The LORD Is My Rock: The Message of 2 Samuel
April 27, 2014 :: 2 Samuel 7:1-29
It’s been about a month since we were in 2 Samuel together. Our series is called “The LORD is My Rock,” which is what King David says about his life at the end of this book. The LORD has shown Himself to be a “rock” in David’s life.
It’s been about a month since we were in 2 Samuel together. Spencer preached on Mark the first Sunday of April. Then on Palm Sunday we studied 1 Peter 2:24, our hide the word verse for the last two months. And then last Sunday we were in Luke 24 together to see that the risen Jesus is not a hoax, not a ghost, and not a zombie. He’s resurrected and alive!
Christ Is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed.
And today, we turn in back in our Bibles about a thousand years before Christ was resurrected to consider His great-great-great-great grandfather and this thing about a house.
Today’s title is, “I Will Build a House for You.”
And you might be surprised to find out who is offering to build a house for whom.
Where are we at in the story?
It’s been a month, so you might not remember that David finally became King. First just in Judea but then over all Israel.
And we had a whole sermon on the establishment of David’s Kingdom. It was Promised, Powerful, and Prosperous.
David took over Jerusalem, and made it his capital.
He had a palace built for him.
He began to marry and build a big family.
He began to subdue his enemies.
He was consistently victorious and able to conquer territory that had not been successfully conquered even under Joshua.
His kingdom grew and grew, and he was even able to bring the ark of the covenant up from its temporary resting places to the City of David. It took two tries, but David was finally and joyfully successful at uniting the kingdom, building his capital, and even uniting the worship in the capital.
That’s where we’re at in the story.
King David is established.
We’ve reached what feels like a high point in the story.
Finally!
King David is established.
V.1
“After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, ‘Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.’ Nathan replied to the king, ‘Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.’” Let’s stop there.
Nathan the prophet is a new character. This is the first time that he is mentioned in Scripture. He kind of takes Samuel’s place in David’s life. He is to David was Samuel was to Saul.
But thankfully, David responds differently to Nathan than Saul did to Samuel!
And on this day, David has a good impulse. A good and probably humble thought.
He thinks to himself and says to his prophet friend. “I’m living in a palace and the ark of God (God’s earthly throne, so to speak) remains in a tent.
That’s not right!
I should build a house for God.
I think that I should build a house for God. What do you think, Nathan?”
And Nathan thinks, “Yeah. Good idea. God has been just blessing everything you’ve done, you should do this for Him. Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it.”
However. God has different ideas.
God visits Nathan that very evening and gives Nathan an unexpected message to deliver to David which v.17 tells us that he delivered faithfully. V.4 tells us what He said. V.4
“That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: ‘Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’'”
Stop there for just a second.
The answer to David’s offer of building a house is apparently, “Thanks but no thanks.”
Even more: “Do I look like I need a house?”
“Have I ever asked for a house?”
“Have I ever said, ‘Why haven’t you built me a house?’”
This sounds like a rebuke, and perhaps it is. It’s not that God doesn’t appreciate David’s generosity and initiative, but He is reminding David which one of them is the high king.
And He is reminding David that the LORD has been a God on the move. He’s been free and ranging and roaming with His people. He has not been locked in to a location.
He is not God in a box which needs to be housed in a box.
In fact, He is not a God with needs.
It would be well for us to get that into our heads.
Our God is not a God with needs.
And that’s really good news for us. It’s true that we can’t control Him because we don’t have anything that He needs. But we don’t need a controlled God, we need a gracious one.
I’ve got three main points this morning about what God we find in 2 Samuel 7, and this is the first one:
#1. GOD IS THE GREAT GIVER.
Wait till you hear this.
Verses 5-7 are little bit of a rebuke. “I haven’t asked for nor do I need you to build me a house.”
What do you think God will follow that response with?
The LORD has a counter offer. A alternative proposal. V.8
“‘Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. [I’ve been doing that. That comes from me.] Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. ‘'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you:”
Whoa!
