2 Samuel 7, verse 1, And it came
to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given
him rest round about from all his enemies, that the king said
unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar,
but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to
the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord
is with thee. Our chapter begins, And it came
to pass. It came to pass. And we know
that everything that happens, happens according to the divine
purpose of God. It's always right on schedule,
isn't it Bob? Always right on schedule. Nothing
happens without the express permission and purpose of God. Nothing.
And that should give a child of God comfort. Here in our text,
the Lord had given David a time of rest. It wasn't always that
way, was it? But now David has been given
a time of rest. And over the course of a believer's
life, we'll have times of peace and we'll have times of trial.
And when we have times of peace, we know this, God gave it. And when we have a time of trial,
we know this, God gave it. And that time of peace or that
time of trial will end, especially in times of trial, it will end
when that trial has accomplished the purpose. that God sent it
to accomplish. That time of trial will end according
to the eternal purpose and at the appointed time of our Father. Of our Father. Not some, you
know, mean nameless being, you know, who's in control of everything.
It will happen at the appointed time of our Father. Our Father. That gives the believer
comfort. And whether it's times of trial
or times of peace, Our Father sent it and it will end at His
appointed time. And we've heard many, many times,
and it's true, you can tell a lot about a person's faith in time
of trial. Trials are sent to strengthen
our faith and to reveal true faith. But you can also tell
a lot about a person's faith when they're on the mountaintop,
when God's given them a time of peace. When they're on the
mountaintop, do they forget all about God? When they're on the
mountaintop and they got everything, do they think they don't need
the Lord anymore? David is in a time of blessing. He just became
king over all Israel. He just went out and won all
these military battles. He took Jerusalem. He's a heathen
king sending the materials and the men to build him a house.
He's sitting on a throne in Jerusalem. But David's not seeking his honor,
is he? He's seeking the honor and glory of God. The Lord blessed
David, and David did not waste that blessing upon himself. And
I'm so thankful. When I read that, I thought of
this congregation. This is one of the things that
you all are known for, and I'm thankful for it. The Lord's blessed
you, and you don't waste it on yourself. You look for opportunities
to give and to help those who are in need. We started talking
about baptistry. Just were talking about it, said,
yeah, we're going to do it. One of the men here at church
came to me and said, my wife and I want to give $500 towards
the purchase of that thing. I don't want anybody to know
about it. We just want to give, you know, to help about it. And
we're buying these chairs at the same time. John just put
one line in the bulletin. We're buying these things. You
know, you can give toward it if you want. People gave enough
money. Over and above what they always
give, we paid for both. The Lord blessed you. And you
didn't waste that blessing on yourself. I'm so thankful. That's
the blessing of God. He's given you that attitude.
And that's the attitude of David. He said, why should my house
be nicer than the house of the Lord? Why should I dwell in a
house that's much nicer than the tent that the ark of God's
dwelling in? And David told Nathan what was
on his mind, and Nathan said, go do it. Go do whatever's in
your heart. Now, David and Nathan, I know,
should have sought the will of the Lord. A lot of the old writers
just really get on them here, you know, and they should have
sought the will of the Lord. Nathan should have known better,
shouldn't he? David should have known better from everything,
you know, he's been through in his life. Now, God's prophets of
old, his preachers today, they've got some light, but don't think
these men are infallible. No, they're not infallible. The
power that a servant of the Lord has is not in himself. It's in
the message. It's in the message. It's in
the Word of God. And David had determined he would
like to build the house of the Lord here. And Lord willing,
we're going to learn something about building the house of the
Lord. Now, first, there is nothing wrong with David's desire to
build the temple. Look over in First Kings, Chapter
8. You know he doesn't do it, but there's nothing wrong with
his desire to do it. In 1 Kings 8, this is after Solomon
had built the temple and they're dedicating it. In verse 17, look
what he says. And it was in the heart of David
my father to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.
