Our first scripture this morning comes from the book of Second Samuel. If you’ll turn with me in your Bibles to chapter seven beginning with the first verse.
Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.’ And Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.’
But that same night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan. ‘Go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 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 for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’
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, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
I will appoint a place for my people Israel and I will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. Violent men shall afflict them no more as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies.
Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be to him like a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. In accordance with all these words and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
From Second Samuel, we turn to the book of First Kings, beginning in the sixth chapter. We will be jumping around a little bit in the verses because there are a lot of extra details that are not going to be our focus this morning, so please listen.
In the 480th year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon concerning this house that you are building. If you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.
And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel. So Solomon built the house and finished it. In the fourth year, the foundation of the Lord was laid in the month of Ziv, and in the 11th year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, your word is true. It tells us of your glory, it tells us of your faithfulness, and it tells us how you have called us to worship you. We ask now that you, who are always in our midst when we gather, would open our hearts and open our minds to hear you speak this morning. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and pleasing in your sight. Amen.
The Jewish temple in Jerusalem was the greatest symbol of the Lord dwelling in the midst of his people. It was large, it was solid, it was built of stone, wood, precious metals, and gemstones. It was beautiful and it was meant to last forever as the permanent home for God in the capital city of his chosen people in the land he had given them—a land and home received by their faith in the Lord’s promises.
But why do they need a temple? God already had a dwelling place among his people, the tabernacle. Solomon’s temple was necessary for the Israelites because of the progressive dwindling of their faith and confidence in God while their confidence of self and pride was steadily increasing. They needed the constant reminder of his presence, a reminder of who they believed in even as their faith was slowly transformed into a religion.
But even still, God was with them. Our relationship with God began way back there in the Garden of Eden, where God would walk in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve. They had a physical and spiritual relationship with him based on their intimate knowledge and faith; no further or greater revelation was necessary.
But unfortunately, after the exile from Eden, our relationship was broken. Mankind lost their faith and gradually forgot about God. Throughout the book of Genesis, the Lord revealed himself to the patriarchs: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They each trusted him and his promises, obeying his commands in faith. Unfortunately, beyond a few people, no one ever knew the Lord, and no one else had a relationship with him.
So these faithful few lived in the world as strangers, different from everybody else. Then later, when the descendants of Israel had grown to such a great quantity and were oppressed by the Egyptians, they remembered the faith of their ancestors and cried out for help.
So God revealed himself to Moses, the man he knew face to face as a friend. The Lord entered into a relationship with Moses, and through Moses, he brought the people back into a good relationship with him. The Lord set this people, Israel, apart from everyone else in the world. He made them to be different. He made them unique. He made them holy and unlike all the others because he promised them that his presence would dwell in their midst.
But these people now, free from bondage in Egypt, wanted to be just like everybody else. They didn’t want an invisible God to believe in by faith; they wanted a golden idol that they could see, touch, and carry before them like all the other civilized nations. But since when has doing what everybody else is doing been a good thing?
The Lord punished them for their idolatry, but he did not destroy them, for God is gracious. When they entered into the promised land and conquered it, his presence still went with them and dwelt among them in the tabernacle. The tabernacle traveled with them everywhere they went. It was erected at the center of their camp, with every family and clan equally close to the Lord’s presence.
The tabernacle served as a constant reminder that God is with us. Because all the people were gathered in one place, the tabernacle was unique among all the other nations. They all had their idols and temples and such fixed and beautiful in comparison and construction, but nobody else had a portable sanctuary dedicated solely to the one true living God, which served as the center of their faith.
Once they were settled in the land of Canaan, while the Israelites were becoming established as a nation, the people desired to be like all the other nations. Now that the Lord’s promises were being fulfilled, having God dwell in their midst was not good enough; now they wanted a powerful and mighty king to stand before their enemies and rule over them.
