God Builds His House - 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Introduction

My girls and I love to ride water slides. Over the years, we’ve developed a dependable routine. From my perspective, when it comes to water slides, the bigger the better. I don’t like wasting precious time on the puny slides. So, when we get there, I want to make a beeline for the biggest water slide at the park so that we can get on it before the line gets long. You have to think these things through. And, inevitably, one or both of my girls will start to get cold feet as we begin to climb the stairs all the way to the top. And every time, I tell them the same two things so that they will ride the slide and not miss out. 1) Throughout your life, your heart is going to beat fast before you have the most fun and make the best memories. (I know, sound advice from the 10 million dollar man here.) 2) Dad will never lead you into harm. And, we repeat that as often as necessary until they’re laughing at the bottom of the slide.

You see, we need something to tell ourselves when we’re afraid and overwhelmed. We need a promise that we can cling to that can see us through our most terrifying moments until we’re rejoicing at the bottom of the slide, don’t we? For millennia, the Jews have turned to 2 Samuel 7 for a promise that will see them through. They’ve turned here as they’ve been conquered and oppressed and persecuted for a hope that would see them through.

God’s Word

Many scholars consider 2 Samuel 7 to be the most theologically significant passage of the OT, certainly of 1-2 Samuel. It may not have the name recognition of David and Goliath or David and Bathsheba, but it’s the hope that generations of God’s people have hung their futures upon. It builds a bridge for us from the OT and the NT, and without it, you’ll have a hard time understanding why first century Jews were so anxiously awaiting a messianic Son of David who would deliver them from their oppressors. You’ll have a hard time understanding why Jesus’ mission to the cross was so shocking and who Jesus was revealed to be.

But, what I want you to see this morning is that this passage offers fresh hope to all of us, just as it has to thousands of years to the Jews. It offers all of us who feel afraid and overwhelmed comfort and strength to carry us forward through the pain and disappointment of this world. That is, it gives us something to tell ourselves when we’re afraid. And, it’s interesting in how it gives us this message. David makes a generous and thoughtful gesture toward God, and God gives at least three reasons that He rejects it. It’s in these three reasons that we see What We Can Tell Ourselves (Headline):

God is always “with” us.

2 Samuel 7:6-7 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’

God wants to be with his people.

David is in the opposite place of where we saw him a couple of weeks ago. When we saw him in 1 Samuel 21 and Psalm 56, he was fighting a multi-front war. Now, it says that “the LORD has given him rest from all his surrounding enemies.” He has peace on every side, and so he’s taking some time to just enjoy what God has done and what God has given him. But, something doesn’t sit quite right with him. He looks around at his palace built from the finest materials Israel had to offer, and then he looks down and sees the Tabernacle where God’s presence dwelled among his people, and it’s a raggedy tent that’s hundreds of years old. Further, it was common for kings to build great show-temples for their gods to show off the greatness of their god and to make apparent their favor with them.

But, God rejects David’s request (through Nathan) by emphasizing the same thing three different ways. 1) I’ve always been in a tent so that I can move with my people wherever they go. 2) I have always been WITH my people, not far away. 3) I never told the judges and leaders of Israel to build me a temple; I told them to shepherd my people. And, shepherds live among the flock. That is, God told them to lead his people his way, which is from among his people. God has always been determined to be with his people. He is not an ivory tower god. He was with them in the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. The tabernacle was in the center of all the other tents in the wilderness. The Ark of the Covenant went with them into battle. He is a God that desires to be with his people.

God’s presence is a comfort for his people.

Don’t miss this. It separates YHWH from every other god that is claimed. Israel’s point of reference had been Egypt. Think of the pyramids and statues that they built to house their gods. They’re still called one of the wonders of the ancient world. They’re amazing, but they’re not comforting, are they? They’re just fancy tombs for dead gods. But, the living God is intent on being an ever-present comfort and help to his people. Whenever they’re afraid, they could look to the center of their sea of tents to see another tent and recognize that they had a God who lived among them and was right there to lead them toward green pastures and beside still waters, even if they walked through the valley of the shadow of death.

