God's Bigger Plan

Blessed Forever

(1 Chronicles 17, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 21, 2018)

[1] Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.” [2] And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

[3] But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, [4] “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: It is not you who will build me a house to dwell in. [5] For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. [6] In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ [7] Now, therefore, thus shall you 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, [8] and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. [9] And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, [10] from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. [11] When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. [12] He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. [13] I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, [14] but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’” [15] In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

[16] Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? [17] And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, O LORD God! [18] And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. [19] For your servant's sake, O LORD, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. [20] There is none like you, O LORD, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. [21] And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? [22] And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O LORD, became their God. [23] And now, O LORD, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, [24] and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. [25] For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you. [26] And now, O LORD, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. [27] Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O LORD, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

The longing of David's heart

The great David had been amazingly blessed by God and it made him uncomfortable. How could it be right for the king to “dwell in a house of cedar” when Yahweh Himself was present with His people above the ark of the covenant “under a tent” that David had set up in order to have a place for this holy object of worship in Jerusalem?

The initial reaction of the prophet Nathan was in accord with David's own inclination. “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” David had sought to honor the Lord and to see Israel further blessed by bringing the ark to his special city. He had also made inspired additions to Levitical worship by expanding the musical acts of devotion at this new center of the worship of Jehovah. According to 1 Chronicles 16:7, On that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.” But was David right in His desire to build a more glorious house for God beyond what the Lord had commanded through Moses?

The Word of the Lord to David

God spoke to the king through Nathan. The Lord had never asked for a building from David or anyone else, and David would not build the temple, although David's son, Solomon, would have that honor. But the Lord would use this occasion to make a promise. God had made David king despite his humble beginnings “following sheep,” and the Lord would bestow upon Him a far greater honor—even beyond the temporal blessings of military victories, fame, and dominion in the Promised Land. The Almighty would “build” David a house—not another palace, but a dynasty that would lead to a descendant who would be an eternal king.

Solomon, the immediate son of David would construct a great place of devotion for Yahweh, but a later Son of David would do far more. “I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.” These verses would be quoted centuries later in Hebrews 1:5, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you'? Or again, 'I will be to Him a father, and He shall be to me a Son'?” The forever king of an eternal kingdom would be the resurrected Son of David, Jesus.

David's prayer

We did not need to wait until the writing of Hebrews 1 to have an inkling that a most extraordinary promise had been spoken. David himself knew that every blessing he had received from God up to this was small compared to this cosmos-shaking announcement. “You have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, O Lord God!” Yet this was not primarily about honoring David that an eternal king would come from David's line. God would rightly honor His own Name.

David's prayer was only this: “And now, O Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as You have spoken, and Your Name will be established and magnified forever.” David was glimpsing at the coming of a descendant who would be at the center of an eternal house of God, a house of people who would worship the Lord. The king may not have comprehended all the details, but he clearly was taking in the magnitude of God's plan in a new way. “You, O Lord, have blessed (the house of Your servant), and it is blessed forever.” For us to miss the weight of this great covenant (Psalm 89:28, 34) would be a serious omission.

God's ways are better than our best spiritual longing. He uses men like Nathan and especially His own Word to reveal a message that should not be ignored. He has a perfect plan for an eternal kingdom, and He will accomplish all His holy will. At the very center of God's eternal purpose is the promised Son of David, Jesus Christ. He will build His church throughout the current age and will bring about the fullness of His kingdom in the age to come.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 40 – I waited patiently for the Lord

Gospel Reading—Matthew 11:20-24

[20] Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. [21] “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [22] But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. [23] And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. [24] But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”