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Creating
a New Dynasty
INTRODUCTION
The chief characters in
our lesson today are King David, the celebrated ruler of Israel and his
Lord God, who brings great and precious promises to David. In consideration of what
will be one of God’s most gracious promises, it is important to look
briefly at the life of David and see why these promises were made to him.
David is a forerunner and ancestor of Jesus Christ and is one of
the persons regarded as being a picture of Christ, given Jesus’ own
sentiments to that effect. David, called a man after
God's own heart, (1 Samuel 13:14), also pictures the life of each
believer, and is a mirror for us. His
history shows his call by God, his long struggle against many enemies, to
obtain and consolidate his kingdom, his worship and victory, his failures
and God forgiveness, and the result of all these events in his life. Here
is a believer indwelt by the Spirit of God, often open to the instruction
of the Spirit, and willing to be taught by him, but nevertheless flawed
and imperfect. Our lesson will show how
this man of God opted for tradition rather than Scripture when faced with
a choice and what happened to him when he faced the wrath and anger of
God. The lesson will show that
God can regard as wrong, a great idea with the right motivation. We will also see how a
wiser David properly appreciated and thanked to God for what God did, and
how He God chose to initiate the things of life that he wishes in proper
time. All of this teaches us
how we should behave as we struggle against our enemies, and grow toward
spiritual maturity. Our story really begins
when David finally achieved full authority within the Kingdom. After
conquering the Citadel of Zion, the city of Jerusalem, he made it the
capital, and then following the destruction the Philistine enemy, he
immediately set about to properly organize the people of Israel for
worship. This established
worship had seriously degenerated since the death of Eli, the capture of
the Ark by the Philistine tribes, and it’s removal from the Tabernacle. The Ark of the Covenant
was really the true centre of the Mosaic Sanctuary, but now its keeping
place was empty of this Mercy Seat. David therefore began his
moves to bring back the Ark of God, to place it in the capital of his
Kingdom, to make this capital the central point of worship for the nation
of Israel, and to have the High Priest with the Urim and Thummim close to
him. It is also important to
remember that in this intervening period when the Ark was away from the
Tabernacle, that there were two sanctuaries. One at Gibeon presided over
by the High Priest Zadok of the line of Eleazar, and the other presided
over by Abiathar, who had escaped Saul’s massacre of the priests at Nob,
and who had fled to David and had officiated as High Priest in his camp,
doing his long exile and persecution by Saul. David might have thought
that bringing the Ark to Zion would give some breathing space for God to
bring an end to the double priesthood, and allow some direct revelation as
to the arrangements that he David ought to make. The Ark had been captured
by the Philistines in the time of Eli and was taken to the house of their
God Dagon, but there the pagan idol god was supernaturally decapitated and
damaged. A plague savaged the Philistines, and the frightened Philistines
had put the Ark on a brand-new cart, and the oxen, without any guidance,
headed straight back to Israel, stopping at Beth-shemesh, where the people
rejoiced but some ignored the Commandments of God and looked into the Ark,
as a result, God killed seventy of them for that offence.
The frightened people sent the Ark to the nearest big city called
Kiriath-jearim or Baale-judah, a Canaanite town, and put a Levite in
charge of it, leaving it there for seventy five years. The Ark was not used in
the days of Saul or in the days of Samuel.
Such were the times in Israel. It was strange, but here
was the Ark, the presence of God sitting in one place practically
forgotten, while the tabernacle was in another place, with sacrifices for
forgiveness being done every day. David then made his
preparations; he called a meeting of the leaders of Israel, and went to
bring the nationally neglected Ark back from where it had sat for seventy
five years in the house of Abinadab the Levite. All the people were
worshiping, rejoicing, glorifying God, and having a ball before God.
But something was wrong. The
people were rejoicing, worshiping, and celebrating, but yet they were
sinning at the same time. I wonder if we ever think
that we can be sincere in what we are doing, worshiping and rejoicing, but
yet violating the principles of the Word of God. God had instructed Israel
in Exodus 25:12-15 and Numbers 4:15 that the Ark was to be carried by
Levites with long staves on their shoulders, and only Levites from the
family of Kohath. No one else was to touch the Ark of God, except for some
specific Priests on specific occasions. God had specified how He
was to be kept separate from sinners, and the way He should be handled.
