Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."
Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you."
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”
2 Samuel 7:1-7
The writers of Samuel were both skilled and inspired. They tell their story concisely and powerfully. At times they even tell it playfully. Here they play with the word, “house.” Through this chapter, they use the word house three different ways.
First, “the king was settled in his house.” It may be that this only means the palace, but does it? Isn’t David settling down into his role as the patriarch of his family? After settling his issues with Michal, doesn’t the domestic life of David reach a new and peaceful plateau? No more hiding from Saul. No more intrigue among the Philistines. Not so many running battles with powerful enemies. No more conflict with God. There is this moment in time where there is peace in the house of David.
Now David has time to think instead of react. As he looks out from the roof of his majestic “house of cedar” (second use of house), what does he see? He sees the tabernacle, the dwelling place of the ark, the symbol of the presence of Yahweh. Can you imagine what the tabernacle looks like by now? I’m sure that the Levites maintained it as best they could, but still, that tent has seen a lot of sand, and wind, and sun.
What David sees is unsettling; he can’t live with the inconsistency. I don’t think that we could either. Imagine looking out your window on a rainy night and seeing Jesus sleeping in your front yard in a WWII surplus pup tent, without even a stone for a pillow. It’s easy to understand the move toward action, isn’t it?
So David tells Nathan. Nathan is a courageous prophet, but he doesn’t even see the need to bother God. He phones this one in. "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you."
David’s project concerns God. God is not content to be silent. God doesn’t recall Nathan as a prophet; he redirects Nathan to undo his acceptance speech. “Have I ever asked you, David, or anyone else, to build a house for me?” (The idea of a house for God, a temple, is the third use of house.) God asks David to rethink. God’s answer is obviously, “No.”
So why would God say no to such a noble and honorable request? There are a lot of good possibilities.
Perhaps, as Solomon later says, David was still busy taking care of the enemies of his people (1 Kings 5:3-4). This is possible, but doesn’t appear to completely explain God’s answer.
Perhaps David’s hands are too bloody for this holy purpose (1 Chron 22:7-8; 28;2-3). This is what David tells Solomon and the people. Could it be, though, that David didn’t ever understand God’s “no”, and this business about the blood is David’s attempt to make sense out of a decision that he never understood? Yet God doesn’t say anything about blood here.
Could it be about the people? After obedience to God, the first duty of a king is to care for his people. Instead of taxing his people to finance a temple, and instead of using their labor to build an edifice of limited utility, shouldn’t the people be allowed to build their own houses, and farms, and herds? Shouldn’t the king help the poor, care for the sick, find shelter for the orphan, give the widow security, make safe the alien, and bring justice among his own people? Isn’t that task large enough for anyone who governs? Especially after so many years of war?
I think that God’s reasons are even deeper. God’s answer hints that he is a God who is not tied down to one place. He has power in Eden. He has power in Canaan. He has power in Egypt, in the wilderness, in Jericho; even in Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. God is a God who goes where he desires to go. He can go to Jerusalem or Bethlehem; it doesn’t matter if there is any room at the inn or not.
God does not need for us to make a place for him; He is the Maker of Place.
God does not need a building so that we can find him; if we seek God, we will find him among his people.
God does not desire stone temples; he seeks living ones.
God doesn’t want to be sent to his room. He wants, oddly enough, scarily enough, to live with us.
Are we open to God’s presence in our lives?
Ron
