What the World is Waiting For

2 Samuel 6:17–18 (NIV)

They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.

After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.

2 Samuel 7:1–13 (NIV)

After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,

he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?

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.

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?” ’

“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.

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.

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

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:

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.

He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Introduction

How many of you had one childhood home growing up? How many of you had parents who were constantly on the move?

The house that I remember growing up in is the home that my parents owned for 27 years. That was the home of my child hood! When my brothers and I are together we share the memories we have in that house.

My brothers and I often talk about how we’ll drive by that house if we’re ever in the area just to go down memory lane.

When we lived in this house, there was a cement statue of a lion that was right next to the door. It came with the house. With a house of 4 boys, how fitting that this symbol of strength was right by the door.

Recently, my younger brother was on Redfin, and I don’t know why he wanted to look up our old home one more time. When he did that, the lion is still there!

Let me show you a picture.

This lion has been there for decades!

My brother said, “I’ve got to go get that Lion! I need that!”

But those are the fond memories that we have of our house. That was our home growing up.

Transition

And I bring that up because likewise, I believe that God has a favorite house to dwell in. The same way that my brothers and I talk about our house growing up, there is one house that the Lord has memories about, and he enjoyed over the others. That’s what we’re going to talk about in our third installment of Dwell. There was a house that God preferred over the others, and it was David’s Tent. And I don’t want to just talk about why that was his favorite house, but also why that matters to us, and the world around us.

Exegesis

Before I get into the different houses that God was choosing from, I want to quickly explain the text to you.

David moved the Ark of Covenant from a temporary storage location to Jerusalem. He desired to bring back this physical structure of God’s presence to the capital of Israel so that they could return to the laws of worship that began under Moses.

Once the Ark was back, this is where the text picks up. David desired to build God a temple to dwell in. Something permanent. Something special. And he goes to the Prophet Nathan. It initially seemed like a good request, until God spoke to Nathan and tells him that he didn’t want to abide anywhere other than David’s Tent.

David didn’t love the response, but was obedient to God’s word.

The Tabernacle

I want to show you the very first house that God dwelled in, the Tabernacle. It wasn’t a permanent structure, but it was a large portable tent.

The tabernacle was constructed by Moses in the wilderness. We spoke about this in length last week when God told Moses to tell the people the supplies and the finances needed to build the tabernacle.

When Moses was obedient to the word of the Lord, God filled the tabernacle with his glory.

Someone say glory.

I want you to get that the word glory has a particular connotation in Hebrew that is slightly different than our English connotation. Glory comes from the Hebrew word kavod, which means weight.

When we read about the glory of God in the Old Testament there is an understanding that the presence of God was weighty. There was a heaviness to it.

Some of you have experienced this in worship.

You could lose yourself in a worship song here on a Sunday, and it’s like there is a weight that is resting on you as you experience God’s presence.

So I want you to understand that God was with Israel in the wilderness and his presence consumed the tabernacle.

The Temple

But God’s presence was also over the Temple that Solomon would build.

Solomon is one of David’s sons, and God appointed him to be David’s successor as the King of Israel. As I explained a minute ago from our text, it seemed like a good idea at first. Then, however, God said no. It would be his son Solomon who would build the temple once he is King.

After the passing of David, he does just that. He builds a beautiful temple for God. It’s commonly referred to as Solomon’s Temple. It was ornate. There was gold fixtures all over the temple that made it a sight to see.

When Solomon completed his construction of the Temple, they had the same experience as Moses and the Tabernacle.

So this sounds familiar to what we read about the Tabernacle. The work is completed, the structure is dedicated to the Lord, and the glory of God consumes the place.

David’s Tent

Now we need to talk about David’s Tent, which was nothing like the previous two tents.

David’s Tent did not have multiple courts like the Tabernacle and the Temple. David’s tent did not have the many furnishings that were in the other Tent’s. It was just the Ark inside a Tent.

Now remember, the Ark represents the presence of God.

So in this tent, it was just you and God’s presence. Nothing else.

David’s Tent was less about ceremony, and more about presence.

