But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.
At the dedication of the temple, Solomon tells the whole assembly what God once said in private to his father David. David wanted to build this house, and God said no. Yet in the same breath He praised the wish. That raises the question this verse answers: what does God do with a desire He refuses to grant?
What God praised
Of all David's recorded deeds, this is the one God singles out for praise. And it is not a deed at all.
The Bible TreasuryWhen it came to carrying it out, God had to put him 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, we have here 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 hidden purposes of the heart are open before God. Knowing this will make us care nothing for human praise.
Praised, yet refused
God's "you did well" does not turn into permission. The same verse that praises the heart holds back the work.
J. G. BellettThe movement of his heart — so far as it expressed him — was acceptable to the Lord, but it was still hindered and disappointed. This shows how jealous the Lord is for His own principles. He will have His servants and witnesses keep the place He has given them. The Lord values even the most loving and devoted desire of a believer, and gives it its personal reward or acceptance. But that desire can never make Him abandon His own thoughts and purposes.
Why the builder had to be another man
The reason given to David was his record of war. In this the two kings become types — pictures — of two different sides of Christ's work.
Leslie M. GrantDavid was not permitted to build the house because he was a man of war and had shed much blood (1 Chronicles 22:8). In this way he had been a type of Christ in subduing all His enemies. The building of the house must not be linked with war and bloodshed. It must be linked with the peace that comes after conquest. In that character Solomon was a type of the Lord Jesus.
Honour, not service
There is another way to read the change of builder. What the servant could not have, the son received.
The Bible TreasuryThat work is to be regarded as an honour rather than a service. The honour was too great for David the servant. God kept it for Solomon the son, as He said to David, "It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father" (1 Chronicles 28:6). Other reasons do appear in the mind of God for hindering David from being the builder. In David's time the people of Israel had not yet come into their rest. The kingdom was still unsettled. The people were still ready for service and armed for war. The Lord refused to enter His settled dwelling while His people were in that state.
How David took the refusal
What did David do after the no? He did not sulk and he did not stop.
Frank WallaceDid David turn aside? Did he take offence, as we say? No — David gathered up all the material with all the energy, love and power he could command, so that his son might build God's house. What a man of God! What a beautiful trait in this man! God set him aside from what he longed for. Yet he worked to help someone else do the very thing he most wanted to do. How much we should want this same spirit! We should not envy. We should not want to do what someone else is doing. We should support the one who is doing it with prayer and encouragement.
David gave his strength to a work another man would do. One writer names what God sees in that:
W. W. FeredayThis is what God loves to see in His people.
Summary
- Heart. God praises what David wanted, not what he achieved. The one deed He commends was never done.
- Level ground. God weighs desire. So every believer stands on the same footing, whatever their ability for service.
- Limit. God can value a desire and still refuse it. His approval of your heart never overrides His own purposes.
- Reason. David's wars fitted him to picture Christ subduing His enemies. The house belonged to the peace that follows, and so to Solomon.
- Response. David spent his strength preparing the work for another man. That proved the heart God praised was real.