David

Good morning Lindsay Lane Main! It’s great to be here with you guys this morning!

If you have a Bible go on and open it up to 2 Samuel chapter 7.

While you are turning there, keep half your brain listening to me...

I believe one of the most important things a believer can do is grasp the storyline of Scripture. Far too many Christians have disconnected understandings of the Bible. So we have built into our discipleship process at East that all our people learn the story arch that unfolds, especially the Old Testament.

This plays into how I preach too! I love sermon series like the one we are going through together, but I can’t just jump right in! We have got to recap where we have been to remind ourselves of the storyline!

I would be doing this at East this morning, so I’m gonna do it here too, alright?

From the beginning God created everything good. That includes mankind. We were to be his image bearers in the world. But we messed that up through sin. Genesis 3-5 show how quickly man spirals into sin. In chapter 6, we see God call out from among the world a man named Noah for a particular task in a particular time. God is going to bring judgment on the earth but rescue Noah so that God might recreate a people who will follow him alone.

I want to read the first few verses of this section of Scripture to set the stage, then I will pray, and then we can come back and start breaking this down so we can understand it, ok?

2 Samuel 7:1–7 CSB

When the king had settled into his palace and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Look, I am living in a cedar house while the ark of God sits inside tent curtains.” So Nathan told the king, “Go and do all that is on your mind, for the Lord is with you.” But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: “Go to my servant David and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you to build me a house to dwell in? From the time I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have been moving around with a tent as my dwelling. In all my journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever spoken a word to one of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, asking: Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?’

PRAY

This conversation that David has with God is almost comical. In case you missed it, David tells God that he wants to build him a house.

Type A peeps in the room, that’s point number one...

1. A House for God

During David’s time as King, they have been all over the place, fighting all kinds of battles here and there. It has been anything but peaceful, until this moment.

What is David doing when he has this thought?

He is hanging in his PALACE enjoying peace and rest on every side. David is in a beautiful, probably ornate house that is the ultimate sign of his own authority. He is the king! And his sweet palace is a visual reminder to all around that he is a man of authority.

It seems from the text that David wants the same thing for God! He wants God to have an established home among the people that would serve as a reminder of his authority!

So, what does God’s house look like right now?

Last week, Pastor Andy John talked with you about the Covenant God made through Moses with his people at Mt. Sinai. And as part of all the rules of this agreement, God gave them instructions of how to build what he called the TABERNACLE. When you hear this word, think MOBILE TEMPLE.

It was a big huge, multi-room fancy tent that they literally picked up and moved from place to place as they were making their way from Sinai to Canaan. And even as they were travelling around conquering peoples and claiming the promised land, the tabernacle would be picked up and moved.

But why was this tent thought of as God’s house?

In the very center of that tabernacle, they were also carrying what they called the Ark of the Covenant or as we see in the text here, the Ark of God. This was a big fancy box filled with artifacts from Israel’s past. But on top of this box, God had commanded they make two golden cherubim facing each other. And right between those two cherubim is where God said he would dwell among his people.

So, David here is wanting to build a permanent structure so that the God of Israel would have a temple in his name. I wonder where he got this idea???

David has seen temples and shrines all over Canaan to the false gods of the peoples the conquered. He knew how these beautifully ornate buildings would convey the importance of each of the false gods.

And he wants to do the same for God! Again, not a bad thought!

But God seems to slap his hand a little! God reminds David that not having his own house hasn’t stopped him from showing his authority throughout Israel’s history in Canaan!

He says...

2 Samuel 7:6 CSB

From the time I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have been moving around with a tent as my dwelling.

God makes it clear that his authority is not tied to some building! David wants badly to build something to showcase how awesome God is to those around Israel, but God’s argument is that his awesomeness has already been on display!

David is thinking about the importance of a permanent structure while God’s emphasis seems to be on his presence among the people.

Just a quick side note here. Churches like all three of our campuses can easily take on this same mindset. We can become consumed with the building itself and forget that we don’t need buildings. We can be a church without any walls at all! But what we cannot exist without is God’s presence.

