathan were enjoying Chinese tea on his newly built cedar house balcony for the first time, after a life time of wars and battles, and David looked over the veranda and saw the tabernacle in a distance and felt guilty for living in a house of cedar and allowed God to live in a tent. After all it is because of God’s grace that he is living in this house of cedar in a peaceful kingdom.
This is how a man after God’s own heart does during peace and prosperity. He is thinking about how to give back to God. When the proud Nebuchadnezzar was in his palace, he was thinking nothing but the might of his own power, and the honor of his own majesty. But David was thinking how to glorify God and honor God forever.
A person after God’s own heart would not waste his or her time goofing on senseless pleasures when he or she has the time to spend leisurely for his or her life. I have seen people like David, when they have extra time, they would go for a mission trip to serve others and to improve their own spiritual growth, as apposed to going on a cruise, for example.
King David said, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Matthew Henry said, "Gracious grateful souls, (1.) Never think they can do enough for God, but, when they have done much, are still projecting to do more and devising liberal things. (2.) They cannot enjoy their own accommodations while they see the church of God in distress and under a cloud."
When they have extra time and resources, a person after God’s own heart would
• think for something to give back to God.
• plan for a project to give back to God.
• and do something practical to give back to God.
Counting the blessings will benefit your own body, mind, and spirit, but making a grateful return to God can bless the entire world. You will see in the later part of this story.
2 - Have a spiritual director or mentor
Why would David as a king have Nathan as his spiritual friend, director, and counselor near him at this time? Why wouldn’t David act by himself since he himself have an intimate relationship with the Lord? The Proverbs says in 11:14, "...in an abundance of counselors there is safety." By having good spiritual advisors like Nathan, David can avoid making mistakes. In this case, he avoid doing the good things in place of doing the best thing. Sometimes the difficulty is not choosing between right and wrong, but between good and the best.
First, by having a spiritual advisor, you receive encouragement. The first thing David received was an encouragement from Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you.” A spiritual friend would encourage you to do the right thing, and discourage you from the mindless life-wasting pleasures.
Secondly, by having a spiritual advisor, you receive good advice. In this case David heard has the chance to be part of God’s best plan rather than his own good plan. Nathan seems a person who opened his body, mind, and spirit to God’s guidance and that night he received an oracle from God that changed the course of history. That’s why this chapter is the most important chapter of the books of Samuel.
Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
You want to build me a house? Good for you, David! I heard your heart. You are truly a man after my own heart. But, you don’t have to build me a house, I have blessed you in the past, and, and because of your love for me, I will make you a great name on earth.
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.
You don’t have to build me a house, I will build you a house. There is a pun here. House (palace), house (temple), house (dynasty).
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
Like the judges and prophets, a king can be chosen and designated by charismatic validation, by the spirit of the Lord being with him. Indeed, this had been the theological assumption about legitimate leadership under Yahweh for generations, from Joshua (Josh. 1:5, 9) and the judges (Judg. 2:18) through to Samuel (1 Sam. 3:19) and David himself (1 Sam. 16:13). But a dynasty means that the next king is chosen and designated not by God but by human agency, by the will and political power of the previous king and his advisers to choose a successor among his sons.
3 – Expect from God a better plan
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.
Sometimes when we have an idea to do something to glorify God, we tend to insist on doing it, thinking that it was inspired by God and we know exactly what to do to make God happy. But a person after God’s own heart would keep an open mind to God’s direction.
In David’s case, it turned out to be that God has a better plan. God decided to choose the lineage of David to bless the world forever. It is not just for King David’s descendents to succeed him as kings, but also eventually Jesus of Nazareth would be born in this royal line, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
A particular king and a particular dynasty have been anointed as the bearers of the Lord’s faithfulness forever. Through the twists of history the idea of the Lord’s anointed, the Messiah, a king of David’s royal line, will endure as hope for the people, coming to fulfillment for Christians in Jesus of Nazareth. David’s city has become more than a political capital. Now it has become the place where God chooses to dwell, where the temple will be built, the city of God in the midst of the people. In Old Testament theology, Jerusalem will in time become the source and symbol of God’s presence and consolation for both God’s people and the nations. For Christians, the symbolism of Jerusalem will in time transcend the limits of history and space to become the new Jerusalem of God’s final reign.
This is the ultimate blessing. Let us all seek to become men and women after God’s own heart and bring God blessing to the entire world. Amen.
