Lent - Pt 10

Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 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 for my dwelling. In all 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?”’ 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, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 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. 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.” (2 Samuel 7:1-10 ESV).

I’ve built several houses and churches through the years. Some of them were for my family and others were missionary projects for others. They all had very specific plans, unique to the needs of the area and project. The picture today is some of the framing of our present home in Texas. Our reading today is a look into the heart of David who desires to build a better “house” for God. He had finally settled in his cedar home and now desired a house for the ark of God. However, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, telling David that instead of allowing him to build a temple, the Lord would establish the House of David, culminating in one who would “sit on the throne forever.” Obviously God is not simply promising that he will ensure the continuation of David’s lineage as a sort of memorial to him. He is promising to raise up his own Son from among the descendants of David, one who will bear our stripes and our iniquity. How like God this is! We offer to him some grandiose plan of how we plan to honor him, and he counters with a completely counterintuitive plan, one in which he is glorified by becoming both king and substitute. In every project I’ve been a part of building, there were always “changes.” Thankfully, God reads our hearts and edits our plans and our prayers so that they are far more than we would have dared to ask or imagine. Pray to the limit of your vision and faith, and then be prepared for God to do something even better. He knows exactly what is best! Trust him!