Finding a place for the Lord

Tonight and tomorrow people all across the world will celebrate Christmas. Each family will have their own unique traditions and practices as they gather.

Each culture and community has their own practice of Christmas. As I mentioned last Sunday, those who follow the Advent calendar most closely will celebrate by hanging ornaments and lights on their tree - finally! They will begin to sing Christmas carols of hope instead of laments.

Others will hunker down and watch football! Some will have special foods they only eat at Christmas. Others have specific ways they open gifts. There are far too many traditions and observances to list.

Casting Crowns, a contemporary Christian musical group has written some words and put them to music that may describe where you are this season:

"Somewhere In Your Silent Night"

All is calm and all is bright Everywhere but in your heart tonight They're singing carols of joy and peace But you feel too far gone and too far out of reach Somewhere in your silent night Heaven hears the song your broken heart has cried Hope is here, just lift your head For love has come to find you Somewhere in your silent night From heaven's height to manger low There is no distance the Prince of Peace won't go From manger low to Calvary's hill When your pain runs deep His love runs deeper still He has always loved you, chid And He always will

The words are current, but these kind of words might have captured King David’s heart at several times during his life.

In the ten years from being anointed as king to actually claiming the throne, David was relentlessly chased by Saul, the reigning king so Saul could put him to death.

After Saul and Jonathan died, David spent three years trying to unite quarreling tribes into a powerful nation.

During most of his reign, David’s family unraveled before hsi very eyes, culminating in an attempt by his son, Absalom, who nearly succeeded in taking David’s throne.

As the psalm points out, there was one passion that fueled David’s life:

Psalm 132:3–5 HCSB

“I will not enter my house or get into my bed, I will not allow my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

FINDING A PLACE FOR THE LORD

First, God has never been confined to a location.

Several times in the OT era other nations attacked Israel, thinking that their God was only a god of the hills, or of the valleys.

On the other hand, since God met with His people at Mt Sinai, after delivering them from the slavery of Egypt, God instructed Moses to construct an ‘tabernacle,’ a place where God’s glory could be revealed.

The tabernacle was a movable temple. During the decades of wilderness wandering, the tabernacle always left first, and always served as the center of the camp.

According to Moses, whenever God commanded His people to move these words were spoken:

Numbers 10:35–36 HCSB

Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say: Arise, Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, and those who hate You flee from Your presence. When it came to rest, he would say: Return, Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.

Finally, after uniting the tribes, after securing the city of Jerusalem and purchasing a piece of property for God’s temple, David made adequate provision for his son to build a permanent temple, a place for the Lord.

Lets look briefly at the results of finding a place for the Lord:

God fulfills His promises

Many people assume all of God’s promises are like a phrase that grants them access to all God’s power.

The truth is that God only fulfills His promises in the context of a personal relationship with Him!

In other words, we can’t just pick up a Bible, find a word or two that we think will satisfy us and call God’s attention to those words.

The righteousness and joy associated with the presence of God is promised for those who are His people - those whom He has made into kings/queen/priests through their obedience to following Jesus.

David was often a failure when it came tom obedience. Yet, when confronted with his sin these are words David prayed:

Psalm 51:1–4 HCSB

Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge.

There aren’t the words of a casual observer of God’s ways. These are words of one who knows God and is known by Him.

God’s ultimate purposes will be completed

Before David died, God assured him of a succession plan:

2 Samuel 7:11–16 (HCSB)

ever since the day I ordered judges to be over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you: The Lord Himself will make a house for you. When your time comes and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a human rod and with blows from others. But My faithful love will never leave him as I removed it from Saul; I removed him from your way. Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established forever.’ ”

With this promise in mind, listen to the announcement an angel made to Mary:

Luke 1:31–33 HCSB

Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.

God’s promise fulfilled!

Psalm 132:11 HCSB

The Lord swore an oath to David, a promise He will not abandon: “I will set one of your descendants on your throne.

Finding a place for the Lord

God is no longer looking for a physical place. Let me paraphrase an OT scholar,

God is not looking for a place to dwell…but we need a dwelling pace for him so that we can look toward that space and be reminded: HE is in our midst!

U. Cassuto, Quoted in “The Holy Bible” NET BIBLE, Full Notes Edition (Nashville, TN.: Thomas Nelson, 2019), Exodus 25 - pp 176-176.

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas - each in our own community, whether it’s family or friends, would you commit to one thing:

Will you find time to make sure there is a place for the Lord - not just at your table, not simply for a fleeting moment in the midst of the chaos of celebration.

Will you, like David, set your heart, mind, and soul on insuring that the Lord has a place in your life?