May 5 - 2 Samuel 7:11-12

"The Lord declares [to you King David]

that he will make a house for you ...

For when you die ... I will raise up

one of your descendents ...

and I will make his kingdom strong."

2 Samuel 7:11-12

 

This is promise of a coming king -- the Messiah -- that Israel anticipated for a thousand years, from almost precisely 1000 BC to almost precisely the year 0 (that mythical intersection between 1 BC and 1 AD).

 

The context is David settling in Jerusalem and saying to the prophet Nathan, "1 Look ... I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God [and thus the presence of the Lord] is out there in a tent."

 

I love the prophet Nathan's response. (It's something we might all have done reflexively.) "[What a great idea!] Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you."

 

The Lord had indeed been with David. Powerfully! But Nathan still should have checked with God first. Therefore, since David and Nathan didn't seek the Lord, God had to seek out both of them.

 

In a dream the Lord said, "Are you[, David,] the one to build me a house?" God -- who went on to say that he'd never complained about "living" in a tent -- eventually would say that David, who'd been given the job of warrior to secure the land, had shed too much blood to build a holy temple.

 

Instead, God said, "Rather you building me a house, David ... I will build a house for you -- a dynasty. David, I will establish your throne and your kingdom forever. Indeed, David, I will establish MY throne and MY kingdom forever."

 

Our tendency -- like David and Nathan -- is to jump to our own conclusions. And they may sound good and faithful. Our heart may be in the right place. But we must always check with God first. His plans are bigger and more glorious than anything we might conceive on our own.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's tempted

to write checks I can't cash

(I'd better check with

the great banker in the sky first)