And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his enemies,
The wars are over and the palace stands finished. In this pause David turns his mind to God — and the rest of the chapter answers one question: who builds a house for whom?
Everything David holds at this moment came to him from outside himself. In the older wording below, the ark's tent is called "curtains."
In 2 Samuel 7 David is dwelling in his house. God's power had given him rest from all his enemies. His kingdom had been proclaimed, and the ark was with him. Now in his affection for the Lord he desires to build Him a permanent place of rest. David was living in a house of cedar, solid and well founded in its beauty. Could the ark still dwell "under curtains," in a temporary place?
David's palace was not a wrong turn. His conquest and his throne both served a purpose far beyond his own comfort.
It was God's way for him that he should conquer the stronghold of the Jebusites and lay there the foundation of the future capital of the world. Nor was it out of place or out of season that he should have a palace there, "a house of cedar," and a throne. That prepared the way for Solomon to become, later on, the picture and representative of Christ in the glory of the kingdom.
An older translation reads, "David sat in his house." A settled man reasons from what surrounds him — and that is where David's thinking goes wrong.
Notice, "David sat in his house." He was surrounded by his own circumstances, and thought it necessary to do something for God. But again, he was in error in his thoughts of building a house for the Lord. The ark was within curtains, true — because the time had not yet come for it to find a resting place.
The king was not the only one at fault here. Nathan the prophet had the same duty to ask God, and past godliness excuses no one from it.
David is a man who really depends on the Lord, but how often that dependence fails! He could not even depend on his affection for the Lord. He had to inquire of God, and Nathan was under that same obligation. We can ask counsel of those further on than we are in wisdom and true godliness. But we must depend on God alone for our decisions and our walk. Even the most godly person cannot take His place.
The problem ran deeper than a missing consultation.
David would build a house for God. But he was not the man, nor was it the time for that. Nathan is sent to correct the mistake. The service was well-meant, but that was not enough. It must be well-timed as well as well-meant. David had shed much blood. There were enemies and evil at hand, and there were deeper lessons of grace in which David had to be instructed.
God's answer turns David's contrast on its head. The tent was not a lack — it meant God had not yet come to rest.
God dwelling in curtains showed plainly that neither God nor the ark of His strength had found a resting place. Both were journeying on towards "a rest that remained." Here, too, we have sadly failed. The Church grew weary of the curtain, and wished to build a house before the time. She grew weary of "walking in a tent," and longed to "dwell in a house."
David offered a building. God refused it and gave a far larger promise instead.
God had done much for him. But all He had done in the past was nothing compared with what He would yet do in the future. If a house of cedar was a great thing, how much greater was an everlasting house and kingdom. The Lord tells you that "He will make you a house." This reversed the matter altogether. The doings of the past were full of grace; the doings of the future would be full of glory.
And David's response was not to argue but to sit down.
Instead of going out to build for the Lord, he went in and sat before the Lord. There is great moral beauty and power in this. To an unintelligent eye he might have seemed to be in a very useless posture. But no one can ever stand as a servant who has not sat as a worshiper.
- Rest given — David's peace was not his own achievement. God's power gave him rest, and the ark was with him.
- Rest misread — Surrounded by his own comfort, David reasoned outward to what God must need. He meant well, but he was the wrong man at the wrong time.
- Rest refused — God had not yet found a resting place. He was still journeying with His people towards the rest to come.
- Rest enlarged — David offered God a house. God promised him one instead — an everlasting house and kingdom.
- Rest received — The king who could not build went in and sat before the Lord. No one stands as a servant who has not first sat as a worshiper.
that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains.
David has a palace of cedar. The fighting is over. Yet the ark of God — the chest that marked God's presence with Israel — still sits under a tent. Out of that contrast comes a good desire that God praised and still would not grant.
One writer lists what David already had when the thought came to him.
In 2 Samuel 7 David is dwelling in his house: God's power had given him rest from all his enemies; his kingdom had been proclaimed; the ark was with him. Now in his affection for the Lord he desires to build Him a permanent place of rest. Could the ark still dwell "under curtains" in a temporary dwelling place, when David was living in a house of cedar, solid and well founded in its beauty? He tells Nathan the prophet of his desire. It is the desire of a godly heart, for he wanted to see the glory established in Israel.
God refused David the work, but not the wish.
When it came to carrying it out, God had to put him in his proper place. But God approved what was in his heart. Of which of his deeds is it said, "you did well"? We cannot recall one. If that is so, his case is full of encouragement for others. It places all the saints of God on one footing, however much they differ in ability for service. The counsels of the heart are before God.
David never asked God about the plan. One writer weighs how far a man's own godliness can be trusted.
Of course his godliness was commendable, but you cannot depend on it for guidance. A godly man may do the wrong thing out of a genuine desire for the glory of God, simply because he has not first sought God's direction. We need reminding again and again that only God's Word can be trusted. David had forgotten this when he first tried to bring the ark up to Jerusalem. Now he forgets it again over having a permanent building made ready for the ark.
