Read 2 Samuel 7:1-14a
7 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.
Think
David is disturbed by the luxury in which he lives and the fact that the
ark remains sheltered in a tent. The LORD doesn’t allow David to build a temple
but promises him that his descendant will.
Pray
As David was disturbed by his comfort when your house was simply a tent –
help me to be disturbed enough to ask what I should do to help.
No comments:
Post a Comment