A young lady attended a missionary service several years ago. As she heard the missionary share the stories of danger and success, she knew that God was calling her to be a missionary. She prayed about it, and talked to several people about this. She just knew that God was calling her to be a missionary; she had no doubts in her mind. As she graduated from high school, she went to prepare to be a missionary at a bible college. She graduated and prepared to leave for the mission field.
Just a few weeks before this she was to leave a foreign land to be missionary, the lady’s only sister and husband were tragically killed in a car accident. They left four children. The lady’s parents had passed away, and she had no other siblings, so the children were given to her to care for. There was no way, at this point, for the lady to live out her calling to be a missionary. She shuttered at the thought of putting these four precious children in an orphanage. She took the four children as though they were her own. She was devastated by not being able to go to the mission field.
For the next several years, she was a devoted mother to the children. She prayed for them every night. She raised them in a caring loving home. When the children were old enough to leave home, the lady was too old to begin a career as a missionary. “How could God let her down like that?” you ask. Well, as it turned out, the lady’s sister and husband had not been Christian, so the children were raised in a Christian home. It also was the case that all four of the children that the lady raised went on to be missionaries. So, rather than just lady being a missionary, four missionaries came out of her house.
God’s purpose is not always what we see. And, at times, it results in a different outcome than we had anticipated.
Turn with me to 2 Samuel 7.
Read 2 Samuel 7:1-17.
Here we have the picture of the new king of Israel. David looks at the house that he has. It was a palace worthy of any king. Then he looks out the window and sees the tent where the ark of the Lord was sitting. The ark of the Lord was the place where Moses had placed the Ten Commandments. It was the symbol of the Lord’s presence, and it was sitting in a tent. David thought there was a great disparity between the luxurious house in which he lived and the meager tent in which the ark of the Lord rested.
He had a desire to build a house for the ark of Lord that was at least as beautiful as his own house. He shared his plan with the prophet Nathan, who was basically the chaplain for the palace. Nathan thought that it was a great idea, but when he went to prayer that night, the Lord said, “Hey, wait a minute, David will not build my temple.” David was thwarted in his efforts to provide an adequate resting place for the ark of the Lord. What’s wrong with David wanting to build a house for the ark of the Lord? Nothing. Even Nathan the prophet said, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” Every God-loving man would have been in favor of putting the ark of the Lord in a respectable place. God had different plans, however. What can we learn from this experience of David? Why did God forbid this chain of events? The first thing is that it was…
I. Forbidden but not WRONG.
God forbade David from building a temple. God had not had a temple at any point from the time he delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt until this time. God was not saying that the idea of a temple was wrong. He was saying that the timing was not right. In 1 Chronicles 22:8, when David is talking to his son Solomon about building the temple, David says to him, “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 before me on the earth.” David was not allowed to build the temple because he had shed blood.
God didn’t totally disapprove though. There were two things that he approved of. The first was…
A. The SPIRIT in which the offer was made.
David’s heart was in the right place. There was nothing wrong with the spirit in which the offer was made. God appreciated the motive of David’s heart.
Most of the time we see kings and leaders turn their back on God when they get to positions of power. They look at all the wonderful things that they have done and swell up with pride. This was not the case with David. Perhaps David was lounging in the recreation room of his plush palace watching the game on TV when it began to rain. Perhaps he jumped up and ran over to the window to see the rain and noticed the tent where the ark of the Lord was sitting. He may have thought to himself, “I live in this great palace, and the ark of the Lord sits in that old tent. I must do something about it. I know, I will build a great house for the ark of the Lord to rest.” It was a motive that was pure and noble. David couldn’t bear to see the ark of God in a tent while he lived in a mansion.
God looked at the motive of David’s heart and took notice. Even though he would not allow David to fulfill that dream, he did bless David greatly. The second thing that was approved was…
B. The OBJECT of David’s desire.
The other thing is that God didn’t say that the temple was a bad idea. He only said that David wouldn’t build it.
There are a couple things worth noting regarding the temple. It is not where God lived. The fact that the ark of the Lord was in a tent meant that it was mobile. God’s presence was with his people. It wasn’t in a fixed location. That is instructive for us as well. God doesn’t live in the church building. He lives in the people of the Church. I was always confused when I was a kid when my mom and dad told that the Church was God’s house. I couldn’t figure out where he took a bath. I also never found a bed where he would sleep.
The temple of God is within his people. Our hearts are the temple of God. He lives in us, not in a place made of wood or stone or brick.
God wasn’t saying though that the temple was a bad idea. A church building isn’t a bad idea, but that cannot become the magic place where we go to meet with God.
The temple was important to Israel for the sake of unity. God said that David’s offspring would build the temple. He was referring to Solomon.
