The objective of this lesson: to include in the concept of obedience the awareness that God can accept the desires of the godly to honor him even if there was no divine instruction.
The writer approaches this lesson and those which follow the focus on the Jewish temple with concern. The concern is not for his points. Were that the concern, he would not write the lessons. His concern is this: the point will be misunderstood.
The writer is quite aware that it is easy to be misunderstood. However, declaring "the whole counsel of God" involves noting things even when those things may be misunderstood.
Any time serious students are challenged to think in legitimate ways [new to them], there is the danger that (1) they will react rather than think; (2) they will defend past convictions rather than reflect on unconsidered information; or (3) they will make extreme [and scripturally indefensible] applications of their new insights.
It is easier to react, defend, or make extreme applications rather than think. The more certain we are that "we are right," the less willing we become to think.
Perhaps the most prudent way to begin is with affirmations. (1) The "permanent" temple in Jerusalem was good, spiritually producing many godly blessings in Israel. (2) Obedience is primarily complying with declared instructions from God. (3) In concern for accurately following God's will, first we must focus on God's declared instructions. (4) Humans must not substitute their desires for God's instructions.
These affirmations hopefully will make misunderstanding more unlikely.
After spending a few years running from King Saul, David entered a period of prosperity and peace when (1) he became King of the entire nation [Judah and Israel] and (2) successfully made Jerusalem the political capital of the nation.
The contrast between David's life while he ran from King Saul and David's life as established King of the entire nation of Israel is an extreme contrast. David's existence as he ran was often a survival existence. David's existence as King of the entire nation was often luxurious [for the time].
This was a complex time in Israel's history. At the beginning of David's reign over the entire nation, (1) civil war just ended and (2) the Philistines were a formidable foe who threatened the nation's existence. David wished to do two primary things: (1) unite [including strengthening] Israel as a nation and (2) establish God's rule in Israel. In David's time prior to being King of the nation, Israelite spiritual devotion to God [under King Saul and immediately previous to Saul's rule] was at best questionable. Among the reasons David prevailed was the fact that God was unquestionably first in David's life. As King, David wanted God to be unquestionably first in the nation.
Initially this was a demanding time for David and for Israel as a nation. Discuss the effects of civil war on a society. Note the Philistines remained a powerful enemy. The challenges of healing a civil war conflict and establishing God's rule were huge! There are always lawless people. The environment created by King Saul would encourage and reward such people.
To achieve his political goal of strengthening the nation and his religious goal of honoring God, David did two things that effected Israel for centuries. First, politically he made Jerusalem the new capital of the nation. This city had never been a part of Israelite territory. It was not one of Israel's cities. It was not one of Judah's cities. It was not King Saul or King Ishboseth's capital. It was not David's capital (Hebron). It was near the border between Israel (the northern tribes) and Judah. No one in the nation had an advantage! No one could say that David favored one division or tribe over another. Jerusalem was a new capital in a new place which was not controlled by Israelite rule previously. Thus to all Israel, the new capital was a neutral site.
David's decision to make Jerusalem Israel's capital influences Israel to this day--almost 3000 years later! It was a decision that could help unite the nation because it gave no one an advantage. It was truly a neutral site for Israel's capital.
Second, David wished to make Jerusalem the nation's religious center. Thus, politically, all Israelites came to Jerusalem concerning national matters. AND when the nation assembled at "the place God caused His name to dwell" (see Deuteronomy 12 with focus on verse 5 and also 16:16) for a national religious gathering, the site would be Jerusalem. The initial choice of Jerusalem to serve these two purposes was David's, not God's.
David's decision to make Jerusalem Israel's religious center was also a healing, fortunate decision. The city became a unifying presence in the nation on two fundamental levels.
The trigger that put David's desire in motion religiously was David's palace. David thought it was inappropriate for him to live in a cedar palace while God's ark resided in a tent. If God was King of Israel, the ark's residence should reflect God's position just as David's palace reflected his position.
Stress the fact that David thought the situation was inappropriate. The situation did not concern God.
The primary point of 2 Samuel 7 is this: "David, you are not taking care of Me. I am taking care of you. I am not dependent on you to make Me a house. I am going to make you a house." God did not look to David to establish Him by building Him a temple. Instead, He would make a dynasty of rulers from David's descendants. David would not establish God, but God would establish David.
The primary point about God making David "a house" was understood by David immediately. Being unfamiliar with the realities surrounding kings, we rarely realize what a huge consideration succession and the continuing rule of sons were to kings.
However, there is also a secondary point. The progression: (1) David felt it was inappropriate for him to live in a palace and God's ark to reside in a tent. (2) Nathan, the prophet, told David to do as he wished because the Lord was with him. (3) God gave Nathan a message to take to David. In the message was this: "I, God, always have established My presence in Israel [from the time Israel left Egypt] in a tent. I never requested any Israelite to build Me a permanent temple. Why do you, David, presume you are the one to build Me a permanent temple?" (2 Samuel 7:5-7).
The secondary point was used as an illustration by God. Paraphrased, God said, "I did not ask you to do this! A tent has served My purpose for many years!"
Before you quickly condemn David for his palace/temple concern, read Haggai 1:3-11. God did not appreciate the people caring for themselves well while neglecting His house [the temple].
Later, God looked upon caring for the temple as a declaration of respect for Him.
There are some obvious lessons we can learn from David's desire to build God a temple. (1) Sometimes our religious concerns are more focused on reactions to our conscience than to God's desires. (2) What may be a priority concern for us may not be a concern to God. (3) God knows our motives and takes the motives of those focused on Him into consideration. (4) God is never dependent on us to care for Him. (5) We, even in what we regard our strongest moments, always are dependent on God [the core issue is not what we do for God but what God does for us].
Note and illustrate each lesson. For the point about motives, consider Jesus' statement in Matthew 6:1-18. Israelites were doing religiously appropriate things [giving alms, praying, fasting] for the incorrect motivations.
In the writer's past, he was taught never was God influenced by the desire of humans--even godly humans. Obedience always was a simple matter: do what God says, nothing more or less. Anything other than doing what God instructs is evil.
The concept of obedience to God in our past did not consider God's sovereignty. In His sovereignty, God can be touched by the expressions of humans who have honorable motives.
Yet, here is a godly man [not a perfect man!] who did something God did not request, and God did not condemn David for his desire to honor God.
This is an example of a godly person doing something God did not request in order for the human to show honor to God.
For Thought and Discussion
The concern: the writer's point will be misunderstood.
(1) The person can react rather than think. (2) The person can defend past convictions rather than reflect on additional information. (3) The person can make extreme applications of the "new" insights.
The discussion should include two facts: (1) Civil war had just ended, and (2) the Philistines were dangerous enemies.
He wanted to promote unity in the nation by (1) making Jerusalem the political capital of Israel and (2) making Jerusalem the religious center of Israel.
He thought it was inappropriate for him to live in a palace while God's ark resided in a tent. It was the recognition that God was the true King of Israel and should be honored as Israel's true King.
The discussion should include the fact that David was not taking care of God, but that God was caring for David. God did not need for David to build Him a house, but He would make David a dynasty in Israel.
(1) Sometimes our religious reactions are based more on our reactions to our consciences than to God's desires. (2) What may be of priority concern for us may not be of concern to God. (3) God knows our motives and takes our motives into consideration. (4) God is never dependent on us for care. (5) We always are dependent on God for care.
God was not offended. Explanations should include the fact that God did not condemn David--He just called David's attention to who was taking care of whom.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 9