Before this, all their important decisions were made consulting God through the priests—whether it was to go to battle, whom to trust, what to plant, where to plant, or anything else—because God was their king and sovereign. Predicted by Moses, their demand for a human king was yet another rejection of the Lord. Just like the incident with the golden calf, it was damaging to their relationship with him.
However, God is gracious, and he gave them a king. He gave them the king they asked for—King Saul—to teach them what a king should not be. Then God gave them David, God’s choice for a king, a man after the Lord’s own heart. David was to be their godly king, and under David, the land of Canaan was finally conquered. The whole promised land came fully under the control of Israel, and there was peace in the land. Israel had shalom and could now rest.
This catches the story up to our text this morning. Now God had dwelled with his people for some 400 years, moving from place to place, and now they were settled in the land with the tabernacle settled at Shiloh. The Israelites were established; they have homes and cities, farms and barns, and burial places where their recent ancestors lay.
But from the people’s perspective, God did not have that same kind of permanency, so King David got it into his mind that since he was settled and enthroned in a palace in the city of Jerusalem, then God should be too. David had spent most of his life living in the wilderness on as many military campaigns as a child, watching his father’s flocks. This was well and good for those times and places, but now that he was king, he didn’t think that he should have a home better than God. So, David wanted to build God a temple.
Now remember that David was a man after God’s own heart. He had good intentions in this. He was not being self-aggrandizing; he did not want to elevate himself or be elevated above God. Even though David is king over Israel, he knew that the Lord is still his sovereign. His desire to build a temple for the Lord was not a competition with or comparison against Israel’s neighbors; he was not trying to keep up with the Joneses. His only desire here was for God and God’s glory.
Building the temple was not about David; if anything, to David, the temple would be a beacon of light before the whole world, proclaiming God’s glory and his favor upon Israel—like a spotlight shining on the clouds at night or like a great big neon sign proclaiming, ‘God is with us.’ David wanted to build the temple because of his faith. He wanted to boast in the Lord. The people wanted to build the temple for glory as well; its construction would be their crowning achievement, the capstone to their religion. It would be a place high and glorious which they could point to and say, ‘The temple of the Lord!’ The ultimate symbol showing that they had arrived.
How often do some people today think this way about our different church buildings? However, in our relationship with Emmanuel, the temple of the Lord is not about a specific building in a specific city in a specific country. The temple of the Lord is actually a tale of two houses: a house built out of stone and a house built of flesh and spirit. A house which man has built for God and the house which God has built for man—one a solid structure of wood and stone as a throne for divinity, and the other an everlasting kingdom and the family of God.
After David expressed his desire to build a temple, the Lord spoke to him about these two different houses. God asked him, ‘Why do you want to build me a house? Have I asked you to build me a house?’ No, saying instead, ‘I will build you a house. I will establish for you a dynasty.’
It’s interesting that this is where God leads their relationship. David only wants to glorify God, but instead, God promises glory for David, offering him surety of the kingdom for generations to come. However, this dynasty is not compensation for David’s faithfulness; instead, it is a gift of God’s sovereign grace and election. David is not asking for his posterity or for himself because those are not his principal concern, yet that is what God freely promises him because it was not his concern.
Now, today, whenever we consider dynasties—and I don’t mean the TV show—we often think of powerful or influential people like our modern political families, such as the Bushes, the Clintons, the Trumps, the Kennedys, and so forth. People who immediately upon their election begin their re-election campaigns and set up family members or friends into positions of authority as a means of solidifying their power.
Or perhaps thinking of a dynasty, we think of European royalty, like the English King Henry VIII. In this situation, the English royalty system is a better political comparison to King David’s time. Typically, whenever a king came to power, the first thing they did was get married and start having kids to build up their dynasty, to establish an heir and make their hope for the future secure.
Henry VIII’s whole problem, the reason for his multiple marriages and his split from Rome, was his lack of a male heir. First, Catherine of Aragon bore him a daughter, Mary, the future queen of Scots. Next came Anne Boleyn, who bore him his second daughter, Elizabeth I. Then came Jane Seymour, who finally bore him the coveted male heir, Edward VI. Even after Edward’s birth, Henry still continued trying for more sons with his various marriages and his later three wives to try and make his throne even more secure.
