David's desire to build a Temple
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be truly acceptable to you - Amen
Ø WHAT WE DO - even things that on the surface look righteous and pleasing to God
o Mean nothing to God - if we don’t do them with a truly sincere heart
Ø Our Old Testament reading, today from second Samuel, shows us how even one of the greatest heroes of scripture, King David, gets it wrong
o Wrong, yet on the surface it all seemed right
Ø I will set the scene for you
o In the two chapters right before today’s some pretty significant events transpire
§ All the leaders of the tribes of Israel have come together - and in their uniting together they anoint David as King over all Israel
§ Jerusalem is made capital of the united Israel
§ David leads the March of the ark covenant to Jerusalem
· He was dancing before the ark of covenant with all his might
Ø Then today’s passage - which starts out innocently enough
o we are told that the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies
Ø David - in this moment of rest - gets a bright idea
o David contemplates that he is living in a mansion - a house built of cedar and he wants to build a temple for the Lord to house the ark of the covenant
§ The prophet Nathan, which seems to be David closest advisor agrees
· As far as he can see the Lord has been with David, therefore the Lord must be with David in his intention to building the temple
Ø On the surface it all looks to make sense
o On the surface David’s intentions seem honorable
§ David is showing his respect for God and the things of God by wanting to build a temple for the ark of the covenant
o his closest advisor and therefore likely all those close to the new King, see David’s intentions as a sign of worship to God
Turning point
Ø But God knows better!
Ø There is an old joke “how do you make God laugh?
o tell him YOUR plans” (pause)
§ This joke runs to the very heart of passage today
Ø You see God instructs Nathan through a vision that David’s is to be rebuked (told that his plans for building a temple are not going to happen and why)
o Now how would you to be Nathan?
§ He is faced with telling the most powerful man in Israel that God knows better - that God knows David’s intentions - and they are not honourable
· Yet we are told of no resistance at all from Nathan - nowhere do we see Nathan second guessing his vision
o Truly this was a faithful servant and prophet of God, in touch with God’s will and ways
Ø So what was God saying when he rebuked David
o God questions David with a wonderfully sarcastic line “Are you the one to build me a house to live in?”
Ø Aside : there is an important key to understanding the whole rebuke
o there is a significant literary emphases on the word house - it is used in four ways - name, place, house and ancestors
Ø God knew David’s heart - knew his intentions and his motivation
o You see David thought he was doing something for God
o And God called him on it
§ He says through Nathan…
· “Go and tell my servant David”
· no longer is this David the King - but David the servant
· he says that God has been present with them in all their wanderings in every situation
· God says through Nathan that All of David’s success is due to God and not to David’s effort alone
o David is taken “From the pasture to the prince”
§ As the smallest of the brothers, not big enough to go to war with the Philistines - as the shepherd - home to tend the sheep
§ Yet over about 15 years transformed in the King over all Israel
· He says that It is God has defeated his enemies
· That God will appoint a place for his people - and they will be disturbed no more
o This is a promise and prophecy
§ This is the David’s covenant
§ God will make David a great name
§ God will make a House for David
Ø Why was God putting a halt to the best intentions of David
§ Or at least - what on the surface seems like the best intentions
o Because God knows our hearts - God sees through it all - and knows our true motivation
o God knows that David was trying to do something FOR God - he was going to build a House for God - and God’s calls him on it
§ I guess here I should be careful what I say about “temple building” in light of the new Parish Hall
o God doesn’t want our stuff
§ God wants our hearts
§ There are countless examples of how God through the prophets telling us that what WE give to God is not the important thing.
§ Our duty given as an heartless offering does not impressed God
Ø To illustrate the point here is a passage from the prophet Amos
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals, I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Ø You see just as God spoke through Nathan and Amos
o God wants us
§ God wants our hearts directed to him
Ø In all this you may be wonder why is David the most famous king of all time for Jews and Christians alike
o The person which served as the model, the model for the messiah figure
o The one in which Jesus, our Lord and saviour - genealogy is prophesied and fulfilled
§ Why is David so special
· Why do we see Him - “warts and all”
o And we know that God did want a temple - later
§ that only a generation away - David’s son Solomon is instructed to build the temple
o Why David - why his house - his lineage
o why does David get such an important role - a covenant
Ø Because David gets it right some times
§ gets it right in a big way
o Like his righteous zeal against the taunting of Goliath - the cursing of the Lord by Goliath
o Or like dancing before the procession of the ark of the covenant coming into Jerusalem - and it says “dancing with all his might”
§ Wearing in an ephod - which some scholar identify as a ceremonial under garment - a giant diaper looking thing (and I know diapers) not kingly thing to do
Ø Why David?
Ø Because - in David we are shown our human frailties and our greatest successes
o In David we see the power of God working through one - that - when he is truly listening to God’s will - achieves the great commandment of them all
§ Jesus new commandment - The servant commandment
· “to Love one another as He has loved us”
· As a servant - willing to risk embarrassment, great sufferings or against great odds even to death in service of others and God
o In David we see both roles shown in Proverbs 12:15
- where “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to advice.”
Ø David was rightly rebuked for thinking of doing anything FOR God
o something that God didn’t ask for
§ something David wanted to do for his own pride
· “look what I built for God”
Ø David is there to show us that attitude is everything
o and God’s knows our hearts and knows when our attitude is rightly pointed to his will not our own
o And the good news of this story is the scripture immediately after today’s passage
§ it is a prayer of David
§ a response to the rebuke from God - that concludes with
“therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant,
so that it may continue forever before you;
for you, O Lord God, have spoken,
and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”
I will close with a story involving Mark Twain
A businessman well known for his ruthlessness once announced to writer Mark Twain, "Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments aloud at the top." "I have a better idea," replied Twain. "You could stay in Boston and keep them."
Amen