Would you like to read James McNaught’s novel Sinking Sand”? click here: Sinking Sand
(The views expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Chronicles 17:1–15, “Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains. Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars? Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel: And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning, And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the LORD will build thee an house. And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.”
David was well established as king in Jerusalem and had built himself a palace in his capital city. David loved and admired the Lord wholeheartedly and decided that it wasn’t fair for him to have a nice house while the Lord was worshipped in a tent. He spoke to Nathan, the prophet, and told him that he would like to build a house for the Lord. Nathan thought that this was a good idea and told his king to go ahead. However, that night, the Lord spoke to Nathan and told him to tell David not to build a Temple. After all, Israel had been in the Promised Land for many years and their worship had always been centred on the Ark, kept in a tent. Except for the time the Philistines had captured the Ark. The Lord took David from being a shepherd, living in a sheep fold, and made him into the king of Israel. The Lord had been with David all the way through that long, hard journey. It wasn’t the appropriate time, according to the Lord’s timetable, that the Temple be build. The Lord said that David’s son would build the Temple. The Lord promised that David’s family would rule forever after that. David’s family would have permanent possession of Israel’s throne although they might temporarily lose tenure through sin.
No comments:
Post a Comment