Scripture: The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ... Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever. 2 Samuel 7:11b-13,16
Observation: We see David continually consult with God before taking action, and every conflict with enemies begins with him asking God if he should proceed. Yet this section begins with David deciding it is wrong that he has a nice house and God only has a tent. That night, God reveals something more through Nathan the prophet. David has himself considered building God a great house, and God responds with two specific messages.
-- David must not build the house of the Lord, but his son will.
-- The house of David will be established as an eternal kingdom.
In other words, in correcting David's thought process, the Lord reveals two amazing promises. The lesser of these is about the building of the temple, which effectively establishes Jerusalem as the spiritual center of the entire world ... which it is still to this day, with all the conflict, strife, hope, and passion that comes with that. The second promise is that Messiah will come from the line of David, and will establish an eternal kingdom.
David always consults God, and God tells him what to do. Then when David fails to do that and begins thinking on his own, God corrects him with the most amazing and improbable plan ever ... a way to redeem the entire world through this little, tiny, often wayward nation. If David had proceeded with building a temple, the path to Messiah would have been much different. Instead, David listened, and is considered one of the most famous men in all of history despite having been a king over just a tiny backwater nation that was subjective to every significant empire that came before or after him.
Application: This is both a basic and mind-blowing example of what the Lord can do with my shortcomings, not just my good works. Of course, when I work with God and listen to his instructions, I can participate in his will. But even when I stray and think on my own, God can still do great things through me. Of course, that's only true if I then listen to the correction.
I am sure I don't consult God enough before I act, and I don't listen to corrections and redirection when I start down a path. These are the characteristics of being after God's heart ... to seek God's heart above and before your own. That is really what David was always doing, placing God's will and direction ahead of his own thoughts and desires. If I am to truly seek God's heart, I must first seek his guidance every day, and receive his corrections when I forget.
Prayer: Lord, today I do seek your path and your will. May I remember to ask you questions about how to proceed in all matters. If I am going in the wrong direction now, please let me know. Amen.
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