God’s presence is a comfort to his people. ILL: It makes me think of Josiah. Dude, just crashes into everything. He’s really a walking disaster. What’s amazing is that his ability to recover is tied to how quickly you pick him up. If he crashes, and you can’t immediately get to him; he cries and cries. But, as soon as you pick him up, he begins to settle down until he’s ready to crash again. Kids are comforted and healed by the presence of their parents, aren’t they? That’s the kind of Father we have. He’s always within arm’s reach of his children so that He can comfort them and minister to them. His presence is a comfort.

An incarnational God points us toward an incarnational Savior.

(be sure to have verse 6 there to point to) 2 Corinthians 5:2-4 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

In fact, what I want you to see is that this is the very character of God that is revealed in Jesus when He comes. 2 Corinthians 5 refers to our earthly bodies that groan and get hungry and get tired and suffer and die as a tent. That is, it’s a temporary dwelling. It’s a tent that’s going to get holes and show wear and go threadbare. So, what did Jesus do? He showed God’s determination to live in a tent among his people, didn’t He? “I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.” And now, where does Christ reside? With me, in this tent through the Spirit! I am in Christ. He’s my permanent dwelling. But, until that is fully realized, Christ is also in me in this temporary tent. Are you overwhelmed? Are you afraid? God is with you! God is with you! Say it to yourself. Preach it to yourself! God is with you!

God is always “to” us.

2 Samuel 7:8-11 “Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.”

David was a prince.

God gives a second reason to David that He’s not going to allow David to build him a temple. It’s because it attempts to reverse the nature of this relationship. David isn’t the giver; God is. God isn’t in need of David’s generosity; David is in need of God’s. Grace is, by its very definition, a one way street. You see, the way it worked with every other God of the time, and every other God of our day, is that a king would build a temple for the god, the god would become famous, and the god would reward the king by blessing him. In other words, you work hard for me, and then I’ll work hard for you was the motto of the other gods. But, YWHW worked the opposite. He blessed his people despite who they were so that they were able to become famous among the nations against all odds that they might bless the nations.

“prince over my people” David was really a prince, not a king. Israel asked for a king, but God only gave them a prince. God was the king. Think of how princes live. They live in their Father’s house, under their Father’s rule, and by their Father’s generosity. Any authority they have is delegated to them by their Father. Doesn’t that sound like David’s gig? There’s nothing that David would be able to give to God that God had not first given to David. It’s like a child trying to pay you back with your own quarter. It’s laughable, isn’t it? It shows a misunderstanding of their role in family economics. This relationship was built solidly upon God’s gracious generosity toward David.

God flips the script.

“I have.....I will....” So, to drive this home, to make clear who was giving to whom, God flips the script on David. Notice the formula that shows up. He says repeatedly “I have.....I will....” What’s the point? David was established by God’s grace. God found him in the middle of field forgotten by his own dad and brothers. There was nothing great in David. There was grace to David. That’s what established him. That’s what took him out of the pasture and into the house of cedar. He didn’t earn that. He didn’t deserve that. He was given that. But, for those who dwell with God and know God and love God, grace is not a one time experience. Grace is a lifetime enjoyment. “I have, and now I will. You’ve known grace personally, and now grace is going to blow your doors off.” So, God says, “You want to build me a house? That’s not how this works. You’re not the builder of this kingdom. You’re not the giver of great gifts. Instead, I’m going to MAKE YOU A HOUSE.”

“house” There’s a play on words here. “House” can mean multiple things. The way that David uses it, it refers to a physical dwelling. The way that God uses it in response to David is as a dynasty. That is, God is going to establish David’s throne so that his sons will sit upon it and rule over Israel. The LORD is making a promise, a covenant to David that David is totally undeserving of. It’s a covenant of grace. It’s one way the whole way, from God to David. John Piper says that when God gives a covenant like this that “He’s revealing his own job description and signing it.” This is God telling David how good He promises to be TO him.