And the Lord said unto David my father, whereas it was in
thine heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well
that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless, thou should not
build the house. But thy son that shall come forth
out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name." The
Lord says nothing wrong. You did well. There's nothing
wrong with that desire. It's just you're not the appointed
man. This is not the appointed time.
Can't we say the same thing about ways that we would desire to
serve the Lord? There are many ways. I desire
to serve the Lord. I know you're the same way. What
we have to find out is this. Are we the Lord's person for
this particular job at this particular time? That's what we have to
find out. And when we find that out, we're to serve where the
Lord put us. That's what we're to do. David had a good desire
to build the temple. David was just not God's man
for that job at that time. And I'm thankful that we can't
do everything we determined to do, because if we did, I promise
you, it would be a disaster. I'm glad our God does according
to his will in the armies in heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth. And none can stake his hand or
say unto him, what doest thou? He does according to his will.
And what he does is right. It's never a disaster, but it's
not that way with us. So David determined to build
this temple in verse four, and it came to pass. That night that
the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my
servant David, thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me in
a house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any
house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out
of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in
a tabernacle, in all the places wherein I have walked with all
the children of Israel. Spake I a word unto any of the
tribes of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people Israel? saying,
why build ye not me a house of cedar? Now, this is such a general
review. David, are you going to build
me a house? Why are you taking this work
upon yourself? Do I ask you to build me a house? Are you really
going to build a house for God to dwell in? Are you really going
to do that? Look over at Second Chronicles
chapter two. Are you really going to build
a house that God Almighty is going to dwell in? Solomon says here in verse 4,
Behold, I build a house to the name of the Lord my God. He's
not building a house for God to dwell in. He's building a
house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him,
to burn before him sweet incense and for the continual showbread
and for the burnt offerings, morning and evening, on the Sabbath
and on the new moons and on the solemn feast of the Lord our
God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel. And the house which
I build is great. For great is our God, above all
gods, above all idols. But who is able to build him
in a house, seeing that heaven of heavens cannot contain him?
Who am I, then, that I should build him in a house, save only
to burn sacrifice before him?" Now, we call this the house of
the Lord, don't we? And in a sense, we're right.
I was glad when they said unto me, let's go into the house of
the Lord. But God doesn't live here. This house cannot contain
him. And what we're going to see in a minute, God doesn't
live here. He lives in his people, he lives
in his church, the church, his people. God doesn't dwell here,
but he walks with his people here, doesn't he? When the gospel
is preached, I love what our pastor says, when the gospel
is preached here, the Lord walks here. When the gospel is being
preached, he meets with his people here when the gospel is being
preached. So we make it as nice as we can,
don't we? It's a house to the name of the
Lord. Now here's a blessing. If you
read Scripture too quickly, you miss this. The Lord had used
the tabernacle a long time. A long time he'd been using it.
And we saw this in our study of the tabernacle. It's a very
humble structure. But God Almighty, the Lord of
glory, walked with his people in that tent. Look at Leviticus
25. He walked with his people in
that tent. In Leviticus 25, verse 23, the land shall not be sold forever,
for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners
with me. With me. How far down did the Lord have
to humble himself to be a sojourner in the land that belonged to
him, to be a sojourner, to walk with the likes of you and me.
That's such a blessing. He walks with his people. And
Christ our Savior did the same thing when he came to this earth.
