A Temple for God

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

A TEMPLE FOR GOD

2 Sam 7:1-16

7:1 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.'"

NIV

There is much to find in this revelation the LORD gave to Nathan, and he will report this to King David, and he will give a response, but first, we want to focus for a moment on that first truth we find in the conversation between Nathan and David. Even before that, we see the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies. We can take that truth to the bank, so to speak. The Lord has given us rest from all of our enemies. Of course, we really don't have the type of enemies David or Israel did, yet that old enemy of our souls is still out there trying to ensnare us or entangle us with one of his schemes. However, because of Jesus, who has given us his peace, we can say that we have peace in our hearts and the LORD has given us peace with any and all enemies. David showed humility once again, thinking how he lived in such a great cedar palace, but the LORD was in a tent. Now, it is not that the LORD can be confined to a tent, but the idea that Israel saw that the ark of God represented the presence of the LORD. When David mentioned what he wanted to do, Nathan made this great statement. “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.” However, the LORD spoke a revelation to Nathan, and that David would not be the one to build a place for the LORD, but his son Solomon would. Nevertheless, the truth of the LORD being with David is where we can enter the narrative. We know the LORD is with us, because first, he sent Jesus to show us the way, teach us, so that we can learn from him, for he is gentle and humble of heart. Then, because he went to the cross and took all our sins upon himself and took that penalty of death, we no longer have that penalty of death. Still, he gave us life as he was resurrected, and when he ascended back to the right hand of the Father, he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, a temple not built by human hands, or by the will of man, but by the hand of God, as he gave us a new birth, born from above. This new creation is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can say with confidence, the Lord is with us, for he is within us. Solomon may have built a wonderful temple for the ark of the LORD, which was destroyed, but the Lord has built a temple in us for himself, that will never be destroyed, even through death, for we will still live. So we can say, “We are a temple for God”.