The people of Israel had written rules. The Philistines, when God
had battered them, didn't know any better, so God allowed their
innovations and allowed them to lift the Ark onto a new cart and they
hurriedly sent it away. David and his people however knew better than to
follow this innovative practice. David built a brand-new
cart, put the Ark in the middle of it, and in utter sincerity, dedicated
and completely devoted to God, started down the road to Jerusalem.
The two sons of the Levite in whose house the Ark had been kept,
Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart. On the way the oxen stumbled, the Ark look
like it was going to fall off the cart, and Uzzah, the son of Abinadab
took hold of the Ark to steady it. Uzzah was worshiping God
and was probably trying to do his best, but God considered this to be a
grave error, and was angry. God
smote him for his error, and he died right there by the Ark. He had made
his decision to do what he thought was right but in so doing disregarded
the Commandments of God. He
knew God's word, he had no excuse, for he had been born in the very house
in which the Ark was kept. He
was a Levite and his job was to teach the law. David was shocked at this
unexpected calamity. The
procession and the music stopped. He
was angry that this misfortune occurred at his undertaking.
But his anger changed to fear of the Lord, for he thought that if
merely touching the Ark was punished in that dreadful manner, how much
more he would be in danger bringing it there to himself in Zion. The Ark was immediately
steered to the house of a nearby Levite and there it remained for three
months. 1 Chronicles 15:13 tells
us that David realized soon after, the reason
“ The Lord made that breach upon us”. Uzzah was singled
out and made an example because of his, David’s, and the people’s
error in not doing things in the correct order. We get angry often
because we think that God is not fair.
Our anger really results because God does not conform to our
standards. But if we obey God
we will not have to worry about the wrath of God or the anger of God. God blessed the house of
Obed-edom where the Ark was, and David suddenly realized that God was not
mad him per se, and still loved him, but was insistent that his holiness
must be respected, that their hearts had to be right with God, and that
they were to be obedient to his Word. This time David followed strictly the instructions of the law, instructed the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves, and carry the Ark according to the right way. They did this with many sacrifices offering atonement, with solemn worship, with music and with dancing. The happy David danced with all his might before the Lord with such vigour that he was accused by his wife of forgetting that he was a king and acting like an ordinary man. Nevertheless, the
Ark of the Lord was now safely brought to Jerusalem where God wanted it to
be. We now should remember that the honour of God is very important. His Word is to be followed. Unrequested innovation is not a good thing. We must not follow the Philistine way of doing things. God is not to be provoked. We must look at what God
has done in the past and not reject or oppose its judgments. The judgments
of God on us are there to stir us to reform and correct what is not being
done correctly. We must not be
presumptuous in thinking that because God loves us, we are doing so much
for him, and he is so much on our side, that we can get away with
anything. Sincerity in
serving God is never enough. Things
must be done in God's way in accomplishing God’s will. We must be diligent to correct our effort and make peace with God. It is not God's job to follow our program and to do our pet projects. It is our ob to stay in close relationship with him and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in His program. Once having repented, it
is good to show our immense joy and pleasure, and sanctify our praises and
prayers with sacrifices to God. Now that the Ark was
safely lodged on Mount Zion, and God had given him rest from his enemies
David had another idea. He had fought his enemies
and won. They were all humbled. One might have thought
things would now be totally different but David was not yet able to learn
the lesson of Uzzah. We have a lot to learn about the heart of man, even
the man who loves God, praises God, and constantly seeks after God. The Ark was now in a
rough old Tabernacle. David
wanted to build a proper palatial Temple for the House of God.
He desired to do everything he could for the glory and honour of
God. He was grateful for the honour that God had bestowed on him. His
motivation was good. He was uneasy that he was
living in a fabulous palace, and he wanted a better place for the Ark. He
could not enjoy his own house while the House of God had second rate
housing and contents. He told Nathan the
prophet, and Nathan prematurely advised David that it was a good idea,
even though he had failed to consult God. God commanded the prophet
in the night immediately following to stop David in his tracks. He was
instructed to convey a message to David. God gave two reasons why
he did not want David to build him a Temple.
First, he had always before lived in a tent that was located among
the people. The Tabernacle had served well and could continue to serve
well. Obviously God did not
think that outward show, pomp and ceremony, was necessary for his service.