C. What are our SPIRIT and OBJECTIVE?
When God denies us our desire we must ask ourselves that question, “What are our spirit and objective?” David’s spirit was pure. His objective was noble. That isn’t always the case with us though. Sometimes we have selfish motives and objectives. While our objective to be a missionary may be great, the spirit in which that is decided may be entirely wrong. We may want that for selfish, egotistical motives. We must examine our motives carefully. Even if our motives and objectives are right, it still may not be within God’s plan. In that case, like with David it is…
II. Forbidden with GOOD REASON.
There are four main reasons that God forbade David from building the temple at this time.
A. God’s PRESENCE was not CONFINED to a location.
The ark of the Lord had been in a tent since Moses put it there during the Exodus. The nation of Israel had been unsettled up to this point and the ark of the Lord in a tent symbolized that situation. God’s presence could be mobile. The presence of God could go with the people. A palatial temple was not necessary for the presence of God.
B. The ABSENCE of divine DIRECTION.
God didn’t ask David to build the temple. It was a thought in David’s mind. The Lord asked a rhetorical question in verse 7, “In all the places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”
God hadn’t commanded that a house be built for him, and the time still wasn’t right. We have to wait for God’s direction.
C. The TIME still was not RIGHT.
Israel had yet to fully settle the land. There were still wars going on with the neighbors. It wasn’t the right time to put resources into building a temple for the Lord. The people were not yet safe from all the enemies that lived nearby.
We too must wait for God’s timing in our lives. Perhaps something that seems like a good idea isn’t because the timing isn’t right.
If David had gone ahead and built the temple, it may have opened the door for attack by their enemies. With manpower diverted to building a temple, the defenses of the nation would have been let down.
D. The WRONG man.
Like was mentioned earlier, David was not the right man for the job. David had fought off the enemies of Israel, and his hands were bloody as a result. The Lord wanted someone who wasn’t warlike to build his temple. The Lord wanted someone to build who was peaceful.
Solomon was just that man. By the time Solomon became king, the nation of Israel was at peace, and construction could begin. Solomon is given most of the credit for building the temple, but it was David who drew up the plans and gathered the material. David did play a significant role in the temple building, but he did not actually get to build it.
Perhaps we are not the right person for the job that God wants us to do. Perhaps we may play a role, but God has someone else in mind. The lady who was to be a missionary played a role different than she thought. She influenced four missionaries. Her efforts were multiplied. She wasn’t the right person.
It was…
III. Forbidden in a GRACIOUS MANNER.
God was most gracious in the manner in which he forbade David from building the temple.
A. God showed David REGARD.
He let David know that he was held in high esteem. Twice in this passage the Lord refers to David as, “my servant David.” That shows us that God was pleased with David.
B. God reminded David of what he had ALREADY DONE.
The Lord reminded David that he had taken him from the pasture and following sheep. The Lord had been with him. David had defeated Goliath. David had conquered Jerusalem when no one thought that was possible. David had done great things. He had brought stability to the land of Israel after the tumultuous reign of King Saul.
C. God reminded David that STABILITY was important.
Verses 10 and 11 say, “And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.” God was reminding David that stability was necessary for someone to carry out the plan.
In order to be a missionary in the Church of the Nazarene, you have to be stable. The Church is very particular about family stability. They are also particular about financial stability. They don’t allow someone to be a missionary if they have excessive debt. Stability is vital to the carrying out of God’s plan.
D. God promised David an ENDURING DYNASTY.
At the end of verse 11 the Lord said to David, “Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.” Then in verse 16 the Lord said, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”
David had desired to build a house for God, but God said he would build a house for David. The word house doesn’t mean the same thing in both cases. The house that David wanted to build was a physical structure. The house that God would build would be a family. When we speak of royalty, we refer to the family as a “house.” The royal family in England currently is the house of Windsor. The Windsor family is the royal family. God is telling David that his royal family will last forever.
David’s plan was also…
IV. Forbidden for a LARGER PURPOSE.
God’s purpose was larger than David could have imagined. David simply wanted to build a house for the ark of the Lord, but God had a bigger purpose. God’s purpose involved something larger.
David’s plan involved building a temple. The temple was a temporary structure. When Solomon did wind up building the temple, it was eventually destroyed. It was ruined.
God’s plan involved something much more lasting than a stone structure. It involved the plan of salvation for the world. Verse 12 says, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.” Now Solomon’s kingdom didn’t last forever. Even the line of David as earthly kings ended.
Turn with me to Matthew chapter 1. The first words of the New Testaments say, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David.” Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy. The Messiah came through the descendants of David. Jesus is referred to, among other things, as the “Son of David.”
God’s greater purpose in the plan for David’s life involved the Savior of the world. The temple that Solomon built is long gone. Jesus is still on the throne.
David’s plan was good and noble, but God’s plan was bigger and better.
Conclusion
Today we celebrate the coming of Jesus, the descendant of David, as the Savior of the world. God’s plan was to bring about salvation for all mankind. God made a covenant with David that the Messiah would come through his offspring. God made a covenant with us through Jesus that we could be saved from our sins.
Turn with me to Luke 22.
Read Luke 22:14-20.
