2 Samuel 7:1-17
The question of the past 7 months has been what comes next? When can we do the thing? When can we stop doing the thing? And that question and search is happening in Samuel as well. The people and David are in Jerusalem. The ark is in Jerusalem. There is a palace for the king. So what comes next? After the long journey through the wilderness, the multi-generation, extended and expanded trip to get to this place, what comes now?
David is ready to get God back into a building. (See what I did there?) David comes up with this idea, and then gets approval from Nathan, and then God disagrees. God disagrees in long form. God doesn’t want a building. God wants a people. God wants a family. God wants a home. But not one made of cedar. One made of flesh and blood.
We read this passage as a promise to David that leads to Jesus, but it is more than that. This is a testimony to the character and desires of God. God doesn’t want a house, God wants a home. We hear it again at the end of the book (Revelation 21:3) “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;” So what comes now? How do things change if our understanding is that we are the house, home, and family of God, and not these beams and cement?