He took on him flesh and tabernacled among us. And he still walks
with his people, not in a bodily presence, but in his spirit,
where two or three are met together in his name. In that house built
to his name, there I am in the midst of. He still walks with
his people as we sojourn through his creation. Back in our text,
verse 8, he goes on and he says, Now therefore, so shalt thou
say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took
thee from the sheep code, from following the sheep, to be ruler
over my people, over Israel. And I was with thee whithersoever
thou winnest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy
sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the
great men that are in the earth. Now again, this is not said to
rebuke David. This is said to remind David
of God's mercies to him. David's not going to build a
temple. That's the desire of his heart, but he's not going
to build a temple. That does not mean that the Lord hasn't
blessed him. And that doesn't mean the Lord
won't continue to bless him. The Lord tells David, now look
back over your life. There is a day you're a boy out
there keeping your father's sheep. You're following them sheep around,
them few sheep. Later that afternoon, you were
anointed king of Israel. Later that afternoon, you were
anointed king over my people, over the people of God. And David,
everywhere you went, I went with you. I've subdued your enemies
before you, and I've made you a great king. Isn't that the experience of
every object of God's softened mercy? It is. Where did the Lord
find you? I bet he found you someplace
more humble than the sheep coat. Bet he found you someplace more
humble than following them few sheep around. Where did God find
you? Wherever it was physically, he found you in sin and shame
and guilt. That's where he found us. Where
has he brought you? Oh, my soul. Where has he brought
you? He made you the righteousness
of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, my. Where has he brought
you? He's given you a knowledge and understanding of who he is.
He's revealed himself to you. He's taken up residence in your
heart. Where has He brought you? Every step. Look back over the
course of your life like David. Every step you've taken, the
Lord's been with you. Now, I know it may not have felt
like it at times, but I promise you, every step you've ever taken,
the Lord's been with you. I know that because that's what
He promised. I'll never leave thee, nor forsake thee. He's
never left you alone. He's always been with you. And
the Lord's given you a great name, a great name, because now
you bear his name. This is the name wherewith she
shall be called Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. You
bear his great, he made you a name, his precious name. He goes on
in verse 10, he says, moreover, as if this wasn't enough, moreover,
I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant
them that they may dwell in a place of their own. and move no more. Neither shall the children of
wickedness afflict them any more as before time. Now the time
that Israel needed that tabernacle was coming to an end. The Lord
had already given them the land that he promised Abraham. They
were dwelling there. It was their permanent home.
But the wicked still lived there. The wicked were still afflicting
the Philistines and the Amorites and all the other iths and all
the other istins, you know, they were always afflicted in Israel.
David fought battle after battle after battle with them. The Lord
said the wicked won't afflict you anymore. I'm giving you a
time of peace. And you won't need the tabernacle
anymore because you're not going to be wandering around this wilderness
anymore. This is your permanent home. It is getting close to
the time that someone is going to need to build the tabernacle.
It just won't be David. They need to build a tabernacle
because they're there to stay. Now, that's destruction to David,
but this scripture is also a prophecy concerning the coming Messiah.
Believers today have experienced a far greater fulfillment of
this prophecy than David or Solomon ever did. This place to dwell
in, this place where no believer will ever leave, this place of
a permanent dwelling, a place of peace and rest from all the
wicked, is not a place, it's a person. We dwell in a place
of safety to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. And the blessing
here is not that someone is going to build a temple. The blessing
is not that someone is going to build a house of worship.
Not that they're going to build a house to the name of the Lord.
The blessing is that God's going to give his people Israel a permanent
home, an eternal home, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the blessing
is never in anything we do, ever. The blessing is that God gives
his people, spiritual Israel, a permanent home in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, verse 11, read on. He says,
And it is since the time that I commanded the judges to be
over my people, over Israel. And if cause thee to wrest from
all thine enemies, also the Lord telleth thee, he will make thee
an house. Now, get a hold of your seat
here. This is a blessing. The Lord says, David, you're
not going to build me a house. I'm going to build you a house.
And David, you're the house. You are the house, David. I will
make thee a house, a spiritual house. The house of God is not
a building. It's not a structure with four
walls and a roof. The building of God is his people. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter
6. The building of God is his people. That's where he dwells. In 2 Corinthians 6 verse 16, And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living God. As God hath said, I will dwell
in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. I'm going to make thee a house.
You're not going to build me a house. I'm going to make thee
a house. And in our Lord's earthly ministry, He dwelt in a tabernacle
made of flesh, and now that he's ascended back to glory, he still
dwells in a temple. It's in the hearts of his people.
