2017 12.24 2 Samuel 7:1-16 1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 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. 3 Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you. 4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 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. 7 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? 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. 1
Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. 15 But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever. 2
God s Home-Improvement Project One day last week when I arrived home after being at church all day, I walked into what seemed like a brand new apartment. I recognized the furniture, but the arrangement was entirely different from the way it had been when I left home earlier that morning. The TV and TV stand were now positioned against the far wall. In the space where the TV had been was the spare leather couch from the second bedroom. It sat opposite the other fabric couch. The two facing couches positioned on opposite walls created an inviting atmosphere for conversation. I could easily picture having church gatherings right there in the living room. The floor lamp was moved from the window to the interior of the room, throwing more light into the center of the room, which made the entire room feel warmer. Close to where the lamp had been was an ottoman, on top of which was an assortment of candles neatly arranged and warmly flickering their light into that corner of the room. Where was I? Whose apartment was this? It had all of our stuff, but it looked totally different. The living room seemed somehow both more spacious and more cozy at the same time. No matter where we have lived a one-room apartment in New York, a townhouse in New Jersey, or a villa in Seoul every so often Sandy would do this. She would rearrange the furniture, all on her own, and create an entirely new space. And I must say that every time she did so, she improved the layout of the room. Rearranging the furniture is the easiest and quickest way to improve the look of your home. And when you re renting, it s pretty much all you can do. Landlords don t look kindly upon tenants drilling holes, hammering nails, and sawing wood in their investment property. But we still own a townhouse in New Jersey. After we 3
bought the house, back in 2005, we did a lot of home-improvement projects by ourselves, and when I say ourselves, I mean mostly Sandy. The house was newly built when we bought it, so it was like a blank slate for us to make our own. We started by painting every room living room, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms, hallways, and more. Then we ripped up the wall-to-wall carpet (it would shock you how much Americans like carpeting) and installed new bamboo floors all throughout the house. Installing the floors was a major project. We bought the bamboo from a lumber wholesaler, and we rented an air compressor and nail gun to affix the bamboo to the subfloor. Once the floors were done we moved on to the kitchen. We ripped out the old cabinets and installed new ones. We removed the old countertop and installed a new one made of granite. Then we affixed glass tiles all around the counter. I have to say, everything we did was a lot of work, but it was well worth it. We significantly improved the look of our home, and we added some financial value as well. Home improvement is a big business in America. There s a home-improvement retail store in almost every town. Home-improvement TV shows are popular with regular people who become weekend carpenters, painters, and plumbers. The DIY, or do-it-yourself home-improvement phenomenon might seem like something new, but the concept of home improvement underlies today s reading from 2 Samuel. David wants to improve the dwelling place for the Lord. It s not enough that God should dwell in a tabernacle basically a big tent. David has plans for upgrading the tabernacle to a temple made of stone. Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. In the previous three weeks we ve read from Zechariah, Isaiah, and the Gospel of John, all of which suggested the one who was to come. Zechariah has a vision of Israel s king coming into Jerusalem riding a donkey. 4
Isaiah tells of a voice in the desert who proclaims prepare the way of the Lord. We hear those very words come from the lips of John the Baptist in the Gospel of John. The Advent readings seem to be building toward a climax. The Lord is on the way. He s coming! He s almost here...and then...he s not. Today s reading from 2 Samuel seems to be less about the coming savior and more about...a building. Talk about a letdown! On this fourth Sunday of Advent, how did we end up here in 2 Samuel talking about the temple? Where s the baby Jesus? Every week, as part of my sermon preparation, I listen to a preaching podcast. These two pastors talk about the scripture readings for the week. They too were surprised that 2 Samuel was the Old Testament passage for the fourth Sunday of Advent. One of them even said something like, We know that no one is going to preach on 2 Samuel, but we re going to