King David had it in his heart to build a house for God, for
the ark of the covenant of God had been dwelling in a tent. But, the Lord sent
Nathan the prophet to speak to David, telling him that it would not be him who
would build a house for God, but it would be his son.
But, this wasn’t just about his son building a physical
building, the temple of God, but this was about God establishing his throne in
the hearts of his people. And, this was a promise of God to establish the house
of David, from whom Jesus Christ would come, which was really the house of the
Lord, the kingdom of Christ.
2 Samuel 7:18-22 ESV
“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? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”
God had a design and a purpose for all of us, and for the establishment
of his throne on earth in the hearts of his people, before he even created
humankind. And, he had a part that each of us who believe in him would play in
the building of his kingdom, too. For, this was all planned out by God even
before the creation of the world.
And, it should humble us, as well, that God would choose any
of us to be a part of the building of that kingdom, for not one of us is
righteous before God in our own merit. Not one of us is deserving of God’s
grace and mercy, or his forgiveness. God didn’t choose us because of our
greatness, but because of his great love and mercy towards us.
Even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us on that
cross that we might become the righteousness of God. He gave his life up for us
that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. It is
only by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, that any of us
can be made righteous and can be acceptable to God, having our sins forgiven
and being given eternal life with God (2 Co. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 2:8-10).
2 Samuel 7:23-24 ESV
“And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God.”
It is important here that we understand that “Israel” is a
name given to God’s holy people, who were the Jews under the Old Covenant, but
who are Christians under the New Covenant. And, we need to understand, too,
that the covenant God made with Abraham was for the establishment of the throne
of Jesus Christ, for God’s promise to Abraham was to him and to his seed,
namely Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16).
We need to also understand here that not all who are physically
descended from physical Israel are Israel, nor are they Abraham’s children or
God’s children just because they are physical descendants of Abraham. But, it
is the children of the promise, i.e. who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and
Savior of their lives, who are God’s children and who are Israel (Rom. 9:6-8;
Gal. 3:26-29).
We need to also understand that, through Jesus’ death on a
cross, God destroyed the barrier that stood between Jew and Gentile and he made
us both one people of God through faith in Jesus Christ. So, it is no longer
Jew and Gentile, but it is Christian and non-Christian. And, the Jews who do
not believe in Jesus Christ are the same as the non-Jews who don’t believe in
Jesus Christ. There is no difference. For, if you deny Christ, then you are
antichrist (anti-God) (Eph. 2:14-18; Gal. 4:22-31; 1 Jn. 2:22).
So, God’s people are those who are trusting in Jesus Christ
to be Lord and Savior of their lives, who are dying with Christ to sin, and who
are living with Christ and to Christ and to his righteousness, all in the power
of God within them. They are not perfect people, but they are those who are now
walking (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God, and no longer according
to the flesh (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn.
1:5-9).
2 Samuel 7:25-27 ESV
“And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.”
God’s plan all along was that his Son Jesus Christ, God the
Son, would be the promised “seed” of Abraham through whom all nations would be
blessed. The “house of David” is truly the house of the Lord, of Christ. The
Jews looked ahead to the coming of the Messiah. We look back to when he did come.
Only by faith in God (in Jesus Christ) and in his promises were (and are) any
of the Jews saved and are any of us non-Jews saved from our sins.
And, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament this
faith is evidenced by repentance and by obedience to God and to his commands.
We must leave our lives of sin behind us, and we must turn to God to follow him
in his ways and in his truth if we want to have eternal life with God. For, if
we don’t, and if we persist in our sins, and if sin is what we practice, then
we are not forgiven our sins, and we don’t have eternal life with God (Lu.
9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-24; Gal. 6:7-8; Tit. 2:11-14).
For, God’s plan for his people all along was that he alone
would be our God and that we would be his people, his possession, and that we
would honor God with our lives, and that we would no longer live to please the
sinful cravings of our flesh. And, it was that His throne would be established
in our hearts, i.e. that he would be Lord (owner-master), and that our lives
would now be surrendered to him for his will and for his purposes. Amen!
Full
Release
An
Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.
Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.
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