In 13 years of ministry, I’ve seen battles in churches over the silliest conversations. Many of which have to do with the buildings that are on our property! We often act as if the structures somehow prove God’s presence in our church and his pleasure over us! But if God is big enough to sustain the people of Israel for generations while living in a tent, he doesn’t need our buildings to accomplish his will!

It would be wise of the church today to begin to ask the question, How can we experience more of God’s presence in our people rather than how can we add more square footage to our property! Not saying it’s a bad question, it’s just not the most important, amen?

That’s the lesson David is learning here. And God begins to teach this lesson at David’s expense. Read along with me beginning in verse 8...

2 Samuel 7:8–16 CSB

“So now this is what you are to say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a great name for you like that of the greatest on the earth. I will designate a place for my people Israel and plant them, so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. Evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they have done 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 ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your 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 discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals. But my faithful love will never leave him as it did when I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and kingdom will endure before me forever, and your throne will be established forever.’ ”

Notice how God begins! He’s continuing that thought from verses 6-7. You want to build me a house? David, you didn’t even build your own house! I DID!

2 Samuel 7:8 CSB

“So now this is what you are to say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel.

I took you from the pasture. I put you over MY people. He then says that it was me who drove out the people before from Canaan!

God’s attitude here in the response is why I say there must have been something more behind David’s idea than just wanting what was best for God. It really does seem that God is correcting the way David views authority.

As quickly as God turned this conversation to teach David a lesson, he now turns it back to make some strong promises to David! This is what we would view as the Covenant of David. The partnership that God offers to David.

We see that instead of God getting a house out of this deal, David is the one who is going to get a house!

2. A House for DAVID

This covenant conversation comes in an interesting form. It comes as the Abrahamic Covenant did: as prophecy.

The dangerous thing about prophecy is when we just read it as is and take it at face value. As you read other pieces of prophecy from God’s Word you will see that there seem to often be two purposes to a Word from the Lord.

One purpose is to provide info for here and now. Often discussed as the “near fulfillment”. But there are often times parts of prophecy that don’t make sense in the short term. They seem to be pointing further down the road. Often called, “far fulfillment.”

We have both in this text today! In this second point, we will focus on the near.

As I said earlier, God clear is communicating to humble a sometimes haughty king, but the convo shifts to begin to speak about a strengthening of David’s authority.

We see that God plans to make David into a dynasty.

If you are around my age, you know exactly what a dynasty is because you grew up playing NCAA Football on Playstation or XBox. Dynasty Mode was the best. You can become the coach of any team and play season after season, recruiting hard in between. The goal? To build a program that wasn’t dependent on one recruiting class. But a program that was solid year after year even as the players came and went.

This is very similar to what God wanted to do in David.

God says a couple things...

a. He’s gonna make David’s name great.

The best thing about a dynasty in sports is that the guy who starts it, often gets remembered and almost immortalized! Think Paul Bear Bryant here. And no, I’m not a Bama fan. But he’s just larger than life.

God says that he is going to make David’s name GREAT in the whole world.

2 Samuel 7:9 CSB

I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a great name for you like that of the greatest on the earth.

That’s pretty crazy.

But God also says that

b. He’s gonna give his throne to his kids.

God says that David’s descendants will continue to sit on his throne. This is a big deal because remember Saul’s sons did not get the throne after their dad. David took the throne after Saul! So, this is important for David to know that God is promising that his son and grandsons will continue to be king.

God also tells him that his son is going to build the temple that he so desperately wants to build for God. We know this is his son Solomon.

This would be great to hear. But there is some bad news in the midst of this too. We find out that this dynasty will not always follow God. They will lead the people into difficult days because of their own poor choices.

2 Samuel 7:14 CSB

I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals.

But even in the midst of this shadow of bad news, most of this is great news for David!

There are, however, some comments that God makes here that don’t seem to add up. Like when he says that your descendant will sit on a throne forever.

Well, we know that Solomon does sit on the throne, but he dies! So that doesn’t work. And even if it means that the king of Israel must always be a descendant of David, that doesn’t add up either. because Israel winds up in exile several generations after Solomon and they never really return to the prominence of a kingdom. And still to this day, there is no king in Israel. So it can’t be that...