The substance must be valued and not the show. Second, he had never
commanded any leader to build a Temple.
So the leaders were not negligent in not thinking about or building
a Temple. The time for such a work had not yet come.
Obviously God would decide the worship that was acceptable and he
would institute it. There was
no reason for David to put in place what God had never before ordained. Let
us remember that though the Ark of God was an extremely important vessel
for him, it was not God, and was not God's dwelling place. It was really the point
at which God met his people, and that is why the tent in which the Ark
was, was called the “tent of meeting”. Clearly God cannot be
said to live in a tent, or in a Temple, and it appeared that David was
attributing more than was necessary or proper to this place where God met
his people. Let us never forget what
the true meaning of the commandment “Thou shall have no other God
before me”, the first commandment,
and also the importance of the second commandment “Thou shall
not make any grave and images”. Men have a great
difficulty to walk by faith and always want to create something or to
establish somewhere that helps them to see God. Believers seem to always
want to see God, to feel something, to be somewhere where God is supposed
to be specifically, not realizing that God is everywhere, and even in
their hearts. Believers all
seem to have that strange need to put God in a box that they can see, and
so they develop crucifixes, relics, religious articles, and go to a
physical location to meet a God who is, but who they don't seem to
understand, is transcendent over the entire universe. God has told us that we
should meet together, for this is very important for us.
The community of believers meeting together is essential for our
development. But we do not,
and never have needed to meet in a gorgeous location. The reality is that all
believers should be this “tent of meeting”, a tent which is
ordinary on the outside, but gorgeous on the inside.
It is in this “ tent” or “ Temple” that the Holy Spirit
wants to reside. Even when God allowed a
Temple to be built, He made it clear that the Temple was for his Name, and
not for him. (2 Samuel 7:13). God is far bigger than a place. Even when we are the
Temple of the living God and accordingly God meets us there, we know that
though God is really there inside us, He is also everywhere else in the
universe. David had this “
religious” feeling, and wanted to give expression to it but God had
other ideas. He did give
Israel a physical Temple, that was elegant and palatial, but that led to
all kind of problems for them. They failed the test. God did however first
remind David that he had done great things for him, taking him from the
fields to the throne, protected him from all his enemies, and made his
name great. THE TEXT
Verse. 10-16. God promised David that:
This was a greater
promise than the giving of permission to build a Temple.
God thus gently said “No” to David. His seed would build the
Temple but not him. Clearly, it was not
because David was personally unworthy, and could be blamed for his
behaviour. In fact, God was
closer to David that He was the Solomon.
In addition, David had been fighting the wars of God to establish,
maintain, and defend the kingdom of God.
These wars were all very necessary.
They had to be fought. But the time had not yet come, and peace was not yet secured and the government not fully established. That had to come before the building of the Temple would be allowed. A man of peace, a type of the Prince of Peace would build the Temple. One writer comments on the magnitude of this promise contained in Psalm 89:30: “ No earthly kingdom, and no posterity of any single man, has eternal duration like the heaven and the earth; but the different families of men become extinct, as the different earthly Kingdoms perish, and other families and Kingdoms take their place. The posterity of David, therefore, who only last forever by running out in a person who lives for ever, i.e., by culminating in the Messiah, who lives for ever, and of whose Kingdom there is no end. The promise consequently refers to the posterity of David, commencing with Solomon and closing with Christ. As the kingdom endures
for ever, so the house built for the dwelling place of the Lord must also
endure for ever… The earthly form is
perishable, the essence eternal. This
essence was the dwelling of God in the midst of His people, which did not
cease with the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem, but culminated in
the appearance of Jesus Christ, in-home Jehovah came to His people, and,
as God the Word made human nature His dwelling place in the glory
of the only begotten Son of the Father; so that Christ would say to the
Jews, “ Destroy this Temple (i.e., the Temple of His body), and
in three days I will build it up again”. (John 2:19).
It is with the building up of the Temple destroyed by the Jews,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that the complete
and essential fulfillment of our promise begins.
