April 24 - 2 Samuel 7:1-17 | 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 | 2 Samuel 7:18-29 | 1 Chronicles 17:16-27 | 2 Samuel 8:1-14 | 1 Chronicles 18:1-13 | Psalm 60

Good morning everyone,

As we begin reading today we find David, kicked back in the the palace, admiring the fine workmanship of the many who served together to construct it. Suddenly it dawns on him, “Here I am living in the lap of luxury while the Ark of God is camped outside, living in a tent.” and he summons the prophet Nathan to toss around with the idea of building a more permanent house for the ark. Nathan says, “Sounds good to me, do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”

Well that night, God came to Nathan with a message for David saying, “Nice thought, David, but no thank you. I have lived in a tent for a very long time, and I am okay with it for now, also, you will not be the one to build a temple for me.” Later we will learn that it is because David was a warrior, that he had blood on his hands, is the reason God choose Solomon, a man of peace, for that task. However, God does say, that instead, He will build a house for David, a dynasty of Kings! David says, “Seriously Lord?! Far out!” Now, I have to confess, I am more than a little impressed that David “got” what God was saying, I would have probably been thinking something along the lines of “Well, of course I am going to have a huge family, after all I do have a lot of wives who are having lots of babies.” But David understood God’s meaning, and better yet, David praised God for what God was going to do, to repeat, what God was GOING to do, a promise not yet seen. David did not pout, kick at the dirt and say things to the likes of “Why can’t I build a temple!?” or “I am going to build it anyway.” No, no, David said, “Okay, God, sounds good to me” but more than that, he was humbled and wrote a most heart felt praise to God, recognizing God’s blessing. Oh that we should all have a heart to praise God for all that He does for us.

So while God told David he would not be the one to build the temple, He said nothing about David making preparations for it and that’s exactly what David did. He set about getting things ready for Solomon to build when the time was right, anticipating its every need. He had the plans drawn up, made arrangements for the cedar logs to be brought in and started stockpiling all of the precious metals and materials that were going to be used in the construction of the temple. 

There are a couple of things I really, really like about this. One: David didn’t have to be the “main man” in everything. He was happy to be the backup singer in the band, you know, the one shaking the tambourine. He didn’t care in what capacity he served God, he just wanted to serve Him, and David was pleased to help whomever (oh my, this is where I need my editor friend … whomever??) God did pick to be the leader. David, with all his faults, sincerely loved and totally wanted to please God. That is so awesome!

Then two: This reading on some level, for me, and honestly I am still drying to bring it into focus, shows us how we are to prepare our kids for life. Stay with me here, David made readily available to Solomon all that would be necessary for him to be successful in building the temple, right? Well, essentially isn’t that what we are suppose do for our kids? Prepare them? In Deuteronomy 6 we are instructed to impress commandments on our children. To talk about them when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up. Basically all the time talking to our kiddos about God! So we take them to church, we help them learn Bible verses, sing praise songs with them, teach them God’s will and desires for our lives, for their lives, that there is a consequence of choice, give them all the tools they will need, stockpile it in their hearts, in hopes of them being successful when we turn them out into the world. Some will get straight to the task of building a temple for God, while others will take the scenic route in getting there, either way, it is our job to prepare them. Amen?

Have an awesome day, to God, our dear Abba Father be all the glory.

God bless you ….