Didn’t see that coming.
God says, “Thanks for the offer to build me a house.
But I declare to you: that I will build a house for you.
I’m the great giver.”
Pastor John Piper likes to say, “The giver gets the glory.”
The one doing the giving gets the great glory.
And God loves His glory. He is committed to His glory. So, He’s going to be the greatest giver there ever was.
“I will build a house for you.”
“I’ve been giving to you all along.” “I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you.”
“Those are my gifts to you.
And now, I’m really, really going to be gracious with you!”
God is the greatest giver there ever was.
You can’t out give God.
God won’t allow us to be His patrons.
He is our patron.
We do not sponsor God.
He is our sponsor.
We do not give to God anything that He has not given to us.
He is the great giver.
And here’s what He gives to David in 2 Samuel 7 – promises.
#2. GOD IS THE GREAT PROMISE-MAKER.
You need to know that this is one of the most important chapters in all of the Bible.
This ranks up there with the biggies.
Remember what we called the Abrahamic Covenant back in Genesis and saw how God made some big promises to Abraham that are being worked out over the course of the Bible and are still being worked out today?
This is just about that big. It builds on that.
Remember the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai? The mountain on fire?
The 10 commandments, all that?
This is just about that big in the storyline of the Bible. It might be a bit bigger than that!
The Mosaic covenant was temporary and filled with a number of conditions.
In this passage God makes some pretty big promises to David and His people and says that they are forever. Listen to all of the all of the “I wills” in verses 9-17.
God lays out some BIG promises.
“Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. ‘'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'’ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.”
God is the great promise-maker.
And those are some breath-taking promises.
Isn’t that amazing? David probably thought that it couldn’t get better than it was.
He had been victorious and was settling down, and he had the impulse to build a house for God.
But God said, “I will build a house for you.”
Now, that “house” in verse 11 is a play on words. We use the English word “house” in both ways, as well.
Not just a building that you live in but a dynasty of heirs.
God is promising David that his heirs will rule Israel.
He will have a dynasty that endures.
“The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you.”
That’s a big promise. Especially because He promises (v.16) this house and this kingdom will endure forever before Him. “Your throne will be established forever.”
And that’s a long time.
Nobody makes promises like God does!
He makes gigantic promises that are almost too good to be true.
Can you think of some other ones?
If you know your Bible, I’ll be you do.
Read Isaiah 35. Read Romans 8. Read Revelation 21-22.
God is the great promise-maker. He’s the greatest promise-maker ever!
He promises “to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!” (Eph 3:20).
Of course, that just begs for the question, “Does He keep His promises?”
Because there are people who make big promises but don’t deliver.
What do you think?
#3. GOD IS THE GREAT PROMISE-KEEPER.
We’ve seen this again and again as we’ve tracked through our Old Testament together: God always keeps His promises.
Not always like we would expect! Not always when we would expect!
But always.
Let’s think about these promises together and their fulfillment. V.9
“Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth.”
Has God kept that promise?
Everybody hear know the name King David?
He just lived a few decades. He could be a little obscure nobody that time forgot.
But we all know King David. His name is great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. V.10
“And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.”
How about that one?
Yes and no. I think that this did happen under David. Unlike the time of the Judges that God is talking about here, David’s Israel experienced much peace. They did have a place of their own and they weren’t significantly disturbed.
But it didn’t stay that way for long. And it’s not that way now. So there may be a future fulfillment of this promise.
Notice here that all of these promises made to David aren’t just for David. They’re for Israel, aren’t they? They are for the good of God’s people. V.11
‘'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: [a dynasty.] “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.”
Did this happen? What was his name? Solomon. V.13
“He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
So, there will be a literal house built. A temple. God will ask for one when He thinks it best. And Solomon will build it. We’ll get there eventually.1 Kings 5,6, 7, and 8.
God will have a special relationship with David’s son. V.14
“I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.”