It is perpetuated with the Christian Church in the indwelling of
the Father and Son through the Holy Ghost in the hearts of believers (John
14:23; 1 Cor. 6:19), by which the Church of Jesus Christ is built up a
spiritual house of God, composed of living stones (1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter
2: 5); and it will be perfected in the completion of the kingdom of God at
the end of time in the new Jerusalem, which shall come down upon the new
earth out of heaven from God, as the true tabernacle of God with men. The seed of David was
chastised for its sins; and as its apostasy continued, it was humbled yet
more and more, until the earthly throne of David became extinct.
Nevertheless the Lord did not cause his mercy to depart from him. When the house of David had fallen and into decay, Jesus
Christ was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, to raise up
the throne of His father David again, and it reign for ever as King over
the house of Jacob (Luke 1:32-33), and to establish the house and Kingdom
of David for ever.” Verse 17.
Nathan heard from God in a vision, not in a dream but while he was
awake. Nathan received a word from God in the night and immediately he
went to David. David
would now know that his dynasty would reign forever. Several
prophets tell us of the greater fulfillment.
Jeremiah 23:5-6 reads:“ Behold, the days are coming… Isaiah
9:6-7: “For unto us a child is born…. Let us understand that
what we are looking at is the “New Covenant”, a covenant which was as
old as man, for it started in the Garden of Eden.
We call this the Davidic covenant, for now God made a covenant with
David, including the physical as well as the spiritual children of
Abraham. This matter had begun with David's desire to build a physical house for God, but our God, who is not only transcendent but imminent, decided to introduce David to the reality behind the physical tent. Verse 18.
David was certainly a man of God, and he realized what God was
telling him. He submitted
himself to God, and began a humble prayer of thanks, showing that he
understood the sublime and critical importance of the future that God
promised him, his house and all people. David went into the
sanctuary now erected on Mount Zion, and remained there or tarried before
the Lord. There is some question as to whether the word in the text means David, like Moses in Exodus 17:12 assumed a sitting posture, as opposed to the normal posture of kneeling before the Lord. It is felt by some that
he sat upon his heels, in the posture that the ancient Egyptians practiced
when they were in their shrines. His thanksgiving prayer
exuded humility, and exaltation of God.
He confessed his astonishment at how God would even consider giving
such a gift to one that was of such humble origins and who was so
unworthy. Though he was successful,
useful, well loved by his people and also dreaded by enemies, he declared
that he was a man that was not worth God taking such great notice and
attention of him. Even his house which
belong to the royal tribe, he considered to be poor in Judah, with he
himself being the least in his father’s house. Clearly then he was
declaring that it was God who had brought him to his present state, by his
own works alone, and that his attainments were due to the favour of God. Note how this great man
of God in the midst of his achievement had a low thought of himself.
He realized that he was at best a sinner, and that his great gifts
and his achievements were nothing, except insofar as God had given them to
him. When we see many showing pride in themselves and their achievements, we know that they are not really following the ways of God. Many men who claim to be men of God like to promote themselves but here we have the true model for life. Verse 19.
The love and condescension demonstrated in how God is treating him,
his servant, reflects only a tiny part of the character and nature of the
Lord God. This of course is a reflection of the love of God, reflected in
his law, and the principles that He has laid down to explain his attitude
and actions to men. God is here showing himself to be merciful, and
affectionate, and Davis is amazed at this. David knows that God
knows man, and yet this does not change the love that God has for men, his
patience, the extent of his mercy, and the fact that he still is willing
to still give theses unimaginable great gifts to men. For David, as God recited
his history, knew that God had done great things for him already, and yet
had still promised to do even more. Remember that God has
planned and prepared much more for his people than they can ever imagine. The gifts of God and the
comforts that he has provided for his saints through thick and thin, and
through their iniquities, are great and ‘invaluable’ gifts. In fact, these are too little for God to give to his children, so great is his love to his children. One writer states: “Of this we must
own, as David here, (1). That it is far beyond what we could expect: “Is
this the manner of men?”, that is, First, Can man expect to
be so dealt with his Maker? Is this the law of Adam? Note, Considering what
the character and condition of man are, it is very surprising and amazing
that God should deal with him as he does. Man is a mean creature, and
therefore under a law of distance- unprofitable to God, and therefore
under a law of disesteem and disregard- guilty and obnoxious, and
therefore under a law of death and damnation. But how unlike are God’s
dealings with man to this law of Adam. He is brought near to God, purchased at a high rate, taken into covenant and communion with God; could this ever have been thought of? Secondly, Do
men usually deal thus with one another? No, the way of our God is far
above the manner of men?” Verse 20.