He's made thee a house, and it's the house that he built. David
wanted to build a house for the Lord. The Lord tells David, I'm
going to build you a house. David wanted to build a temple
to the Lord, and the Lord makes David and every other one of
his children, he makes them the temple of God. He is able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. David
had grand plans, didn't he? They were nothing compared to
what God was going to do in our Lord Jesus Christ. David's plan
was nothing compared to what God does for his people and his
son. Now, verse 12, back in our text,
he goes on. And when thy days be fulfilled
and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed
after thee. which shall proceed out of thy
bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a
house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever." Now, obviously, the Lord here is speaking of Solomon,
isn't he? He's going to come after David, he'll reign after
David, and Solomon is the one who will build the temple. David
is a man of war. It's not David's purpose to build
the temple. He's going to enlarge the kingdom.
He'll enlarge the borders of the kingdom. He'll gather the
materials for the building of the temple. But Solomon is going
to come after David and build the temple. But at the same time,
our Lord is speaking of Solomon. He's primarily speaking of the
Son of God, the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. And primarily
he's speaking of Christ because all Scripture speaks of him,
doesn't he? The Lord here is speaking of the same seed that
he was speaking of when he told promised Abraham a seed. The
promises were made to Abraham and his seed. He saith not into
seeds as of many, but as of one, and thy seed which is Christ. That's who he's speaking of here.
And he's the one, look in Zechariah chapter 6, he's the one, this
seed, is the one who's going to build the temple of God. Zechariah 6, verse 12. and speak unto him, saying, Thus
speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is
the branch. He shall grow up out of his place,
and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Even he shall build
the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and he
shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon
his throne." He's going to be the king priest, and the counsel
of peace shall be between them both. He's going to be the one. to build the temple, not Solomon.
If you look over in Psalm 127, David reminded Solomon of this.
This is a psalm of degrees that was written for Solomon. And
David reminds Solomon, don't get too full of yourself now,
it's the Lord that builds his temple. He says, except the Lord
build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the
Lord build the house, they labor in vain. He's the one who's going
to build the house. And David understood that what
the Lord said to him was not so much concerning Solomon. It
was concerning the Messiah. David understood that. Now, I
don't know how clearly David saw it or how much of that he
understood. I'm confident we see that finished work more clearly
than David did. But David knew this prophecy
was concerning Christ, the Messiah. If you're still there in Solomon,
look back at Psalm 45. Verse 1, David says, My heart
is indicting a good matter. I speak of things which I have
made touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer. What's he write? What's he write
concerning these things concerning the king? Well, look at verse
6. Thy throne, O God. He's not talking to Solomon there.
Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy
kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore, God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."
He's not talking about Solomon here. He's talking about God.
He's talking about the coming Messiah. Look at Matthew 22.
Matthew 22, verse 41. While the Pharisees were gathered
together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose
son is he? They say unto him, The son of
David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call
him Lord? Saying, The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, that I may find enemies thy footstool.
If David then call him Lord, how is he David's son? And no
man was able to answer him a word. You understand that, don't you?
God's given you the understanding. David understood that. He understood
this one who's coming through my heritage is the Messiah, the
Son of God, and he's going to build the temple. Now, back in
our text, verse 14. The Lord says, I will be his
father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will
chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children
of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it
from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy
kingdom shall be established for ever before thee. Thy throne
shall be established for ever." Now the Lord is speaking of Solomon
here. But again, mostly this is a prophecy concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. Now, the Lord says
of Solomon, he'll be my son. He will be my spiritual son.
And if he committed iniquity, I'll chasten him, just like any
good father would chasten his son if he commits iniquity. But
the Lord promises, I'll not take my mercy away from him, my covenant
mercy. His throne will be established
forever because I'll not forsake him. And boy, it's a good thing. I'm telling you it's a good thing.
