The Crown – Season 2 – Episode 3

After 7.5 years of a divided nation David is anointed king over the united nation and he got off to a tremendous start. He has secured a capital city. He has driven back the Philistines. He has finally brought the ark of the covenant back to national prominence. Everything is going his way and Israel as a nation is on the rise.

A summary statement is made

2 Samuel 5:10–12 (NIV) — 10 And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him. 11 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. 12 Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

As we get to 2 Samuel 7 David just wants to keep the momentum going. He has another project in mind – building God a temple.

2 Samuel 7:1–3 (NIV) — 1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” 3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”

He brings his proposal to Nathan – I want to build a temple. David’s motivation is to be admired and certainly something that we can learn from. We so much want to take care of ourselves and our own needs that we can neglect the needs of the kingdom. This sentiment is one that we need to remember as we steward the material blessings God has given us. Are we spending all our money on stuff for us?

In a parallel account it’s made clear that the desire is not out of line:

2 Chronicles 6:7–9 (NIV) — 7 “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 9 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’

This is the first mention of Nathan who becomes a spiritual mentor to David. Their relationship is in sharp contrast to Saul’s relationship with Samuel. Saul always felt offended when Samuel gave advice. We will see the exact opposite between David and Nathan.

A good lesson: have a spiritual advisor in your life and listen to them even when they correct you. No one is beyond good spiritual advice. It may hurt but spiritual advice is crucial to spiritual growth and our usefulness to God.

At first blush Nathan is all on board. David, you can do anything you want! But that night Nathan has a vision from the Lord:

2 Samuel 7:4–16 (NIV) — 4 But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 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. 7 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?” ’ 8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 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 on earth. 10 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 11 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: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

Why would God say, “No, thank you”?

It’s just not the right time

David may think that his fighting days are over, but they are not. He does have rest but he still has some work to do to secure the nation. In 2 Samuel 8 we see several other battles that David engages in – the Philistines again, the Moabites, the Arameans, Edomites, Amalekites. A building project would have distracted him from driving out these enemies of God’s people.

That project will be left to his son Solomon:

2 Samuel 7:12–13 (NIV) — 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

When Solomon, David becomes King he will build the temple and he gives this reason why his father didn’t:

1 Kings 5:3 (NIV) — 3 “You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.”

God may be saying no to something you want to do even though you think it is the best times because he knows what is going to happen and what needs to be done. As much as David would have liked to have seen the temple, he never does but he doesn’t say, “If I can’t do no one will!”

As I get older I am tempted to think less and less of the future and somewhat apathetic about the future as well. I used to think in terms of 30-40 years and get excited about that will be but now 30-40 years I will be … 30-40 years older. There is an old Greek proverb that reads, “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

We are going through a visioning process for this church. We want to look forward to not next year, not five years, we are looking to the future and I am tempted to just leave it all to the next guy. You may feel that way to. But even if we never see the results of our planning we need to maintain an enthusiasm for what God will be doing here.

God has a bigger plan

. Even though David doesn’t get to build the temple, God has even a bigger plan for him.

David will be succeeded by a son, thus establishing the first royal dynasty in Israel. David’s line will be established “forever” (7:13, 16). More sons will follow, so that David’s line will not end. The wonderful and surprising promises end with the emphatic sentence (7:16): “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.”

This is often considered the covenant that God makes with David (even though the word covenant is not used). A son of David will sit on the throne and we see that happening. Solomon will become king. Afte that the nation will divide but the southern kingdom of Judah will always have a son of David on the throne until the destruction of the temple in 586 BC. But there is deeper and more meaningful fulfillment of this prophecy – for Jesus the Son of David will wear the crown into eternity.

Here’s an important reminder – when God says no to your particular request it doesn’t mean that God is not working. In fact, when God says no he can turn your attention to an even bigger dream and a more wonderful blessing.

Don’t ever think that when you don’t get what you want when you want it it is because God doesn’t want to bless you. He wants you to see even a bigger blessing. Keep your eyes open for that. God rejected David’s request but he does not reject David! When God rejects your request he is not rejecting you.

Nathan reports this to David and here is David’s response, and it is beautiful:

2 Samuel 7:18–29 (NIV) — 18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign LORD, is for a mere human! 20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign LORD. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. 22 “How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God. 25 “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight. 27 “LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Like David, we may wish to do something for God, to contribute to his causes, to build something for him. But if that is not in God’s timing or will, also like David, we must learn to acquiesce and be grateful.

Arnold, B. T. (2003). 1 & 2 Samuel (p. 490). Zondervan.

David is able to see the bigger picture and David is able to see that it is not about him – it’s about God. And that may be in play here as well. It’s not stated but since everything is going his way David may be tempted to think it’s all about him. When things are going your way that is an ideal time for Satan to distract you – to take your eyes off the bigger picture and put your hope in the things of this world, like temples.

Paul has some sobering words for the desire for wealth:

1 Timothy 6:6–10 (NIV) — 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

I love what David says in vv 25, 26 “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

It’s not about our name being great – it’s all about God’s name begin great and at this time in his life David may be leaning to making his name great over God’s!

We often think the world is supposed to look at Christians and say, “What impressive works they’ve done! They must really love God.” But that aspiration can be crushing. And it’s not the biblical picture. As God shows us here, our witness to the world should leave them saying, “Wow, what great things God has done for them!”

Greear, J. D., & Thomas, H. A. (2016). Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Samuel (p. 200). Holman Reference.

God says “No” sometimes, and sometimes we may disagree but let’s not think that he’s done with us. Sometimes that “No” means it’s just not the right time. Sometimes that “No” means he needs to turn our attention to something else he’s doing. Sometimes that “No” is a reminder that it’s not by our power, it is only by his power. God’s No never means he is unable. Whatever disappointment you may have with God today let this story be a reminder that he is able to work out whatever you are going through. Maybe not in the way that you may have thought, but in a loving and graceful way.