Is there more I can ask or wish for? said David. David did not try
to express his gratitude and more, but simply said that God knew
everything, and knew how he felt. God knew that the promises he had made
to him were more than he could be worthy of.
He cannot thank him enough. We too must understand that our thankful hearts are open to God, and he knows everything about us. Verse 21.
God had made a previous promise to the Father's, and it was
because of this that he had done such great things for David. God and made these
promises because of his grace. He
had done great things for his people, made precious promises,
providentially provided for his people and secured his promises with his
covenant so that they could never be altered.
The heart of God was responsible for everything that he had
graciously designed and done. Note that David recognized that there was an unbreakable connection between Jacobs prophecy in Genesis 49:10 and the promises of God that Nathan had told him about. In 1 Chronicles 28:4; Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: David indicated that he knew that Judah had been elected as ruler, which of course comes from Jacob’s blessing, and now God had focused on his family, and had then focused on him as the one through which the messianic prophecies of blessing would be fulfilled. God had chosen him as the vehicle, and therefore his government would continue everlasting. See also Numbers 24:17 in regard to the messianic blessing, Verse 22. In David's mind therefore, the God who could do all this is certainly the great God, the incomparable God, who is alone great. David adored the glory of
God and the greatness of God. God,
the divine Majesty, has graciously condescended to honour him. When we consider what God has done for us, he becomes more and more glorious in our eyes. We should therefore acknowledge that there is none like our God, that there is no other God beside him, and that his power and goodness is infinitely greater than what we can imagine. Verse 23-24.
Not only is God the incomparable God, but the things that He has
done for Israel are in themselves incomparable. his God therefore deserves
great esteem and praise. God has gone out of his
way and done the great work of redeeming Israel. Through the miracles and
wonders he had done in Egypt, He had established himself as the great and
incomparable God, who was omnipotent and fearsome.
He had destroyed and shamed the pagan gods in front of all the
nations. He had wiped out the Canaanite nations, and given Israel the
Promised Land as a possession. He had then created all
the necessary conditions for the people to become a kingdom.
He had not only liberated Israel out of Egypt, conquered Canaan,
but established Israel as his people and his possession, and then promised
the everlasting existence of the throne of David. God had done everything necessary to prove that the nation of Israel were his people, and that God had taken them to himself, chosen them, and that He was their God. This was mutual and immutable. The covenant was sure and good.
Verse 25-26.
God had promised, but now David prayed that God would fulfill the
promise exactly as he had spoken. We know that we can pray
to God in confident assurance that his word would be firm, already knowing
that God would fulfill his promises.
When we pray according to the will of God we can rest assured that
God hears us. We should now ask ourselves what promises we need from God. Do we need guidance? Do we need help in time of need? Do we need forgiveness? Do we need peace? Let us discern the will of God as reflected in his Scriptures. Let us read again what he has to say in Psalms 32: 8: I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye; Hebrews 4:16: Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.; John 14:27: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.; 1 John 1: 9: Peace I
leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I
unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Philippians 1:6: Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: We must understand that God wants us to have faith in him, to wait on him, to pray that he will grant us the promises that are good for us according to his will. Verse 27.
The revelation of God to him had encouraged David.
He could therefore confidently offer this prayer.
God had promised to do great things for him.
They were too great for him to ask of God but God had of his own
accord graciously given them to him. David's heart had now found its resting place, and his heart was lifted up. Verse 28-29.
David now summed up by celebrating how great God was and how great
his promise was. Thy will be done forever, said David. He magnified the name of God by his prayer. He spoke of God as the Lord of Hosts. He directed all the glory to the name of God, not to his name. He prayed that all will end in happiness forever in the perfect and everlasting kingdom of Messiah. CONCLUSION
All true believers desire
the quick fulfillment of the perfect kingdom of the Messiah.
Let our prayer be according to the will of God. Let us not be led aside
by vain show, and the things that appeal to the eyes, but ensure that our
bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. God made great promises
to David and he has fulfilled them. By
the work of the Messiah we have been grafted into that original Olive
tree. We can rest in Jesus.
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