Why was Henry so fervent about establishing his dynasty? He had been elevated to the throne soon after the War of the Roses, a conflict over the English throne which devastated several noble families, and his political situation was not secure without a male heir.
When David assumed the throne of Israel following King Saul and the executions of Saul’s sons, he found himself in similar circumstances. But David’s chief concern was for the true king of Israel, the sovereign over him, the Lord God Almighty—not for himself or his dynasty.
This is an example of why David was called a man after God’s own heart, because his first desire was for what God wanted. His first concern was for God instead of his own sinful inclinations, even though he did indulge them too. David believed God and trusted the Lord. He had faith and received God’s blessing despite his many imperfections.
But instead of accepting his well-intentioned act of devotion—the building of the temple—the Lord reminded David of what God had already done for him and Israel through him, saying, ‘I raised you up from being a simple shepherd, from guarding livestock, to be the king over my people. I have been with you, and I will always be with you. I have defeated your enemies because they are my people’s enemies; therefore, they are my enemies.’
And God continues this with a unilateral promise following the traditional format of covenant with David being the mediator for Israel, saying, ‘You, David, are going to be famous, remembered for all time as one of the greatest men who lived. Israel as a people is established; I’m gonna make their roots strong and deep. Their home will be theirs forevermore, and they shall have peace unending.’
Echoing the first messianic prophecy of Genesis 3:16, God lays out for David the promise of Messiah, of the Christ to come, saying, ‘I, the Lord, will make you a house. I will establish your dynasty forever. You need not worry about the future of Israel; I will raise up children from you, a child of your flesh. He is the one who will build the temple, build the house—a temple for my name. He will be the king, and I will establish his kingdom and his throne forever.’
Now, I’m sure David liked the sound of this. I mean, every king and ruler would love to hear God say this to them. But then God carries on with, ‘That’s not all. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. I have chosen him; I am claiming him as my own. I will discipline him in love like every good father does, but though the punishment might sometimes be harsh or seemingly cruel, he will always have my love and will receive my mercy.’
The key part of this covenant of promise, the greatest comfort for Israel and the church today, is this: ‘And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’
David, his family, his dynasty, his heir, and all those folks united under and with him will be part of a kingdom in the presence of God forever. David’s heir would sit upon the throne and rule; he would have authority in the presence of the Lord, and he would be their king forever. And while the Jews are still waiting, we know who David’s true heir is—Jesus.
Historically, when a covenant was established between a sovereign and their servant, it was bilateral, going both ways. The servant would be obligated to do something to earn or justify receipt of their Lord’s blessing. But that’s not what’s going on here. This is not a law covenant like Moses received at Mount Sinai; this is a promised covenant like God gave to Abraham back in Genesis chapter 15.
It is an expansion of the covenant of grace. Yes, work was commanded; a son of David would build a temple for the Lord, but the work was not to earn the rest of God’s blessings; instead, the building of it would be the sign of God’s blessing upon the people, evidence that what the Lord had promised was coming to pass.
This sign first came to pass in David’s son by Bathsheba, Solomon. Now David had several sons, and over the years, he had rival sons lay claim to his throne, both during his rule and later as his death neared. So the line of succession for the kingship of Israel was not always particularly clear. Providentially, Solomon was established by David and the Lord as the unquestioned king of Israel when David died in peace, and Solomon began his reign during an extended time of prosperity, both of which increased during his reign.
So Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. The Lord blessed Israel; his promises to David were proven true, and the glory of the Lord’s presence filled the temple and dwelt there. During the dedication of the temple, a cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Emmanuel had taken up his residence in Jerusalem, the holy city.
The temple became the symbol of the Lord’s favor upon the people. The temple, containing God’s presence, became their source of comfort and hope. Now there was no doubt in Israel that the Lord God was with them, but no doubt does not mean an abundance of faith.
