1 Chronicles 17:1-27
17:1 God had laid the framework for a strong and prosperous kingdom. David was a instrumental in the establishment of the kingdom, he had devoted his entire life to building it, one brick at a time as God handed them down. Still, David was not yet content to settle into domesticity; it bothered David that while he resided in a solid home, the ark was placed "under a tent with curtains."
17:2 David brought his frustration to Nathan the prophet, he wanted to build a more elaborate temple for the ark. Nathan responded to David with encouragement: David had a track record for having the support of God. God had authorized David to build quite a lot in his life, the support of the kingdom, the kingdom itself, and it seemed to Nathan a reasonable endeavor.
17:3 That night, the word of God came to Nathan with a message for David. We can always rely on God to be present and attentive during our questions; even though David had not directly addressed God, He kept abreast with David's concerns. Therefore once David voiced his discontentment, God was already prepared to respond to it with plan and purpose. Oftentimes, we ruminate for a long time about something before we even, or ever, discuss the matter with God.
17:4 Just as we can always rely on God to be present and attentive during our questions, we can also count on Him to be straightforward and concise in responding to them: David did not need to ruminate any longer about building a house for God because God responded, "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in." Well, that's settled.
17:5 God declares that David should not build Him a house for the primary reason of: He does not need one and never has. Our God is not stagnant, in fact He is rather fluid and flexible. He goes where His children go. His presence cannot be housed. And though perhaps David understood this, God wanted to reiterate the fact that His presence superseded the confines of worldly things.
17:6 The second reason David should not build God a house: He has never asked for one. David is distressed about the location of the ark but God points out that he has never accused anyone of not building him an elaborate house. From God's perspective, the House of God is already built. God's relationship with humanity is a divine-effort to fill that heavenly house.
17:7-8 God explained to David that they were doing really well as they already were: David housed God in whole heart and soul. God's presence within David had resulted in the diminishment of his enemies and the exaltation of himself.
17:9-10 And anyway, God effectively continues, I still have plans to build for you; let's utilize this time to benefit you, rather than me. God selflessly declined David's offer of a house because He preferred to continue to cement His people's place on the earth. The immensity of God's generosity is so supernatural that it's often baffling to us:
David: God, I want to build You a house.
God: You may not built me a house because I want to built a house for you.
Faith is the channel and landing pad of blessings. The wider, longer, higher, deeper our faith, the wider, longer, higher, deeper the blessing. David's faith blew the doors of limitation off and therefore God's generosity could freely flourish, explode and abound.
17:11-12 This is one of the times in scripture that God's sense of humor, in addition to His generosity, is evident. David began this conversation wanting to do something for God. Instead, God squashed that and kept piling on things He would like to do for David and His people.
God began to speak to David about his posterity and the future of the kingdom. He promised to set up David's son as king and to establish his kingdom. Oh, and since David was so concerned about it, sure: David's son would built a house for God.
17:13-14 God quickly moves on from mention of the house. He continues to make promises: to love and guide David's son with steadfast mercy, to establish his kingdom as everlasting. David's genuine love created a context for God to fill. The vehemence of His love for God propelled a kingdom into eternity. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus, whose perfect love and obedience to God propels an eternal kingdom!
17:15 Nathan finished delivering the message to David.
17:16 God's response just did not compute to David. He felt unworthy of such a generous response.
The system of our world is all about give-and-take, about earning and receiving. The system of heaven is solely about giving. When we give every aspect of our heart and life to God, we discover that the reason He wanted our heart and life in the first place was to fill them. This concept is somewhat foreign to us because it is not the way our world works. But God walks into our lives with bags of blessings on His arms and shoulders like He's just gone on a shopping spree specifically for us. And it isn't our birthday; it isn't Valentine's day; it isn't Christmas or any holiday it's just because He loves us. It's just because He thought we would like to have it.
17:17-19 David does not understand but he is grateful; that is the best attitude we can have toward a life tethered to God, both in meager times and times of plenty. Because as long as we have made Him the authority in our lives and are obedient to His will, He's working all things for our good, Romans 8:28.
17:20 David had a moment of pure awe: there is none like You. Swaddled in the perfect, unfathomably comprehensive love of God David is reduced to one thought only: there is none like You. Out of everything he has seen and heard and felt and known, none of it compared to God.
17:21-22 David considered the well-being of God's people - He had taken delicate and emphatic care of them. God claimed the tribes of Jacob and loved them so thoroughly that their lives were not at all comparable to the lives of the nations around them. It was not to show off, it was to gather. The robustness of the kingdom and the joy of its people was always intended to drawn others closer to God, too.
17:23-24 What else can David do but accept all of these new promises from God? Let it be, David said. Let the will and awe-some glory of God take full control.
17:25-27 Overwhelmed by the magnitude of the blessing, David humbly accepts in ceaseless prayer. David's life is a ceaseless prayer of surprise and gratitude for God. In seven sentences, David uses the term "Your servant" six times. The joy and prosperity of David's life was all made possible by his obedient and steadfast service to God. It was all made possible because David lived how God instructed Him to live. It was all my possible by David's faith in God's instructions and assurances.
God does not think of you as a nameless servant; God knows your name, 91:14. David uses the word servant with honor and gratitude; for we do not have a master-servant relationship with God. We have a father-son, father-daughter, relationship with God. Our lives in service to God are lives spent in service to our own well-being; God has made it so. Every command He gives is to make our life better. God could have chosen to use His authority to make us slaves; but instead of commanding or requiring us to build for Him, every command He gives is an effort to build for us. He puts us first, and Himself last, every time.
As we can see through David's life, God really cherishes our love for Him.
As we can see through David's life, God really cherishes our love for Him.
