Lessons from the life of David
King of Israel
Part 4 - The Tale of Two Houses
The Story
2 Samuel 7 [NIV]
1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
2 he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
3 Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."
4 That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
6 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.
7 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?"'
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.
9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth.
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
11 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:
12 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.
13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
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.
15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'"
17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
David told God, "I will build a house for you."
God answered, "No, David, I will build a house for you!"
David wanted to do something for God. But that was not as important as what God wanted to do for David, and what God would do through David.
David want to build God a house, a temple, of bricks and wood.
God wanted to build David's "house" - his royal dynasty - so that forever his descendants would be kings.
The king after David was his son Solomon. He was the one that built the temple, as God promised. Solomon started his life with God well, but the older he grew, he became spiritually lazy, and finally, in his old age, he, like Saul, turned his back on God.
The remainder of the kings from David's family tree...
a few were good,
many were lousy,
some were terrible - they even sacrificed their own sons on idol altars.
Even though these bad kings gave God good reasons to cut off the dynasty, God kept the family going because of His promise to David.
After 400 years, God suspended the kings of Israel. Yet He never forgot His promise to David, "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever."
That promise was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced:
God answered, "No, David, I will build a house for you!"
David wanted to do something for God. But that was not as important as what God wanted to do for David, and what God would do through David.
David want to build God a house, a temple, of bricks and wood.
God wanted to build David's "house" - his royal dynasty - so that forever his descendants would be kings.
The king after David was his son Solomon. He was the one that built the temple, as God promised. Solomon started his life with God well, but the older he grew, he became spiritually lazy, and finally, in his old age, he, like Saul, turned his back on God.
The remainder of the kings from David's family tree...
a few were good,
many were lousy,
some were terrible - they even sacrificed their own sons on idol altars.
Even though these bad kings gave God good reasons to cut off the dynasty, God kept the family going because of His promise to David.
After 400 years, God suspended the kings of Israel. Yet He never forgot His promise to David, "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever."
That promise was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced:
"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:23-31)
If you track David's family tree to Jesus, you find the tree has two branches. There is one branch through Mary, the "biological" branch (Luke 3:23-38). The branch through Jesus' adopted human father, Joseph, is the "legal" branch (Matthew 1:2-16). David's family tree to Joseph goes through the dynasty of the kings of Israel. In Mary's family tree, David is the only king.
Jesus reigns as king where?
Some people expected the Messiah to be a political king, ruling the government of Israel. Strangely, many Christians today still mistakenly believe that Jesus will come as a political king to rule in one world government in a future time. But what did Jesus tell Governor Pontius Pilate during His trial?
Jesus reigns as king where?
Some people expected the Messiah to be a political king, ruling the government of Israel. Strangely, many Christians today still mistakenly believe that Jesus will come as a political king to rule in one world government in a future time. But what did Jesus tell Governor Pontius Pilate during His trial?
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king." (John 18:36, 37)
So where does Jesus reign as king? In heaven? Yes, but...
We pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom come." Come where?
In this prayer we ask Jesus to come and reign as king in our hearts.
We ask Jesus to come and reign in the hearts of people we love.
We ask Jesus to reign as king in our fellowship, the Church.
The next line of the Lord's Prayer expands this thought: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
"Thy will be done..." in me... in you... as the Angels in heaven obey His will.
Here we have a problem. We in the American culture don't understand kings. Not even England today understands. Their king and queen are only for show. The King and Queen have no authority.
In America we elect our presidents. Who's the boss? The president? No, the people! And who's the servant? The president.
We tend to bring that democratic concept over to our relationship with Jesus. We "elect" Him as Savior. We are the boss and He is our servant. We want Him to fit our plans. Just listen to the way we pray.
That is not the historic concept of kings. The king is boss. The king's word is law.
Because we don't understand kings,
we miss something important,
something strange,
something wonderful:
Jesus did come as a servant
Does that mean we are boss?
No! He is still Lord, He is still King.
But he comes as a servant. Why?
(1) To save us - to take our guilt and shame to the cross, and to wash away our sins.
(2) To give us an example of how He wants us to serve each other.
We pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom come." Come where?
In this prayer we ask Jesus to come and reign as king in our hearts.
We ask Jesus to come and reign in the hearts of people we love.
We ask Jesus to reign as king in our fellowship, the Church.
The next line of the Lord's Prayer expands this thought: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
"Thy will be done..." in me... in you... as the Angels in heaven obey His will.
Here we have a problem. We in the American culture don't understand kings. Not even England today understands. Their king and queen are only for show. The King and Queen have no authority.
In America we elect our presidents. Who's the boss? The president? No, the people! And who's the servant? The president.
We tend to bring that democratic concept over to our relationship with Jesus. We "elect" Him as Savior. We are the boss and He is our servant. We want Him to fit our plans. Just listen to the way we pray.
That is not the historic concept of kings. The king is boss. The king's word is law.
Because we don't understand kings,
we miss something important,
something strange,
something wonderful:
Jesus did come as a servant
Does that mean we are boss?
No! He is still Lord, He is still King.
But he comes as a servant. Why?
(1) To save us - to take our guilt and shame to the cross, and to wash away our sins.
(2) To give us an example of how He wants us to serve each other.
After the prophet gave David the Lord's message, David responded in prayer:
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?
19 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?...
22 "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you...
28 O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
29 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."
Principles for us
1. What we do for God is not as important as what He has already done for us: Eternal salvation through Jesus Christ. This is grace.
2. What we do for God is not as effective as what He does through us. God brought salvation to the world - and to us - through David via David's descendant Jesus.
God continues to bring salvation to the world through us via His Son Jesus. The Bible clearly says that we don't do good works, but God does them through us.
3. God keeps His promises. Both Israel and David's descendants gave God plenty of reason to void His promises. But He kept His promises, fulfilling them all in Jesus.
God has not changed. He still keeps His promises to us.
GOD KEEPS HIS WORD.
2. What we do for God is not as effective as what He does through us. God brought salvation to the world - and to us - through David via David's descendant Jesus.
God continues to bring salvation to the world through us via His Son Jesus. The Bible clearly says that we don't do good works, but God does them through us.
3. God keeps His promises. Both Israel and David's descendants gave God plenty of reason to void His promises. But He kept His promises, fulfilling them all in Jesus.
God has not changed. He still keeps His promises to us.
GOD KEEPS HIS WORD.