1 Chronicles 17:1 says, Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains. While David was sitting in his house, he called Nathan the prophet to ask him a question. We aren't told why David didn't just ask God, but it may be that he just wanted a second opinion. The question was why David lived in a house built of cedars, but the Ark of the Covenant was in a tent. At least David was concerned enough about this to have Nathan help him find the answer. Verse two adds, Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. Without consulting God, Nathan told David to do whatever was in his heart, so David's attempt to get clarification might not have been a good thing. If we are seeking clarification about something we are questioning today in our spiritual life, we need to first ask God to help us understand what he wants. If we then ask a fellow Christian for help in understanding it, we need to make sure that they are seeking God's will in the situation, and not just telling us what they think we want to hear. Verse three states, And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Nathan may not have sought God's advice, but God gave it to him that night anyway. If we are open to hearing God's advice in life, He is always going to let us know the truth in any situation, even if we may have already said something different, and we need to heed His advice. Verse four adds, Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: Nathan had told David to what he wanted to do, which was build a house for the Ark, but God told him to go tell David not to. I would think this would have been hard for Nathan to hear, and sometimes God's word to us is hard to hear. Verse five continues, For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. God told Nathan to tell David that He had never lived in one tent, but went from tent to tent, from one tabernacle to another, ever since He had called Israel to be His chosen people. We cannot confine God to a particular building or country today, because He lives in the heart of individual believer. Verse six says, Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars? God asked in all that time of walking with Israel had He ever asked the judges, who had been in charge until the people demanded a king, why they hadn't built Him a building. We need to make sure if we are building a house of worship today that we are doing so by God's direction. Verse seven adds, Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel: God told Nathan that He had taken David from being a simple shepherd to being the ruler of Israel. David was successful because of God and not because he was a great man by his own abilities and he needed to look to God for guidance is the implication. We will never be great in God's eyes by our own merit, because we are all sinners, who can only be great in His Kingdom because of His calling us to salvation and service and our accepting His call. Verse eight continues, And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. Nathan was to remind God that He had been with him every step of the way and He was the One Who had brought David victory. As followers of Christ today, the Holy Spirit is with us every step we take, and any victory we achieve is through God's power. Verse nine states, Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning, God said He would establish a place for the people of Israel and they would no longer be moved by the children of wickedness. I believe that the place He prepared for them is their heavenly home, since they were often moved out of the land God had given them here on earth. I personally don't believe that we should ever give a physical application to the spiritual truth of God. Nothing on this earth is permanent, but only our relationship with God is. Verse ten adds, And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the Lord will build thee an house. God reminded them that He had given them judges and said that He would build them a house. Again, I believe that the house that God referred to is the heart of each individual and not a physical building. As magnificent as the temple Solomon built was, it is gone, and the dwelling place that God said He would build will never be destroyed, or so I believe. Verse eleven continues, And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. David was then told that after he was dead, God would raise up one of his sons to be king, and that son would be used to establish God's kingdom. David was not going to complete the work of building the nation of Israel, God's kingdom, and we will never do so today, so we must raise our children to believe in God so He can continue His work through them. Verse twelve states, He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. God said David's son would build him a house, and through him He would establish his throne forever. We could see this as referring to Solomon, but I believe that it refers to a later descendant of David's, Jesus Christ. God had said he would establish His kingdom forever through David's descendants, and Solomon did not live forever, but Jesus Christ does. Verse thirteen adds, I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: Again, we could apply this to Solomon, but Jesus Christ is the Son of God Who establishes an everlasting kingdom, and it will never be taken from Him as it was from all who came before Him, whether by military defeat or death. Verse fourteen continues, But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. This did not happen with Solomon, but with Jesus Christ. Verse fifteen says, According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. Nathan told David all that God had revealed to him, and we must tell people the truth that God has revealed to us as Christians, and that is that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Verse sixteen adds, And David the king came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? David sat before God and asked who he was that God would bring him to this point. He humbly acknowledged his own unworthiness before God, and so must we. Our plans must be guided by God and done for His glory if they are to be of any lasting value. Verse seventeen continues, And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God. This was a reference to Jesus, who would come from the house of David. Because of the coming Messiah, David could be viewed as a man of high degree, and not because of his own worthiness. Our unworthiness is of little concern to God, because through faith in Jesus Christ, we have value.
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