Read 2 Samuel 7:1-11 and 16
King
David was settled in his palace, and the Lord
kept him safe from all his enemies. 2Then the king said to the
prophet Nathan, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God’s Covenant
Box is kept in a tent!”
3 Nathan
answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because the Lord is with you.” 4But that night the Lord said to Nathan, 5“Go and
tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple
for me to live in. 6From the time I rescued the people of Israel
from Egypt until now, I have never lived in a temple; I have travelled round
living in a tent. 7In all my travelling with the people of Israel I
never asked any of the leaderso that I appointed why they had not
built me a temple made of cedar.’
8 “So
tell my servant David that I, the Lord
Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and
made you the ruler of my people Israel. 9I have been with you
wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I
will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. 10–11I
have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where
they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this
land, they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen
again. I promise to keep you safe from all your enemies and to give you
descendants. 12When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will
make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. 13He
will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty
continues for ever. 14I will be his father, and he will be my
son. When he does wrong, I will punish him as a father punishes his son. 15But
I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so
that you could be king. 16You will always have descendants, and I
will make your kingdom last for ever. Your dynasty will never end.’ ”
Think
"Here I am living in a
house built of cedar, but God's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!" David decides to build a temple for the
LORD. God told the prophet Nathan that
Solomon would build the temple.
Pray
Lord, tents seem
temporary. Buildings seem
permanent. Help me to build a permanent
place for you in my heart - not a tent that I move according to my preference
and mood.
Amen
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