talk about it anyway. They assumed, probably correctly, that most pastors would opt for the more traditional reading of Luke 1 in which the angel Gabriel visits Mary. I wanted to shout to them through my phone, I m preaching from 2 Samuel! And so I am. And so here we are. That we read today about David s desire to build a temple for the Lord is not as unlikely as it might seem. In a Jerusalem that was the center of the Israelite monarchy, the temple would become the symbol for the presence of God, just as the tabernacle had been when the Israelites were journeying through the wilderness on their way to the promised land. And it is the presence of God among us (Emmanuel God with us) that is the main message of the season of Advent. The passage begins with David taking stock of the situation. He is settled in his house. The Lord has given him rest from all his enemies. You can almost hear David letting out a sigh of relief. I made it! I did it! David had survived Saul s attempts to kill him. He had defeated the Philistines, Israel s ancient foe. He had brought the ark 5
of the covenant to Jerusalem, making Jerusalem the capital of the newly formed united kingdom of Israel. David is feeling pretty good about himself. He thinks to himself, after all this good fortune, it s now time to make some improvements to the dwelling place of the Lord. After all, with David living in a house of cedar, it s only fitting that the Lord should have a permanent address as well. It s time for an upgrade from the tabernacle. The prophet to the king, Nathan, agrees. Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you (2 Sam. 7:3). Yet, not so fast, Nathan! It seems that Nathan may have spoken too soon. That very same night the word of the Lord comes to the prophet with an altogether different message. Since the days that God brought his people Israel out of slavery in Egypt, God has been moving about in a tabernacle. Through his presence in the tabernacle, the Lord has accompanied the people each step of the way. More than accompany, even, the Lord has led them. And God sounds quite content with this living arrangement. God doesn t seem to feel any need for an upgrade [SLIDE]: 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 Sam. 7:7). In other words, Did I ask for a temple? It s a fascinating question. Our instinct is probably to think, yes, of course God wants a temple. But that s not what we read here in 2 Samuel. What might explain God s lack of enthusiasm for David s holy home-improvement project? First of all, what is David s motivation in wanting to build a temple? Is he grateful for all the ways that he has been blessed by God? Is building the temple his way of 6
saying thank you? Or is David looking to confine God, to domesticate God, to put God under his control? Or maybe David wants to honor himself so that he is remembered as the one who built the temple of the Lord? And why did Nathan so quickly agree that it was the Lord s will for David to build a temple when it wasn t? Was he, a prophet to a king who was suddenly flushed with power, enthralled by that power? Intimidated by that power? Did he want to tell the king only what the king wanted to hear? To flatter him. To praise him. To speak God s approval upon him. It s not easy to speak truth to power. It s much easier to go along to get along. It s much safer that way. You won t stand out. You won t rock the boat. You won t make any enemies. Yet this passage features God speaking truth to the power of the king, reminding that king where true power lies [SLIDE]. It begins in verse 1, with the narrator saying that the Lord had given [David] rest from all his enemies (2 Sam. 7:1). The subject here is not David but the Lord. David is not a self-made man. The peace that he now enjoys is not of his own doing. The Lord has given him rest from his enemies. Moreover, it is the Lord who has raised David as a leader. Israel s king needs to be reminded that, while the throne may be located in a palace in Jerusalem, God reigns from heaven. The Lord tells Nathan to address the king as my servant David : Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts (2 Sam 7:8). Verse 8 seems like the set-up for what the Lord is about to say, but it packs a powerful punch of truth all on its own. Look at the contrast between David and God. David is a servant of the Lord while God is the Lord of hosts. Hosts in this sense isn t about hosting an event, e.g., a dinner party. Hosts is biblical language for armies, 7
