“When David was settled in his palace, he summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant is out there under a tent!” Nathan replied to David, “Do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you.” But that same night God said to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in. I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. My home has always been a tent, moving from one place to another in a Tabernacle. Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s leaders, the shepherds of my people. I have never asked them, “Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’ “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will defeat all your enemies. “‘Furthermore, I declare that the Lord will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings! For when you die and join your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, one of your sons, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for me. And I will secure his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my favor from him as I took it from the one who ruled before you. I will confirm him as king over my house and my kingdom for all time, and his throne will be secure forever.’” So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said in this vision.”
1 Chronicles 17:1-15 NLT
David had desired to build a house for his God. This wasn’t an act of splendor, to celebrate his own majesty. It was not an act of fealty to garner commitment from God. It wasn’t an act of pride, to try to compete with other God’s. Instead, it was a desire to give God his due. It came from the pure and rather simple understanding that David was blessed by God, but David had not blessed God. Now having tangible means as king, he had the resources to give something back to God that he felt he deserved. Gods response is interesting. First, it was to say no. But it wasn’t a rejection of the attitude. Instead, it was a rejection of the plan. Here we see that God had his own house in mind. But this temple would not be one of stone but rather of flesh and blood. It would also not come by David’s hands and his efforts, but through them. God exposed his plan was larger than David’s and he folded him into it because he had the proper orientation of heart. In some ways, this echoes Jesus’ command to let the children come to him. And his revelation that our faith ought to be as a child’s. It isn’t necessary to have agency in a world where God is supreme. But it is right to have empathy for God even if it is the way a child loves their father. God honors the heart more than he does the idea or the plans of men.
David’s Desire: David wanted to build a house for God as a way to show gratitude for God’s blessings.
God’s Response: God rejected David’s plan to build a physical temple but acknowledged the sincerity of David’s desire.
God’s Plan: God had a different plan for a temple, one made of flesh and blood, which would come through David’s lineage.
JOSH McGARY.COM 