There are only five more sleeps until Christmas! Children, I bet you can’t wait. Adults, I bet you wish there was more time so that you can finish everything on your Christmas to-do list. “Ugh. Don’t remind me, Pastor. I’m so far behind! There’s the baking to do yet, the cards to send, presents to buy…” Yeah, and don’t forget your to-do list for God! After all, Christmas is about celebrating Jesus’ birthday. What special things are you going to do to show your love for him?
Actually, what God wants you to do first is to consider what’s on his Christmas to-do list. He wrote this list a long time ago—already in the days of King David in 1,000 B.C. God described what was on his to-do list after David expressed a desire to build a temple for God. You see, by this time in his reign, David lived in a comfortable palace in Jerusalem, but the Ark of the Covenant, that visible reminder of God’s presence, was still housed in a tent. That didn’t seem right to David and so he told his pastor, the prophet Nathan, about his desire to build a temple for God. Nathan said: “Do whatever you have in your heart. God is with you!” But that night, the Lord told Nathan to deliver this message to David. (read text: 2 Sam. 7:8-16)
Isn’t it interesting to learn that what may seem to be the right thing to do because it would bring glory to God is not always God’s will? David wanted to build a grand temple for God, and his motivation seemed to be pure. He wanted to honor God, not make a name for himself. But that’s not what God wanted David to do. Building a temple would be a job for David’s son, Solomon.
While God said “no” to David’s plan, it wasn’t because God wanted to deprive David. On the contrary, God said “no” because he wanted to give David something even better! While God did not let David build a house for him, God said he would build a house for David!
Before we discuss exactly what kind of house God was going to build for David, I want you to consider how God’s “no’s” have been a blessing to you. Maybe he said “no” to that job you applied for, but you ended up getting a better job. He said “no” to your prayer for a better paycheck, but instead he gave you the gift of contentment. He said “no” to healing a loved one, but instead took that loved one home to him in heaven where no pain will ever touch them again. Rather than criticize God’s “no’s” to our requests, we will trust that his “no’s” will lead to “Oh’s!” as we marvel at the better gifts he has planned for us.
So how exactly was God’s “no” a blessing to David? The prophet Nathan said to David: “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 ‘When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son.’ …16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” (2 Samuel 7:12-14, 16)
The house that God was going to build for David was not a structure of wood and stone; it was instead a ruling dynasty. God promised David that his son would rule on the throne after him. While God did have in mind Solomon who would succeed David, there was more to the prophecy than that because God said that David’s throne would endure forever. We heard in our Gospel reading this morning (Luke 1:32, 33) how that promise came true at the birth of Jesus who was descended from the line of David. Because Jesus was also true God, and because he is a king, this is how God established David’s throne forever.
OK. That’s nice for David, but what does it have to do with us? Well, go back to the sermon introduction. There I talked about God’s to-do list. God’s interaction with David confirms that we indeed have a gracious God—a God who does more for us than we do for him. God made that clear to David. When David expressed interest in building God a temple, God was no doubt pleased with his servant’s desire, but he also reminded David: “I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth.” (2 Samuel 7:8, 9)
God had already done much for David and would continue to do so. David was a successful king over Israel because God had made him that. David himself understood that he did not deserve what God was promising to build for him. Listen to what he prayed after Nathan told him the news that God would build him an everlasting kingdom. “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord and what is my family, that you have brought me this far...What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign Lord, For the sake of your word and according to your will you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you...” (2 Samuel 7:18, 20-22)
Likewise, you may be a creative teacher, an able troubleshooter, a straight-A student, an amazing athlete, a skilled musician, a wonderful host…but remember that you are these things because that’s what God made you. When we start to forget that truth, we’ll either become proud thinking that our accomplishments are due to our hard work, or we may fall into despair when we hit a rough patch and question our value. Just as God was with David when he was nothing more than a shepherd boy, just as he was with David when he faced Goliath, and just as God was with David while he enjoyed success as a king, God is with you at all times.
Here’s another way in which God’s promise to David has an impact on us. God said of David’s son, “I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.” (2 Samuel 7:14, 15) I said earlier that these verses apply to both Solomon and Jesus. We can see how they would apply to Solomon who did veer from God’s Word when he built a temple to a pagan god for one of his many wives and God would chastise him for that. But how can the words apply to Jesus who never sinned? No, Jesus never did sin, but he did face the rod of punishment and floggings inflicted by human hands. Jesus endured that on our behalf and as our substitute. Jesus endured that so that we would have forgiveness. This is what was on God’s Christmas to-do list. He sent his Son who put himself beneath us as our servant in order to exalt us. You might think of the father who dives into a lake to save a child who is drowning. The father may dive all the way underneath the child to push him up to the surface of the water where strong hands can grasp the child and haul him or her to safety. Likewise Jesus dove into hell when he suffered on the cross for the purpose of pushing us up to our heavenly Father who grasped our hands and hauled us into heaven.
You know of course that even though you have forgiveness and salvation that this doesn’t mean that life here will be easy. We still fall into sin and we still have to face the consequences of those sins as did David. His sin of adultery brought strife into his family that would remain until the day he died. This strife wasn’t punishment, however, it served to discipline David and to teach others around him that living God’s way is always the best way.
If you’re suffering the consequences of your sins, be assured that God has not abandoned you. When God said to David that his son would be “punished with the rod wielded by men” (2 Samuel 7:14), David could take comfort in the fact that there was another “rod,” this one wielded by God himself as the shepherd of Psalm 23 who is always with us and who guards and protects us so that we can even walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil.
In the introduction to today’s sermon I asked how you’re doing with your Christmas to-do list. I hope you have found comfort in the fact that God too has a Christmas to-do list. Focusing on his to-do list rather than our own is more important isn’t it? You may have on your to-do list to send out Christmas cards, but they’ll get tossed eventually. You may have on your to-do list to make presents to give to others, but they will break and end up in a junk drawer or get eaten and forgotten. Only what God has on his to-do list will last. To love you, to save you, to comfort you. That’s on his to-do list—not just at Christmas but every day. Find peace and comfort in this truth. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
(to do before the service) What’s still on your Christmas to-do list?
David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, but this wasn’t God’s plan for him. God’s “no” didn’t deprive David, it actually gave him something even better. What?
How has God’s “no’s” to your prayers brought blessings?
In response to God’s plan for David, the king offered the following prayer. “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord and what is my family, that you have brought me this far...What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign Lord, For the sake of your word and according to your will you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you...” (2 Samuel 7:18, 20-22)
Why can you offer a similar prayer for the talents and blessings that you enjoy?
God prophesied about David’s son Solomon and about his descendant Jesus: “I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him...” (2 Samuel 7:14, 15a). How do the words of this prophesy apply to both Solomon and Jesus? What do the words of the prophesy have to do with us?
Although we may endure the “rod of men” as we face the consequence of our own sins and the sins of others, what other “rod” will help you through the challenges?
Earlier you were asked about your Christmas to-do list. What is more important, however, is focusing on God’s Christmas to-do list. What exactly is on that list?