Read 1 Kings 11 to see how this promise was kept in Solomon’s life. When he strayed, God brought discipline upon him.
But God won’t let even Solomon’s sin stand in the way of the LORD’s keeping His promises to David. V.15
But my love [my hesed, my covenant love, my loyal love, my committment to him] will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'’
V.13, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Those are BIG promises.
Has God kept them, too?
And if so, how?
They are bigger promises than could be kept with little old Solomon, as wise and great as he became.
It’s going to take another king that comes from David’s body.
In fact, after Solomon, it begins to look like this promise will not be kept. The kingdom starts to fall apart after Solomon. Split north and south. And while the southern kingdom holds on for a few hundred years (a long time as dynasties go), it falls apart, too. It doesn’t look like “forever.”
But our God is the great promise keeper.
And He does it, through...whom?
Great David’s greatest son, King Jesus.
Who comes from the line of David.
And who because of His resurrection and His now indestructible body, can (v.16) endure forever before the LORD. His throne be established forever.
God is the Greatest Promise-Keeper even if He has to resurrect somebody from the grave to keep His promises!
So much more could be said. The whole rest of the Old Testament builds on this chapter and so much of the New Testament flows out of these great promises made to David.
But let’s close by reading how David responded and drawing two applications for our lives today.
#1. MARVEL AT HIS GRACE AND GLORY.
I’ve hope we’ve been doing that already this morning. But look at how David does it. V.18
“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: ‘Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? [I’m blown away.] And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD? [Wow!]
‘What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
‘How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”
David just marvels.
He is at a loss for words.
He’s astonished at the generosity of God.
“How Great is Our God!”
“How Great Thou Art!”
‘How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”
Let’s make that our Hide the Word for May and June.
‘How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”
V.23
“And who is like your people Israel–the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.”
Notice that the giver gets the glory.
God has set His love on a people to redeem them for Himself and to make a name for Himself.
And God makes a relationship with them and should get the glory for it.
Marvel at His Grace and Glory.
Worship!
Be astonished!
Be humbled.
Be overwhelmed with how gracious God has been to you.
If you have a relationship with God, your life should be marked by astonishment that God has been so good to you.
Every day this should be the theme of your life.
How did this happen to me?
Why have you been so gracious to me?
Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord.
Thank you!
David gets it. He knows how big these promises are and he’s blown away by it.
Do you know how big the promises made to you are and what it took to fulfill them?
We should be blown away by it, every single day.
And number two and last.
#2. BELIEVE AND PLEAD THE PROMISES. v.25
"‘And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!' And the house of your servant David will be established before you.
‘O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer.
O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.’”
Do you see how David believes the promises?
He’s heard them. He is now trusting in them.
Those promises are real to him.
So real that he prays them back to God. He pleads the promises.
He’s saying, “Go ahead, Lord. Do it!”
“Amen. So be it. I have found the courage to offer you this prayer.”
“Be pleased to bless the house of your servant...I know that it will.”
Do you see how he prays the promises?
We tend to think that if God has promised it, then we don’t have to mention it to Him.
But that’s not how the biblical authors thought at all. They thought if God promised it, then He would love to hear us pray those promises back to Him.
So what has God promised you?
And are you trusting in those promises?
And are you talking to God about those promises?
Believe and plead the promises back to God.
Because He’s the great promise maker and the great promise keeper.
He wants us to build our lives on them.
And He wants us to build our prayers on them.
This is David at his best. He proves that he is a man after God’s own heart.
You might think that he’d be a man after God’s own heart if he build God a house.
If you do something great for God.
But God says that you’ll be a man or woman after His heart if you trust that God wants to do something great for you.
If you believe His amazing promises and build your life and your prayers upon them.
Saul never did.
But David did.
David said, “Ok. Do it, Lord!
“Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.’”
***
Messages in This Series
00. "How the Mighty Have Fallen!"
01. King David
02. David's Kingdom
03. The Right Way to Worship
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