God built you a house through Jesus, the Son of God and the son of David.
Read / Listen
Read 2 Samuel 7:1-17
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 35
Q. What does it mean that he
“was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary”?
A. That the eternal Son of God,
who is and remains
true and eternal God,
took to himself,
through the working of the Holy Spirit,
from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary,
a truly human nature
so that he might become David’s true descendant,
like his brothers in every way except for sin.
Summary
After David had fully established his kingdom in Israel, he expressed his desire to build a house for God, since God's presence still was within the tabernacle, a tent designed to move as Israel moved.
David approached the prophet Nathan to be sure his idea of building a permanent temple was consistent with God's will. Nathan initially gave David the green light, telling David that the Lord was with him.
But that night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, revealing that David would not be the one to build Him a house, rather God would be the one who built a House - a never ending dynasty - for David.
This passage is significant as it establishes the concept of the Davidic Covenant, which promises a lasting dynasty and kingdom for David's descendants, ultimately fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ as the eternal king from the line of David.
Dig Deeper
Yesterday we were reminded of the importance of Jesus' miraculous virgin birth. The importance of this doctrine isn't necessarily the biological uniqueness of Jesus not having an earthly father, but as we'll focus on tomorrow, the point is that Jesus is a new Adam rather than a descendent of the first Adam.
But at the same time, Jesus is fully human and through his mother Mary, He does have a biological heritage, and it's one that's very important: the fact that Jesus is a descendent of David fulfills the promise that David's throne will be established forever.
It's often easy to just pray that Jesus will be with us in our horizontal relationships: our jobs, families and other immediate concerns. Of course Jesus will be with us in these things, and it is important to pray for them, but passages like this one remind us that God's concerns for us are much bigger than the particular challenges we struggle with on a day to day basis.
God fulfilled this amazing promise to King David years about 1,000 later on Christmas morning, and what's more, He's included you in these promises! You have been chosen by God to be included in Christ, and so to reign with Him in a kingdom that will never end. God didn't need David to build a house for Him, rather God built a house for us through David!
So whatever it is that's weighing you down today, take it to the Lord in prayer for sure, but even more so, be reminded that you're included in the Kingdom of God. Know that God will "plant you so that you can have a home of your own and no longer be disturbed (v10)."
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who rules over all things with His Son, who sits on David's throne forever.
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to continually remind you of your kingdom citizenship in the midst of worldly struggles.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - James 4
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