David had the right thought. He thought about all that the Lord had given to him: the success and the rest that he had from his enemies. He looked at his own palace in all its beauty. Then he considered the home of the Lord. Perhaps with a note of shame.
He said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of Cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." 2 Samuel 7:2
What a realization! Can you imagine a king or a President living in a tent while you dwelt in a mansion. It would never or should never happen. David greatly loved God and though it was understandable that God dwelt in the tent when they were a wondering people, it seemed out of place for God to remain there. It was time for God to have a permanent home! For just as Jerusalem was here to stay so was their God. It was the only honorable thing to do. I'm sure we would all agree.
During my last blog I explained that God was please with this idea but left that task for his son and If you read about Solomon's temple you know how grand it was.
Today this makes me wonder about how we treat God. Today we know that God lives in heaven and God lives in the heart of each believer. So God's temple is within you! But I wonder what does the temple of your heart look like? Have you made room and provisions for God to dwell there?
King David considered building the temple in a moment of reflection from the business of his day. It says there was piece in the land. So I can imagine that this was a time to breath and yes contemplate upon the importance of God. Perhaps he was embarrassed that he did not consider this thought earlier.
What about you? Are you so busy that you have ignored the fact or perhaps overlooked the fact that God dwells within. I believe God waits for you and for me each day in that temple. Do you have a nice sitting room to contemplate God and God's goodness? Is your temple an adequate reflection of your love? If so. Is it a fitting expression worthy of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings?
I'm not talking about your physical body. Yes we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should take care of our physical bodies. With that said, I believe it is more important that we care for our Spiritual body. We need to learn to see the shape of our Spiritual body as an expression of our love and devotion to God. The kind of love and devotion that David wanted to show as he contemplated moving God from a tent to a fitting temple.
To Ponder: Is my Spiritual temple for the Lord more like a tent or a palace adorned for a king?
Also, how can you clean out that temple and make it a true home worthy of God. I know that many of you simply enjoy reading what I write but today I want to encourage you to share your thoughts with me. In the comment section please share one of the ways that has helped you to adorn your holy temple. Are there special disciplines or prayers?
Sometimes it's easy to only do those Spiritual disciplines which will be helpful to us. But I think for today we need to think about what we can do for God with no expectation of any return. I'm reminded from the Scriptures that God inhabits our praise. God loves our worship! Today let us consider the condition of the sanctuary of our heart.
Showing posts with label Prophet Nathan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prophet Nathan. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
How to respond when a blessing skips over us.
King David was a mighty man of God. He wasn't perfect by any means but he was a great king.. Through his leadership the Armies of Israel had great victories and the name of the Lord was exalted among the people.
At the beginning of chapter 7 David is reflecting upon his life. In verse one of 2 Samuel 7 it says, "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." David's intent was to build a permanent home for God where the ark of the Lord would dwell. This would be the first permanent structure for the ark. At that time the Ark had always traveled from place to place with the people in a movable tent.
Now since God had blessed him and the people so much, David desired to erect a permanent resting place for God. But through a dream the Prophet Nathan was given the instructions that though God would greatly bless David and the armies of Israel, it would be the blessing of his offspring to build the temple for the Lord.
This brings us to the David's prayer of thanksgiving and praise offered to God as it is recorded in part in our text for this week. "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." 2 Samuel 7:28,29
If you didn't already know that the building of the temple of the Lord was reserved for David's son, by listening to his word of joy you would think that David himself was given permission to build the Temple. You might expect a note of sorrow in his voice because the blessing was being past on to another.
Today we are an ego driven society. We want to do great things and to get the glory for it but David found glory in the assurance that God's blessing would fall upon his home through his descendants. He felt over joyed that his son would have this great blessing.
The point for today is simply this. We may or may not do great things in life but God is faithful and will bring blessing upon our children because of our faithfulness.
David had faith in this fact because he understood that every promise of God is trustworthy!
As parents especially, we need to live our lives in such a way that not only will we experience the blessing of God but perhaps more importantly we need live so our children and their children will receive even greater Joy. I think David understood this and so should we.
To ponder: What wonders would you like your children to experience in life? What blessings do you hope for them? How will your life and legacy be a blessing to your children.
In a day of over active ego's wouldn't it be great if someone rejoiced when the blessings they had hoped for where passed on to another.
At the beginning of chapter 7 David is reflecting upon his life. In verse one of 2 Samuel 7 it says, "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." David's intent was to build a permanent home for God where the ark of the Lord would dwell. This would be the first permanent structure for the ark. At that time the Ark had always traveled from place to place with the people in a movable tent.
Now since God had blessed him and the people so much, David desired to erect a permanent resting place for God. But through a dream the Prophet Nathan was given the instructions that though God would greatly bless David and the armies of Israel, it would be the blessing of his offspring to build the temple for the Lord.
This brings us to the David's prayer of thanksgiving and praise offered to God as it is recorded in part in our text for this week. "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." 2 Samuel 7:28,29
If you didn't already know that the building of the temple of the Lord was reserved for David's son, by listening to his word of joy you would think that David himself was given permission to build the Temple. You might expect a note of sorrow in his voice because the blessing was being past on to another.
Today we are an ego driven society. We want to do great things and to get the glory for it but David found glory in the assurance that God's blessing would fall upon his home through his descendants. He felt over joyed that his son would have this great blessing.
The point for today is simply this. We may or may not do great things in life but God is faithful and will bring blessing upon our children because of our faithfulness.
David had faith in this fact because he understood that every promise of God is trustworthy!
As parents especially, we need to live our lives in such a way that not only will we experience the blessing of God but perhaps more importantly we need live so our children and their children will receive even greater Joy. I think David understood this and so should we.
To ponder: What wonders would you like your children to experience in life? What blessings do you hope for them? How will your life and legacy be a blessing to your children.
In a day of over active ego's wouldn't it be great if someone rejoiced when the blessings they had hoped for where passed on to another.
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