Through Solomon, David’s line was secure; his house and his dynasty was established. Solomon built God’s house in Jerusalem, and it was a wonder to behold. He spent seven years building it. People came from all around to see the temple, to worship the Lord, and to hear the wisdom of Solomon the king. The nation of Israel had arrived.
But there’s a great difference between the houses of men and the house of God. Solomon spent seven years building God’s house, and then he spent 13 years building his own palace. His house was bigger and grander than the temple. He built his house better than God’s house. Solomon, although he began his reign well, did not follow in his father David’s ways. He made treaties with the nations of the world; he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
Henry VIII, with his many wives and his politicking, couldn’t hold a candle to Solomon. Solomon’s wives led him into idolatry, worshiping their gods instead of the Lord alone.
After Solomon died, the kingdom was divided into Israel and Judah, ten tribes in the north and the remaining two tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south, with the Levites split between them. Only the kingdom of Judah was faithful to the line of David, but one of his descendants always sat on the throne in Jerusalem until the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar came, conquered the land, and destroyed the temple in 586 BC.
The house built by man, by our own strength and power, could not stand. It did not stand the test of time, nor could it withstand the test of faith. Judah had good and faithful kings, but also had many more evil and wicked kings. The northern kingdom of Israel, later called Samaria, only ever had wicked and evil kings; they never did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and the northern kingdom was destroyed in 720 BC. Ten of the twelve tribes of Israel have been extinct for 2,700 years.
But God’s house remains. The temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt during the days of Zerubbabel. It was completed 70 years after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first temple in 516 BC, fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy. Later, the temple was refurbished and expanded by Herod the Great, beginning somewhere around 20 BC to become the temple where Jesus taught.
This temple was finally and utterly destroyed in 70 AD by the Roman general and later emperor Titus following a revolution of the Jews. But still, God’s house remains because God’s house is not a temple built by men. The infinite God cannot be contained within a construction of man.
Truly, the Lord’s temple is in heaven and is of his own creation and construction—incorruptible and indestructible. The works of men will always fail, but the promises and will of God last forever.
The true temple of the Lord is wherever the family of God gathers together in worship; where the house and dynasty built by God for King David, by the Spirit of adoption, where God’s chosen people, the elect, are gathered together—a place where one day we will all be gathered before the throne of Christ and the Ancient of Days.
The Lord kept his covenant promise to David. He preserved him a dynasty through King Solomon to the last king, Jehoiakim, to Jehoiakim’s grandson, that Persian governor Zerubbabel, through ten more generations unto a carpenter named Joseph, the earthly adopted father of Jesus Christ our Lord, God the Son. He who is our eternal king.
David’s son, although the verse is often taken out of context, is still true regarding the gathering together for worship. Jesus said, ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I among them.’ Whenever believers gather together in Jesus’s name, his presence is with us. Our Emmanuel.
When we gather together for worship in his presence, we are transported spiritually into the heavenly temple, standing before the throne of our Lord, with our prayers and praises going up as incense, as a pleasing aroma. We don’t need a beautiful building to worship God in for the strengthening of our faith, but it is nice to have, and it is something we must always remain grateful for.
However, we must never forget that the building is not what is important. The temple in Jerusalem was not what was important—who we worship here is. The building is not the church; we are the church.
That’s capital C, Church. All believers together across the world in time, who are united in Christ, are the church. The church is dying in Afghanistan right now and in Syria and in other places around the world, just as much as the church is dying here—dying in faith or dying in body. Wherever we go, the church is.
But God has promised to preserve his church forever. The houses of men cannot stand; they will always fail and fall because of our sinfulness. But the house of the Lord, the family of God, and his promises will never fail.
So come, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us stand. Let’s enter together and remain in his presence forever. Enjoy and rest in the promise that one day your spirit will be raised to the heavenly temple, one not built with human hands, to the eternal dwelling place of our Emmanuel until Christ returns once more.
Hallelujah! Amen.