This is that far reaching view that I alluded to earlier. Let me go on and give you what we are about to see God do in the text...

3. A House for ALL

I want to introduce you to an idea that has helped me read the Bible a ton. You know what hyperlinks are?

A hyperlink is a word, phrase or sentence (usually blue and underlined) that, when clicked will carry you to a different website or page. It is a way to link information together seamlessly. The great and never inaccurate site Wikipedia uses them like candy!

Did you know the Bible has hyperlinks too?

Well, they aren’t called that. But they should be!

They are places in the text that are trying to draw your eye backwards or forwards to another idea. And this passage IS LOADED WITH THEM!

If you are reading the Old Testament from beginning to end as it is meant to be read, by the time you get to 2 Samuel, there should be a whole set of words and phrases that should be standing out by now!

The problem is that this is not how you and I read the Bible. We are simply asking God’s Word to speak into our day, while Christians who have gone before us have worked hard to put themselves into the Bible’s Day. We want application only, while God has asked us to understand first!

But I’ll get off that soapbox, OK?

First hyperlink in the text here… God says, “my servant David.”

If you and I are reading the Bible from beginning to end like the Israelites did and taking note of important terms, we would know that this term “my servant” has been used very intentionally two times before...

Anybody want to guess who God spoke of in this way? I’ll give you two out of three chance… It was Abraham and Moses.

This is significant. We need to begin to notice these things as we read the Bible! We should read this as God continuing the redemptive work he began years ago through men like Abraham and Moses.

God uses another term in verse 9 that is hyperlinked!

He says that he will make David’s name great...

That can sound like just a cool thing! But that is already a promise made in the past...

In Genesis 11, we see mankind gathered to build a tower for themselves in Babylon. Do you remember why they were building that? The text says, “Let’s make a name for ourselves.” Instead of spreading out on the earth and making God’s name great as he called them to as image bearers, they have gathered together to make their own name great! God thwarts their plans and scatters them as he intended.

But then we get this text in chapter 12...

Genesis 12:1–2 CSB

The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

You see the stark difference between what they tried at Babel and what God is doing here? Man is not to seek his own glory but God’s. But God does have the right to make a man’s name great! And that’s what he promises to Abraham here!

And then we see the same promise come up here to David! We should recognize that and understand that God is continuing this covenant of redemption through David now!

Think back to Abraham’s covenant with God. What was promised? Land, a Big Family, and a special blessing to all nations. David has seen the family of Abraham grow into a great nation. They are living in the land of promise right now. But what hasn’t been fully realized is this idea that the seed of Abraham will be a special blessing to all nations.

We are getting more info on this here! This seed of Abraham is also going to sit on a forever throne. These are not taken as two separate promises, but one in the same!

God is going to use a son of Abraham and David to not only bless the nations, but establish a kingdom of all nations!

Who could this be???

Then, years later, we get this from the Prophet Isaiah...

Isaiah 9:6–7 CSB

For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

As the storyline continues, there is great anticipation over who this child will be! Some even claim to be it. But they don’t pan out. But one day, a messenger from the Lord speaks to a young girl named Mary...

Luke 1:30–33 CSB

Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him 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.”

Do you see it? Yes, David’s actual son Solomon was going to do important things, but in this covenant with David, God is making much bigger promises! David’s great great great great great grandson would be named Jesus. He would be fully man yet also fully God! He would live the perfect life that David couldn’t pull off, and in his death he would take on all the sin, shame, and pain that we deserved and he would die. They would bury his body, but it would not stop God from raising him from the dead. And after spending 40 days appearing and proving his resurrection, he returned to the right hand of the Father God where he still sits to this day on a forever throne as the true son of David.

Have you trusted in this son of David named Jesus?

He is the one all of humanity has been waiting for from the moment we first sinned! And today, you can trust in his name alone to save you from the punishment and heaviness of your sin. The Bible clearly tells us to repent (or turn from sin) and to trust fully Jesus as the only means of salvation. Today, we want to help you do that!

There are plenty of other next steps that God may have laid on your heart to take. Whatever they are, we are here as pastors to help you take them. We have decision counselors as well that can help you process through what God may be saying to you.