Proper 11
After Pentecost • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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2 Samuel 7:1-14a
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”
4 But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’
8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: 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. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders h over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“ ‘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.
Sermon:
Sermon:
There is a potential danger that comes from following God for a long period of time. I know that might sound strange but actually David has demonstrated this danger twice already and this passage gives to us a third example. The potential danger of following God for a long time is that we grow too familiar and we begin to believe we know what God wants in every situation.
David knew God for a long time. He had walked with Him. As far as I know, he is the only man in the entire Bible called, “a man after God’s own heart.” Now, it was David who had taken the ark into battle against the Philistines because he thought the presence of God would give them the victory. But He hadn’t talked to the Lord about this. God had given him victory before. He had led him to defeat his enemies before. David knew God wanted him to win this battle. Or so he thought. But just in case, let’s take the ark with us just for luck.
But the Israelites were defeated that time by the Philistines and the ark was taken as some of the spoils of war. In other words, David’s plan didn’t work. God didn’t do what David expected. But God wasn’t finished. He didn’t give the Philistines a free pass either. He leveled the statue of their god and gave them an illness that caused a great deal of trouble and grief. So the Philistines returned the ark.
This is the second time that David decides to do things without asking God. He hears the ark is back and he takes 30,000 fighting men with him, but no Levites. No one who is approved to handle the presence of God in their midst and instead of carrying it correctly, they place it on a cart, and Uzzah dies. We heard this account last week and I won’t rehash all of the details but I will say the ark stayed at Obed Edom not for 20 years but for 3 months. Someone pointed that out to me last week that I had been mistaken. I recognize as hard as it is to believe, that I make mistakes too. So let me clear this up. It wasn’t at Obed Edom’s for 20 years but only for 3 months.
And here again, as we read the text this morning, we find David back at it. Making plans again without consulting God. Without praying about what he is thinking of doing. Now, granted, he does consult Nathan, the prophet. But Nathan’s initial response is, “God is with you. Do whatever it is in your heart to do.” David is looking across his kingdom and thinking about how nice his home is. At the same time, he realizes the ark of the covenant remains in a tent. Certainly God would prefer to be in a house. Certainly, God deserves better than what He has. Surely, this is what God would want.
Sometimes we think we know what God wants. But God speaks to Nathan. It may be God chooses to speak to Nathan because he is a prophet. But it may be that God speaks to Nathan because David hasn’t been doing much listening lately. And God tells Nathan David is not to build a temple for the ark. In fact, God tells Nathan that’s not what He wants David to do. David’s will is to build a temple. But that’s not God’s will. And Nathan will have to go back to tell David, the king, the one to whom he just said, “Do whatever is in your heart to do” and tell him God says “no.” I wouldn’t have wanted to be Nathan to have to relay that message. To tell the king, “No”.
But that’s not the whole message. And if you stop to think about it, the message God gives Nathan to tell David is actually better. In other words, and I know this might be a surprise, God’s will is always better than our will. What I want for me will always be less than what God wants for me. So while Nathan has to go back to David and tell him that God said no to his original plan, he has more to tell David.
God reminds David of what He has done for him so far. He had chosen him when he was only a shepherd and now he was leading God’s people. When God had led him, David had won the battles. And God has been with David throughout this entire time. But God also tells David what he will do. God tells David he will make his name great. That he will provide a place for Israel and give him rest from his enemies.
Now, this sounds like a promise God had made centuries before to a man named Abraham, but He makes it again, now to David. And you and I see not only a promise that God would bless David, just like He promised to bless Abraham, but you and I see the promise of Christ in all of this. The promise given was revealed in Jesus Christ. He is the son of David, and the grandson of Abraham and the fulfillment of the work of God in redeeming us. A long time ago, before you and I were ever thought of, God promised to send the solution for our world. And even though there are millions of people who have lived and who will live, Christ died for you.
