Loving the House of God
By. Rev. Saumiman Saud*)
Psalm 5:1-3, 1 Chronicles 22:7-8, and Psalm 26:8
Reading from Psalm 5:1-3: "For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David. Give ear to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly."
Now let's turn our attention to what David said about the house of God.
Psalm 26:8: "Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells."
2 Samuel 7:2-3: David said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you."
1 Chronicles 22:7-8: "David said to Solomon: 'My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.'"
When David wrote this Psalm, there were no Temple buildings as we have today. Yet David already had the desire and longing to dwell in the courts of the Lord. The Bible notes that David wanted to hear the voice of the Lord. In the morning, David wanted to speak to the Lord, as well as during the day and night. The attitude of someone who loves the house of the Lord cannot be shown by how much we offer, nor through our busy ministry, but our attitude must be through a heart full of love for the Lord. A heart that loves the Lord cannot be fabricated.
The question arises, how did David practically demonstrate his attitude of loving the House of the Lord?
1. For David, the House of the Lord was not just a building, but the people.
Loving the House of God means loving the people in it. Remember, at that time there was no Temple and no Bible, but the Israelites were taught from childhood to study the word of God. Note Deuteronomy 6:5, the Lord's command: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." May I ask; Today we have the Bible, even on our phones and laptops, so may I ask how much do we love the Lord, how much do we love His words?
David loved the House of the Lord, he always longed for it, read Psalm 84:10 "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."
The Lord's command to love Him must even be practiced and taught repeatedly to our children and discussed when sitting, when traveling, when lying down and when getting up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Now, the word of God was so absorbed in David's life because it was learned from childhood and experienced every day. Our lives need to be guarded and led by the Lord every day, so that we do not walk in the wrong steps.
If God's word adheres to our lives then "When we want to get angry, remember God's word that love is patient, when we want to complain, remember God's blessings, when we are tempted by lust, remember God's word that we must control ourselves. We must humbly let God's word govern our lives, not us governing God's word.
Even David, who was so close and intimate with God, could fall. David took Uriah's wife to be his wife. David could not control himself when dealing with Nabal. But one advantage of David, he repented again, see Psalm 51 David's confession of sin.
Psalm 37:23-24
The Lord Establishes the Steps of Those Who Please Him
"The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand." (Psalm 37:23-24)
2. For David, the House of the Lord Must Be the Best
David's concept was correct - everything we have is from the Lord, as Job also said, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." That's why when we say we love the House of the Lord, it means we must give our best for the Lord.
In 2 Samuel 7:2, "The king said to Nathan the prophet, 'Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.'"
The verses we read at the beginning of the service, 1 Chronicles 22:6 onwards, record the chronology of David's message to his son Solomon:
• Verse 6: Solomon was called and given the order to build the Temple
• Verse 7: David himself intended to build the Temple but God did not allow him
• Verse 14: David provided funds
• Verse 17: David ordered the leaders to help Solomon
David gave his best for the house of the Lord. I still remember one day a church elder was calculating the replacement of door handles in the church. He deliberately chose a lower quality compared to the ones in his house, reasoning that for the church we should choose the cheap ones because they are for public use. Well, his principle differed from David's, because David wanted to give the best to the Lord.
Today, God's word rebukes us. Often for our personal needs, we don't hesitate to pay dearly. We are willing to eat at expensive restaurants, buy our branded needs at sky-high prices, we are so extravagant with our holidays, staying in luxury hotels, enjoying business class flights, but when it comes to God, we make calculations. Are we aware that what we obtain comes from Him? Are we aware that He has never abandoned us? If our God were evil, He would take everything back from us...
3. For David Remained Faithful in Supporting the Building of God's House
Because David's hands had shed much blood, he was not allowed to build the House of God - but he was not upset, he did not take it personally, nor was he hurt. Today there are many of God's children who love the work of God if they have a position, but as soon as they step down from their position, their enthusiasm wanes. People who truly love God must be faithful to God even if they are not chosen.
Considering that the world has been experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic for more than a year, our time for God feels increasingly limited. If we go to church on Sunday but gossip on weekdays, how can we attract people close to us to follow God?
Furthermore, what David did was very different from what happened in the book of Haggai. See Haggai 1:9, "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house."
Haggai 1:6 describes the conditions of that era, where everything they did seemed in vain. They sowed much but harvested little. They ate but were not satisfied. They drank but were not quenched. They put on clothes but were not warm. They earned wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it. Because God's people at that time only loved themselves.
David's love for God and the House of God did not look at circumstances. Whatever the situation, he loved God, he had to always be close to God, because David knew he could not run and could not hide from God. God had saved his life...
What Can We Learn from God's Word Today?
As children of God, remember, our time in this world is always passing, every day we have less time left. Time keeps moving without stopping. If we close our eyes, stop breathing for a moment, time still goes on. When someone celebrates a birthday, on one hand they are happy, on the other hand they are sad because their age has decreased by one. If Jesus, during His short life on earth, made such a great work, what have we done? Jesus loved us so much, He was willing to sacrifice not just possessions, but He also died for us. In this situation, do we still maintain our selfishness?
A life that becomes a joy for others must be practiced with a sincere heart, and people who experience it can feel it. When a public figure named Deddy Corbuzier was exposed to Covid-19, he immediately realized that he had been too arrogant. He always said that his exercise was enough, he was healthy, his body was fit, it was impossible. But in reality, he was exposed and according to his testimony, he almost died. But God used a good doctor, named Dr. Gunawan, to help him sincerely, so his life was saved. In his podcast interview, we finally learned that Dr. Gunawan had been helping many people, even sometimes providing assistance without hesitation, paying for hospital bills and medicines for his patients. This doctor lives a simple life, always using Grab to go to work. Deddy felt indebted to this doctor, he handed over a suitcase of money to Dr. Gunawan, so it could be used to help others, and a new car for this doctor's needs.
Well, for healing in the world that is temporary, people can feel so joyful and give luxurious gifts. Then how about every believer? Today we have received a special gift from God, namely experiencing the grace of Christ's love and eternal salvation. Do we still need to hold back and calculate ourselves with God? Honestly, God doesn't need anything from us, He needs our hearts fully for Him.
*) Rev. Saumiman Saud, Pastor @Cornerstone Evanglecal Baptoist Church , San Francisco. Support Mission trip to Indonesia (May 8 to May 19) Zelle 4158139772
