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Introduction
Crocodile Dundee, a movie about an Australian man of the outback, was on TNT
this past week. It’s a funny little adventure movie. And one of my favorite
scenes from that movie is when Crocodile Dundee is in New York City, walking
down the street with his girl friend. Suddenly, out from of the shadows
emerges a group of thugs. One of them flips open a switchblade and demands
that Dundee hand over his wallet. With pure poise and calm, Dundee looks at
the would-be muggers, looks at the little switchblade, and says, “That’s not
a knife… (then he pulls out this huge knife and says) THIS is a knife.” And
of course, the thieves run away. It’s a great
scene to help us dive in and understand our passage for today.
David, resting in his house of cedar thinks over his plans; what should he
do next? He thinks to himself, “The Ark of the Covenant rests in a tent…
hmmm… I’ve got an idea! I’m going to build a house for it;
a temple, as magnificent as my own.” It’s
as if David says to God… “That tent you’re living in, that’s not a
house. This is a house.”
Now we don’t really know why David wanted to build this house for God. David
may have been feeling sorry for God; looking at his own new house of cedar
and then at God’s tent. He may have felt that it was the least he could do.
Or maybe he was wanting to give God a permanent home in Jerusalem in order
to forever keep God before the people. That would be a good reason.
But maybe his motives were less pure. Maybe he was just trying to sure-up
his authority and rule; claim God as a way to legitimize his kingship.
Or perhaps it was his way of trying to earn God’s favor; an “If I build it,
God has to like me” sort of thing.
Well, regardless of his true motives, David now has a bold new plan and he
runs to the prophet Nathan, his pastor, seeking his stamp of approval.
And of course, Nathan gives David his building permit, saying “Do
whatever is on your mind, surely God is with you.”
And then God says, “Nah! I’m not interested. I’ve got other plans.”
What? God is not interested. God doesn’t want a permanent home in
Jerusalem. God doesn’t want a temple that will draw God’s people together to
worship him? What does God want? What
is God interested in?
That same night, God’s word comes to Nathan. God wants Nathan to share God’s
plans with David. So David wants to build
me a house. Why? Have I ever said I needed one? Have I ever asked for
one? You tell David what I think about his plans and then share with him my
plans. Tell him, “That’s not a house! This is a house!”
And Nathan is filled in on the plans God has for David’s house; not a home,
not a temple, but a kingdom and a promise that will last forever.
Drama Shift #1:
Lesson One - Humility
Its funny, if you notice it, how the drama shifts. In the first three
verses, it’s a story about David “the King”. Verse
1: “Now when the king was
settled…” “the king (in
verse 2) said to the prophet Nathan”…
Verse 3: Nathan said to the king…
But notice what happens in
verses 4 and 5 when Nathan is confronted by God. David is no longer
referred to as “the king”. God refers to David as “my servant David”. David
is put in his place. God says, “Remind ‘my servant David’ how I took him
from following sheep, brought him out of a pasture, and made him a
prince. Remind him of how I remained with him wherever he went. Remind him
of how I cut off his enemies.”
Remind the “king” of who he is… of all the things that I have done for him.
And then tell him about the plans I have for him; tell him what
I’m going to do. David, perhaps because of his good fortune, has forgotten
that it is God who is responsible for all that good that has occurred in his
life. God is the one who has been active and deserves the credit. So God
says, “Remind David of who he is: my servant.
And remind David of all that I have done.”
I guess you could ask yourself, “Who was David supposed to be? What was
David’s purpose in being king?” And that would be a good question; a good
question for us to think about for ourselves.
First, I would answer by saying that David’s purpose was to be a
witness, a tangible, visible symbol of God’s sovereignty and God’s rule
among God’s people. He was called to represent and make visible the things
God was doing. His kingship was to be a witness to God’s kingship; to
represent God’s ways, God’s leadership, God’s deliverance; not to draw
attention to himself and his own self-interests.
But that’s exactly where David gets into trouble,
where
we get into trouble, when we begin to
think and act out of our own self-interest. It’s strange. We try to be
faithful; we try to do what God wants with our lives. And when things go
well, we gain a little confidence. And the better things go, the more
confidence we get. And that’s the danger.
