David and a Dwelling Place for God
David, a man after God's own heart, whose name is mentioned 968 times in the King James Version is favored by God because of his faithfulness. After the ark is brought to Jerusalem God gave David rest from his enemies and David, as he lived in his wonderful house made of cedar and not in a tent or cave which he had for so many years, wants to build a house for God.
II Samuel 7
:1 And it came to pass,
when the king sat in his house,
and the LORD
had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
:2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet,
See now, I dwell in an house of
cedar,
but the ark of God dwelleth within
curtains.
:3 And Nathan said to the king,
Go, do all that is in thine heart;
for the LORD
is with thee.
Nathan the profit tells David to go ahead and do what he pleases but God has a different idea:
:4 And it came to pass that night,
[this
phrase is the Hebrew word layil and it should read:
'
but
it came to pass that night'-this is in a contrary sense]
that the word of the LORD
came unto Nathan, saying,
:5 Go and tell my servant David,
Thus saith the LORD,
Shalt thou
build me an house for me to dwell in?
:6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time
that I
brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt,
even to this day,
but have
walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
:7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel
spake I a
word with any of the tribes of Israel,
whom I commanded to feed my people Israel,
saying,
Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
Did God ask anyone to build him a house of cedar? In fact God says that He inhabits eternity (Is 57:15) and the heavens and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him (I Kings 8:27). So, where is God going to live? God did instruct Moses to build a tabernacle where man could come and meet with Him and later God instructs Solomon, David's son, to build the temple but God had in mind a greater dwelling place. These were only temporary places in the five senses where man could meet with God..
Acts 7
:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
as saith the prophet,
:49 Heaven is my throne,
and earth is my footstool:
what house will ye build me?
saith the Lord:
or what is the place of my
rest?
Nathan goes on to tell David what God had told him:
II Samuel 7
:8 Now therefore so shalt thou
say unto my servant David,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
I took thee from the sheepcote,
from following the sheep,
to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
:9 And
I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest,
and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight,
and have made thee a great name,
like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.
God brought David up and was with David through all his adversities. God made David great.
:10 Moreover I
will appoint a place for my people Israel,
and will plant them,
that they may dwell in a place of their own,
and move no more;
neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more,
as beforetime,
:11 And as since
the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel,
and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies.
Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
God gave David rest from his enemies and God will build a household out of David's seed.
:12 And when
thy days be fulfilled,
and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers,
I will set up thy seed after thee,
which shall proceed out of thy bowels,
and I will establish his kingdom. [this is prophecy of our Lord
Jesus Christ]
:13 He shall build
an house for my name,
and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
:14 I will be his
father,
and he shall be my son.
If he commit iniquity,
I will chasten him with the rod of men,
and with the stripes of the children of men:
:15 But my mercy
shall not depart away from him,
as I took it from Saul,
whom I put away before thee.
:16 And thine
house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee:
thy throne shall be established for ever.
:17 According to all these words,
and according to all this vision,
so did Nathan speak unto David.
God just told David that the Messiah will come from his seed. David will not see the Messiah but it will be of his lineage. What an honor and privilege to be told this.
God reiterates this through His Word:
Psalm 132
:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
and let thy saints shout for joy.
:10 For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.
:11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David;
he will not turn from it;
Of the fruit of thy [Israel's] body [loins] will I set upon thy throne.
Psalm 89:3 I [the LORD] have made a covenant with my chosen,
I have sworn unto David my servant,
:4 Thy seed will I establish for ever,
and build up thy throne to all
generations. Selah.
Acts 2
:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch
David,
that he is both dead and buried,
and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
:30 Therefore being a prophet,
and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him,
that of the fruit of his loins,
according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Put your self in David's position, God told you that the redeemer you have been waiting for, longing for, living for will come from your seed, what would your reaction be? Here is David's reaction:
II Samuel 7
:18 Then went king David in,
and sat before the LORD,
and he said,
Who am I,
O Lord GOD?
and what is my house,
that thou hast brought me hitherto?
