Sermon Tone Analysis

Several weeks ago, I said that the book of Ruth was the hinge on which the Christmas story swings.

If Ruth is the hinge, then today’s text is the door that opens us to the Christmas story.

There is no other Old Testament name attached to Jesus more, especially at Christmas, than David.

The gospel writers are telling us that unless you understand David, you won’t understand Jesus.

Unless you know the story of David, you won’t understand the meaning of the birth of Jesus.

Today’s text and our comprehension of it is crucial to us seeing Christ in His fullness.

What’s going on here?

David is finally experiencing rest from his surrounding enemies.

Israel had been in bondage or oppressed by the surrounding nations for years.

David’s military success had brought brought stability to the political, economic, civil environment.

His success was reflected in his home.

It was beautiful, fragrant, and incredibly expensive.

His cedar home was his sanctuary.

David knew that his success was not of his own making.

His sanctuary reminded him of God’s grace towards him.

This constant realization inspired David to honor God by building Him a house.

David summoned Nathan the prophet and says to him,

What does Nathan do?

Nathan is like a lot of ministers.

If some wealthy person comes and says to the minister, “I want to make a huge donation to the ministry,” what does the minister say? “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

Nathan told David to go yet God spoke to Nathan afterwards and said . . .

Why will the Lord not allow David to build him a house?

There are two reasons given in the text.

The first reason is incarnational .

David had begun to establish peace, prosperity, and national security, but it still wasn’t there for most of the people, and what God is saying is, “I do not want to live like a king when my people still have needs.

I’m going to live with my people.

I will experience what my people experience.

If my people are poor, I am poor.

If my people suffer, I suffer.”

It’s amazing that a God would say something like this.

The second reason is grace.

In verse 8, God says to David

This is a vivid picture of grace.

“You were a sheep follower until I got hold of you.

You followed sheep, but now you lead men and women.

Why? It’s all because of me.

David, you’re not doing anything for me.

You only do things through me.

It’s by my sheer grace you have power.

It’s by my sheer grace you have success.

You will not build me a house.

I will build you a house.”

As Westerens we don’t see how extremely significance of this moment.

History tells us that it was typical for a king who had military success to build a temple to the god to whom he attributed his success..

When the temple was complete, the priests of that god would come with an Oracle saying, “Oh, the god says …”

So for example, Thutmose, pharaoh of Egypt, built a temple for the god Amun-Ra.

Then the priests of the god Amun-Ra came and said, “Thutmose III, since you have built my dwelling place and you have outstripped all other kings in building my monuments, now I will establish your throne unto distant days.”

Sound familiar?

David is about to do the same thing, and what does God say?

It’s radical.

God is saying what the average person in America thinks is wrong.

All religions are not alike.

All religions are not just different ways to worship the same god.

God says, “Every other religion works on the principle, ‘You build god a house, then god will bless you.

You do something for god, then god will bless you.

However, the God of Scripture is saying something different.

He is not saying build me a house but I will build you a house because I am unlike every other god, I am a God of grace.

I am utterly different.

In every other religion, a divine blessing is achieved conditionally, but with the God of the Bible, a divine blessing is received unconditionally.

God is saying, “I’m utterly unlike every other one of the so-called gods, and my religion is not just a little different, but it’s utterly opposed to what every other religion tells you about how you approach god.”

He’s saying, “If I let you, after all your military victories, build me a house, not only will all the people, but you, will slip into the belief that I am like all the other gods, that our religion is like all other religions, and all religions are not alike.”

Eugene Peterson puts it beautifully in a comment on this text.

He says,

“Do you know what I think?

I think David was just about to cross over a line from being full of God to being full of himself.

David, riding the crest of great acclaim, having decisively defeated the opposition, united God’s people and captured the allegiance of all Israel, he was heavy with success, and he’d begun to think he could do God a favor.

But if David continues to develop along these lines, he will be ruined as a representative of God’s kingdom.

If any of us develops an identity in which God and God’s grace is less important to who we are than our own action and performance, our ability to represent God’s kingdom is utterly ruined.”

God says, “I’m different than all the other gods.

The way you approach me is completely different than the way every other religion tells you to approach god.

You follow them, and you’ll never find me.”

So how could God be a God of grace?

How could any god just lavish grace on people?

“Don’t build me a house.

Don’t do anything for me.

I will build you a house.”

How can God do that for people, regardless of their sin?

The answer is in God’s covenant.

Sidebar – God shuts doors on plans that appear to godly and he doesn’t provide a Nathan to explain why.

When he shuts doors we must trust.

He has reasons, great reasons.

When David talks to God about a house he’s talking about a real building.

When God talks to David about building him a house, he’s not talking about a building.

He’s talking about a dynasty.

He says, “I promise to make your descendants a dynastic kingship, and I will so graciously and unconditionally commit myself to them, regardless of their merit, regardless of their pedigree.

I will so graciously and unconditionally commit myself to them that neither death, sin, nor time will break my commitment.”

Death can’t break the covenant.

Sin can’t break the covenant.

Some of David’s descendants were incredibly wicked.

He says, “In spite of all that, that won’t stop my commitment.

I will continue to be utterly committed to you.”

So death won’t stop it, and sin won’t stop it, but most amazingly of all, even time cannot break the covenant.

Look at verse 16 which is the key verse in this entire chapter

Is that just hyperbole?

No. How can it be?

There has never been a forever throne.

All thrones have risen and then fallen.

How can this promise be true?

God is establishing through David’s line an eternal kingdom.

David’s line will produce a king who will not establish a kingdom but the kingdom.,