Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you."
That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
"Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build Me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as My dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" '
“Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over My people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
" 'The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But My love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever.' "
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
2 Samuel 7:1-17
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In chapter 6 of 2nd Samuel, we read where David brought the ark of God to Jerusalem where he had established his throne. As chapter 7 begins, we see where David starts to think about what to do with the ark.
Scripture tells us that after David “was settled in his palace”, the Lord “had given him rest from all his enemies around him”. During this time, David voiced a concern to the prophet Nathan saying, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." To which Nathan replied, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you."
All this sounded good on the surface. For there was little doubt the ark of God was to be treated with reverence and respect for the infinite holiness it represented. And there was little doubt that the Lord was with David. But there was one problem with the exchange between David and Nathan. Neither of them inquired of the Lord to see if it was His will for them to build a special structure to house the ark. And so, the Lord came to them instead.
For we read where “that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan” saying:
"Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build Me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as My dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’"
“Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over My people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
" 'The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But My love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever.' "
If only David had asked the Lord how He felt about his idea, we wouldn’t have gotten to this point. But David didn’t do that and so the Lord had to set him straight through Nathan.
The Lord first asks David, “Are you the one to build Me a house to dwell in?” In other words, the Lord is saying, “Did I tell you to build Me a house to dwell in?” The answer to the question is obvious because we know David did not consult the Lord first. And we see where the Lord underscores his point by asking David if he knew of any time that the Lord had asked the rulers of Israel to build him a house of cedar. Of course, the Lord had never asked them just as He had not asked David.
What was the Lord’s point?
He was trying to let David know that He would tell David what He wanted David to do. Or more specifically, David would always know he was doing God’s will if he first asked God and then carried out His guidance. He didn’t do this in this case and thus was moving in a way that was not God’s will.
So what was God’s will? He tells David in the second and third paragraphs.
First, it was His will to make David’s “name great…like the names of the greatest men on earth.”
Second, it was His will to “provide a place for (His) people Israel”, planting them “so that they (could) have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed”.
Third, it was His will to prevent wicked people from oppressing the Israelites “as they did at the beginning” and had done ever since the Lord appointed leaders over His people Israel.
Fourth, it was His will for David to have “rest from all (his) enemies.”
Fifth, it was God’s will to establish a house for David.
Sixth, it was God’s will to raise up offspring from David’s body to succeed him David after his days were over and he was at rest with his fathers.
Seventh, it was God’s will to establish the throne of the kingdom of David’s offspring forever.
Eighth, it was God’s will for David’s offspring to “build a house” for the Lord’s name.
Ninth, it was God’s will to punish David’s offspring “with the rod of men…with floggings inflicted by men” when “he does wrong”.
Tenth, it was God’s will that His love would “never be taken away” from David’s offspring like it had been taken away from Saul.
And finally…eleventh…it was God’s will for David’s “house and…kingdom” as well as his throne to “endure forever”.
All told, eleven assurances from God highlighting His will for David…eleven assurances that Nathan then reported to David.
How often are we like David? How often do we develop plans on what we think we should do in our lives without ever asking God whether our plans are in accordance with His will?
I think the answer to these questions is pretty simple. For we do this way too often…and I have to think that this frustrates God just as much as it did back in the days of David.
The remedy is simple. We need only ask God whether what we would like to do is in accordance with His will and then be obedient to His answer. This point is validated by the following scripture passage from 1st John:
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15
Indeed, we have a confidence when we approach God to ask about what His will is for us. For scripture assures us that He will hear us and grant what we ask of Him. In other words, God will reveal His will to us when we ask.
Pretty simple because it is. Ask God for His will and He will let you know what His will is for you.
Pretty simple? Yes…we just need to put it into practice more.
Have you asked God about what His will is for you today?
He’s standing by with an answer. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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