We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.” 4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.
Devotional Thoughts:
David thought it was a good idea to build the Temple for God. But God had other plans. God reminded David that God had neither asked for nor required a physical building to be worshipped or to be present. Instead, God’s desire was to build a house for David, and ultimately for the whole people of God. In the New Testament, Jesus reminded us that he was the true Temple (John 2:19-21, cf. 1:14), and Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit dwells in us making us a Temple of the living God (2 Cor 6:16). So, we can see that God has indeed kept the promises made to David and to us.
Our modern equivalent of this story is our desire to build churches. It is not a bad thing in and of itself. However, we must check and double-check our motivations. Are we motivated by our love for God and our desire to give God our best? Are we motivated by a desire for others to see how God has blessed us? Are we motivated by a desire to have a beautiful and safe place to come together? Or maybe, are we might be motivated by a desire to control God? These are just a few of the possibilities and I am sure that for most it is a combination of motives. Nevertheless, we must remember God’s words to David and also remember that some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples were these: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). In other words, our mission is lived out in the World and not in a building.
Prayer:
Gracious God, help us to not put our plans or desires above yours. Help us to embrace your mission in the world and evidence our worship of you in all we say and do. To God be the glory, amen!
Rev Dr Rob A. Fringer
NTC Principal