2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 (NRSV)
Read 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 7Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, Verse 2the 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." Verse 3Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you."
Verse 4But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Verse 5Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? Verse 6I 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. Verse 7Wherever 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?" Verse 8Now 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; Verse 9and 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. Verse 10And 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, Verse 11from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. Verse 16Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.
Devotion
After King David triumphantly returns the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he enjoys some well-earned rest in his palace. As David reflects on the luxury of his own well-appointed house, he becomes troubled at the idea that the Ark, and therefore God, dwells in a mere tent. David resolves to build God a house, a temple. This sounds like a righteous thing for David to do, and yet God rejects his offer. "I have never asked for or needed a house before," says God, "Why should I need one from you now?"
God's response to David is a reminder that God's extravagant faithfulness is unmatched by any human effort at reciprocity. God's grace is abundant, eternal, persistent and nimble—unable to be boxed in by walls, not confined to one place or time, always on the move and never giving up on any of us.
Prayer
God of abundant grace, as we read in Holy Scripture about your extravagant faithfulness to David, open our eyes to the ways you pour your grace out on us, and fill our hearts with thankfulness. Amen.