:19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight,
O Lord GOD;
but thou hast spoken also of thy
servant's house for a great while to come.
And is this the manner of
man,
O Lord GOD?
:20 And what can David say more unto thee?
for thou,
Lord GOD,
knowest thy
servant.
:21 For thy word's sake,
and
according to thine own heart,
hast thou done all these great
things,
to make thy
servant know them.
:22 Wherefore thou art great,
O LORD
God:
for there is none like thee,
neither is there any God
beside thee,
according
to all that we have heard with our ears.
David goes on through verse 29 to extol the greatness of God and the thankfulness that he has chosen Israel to be His people. He is also humbled before God for choosing his seed to bring forth the Messiah. Let God's will be done. Ten times David uses a phrase 'O Lord God' or it's equivalent. David is emphasizing God's Lordship as the creator and God over all. This is a great prayer of praise. I encourage you to read it in it's entirety.
The Messiah that God is talking about--Jesus Christ--ended the enmity [separation] between God and all men--Jews and Gentiles.
Ephesians 2
:11 Wherefore remember,
that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh,
who are called Uncircumcision
by that which is called the
Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
:12 That at that time ye were without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of
promise,
having no hope,
and without God in the world:
:13 But now in Christ Jesus
ye who sometimes were far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
It is by the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we can now come to God and not be separated.
:14 For he is our peace,
who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the middle
wall of partition between us;
In the temple there were three sections-the outer court was where the Gentiles could come and where the money changers sat and they sold sacrificial animals to the people (Christ overthrew their tables and cast them out because they were not honest and sold animals with blemishes). The inner court was the sacred court and colonnades where the Jews were allowed to enter. The innermost court-the Holy of Holies-was where the High Priest could enter only once a year. Walls-thick woven veils-separated these sections. When Christ died these walls were torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51) allowing us access to God. We no longer need a priest to intercede and offer sacrifices for us.
:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity,
even the law of commandments contained in ordinances;
for to make in himself of twain one new man,
so making peace;
The separation that man had endured previous to Christ's sacrifice-the spiritual separation--has ended. We can now know God personally. With the abolishment of the law of commandments which was given to Israel the Gentiles are now included and of the two-Jews and Gentiles-one new man is made, so making peace.
:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby:
:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, [Gentiles]
and to them that were nigh. [Jews]
:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Whatever keeps us from going to God, realizing that we have access to Him, is a deception thrown between us to keep us from walking in the glorious light of His Word and the victory that He gave us.
In the next few verses we will see God's new dwelling place. There is a Greek word oikos that is used in the next few verses in various forms that means "house", "household" or "family."
:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, [paroikos]
but fellowcitizens with the saints,
and of the household [oikeios] of God;
We longer are pariokos, outside the household wandering like Bedouins having no permanent home. We are followcitizens, townspeople of the same city,born-again saints of the same household oikeios.
:20 And are built [epoikodomeo] upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
All buildings have a chief cornerstone which determines the lay of the rest of the building. We have the best-Christ Jesus. He is only stone whereby men can build their lives-he is our solid rock.
:21 In whom all the building [oikodome]
fitly framed together
groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
:22 In whom ye also are builded [sunoikodomeo] together
for an habitation [katoiketerion-a housing place] of God through the Spirit.
Where is God's dwelling place? God does not dwell in temples made with hands but it is God in Christ in us-we are now the habitation of God. When we make Jesus Christ lord in our life and believe that God has raised him from the dead we are no longer separated from Him but belong to the household of Christ and are of one body-the body of Christ. God dwells in Christ in us.
Now what do we do? We are created unto good works, yes, but how are we to worship Him. God tells us to worship in spirit and in truth or more precisely truthfully via the spirit (John 4:23, 24)-speaking in tongues-the external manifestation of the internal power and presence of the holy spirit.
It behooves us to unreservedly practice the Word and will of God. God is Holy and God is Spirit and as Isaiah 66:1 says, "The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." How great and immense God is! I am humbled that God would choose us to be His children and bring us into His household to be fitly joined together by and with Christ Jesus to be the habitation of God.