especially armies of angels. Think of the doxology we sing at the end of each service: Praise him above ye heavenly host. The Lord and David are of two separate categories. The Lord is the subject, freely enacting his will upon and through his servant David. The Lord is the subject. David is the object [SLIDE]. Verses 8 to 11 emphasize this over and over again. I took you from the pasture. I have been with you. I have cut off all your enemies. I will make for you a great name. I will appoint a place for my people. I will plant them. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The list climaxes in the second half of verse 11: Moreover the Lord declares to you [David] that the Lord will make you a house (2 Sam. 7:11). But this is not a house of cedar, as the one in which David currently resides. Nor is it a house of stone, as the temple will one day be [SLIDE]. The author is making a pun on the Hebrew word for house which can also mean dynasty. The house of David is not only David s street address, it s his lineage. Thus while David may desire to build a house for the Lord, the Lord will build a house out of David himself and his descendants. Ultimately it was not David who oversaw the building of the temple but David s son Solomon [SLIDE]: He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:13). Verse 16 takes it a step further: Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever (2 Sam. 7:16). What a bold promise! God is making with David an everlasting covenant. An eternal covenant. Unlike the covenant that God made with the Israelites in the wilderness, which was conditioned upon their faithfulness, this covenant has no conditions. And God is the guarantor of this covenant. Even if Israel fails to fulfill its end, God promises to keep his word. In this covenant, God takes upon himself all the risk. 8
You would think that God would know better. After all, God had already witnessed many times Israel s faithlessness. There was that time in the wilderness when they were not satisfied with eating bread from heaven. They longed to return to Egypt where they could enjoy more variety in their diet, fish, cucumbers, melons, onions, garlic. Then there was the time when Moses left them for forty days to meet with God on Mount Sinai. In their fear and anxiety, they created a substitute god in the form of a golden idol. What is God thinking, binding himself to such a fickle and faithless people? This eternal covenant might be a good deal for Israel, but it sure doesn t seem like a smart move for God. All of the benefit is on Israel s end, while all of the risk is on God s end. This doesn t look like it s going to end well. And it doesn t. There s a lot of pain and suffering in Israel s future. The united kingdom lasts for just two lifetimes. After David s son Solomon dies, the kingdom is divided in two, north and south. Sometime after that, the northern kingdom is destroyed by Assyria and disappears from history. Some 150 years later, the southern kingdom is defeated by Babylon. The temple is destroyed and the people, foremost among them the king, the heir of David, are led into exile in Babylon. But God, you promised! Yes, what about God s promise that David s house and his kingdom would be made sure forever? Has God forgotten his promise? Even when the exile ended and the exiles returned to the land, the kingdom was not restored. There was no king and no kingdom. Israel was merely one small part of a much larger foreign empire, first Persian, then Greek, then Roman. What then of God s promise that David s house and kingdom would endure forever? Was this just an empty promise? 9
If we learn nothing else from reading the Bible, we learn that God moves in ways that challenge our expectations. For example, what nation does God choose to form a covenant with? A great power like Egypt? An empire with a fearsome army, with boundless wealth, with countless slaves to do their labor? No, God chooses to covenant with the slaves! God takes a nation of slaves and transforms them into God s people. What does God do when that people refuses again and again to remain faithful to the God to whom they owe their very existence? What does God do when they turn away from the God who liberated them and turn instead to false gods to comfort and security, to wealth and consumption, to mindless self-interest? What does God do when God s word of warning spoken through the prophets falls on deaf ears? Does God wash his hands of this faithless people? Does God say Enough! I m done with you! You have disobeyed me for the last time!? No. What God does is something yet again unexpected. If the people won t listen to God s word, then God will send his Word to the people. God s Word will come directly to them. God s Word will not only speak to them, the Word will take on flesh and live among them. But how will God come? Will God come among a great nation? A nation with armies on the march that can spread the good news of God s coming? A nation of great power that can employ all its might in service to God? Will God come as an emperor who can speak his word into law? [SLIDE] No. God doesn t come in power but in powerlessness. God empties himself of power and takes on flesh. And not just any flesh, but the flesh of a child, an infant, a newborn baby. A baby born into a peasant family living in a remote village of a conquered people in a foreign empire. 10
A wooden stable in Bethlehem, filled with the sounds and smells of working animals, is a far cry from the splendor of the temple in Jerusalem, filled end to end with servants. A bed made of an animal s feeding trough isn t exactly a royal throne. Yet this is God s way of doing home improvement. For this is where and how God chooses to make his home with us not in brick and mortar, not in stone and cedar, but in flesh and bone. 11