7:1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had
given him rest from all his enemies around him,
7:2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a
house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."
7:3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for
the LORD is with you."
7:4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan:
7:5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the
one to build me a house to live in?
7:6 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 and a tabernacle.
7:7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did
I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I
commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not
built me a house of cedar?"
7:8 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 to be prince over my people Israel;
7:9 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.
7:10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant
them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no
more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
7:11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel;
and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD
declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.
7:16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before
me; your throne shall be established forever.
Perhaps this passage speaks to us about putting God in a box of our
own construction instead of letting God work through us to do his
will. We are more comfortable creating God in our own image rather
than opening our hearts and mind to let God pour into us God's Holy
Spirit and allowing God to reveal God's self to us. It is not our
job to plant God somewhere, it is God's will to keep us rooted in
order that we might glorify God. PastorMAC in MA
Pastor Mac, sounds as if you are leading up to that classic, "Your
God Is Too Small" It is a wonderful little book that might give you
some fleshing out for these early thoughts. Pastor G
Good thoughts Pastor Mac. The passage seems to bring about thoughts
of "getting ahead" of God and/or forgetting the diety of God for me.
The passage plainly states that this was a time of respite for
David. All his enemies were quiet and he was in his house basking in
the belssings that God provided.
At times like this, some may be tempted to do something great to
honor God when in reality all He desires is a steadfast FOLLOWING of
His will. I find it interseting that Nathan was sucked rather easily
into David's ego trip. Perhaps that aspect is an avenue to more
exegetical work and consideration.
These are just some off-the-cuff thoughts after a brief first-time
reading. Hope they help.
Pastor David In AL
Instead of David building a house (temple) for the Lord, the Lord
promises to establish David's house (dynasty) forever. Centuries
later, after the Babylonian exile, no king sat on the throne. Even
then, however, the people of Israel remembered this promise and
continued to hope for a king, the messiah, the Lord's anointed
Rather than accepting a period of rest (as pastor david mentioned),
King david is eager to do something more, a new project, keeping
busy, scratching something off of the old to-do list. Sounds like
most of our church members.
Too busy = stress. And how does stress affect us physically...
higher blood pressure, headaches maybe, shallow breathing...
breathing... breath... breath=spirit=pnuema in the greek... so
stress squelches our breathing / stress squelches the Spirit.
So Christians must find a way to manage stress in order to make room
for the Spirit.
-Chap Kendra
Some of the commentaries mention the "edifice complex", that
tendency to get too wrapped up in the building in which the church
meets. I'm wondering what other things receive too much of our
energy, perhaps because they're simpler or more easily quantified
than our relationship with God and other people. Certain types of
stewardship campaigns, perhaps? In our church, we have a controversy
over the wearing of choir robes -- or not. What else distracts us
from the work of love, and minimizes our estimation of God? MTSOfan
I want to stay positive this week, as I tried to be last week - the
loss of one of our members has the whole church grieving. Losing him
is just the tip of the iceberg.
That said, I'm planning on pairing this up with the Ephesians text
and talking about the movement from seeing God as residing in a
place such as an ark or a temple, into becoming flesh in Jesus, then
dwelling in all Christians.
God is asking for a place to live! What he wants most is to live in
our hearts. Corny, simple, and plain.
I'm thinking of finding cedar chips or blocks to hand out as symbols
of our being God's new home, or to somehow "scent" the sanctuary
with cedar. Any ideas?
Sally in GA
Sally I like your idea of staying positive. But it can be hard, for
we have practiced prophetic preaching as showing who was wrong. I
like the idea of seeing this passage as God getting through to David
and Nathan, even though it took time. They got it. The same as we
get it. I'm glad God is patient with us. I'll keep your congregation
in my prayers (that goes for you too.) No matter how you do it. With
or without the scent of Cedar, it will be effective.
Shalom, pasthersyl
I'm wondering if Nathan's going along with David is similar to our
nations leaders going along with our President regarding Iraq?
DGinNYC
[]If asked why God did not want David to build a Temple, I would
have said it was because Daivd had too much blood on his hands.
While that's true, it's not the answer given here. Here, what David
has done or not done is of no consequence. The only thing that's
relevant is God.
[]On the Gospel board they are talking about the disciples seeking
rest as Jesus tirelessly ministers to the people. Notice how this
passage begins and ends with God giving Israel a rest, while God is
always active, always on the move. The danger for both David and the
discples is still ours: we forget why we are resting.
DSS
Wonderful thoughts this week. thank you all.
I've titled my sermon: Don't Fence Me In - How God is so much bigger
than our imaginations, yet we try to Fence God in so often. (just
like David in this passage.) A colleague just informed me that in
her dissertation on Church Growth, she found that one of the top
reasons for churches to grow is passionate leadership and preaching
on the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I think this passage ties to both.
David is passionate, but is he for the right reasons. God puts David
back on track and reminds David that God is always in charge.
Thank you Sally for your thoughts on the cedar chips. If you figure
out a way to make the church smell, please let me know. On a
personal note, my grandfather had cedar chips all over his house and
he always smelled that way. To me, i miss his smell. Cedar chips are
warm adn comforting and quite parental. (also a good image for God.)
Jen in PA
