Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. He blessed us with a wonderful Wednesday Evening gathering for fellowship, study and prayer. It is a great thrill to be together to study the Word of the Lord, to share the meal, and to enjoy the presence of the Lord. We are blessed in these gatherings and the Lord propels and challenges us to love Him and serve Him.
I am reflecting on 2 Samuel 7 this morning. David had come a long way from being a shepherd boy in Bethlehem and the youngest of 8 sons to being the king of Israel, who reunited the northern and southern Kingdoms, established the capitol at Jerusalem, and moved the Ark of the Covenant into the city. He most likely had a great palace, and he certainly was one of the greatest kings in the history of Israel. The Scripture tells us that the Lord gave David rest from all his enemies, so he was at ease.
One day he looked out of his palace onto the tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant, and he thought, “I need to build a temple for the Lord.” He got really excited about his plan, and probably thought he would be doing a great thing (basically, doing the Lord a favor). Of course, he needed the prophet's permission. For this reason he called in the prophet Nathan and asked him what he thought of the temple idea, and Nathan immediately responded, “I think it’s great”. He may have had the attitude, “anything you say David”… I mean who would argue with the king? At any rate, we soon learn that God had other plans.
Have you ever had an idea that made you really excited so you passed that excitement along? Then you found out later that though it sounded great to you, it was not quite what God had in mind for you? That’s what happened here. That night, when Nathan went to sleep, God spoke to Nathan, “Today you acted more like a politician than a prophet. You went along with the kings plan, but you did not take the time to ask me what I thought.”
How often in our lives do we think we "have it all worked out", develop a sure- fire plan for our lives or for our day, or have a great solution to a problem at hand, and then realize we have not even consulted God about it. We have neither asked God's opinion nor listened for what God wanted us to do? Someone once said that many Christians are functional atheists: that is, in spite of believing and worshipping God, they live their every day lives as if God doesn't exist. There may be some truth in that.
David learned a lesson about that. He had, in essence, let Nathan know that he handled the situation as if God didn't exist. God gave Nathan a different answer to give to David than what David or Nathan had in mind. The next morning Nathan told David what God really thought about his idea. I imagine David was a little surprised by the reply because, after all, to David it seemed to be a great idea.
God, however, said, “I’ve never lived in a house. I can’t be contained by any house you build. I am everywhere, and can be anywhere I want when I want to.”
The ark was in a tent, the symbol of nomadic life. Nomads are always on the move, no one controls them, they go where they want when they want. So the question is, why did David want to build a temple? Was it out of love and dedication to God or was it that David felt that building a temple in Jerusalem and putting the ark of the covenant in the temple would mean, or make the statement that God is always in Jerusalem?
Our great temptation is to try to control God. We try to squeeze God into our way of thinking, into our mold. It is our temptation to make the Lord in our own image. Our confused culture has tried to "tame" the Living and Holy God. We have tried to domesticate the God of the Heaven and earth. David wanted to build God a house, but God told David, “I have other plans“. God reminded David that He is in control. God said to David, “I have taken you from being a shepherd boy to being king. You will not build me a house, but rather, I will build your house.”
God asserted this control, not to be controlling, but to be loving. He went on to promise David that not only will He build his “house” or dynasty, but that his kingdom will be established forever. Then he went beyond that to say, “I will never take my steadfast love from you.” What a promise!
We may think one way, but God thinks another. We may have great plans for ourselves, for our family, but His ways are higher than ours. His purposes are higher than ours. He wants us to trust His plan, to trust Him, not try to control God, but to submit our lives to His leadership, His Lordship, and let Him have free reign in our lives. Let us remember that our Lord God sees what we cannot see. As the loving Father He is always working things out for our good. He always has the big picture in mind, and He invites us to trust Him, to follow Him, and to give Him control of our lives. How will you and I respond to that invitation?
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpTjqmjXB9Q
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