Now we don’t have that ceremony today, but we do have something that we call the church.

And the church, has become real good at having church.

As a matter of fact, sometimes we’re better at having church than we are being the church.

What’s the difference?

Being the church requires us to follow the teachings of Jesus at all times, not just when it’s advantageous for us.

Being the church requires us to represent Jesus everywhere we go.

Let me ask you… do your co-workers know that you’re Christian? If they don’t…

And don’t say, “well Pastor I just haven’t gotten around to telling them yet.” You shouldn’t have to tell them. Your life should tell them. What you say should tell them. The decisions you make should tell them. Your attitude should tell them.

David’s Tent was less about the ceremonial aspects of worship, and more about God’s presence.

Is God’s presence your priority?

David’s Tent had no Veil

You see in both the tabernacle and the temple, there was a room called the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place.

The only person permitted to go back there was the high priest. The high priest would go into the Most Holy Place and after offering sacrifices he would sprinkle the blood of animals on the Mercy Seat, which was the top of the Ark of Covenant.

This was a sacred space.

And in David’s Tent, it didn’t exist.

I think that’s what made this place so special. It was the only house that there was no separation between the presence of God, and those who ministered at the tent.

And I believe that’s what God has always wanted anyway. I think he’s had a problem with this separation between himself and the people. He wanted a closer relationship with his people, but it was the people who often feared the Lord.

But what do we know about David? Here’s what we know about David.

1 Samuel 13:14 (NIV)

But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

David was a man after God’s heart. He was a God chaser. He wasn’t made King becuase he had the credentials, but he was made King because he chased the presence of God.

The Lord looked down at David and reminds him:

“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.

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.”

David so desired God’s presence that it led him from the pastures to the palace.

In the same way, God still looks for people who want nothing more than his presence.

Do we pray becuase we want God, or because we want something from God?

There was no veil in the Tent, and this is exactly what God wanted.

It’s no coincidence that later, when Jesus was crucified on the cross, that as he hung his head and breathed his very last breathe the veil in the temple that separated the Ark from the people was torn in half from the top to the bottom.

Why?

Because God never wanted anything between us and him.

David’s Tent was a Place of Continual Worship

What made David’s Tent so desired by the Lord was the continual worship that went before God at the tent.

Because David was a worshipper, we find that he would come to the Tent and just abide in the presence of God. But there is an awesome passage in the scriptures that describes what would happen when David was gone.

[Humor]

I imagine that David was asleep one night and he couldn’t sleep so he went to his window to look at his tent.

Kind of like you, but instead of watching cat videos and Tik Tok, he looked at the tent.

What he saw next might have inspired him to write this Psalm.

Psalm 134:1 (NIV)

Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord.

David’s Tent was a place where day and night, there was worship going before God. It was a no frills place where the only thing that mattered was God’s presence, and that worship was on going.

I think this is an incredible picture of how our lives need to be the same.

Psalm 34:1 (ESV)

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

I know that we cannot be here at the church praising God round the clock, and that’s not what is expected of us. But if we can abide in God’s presence, and live our lives in a way that we invite him into our every day, coming and going, we are taking a posture of blessing the Lord at all times.

Conclusion

So what made David’s Tent God’s favorite Pastor Josh? I don’t see glory clouds hovering over the tents. Are you sure about that?

Go with me to Acts 15.

Acts 15:16 (NIV)

“ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,

Notice that it doesn’t say that he would rebuild Moses’ Tabernacle, and it doesn’t say he will rebuild Solomon’s Temple, but he says I am going to rebuild David’s Tent.

Why?

Because God is looking for people who are once more presence driven.

God is looking for people who will not allow anything to come between them and His presence.

And God is looking for people who will worship him continually.

When we get this right… here’s what happens...

Acts 15:17 (NIV)

that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—

Did you catch that?

The rest of mankind will seek the Lord when the church seeks the Lord. When the church gets back to this hunger for God’s presence, it creates a hunger among the world. People see something that they don’t have and they crave it. They don’t crave a community that plays church, but they crave what we have when we are chasers of His presence.

[Drywall at the immersive experience]