Because our good fortune and our confidence leads to complacency. And this
complacency leads us to believe that we are self-sufficient. And our
self-sufficiency leads to pride… which is never good. Because then, even
with the best of intentions, we begin to think that we know what’s best; we
begin to think that our plans are God’s plans. “Oh yes! God is with us!” We
can’t fail as long as we’re doing it for God.” And unfortunately, we often
miss out on what God really wants us to do (or should I say what God
really wants to do through us).
Fortunately, God has many ways to help put things back into perspective for
us. As Eugene Peterson says, “When we get full of
ourselves, we need someone to run prophetic interference;
we need a Nathan.” And so God speaks through Nathan.
David thought that he was king; that he was in control. And it’s easy
to get side-tracked when that happens. So how can this be prevented?
Take a look at what God says and does. God reminds David that He is
king, and not David. David is merely God’s servant. And He reminds David
that everything David has and everything David has accomplished comes from
Him.
That’s important. We need to remember that for ourselves. We need to become
firmly entrenched in the knowledge that God is king; God is in control; and
we are merely God’s servants. We also need to remember that all that we have
and all that we have accomplished, ultimately comes from God and is not of
our own doing.
This text for us is a reminder of humility. It’s a reminder that we need to
slow down and seek God’s word and God’s will in prayer and contemplation,
like Nathan and like David.
Through Nathan, God sets his servant David back on track and he resumes his
work to build a house for David. These are God’s plans. God says to David:
▪ I will make your name great.
▪
I will give you rest.
▪
I will make you a house, a kingdom.
▪
I will raise up your offspring and will establish his
kingdom.
▪
I will be a father to him.
▪
I will punish him, but my steadfast love will never be taken
from him.
▪
Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever, your
throne established forever.
▪
I will appoint a place for my people and plant them there.
▪
No one will afflict them any longer.
David had plans. But God’s plans were bigger; God’s plans were better.
Drama Shift #2:
Lesson 2 - God’s Plans are Bigger and
Better, Not Ours
And this is where another dramatic shift occurs. Up until now, God’s
commitment to Israel has been contingent upon Israel’s obedience to God. God
promised to stick by Israel If” they were obedient. There was an ethical
requirement which defined their relationship with God.
But through Nathan, God tells David and all of Israel, that God is
making a new commitment to God’s servant David and his family. God promises
that David’s house, David’s kingdom, will have no end, it will be
established forever. Disobedience can no longer destroy it.
Think about what this does for the nation of Israel. God makes an eternal
promise to David. And David’s family will forever hold this unconditional
promise of favor before God. No matter what happens to them from this time
forward, no matter how they act, God will restore them and show his
steadfast love to them. They can now live in hope that God will keep God’s
promise and that God will provide a savior. God will rise up one of David’s
ancestors to right whatever is wrong. Someone, like David, will come and
through him, God will make things right.
David had plans. But God had something much bigger in mind. “That’s not a
house, this is a house.” “You
want to build me a house? Forget it; I’m building you a house."
It’s funny. We often think bigger is better. We often think that no matter
what we do, as long as we do it for God, God will bless it. And so we come
up with these glorious plans on how we can build this, or improve that, or
put more money towards this, “Nothing but the best for God.” And we dream up
some incredible new ways to do ministry. Or we dream up ways we can make our
ministries bigger and better.
But the lesson to be learned here is “You can’t judge a book
by its cover.” The important thing is not how beautiful or magnificent God’s
house is. Did David think that God would be more present
- more active - in a finely built temple
than in a tent? The important thing is not where God dwells, but
whether or not God is
present; whether or not God is among us!
A Greater King
Is David an even greater king because his house is magnificent? Is David an
even greater king because he wants to build a house for God? No. David is an
even greater king when he lives in line with the purpose for which God made
him king. He is a greater king when he humbles himself before God, when he
realizes how much God has done for him, and when out of gratitude he vows
again to live for and serve God.
Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves; we get comfortable in life and think
we’ve got it made; and our confidence gets misplaced. We become
self-confident. And so maybe our lesson for today is one of humility. The
humble person is not someone who lacks confidence; Quite the opposite. The
humble person is someone whose confidence properly rests on God and God’s
promises.
So how does David respond? He seeks God’s presence and God’s will. He goes
and he sits before God in prayer. And he prays “Who am I, O Lord God, and
what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?” David learned his
lesson. May
we do the same! Amen. |
