David’s Admirable Idea
This week’s story begins with King David developing an idea:
When the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Look, I am living in a cedar house while the ark of God sits inside tent curtains.” (2 Samuel 7:1 CSB)
The work of defending his kingdom was done, thanks to God’s provision, and apparently one day David looked at his fine palace and then at the tabernacle and had an admirable idea: Why not build a better house for God? It made total sense. Here was David living in splendor and yet God’s house—the tabernacle—was still a temporary curtain structure. How could David’s house be better than God’s? And so David had an idea—not clearly stated here, but rather implied clearly—that he would build a temple.
This idea shows the humility and heart of David. We need to appreciate it, and we can learn from it too. Many times we flip the script and we see God as the One who should be serving us. We might not say it, but we might think it: “God is right to give me this nice house (car, job, family, fill-in-the-blank). I deserve it! And that’s what God is for—to take care of me.”
Nathan’s Big Mistake
The Bible does not necessarily give us full accounts of what happened. It is always accurate, of course, but many times, the Bible story only gives us parts of conversations and events. Here, we don’t know if there was much more conversation between David and Nathan. But what we do see is Nathan responding to David as if the king had asked what he should do:
So Nathan told the king, “Go and do all that is on your mind, for the LORD is with you.” (2 Samuel 7:2 CSB)
Now, look back at verse 1 to be reminded of Nathan’s job. That’s right; he was a prophet. A prophet was tasked with speaking on behalf of God. And that seems to be what he did here. But notice what Nathan failed to do —the big mistake he made here. He failed to talk with God! I just shared that the Bible doesn’t give us every detail, so you would be right to wonder why I can be so emphatic that this did not happen. The reason is because of what follows. We will see that God had to correct the wayward prophet.
How many times do we run ahead of God like Nathan did here? I wonder if Nathan fell into the same trap David did. This idea made so much sense and it came from such a good place. How could God not be behind it?
But God’s ways are not our ways. We don’t see the full story as He does. Actually, God doesn’t just see the full story, He controls it. It’s easy for us to forget that. But it is so important that we don’t. Had Nathan only gone to God first, he would have been able to guide David rightly from the start. Thankfully, God corrected the situation before anything major happened because of it. Nathan’s mistake was big, not because of its impact, but because of his glaring failure to fulfill his purpose. May that not be true of us.
God’s Better Plan
At this point, God could have thrown up His hands in exasperation. Here was His prophet speaking wrongly on His behalf and His king running out ahead of His plans. But God, in His unending mercy and grace, took a different route. He corrected Nathan and gave Nathan a message—the right message—to share with David.
David would not build a house for Him, rather He would build a house for David. God reminded David that He was using him for a greater purpose—to continue the line through which the Messiah would come. Solomon, David’s son, would build the temple. But David would be connected more tightly to a better way that God would dwell with His people—through the Son of God incarnate. It wasn’t about what David could do for God, but what God would do for David, and all those who call on His name for salvation through Jesus Christ.
Preschool Tip: Our preschoolers have now spent a few weeks with David, and they likely have noticed how good of a king he was, especially contrasted with Saul. This is a session to point out that David was a good king (we will see how he was not perfect soon), but good is not good enough. God’s desire was to give His people a perfect King, and that King is the One God promised to send—King Jesus.
Kids Tip: This is a good time to challenge your kids about whether they truly see Jesus as King. A King us a ruler; but many of us fail to live under His rule. We instead see Jesus more as an advisor. Press in some this week about this, but don’t fail to be transparent and admit your own struggles in this regard as well.
-From Brian Dembowczyk at TGP website
#JesusJam ...Nothing's better than God's plan!
CLICK HERE for this weeks story summary
Christ Connection: God promised David that every future king of Israel would come from David’s family, and David’s kingdom would last forever. God kept His promise by sending His Son, Jesus, as one of David’s descendants. Jesus is our King who will rule over God’s people forever.
If you have a bible at your house, 2 Samuel 6-7. If you don't have one, that's okay! CLICK HERE.
#Craftivity. .
David had a heart to build God a house. Even though God said no, He still made a forever covenant with David. Inside the heart, draw a picture from today's lesson that will remind you of God's covenant promise!
ACTIVITY OPTION 1: Unfailing and unending Invite the kids to stand in a circle. Challenge them to begin whistling, humming, or singing a single note. See who can hold that note the longest without pausing to take a breath. Then challenge the kids to hold out their arms to the side to see who can hold up their arms the longest. Finally, see who can stand on one foot the longest. SAY • In each of those challenges, we saw how, over time, even an easy challenge can become impossible for humans. God is not like us. The Bible tells us that God’s power goes on forever. When God makes a promise, we know that He has the power to keep it. He is unfailing and unending. Today we will learn about a promise He made to David’s family.