As wise as Solomon was, now he's the best this flesh has to offer. He's the wisest man besides our
Lord who ever lived. He did many things that would
cause people to forsake him. I mean foolish things. You and
I would have forsaken him. When he started building temples
to idols, you and I would have forsaken him. God didn't. Why not? Why didn't he forsake
him? I'll tell you a question I'm
a whole lot more interested in. Why didn't God forsake me? Why
didn't God forsake you? Why didn't God forsake any of
his children? Because of his sovereign mercy. It's covenant
mercy. And if we remember that, it'll
keep us humble. It's his covenant mercy. God said, I'm going to give it
to Solomon. I never gave it to Solomon. Well, somebody says,
well, that's not fair. Really? That's not fair? I told
somebody the other week, Janet never would let the girls make
that statement. That's not fair. Because she
never wanted it applied to God. She wouldn't let them make that
statement. Because she never wanted that applied to God. What
He does is fair. It's right. Mercy is God's to
give, isn't it? It's sovereign mercy. It's His
to give and it's His to withhold. It's right. And God's mercy is
like Himself. unchanging. It's eternal. And
if he sets his mercy on any son of Adam, he'll never take it
away. He'll never leave him. And that held true for Solomon,
didn't it? But now the blessing here is the prophecy concerning
our Lord Jesus. He is the eternal son of God.
We're sons and daughters of God, but we've been adopted into his
family. Christ is the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. So it would seem like verse 14 doesn't apply to our
Lord, does it? Doesn't seem like it would apply
to him, but it does. The Lord Jesus Christ is holy,
he's perfect, he's righteous in every way. It was impossible
for him to sin because he's God. He never committed any sin in
thought, word or deed. He's holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners. So this statement about committing
iniquity. cannot be applied personally
to Lord Jesus, can it? But it applies to Him, because
He was made guilty by imputation. He was made to be sin for His
people, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
And when Christ our Savior was made to be sin, God punished
Him. He punished Him with the rod
and the stripes of men. God allowed men to take his precious
son into their hands and do with him as they would. And they beat
him. They beat him with their fists.
They beat him with whips. They lacerated his precious body
just for entertainment. What men did to Christ at Calvary
puts to rest any thought that man loves God. No, he does not. Because when God put his son
into their hands to do with as they would, they didn't worship
him. They didn't love him. They beat him. They tortured
him. God used those men to put the stripes and the rod to his
son, the rod of punishment. God allowed men to punish the
body of his son, but the father himself punished his soul. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. It pleased his justice. It pleased
his righteousness. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. Men didn't put him to grief.
He, the Father, hath put his Son to grief. Thou shalt make
his soul an offering for sin." Now, the Lord promises Solomon,
Solomon, I'll not take my mercy from you. That promise did not
apply to our substitute while he hung on Calvary's tree. Our
substitute experienced the full, unmitigated wrath of God for
every sin that was laid on him without a hint of mercy. As our
Savior hung there on the tree, there was no hint of the Father's
love to him. There was no hint of mercy. There
was no hint of his Father's presence. Every stripe that was laid upon
his body and soul was a stripe of God's justice against the
sin that was laid on him. And by his stripes, we who believe
are healed. made whole, cleansed from every
sin, were delivered from that rod of justice, were delivered
from those stripes of justice because the Son was smitten in
our place. Now, the Father didn't give His
Son a drop of mercy at Calvary. But once that sin was washed
away, the sin was washed away under the sin-atoning blood,
the Father raised Him from the grave, brought Him back to glory
to sit on His right hand and given him preeminence in all
places, seated on an eternal throne. Thy throne, O God, is
forever and ever. In verse 17, according to all
these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan
speak unto David. Now, brethren, I tried to imagine
that conversation, and I can promise you this, that was real
preaching. That was real preaching. Thus
saith the Lord. That was preaching. And we'll
see David's reaction to it next time. David, you're not going
to build me a house. I'm going to make thee a house.
All right. Well, the Lord bless you.