Jesus flips our script.

You know, the way that David comes to God is the way that so many of us try to come to him. It’s our nature. We think that we have something to offer to him, but we misunderstand our role. The only thing that we have to offer to God is what God has already given to us. Yet, too many of us are still living as though if we work hard for God, then God will work hard for us. I have good news for you. Jesus flips the script. He’s not like your ambition. He’s not like your hobbies. He’s not like your relationships. They’re always demanding more, demanding that you prove how much you love them by how much you do. Jesus flips the script, and He says, “You don’t have more to do; you have more to receive.” That’s the nature of his covenant with us. Jesus made a covenant with us where He signed the job description, and his job is to give righteousness and grace and good gifts and eventual glory to us so long as we are found in him. That is, Jesus is offering us a house — namely himself — so that we can live in him and by his strength. So, is there anything for us to do? Of course, there is. Love him and thank him. That’s what drives our life and our mission and our obedience. It’s his grace to us, and then his grace through us.

God is always “for” us.

2 Samuel 7:12-16 “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ””

God will raise up David’s son.

God is going to put David’s sons upon his throne. Solomon is going to build the temple. But, David’s sons are going to waiver. After Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel will splinter so that David’s sons only rule over the tribe of Judah. God’s discipline comes against them harshly so that it appears that the covenant of grace that God made with David appears to be in peril. The nature of this covenant is that it’s ‘forever’. That’s why I was intentional to use the word “always” in each of the main points. Notice that “forever” appears three times in verses 13-16. We all know what that means, don’t we? It’s hard and fast.

But, by the time of the first century, there is no son of David on the throne, and there hasn’t been for generations. Through multiple exiles and being conquered by multiple enemies, there’s no son of David on the throne. That’s the environment in which John the Baptist is preaching. That’s what you have to understand to understand the scene that the Gospels are set within. What proof did the Jews need to be certain that God was still for them? What proof did they need as they saw the puppet King Herod and the occupying Roman governor Pilate that God had not forsaken them? Their proof would come through the birth of the son of David who would retake the throne, unite the Kingdom, and uphold God’s covenant promise.

God’s Telescoping Promises

You see, we read the Bible like it’s flat. But, God’s promises telescope. They extend out. Certainly, in the immediate fulfillment, Solomon would build the Temple and would be the offspring that would sit upon the throne. That’s the immediate fulfillment. But, he was never going to establish it forever. There was a greater Son of David coming. There’s going to be an ultimate fulfillment that telescopes out from its immediate fulfillment. Listen to how Isaiah understands it:

Isaiah 9:6-9 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel; and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:”

So, then, this is the hope. This is what the people of God are telling themselves as they fear and as they worry and as they’re oppressed. God is for us, and we’ll know it because the Son of David is coming. Then, light breaks through the darkness when it says in Matthew 1:1 “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Luke 1:32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,”

Do you see this? God will be to him a Father, and He will be to God a Son. He will bear the iniquity of the world and receive the rods and stripes of men. He will be the proof, the verification that God’s steadfast love has not departed. He will establish and reign upon the throne forever. How do we know? How can we be certain? God has RAISED HIM UP!

How Do We Know God is For Us?

So, you see, this isn’t just hope for the Jews way back then. This is what we tell ourselves today. What proof do we have that God is for us? He has raised up the Son of David. He raised him from the dead. And, all of us who repent and believe are brought into Christ as the Kingdom of God. You see, by building David a house, by grace, God established the very means by which He would build his own house.

And, through this an invitation is extended to everyone of us. Listen to the words of Jesus in Revelation 22:16-17 ““I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” This morning, come and drink and rest and receive. Come because God is for you.