Commentators read David differently here. Most call the desire godly. One sees a settled king leaning on himself:
What he plans is not bad in itself. But he has no sense of the Lord's mind about it, because he has not consulted Him and has not waited on Him.
God's refusal turned on what David stood for, not on any fault in him.
He wishes to build Him a house — a good desire, yet one which God could not grant. The work of building the temple belonged to the Prince of Peace. David pictured Christ as suffering and conquering. So he did not picture Him enjoying the kingdom on earth by undisputed right, or opening the gates of the temple to all nations, where the Lord of righteousness was to be worshipped.
David proposed to build God a house. God's reply reversed the direction of the giving.
If a house of cedar was a great thing, how much greater was an everlasting house and kingdom. The Lord tells you that "He will make you a house." This was reversing the matter altogether. The doings of the past were full of grace; the doings of the future would be full of glory. The hand of electing love had lifted David from the sheepfold to place him on the throne of Israel.
The refusal changed what David did next.
Instead of going out to build for the Lord, he went in and sat before the Lord. To an unintelligent eye he might have seemed to be in a very useless attitude, but no one can ever stand as a servant who has not sat as a worshipper. We must have to do with the Lord before we can act for the Lord. Show us a man who has really occupied the place of a worshipper and we will show you one who, when he rises to his feet, will prove an effective servant.
The same conviction turned up years later in one of David's soldiers.
Uriah had learned this devotion from David himself… Those who served David had taken in this godly desire and testimony of his, and it had borne fruit in them. Uriah speaks like the David of earlier days.
- Rest — God's gifts stirred the desire; David could not enjoy his own comfort while God's ark had none.
- Heart — God said "you did well" of the wish, a word given to none of David's deeds. That puts every believer on one footing.
- Check — A godly desire is not guidance. David acted on his own goodness without first asking God.
- Reversal — David would build God a house; God answered that He would build David one — an everlasting house instead of cedar.
- Posture — Turned down for the work, David went in and sat before the Lord. No one stands as a servant who has not first sat as a worshipper.
And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.
David's plan is good: the ark sits under curtains while the king lives in cedar. Nathan blesses it at once, but God overturns it — so how can a right desire, approved by a prophet, be the wrong thing to do?
The wish came out of David's love for God. What set it off was a contrast he could not ignore.
In his affection for the Lord he desires to build Him a permanent place of rest. Could the ark still remain "under curtains" in a temporary place, while David lived in a house of cedar, solid and beautifully built? He tells Nathan the prophet of his desire. It is the desire of a godly heart, for he wanted to see the glory established in Israel.
Nathan is a genuine prophet, yet here he speaks before God has spoken to him.
But Nathan was wrong in this; he had answered hastily. The prophet depends on God for light as much as anyone else does. It teaches us something that we have on record the mistakes of a prophet... Experience will not do in the things of God. Nor will any power a person has worked in before, unless there is also dependence on the Lord.
Nathan's reason was David's track record. God had been with him, but Nathan used that truth to settle a question it could not settle.
Nathan too was depending too much on David's reputation for godliness. In general it was true that the Lord was with David. But Nathan should have told him to ask God for special guidance on a matter as special as building a temple. Indeed, we need this not only for large matters, but for the smaller ones too!
The test God later applies is simple: David had no word from God telling him to build.
We see once more how a man's heart may be right with God, and his thoughts wrong... But the word of God is something very different from the best thoughts of the best people... Here too the Lord shows David that his thoughts are wrong, despite all their piety. The proof is decisive: David had not formed them on any earlier sign of His will. Can a man think for God? Can we anticipate His mind? It is impossible: all that the most fervent spirit can rightly do is reverently to follow it.
Two men fail together here: the king who did not ask, and the prophet who did not wait. Yet the answer is not to stop asking other people.
He must inquire of God, and Nathan was not exempt from this obligation any more than the king. Each of us individually must depend on God alone; even the most godly of men cannot replace Him... Of course we can listen to advice, and ask it of those further on than we are in understanding, in wisdom, and in true godliness. That is what humble hearts do, hearts with no confidence in themselves. But we must depend on God alone for our decisions and for our walk.
God said no to the project and yes to the man.
As to the accomplishment of this, he had to be put in his proper place, but what was in his heart was approved. Of which of his deeds is it said, "you did well"? We cannot recall one. If that is so, his case holds something full of encouragement for others. It places all the saints of God on one footing, however much they differ in ability for service. The counsels of the heart are before God.
- Right heart. David's wish to house the ark came from love for God — the desire was not the problem.
- Wrong voice. Nathan spoke from David's reputation, not from God. Being a prophet did not excuse him from asking.
- Wrong test. Do not judge a plan by how godly it feels. Judge it by whether God has spoken — and David had no word to act on.
- Right practice. Take counsel from wiser people, then depend on God alone for the decision — no adviser can stand in His place.
- Right outcome. God refused the building but approved the heart. Of David's desire, not of his deeds, He said, "you did well."