1 Chronicles 17:1-27

We often complain about not knowing what to get someone for a birthday or Christmas present.  We want to honor that person but cannot think of anything within our price range that the person would want or need.  David want demonstrate his gratitude towards God.  I can almost hear him thinking: “what do you get for a God who has everything.”  David finds himself in a position where he feels the desire in his heart to give a house to the Lord.  He feels uncomfortable with the fact that he lives in a beautiful palace while the ark of the Lord is being housed in a tent.  David’s desire is to bless the Lord, but we find David once again being blessed by the Lord.  We serve a God who does not need anything.  We should never feel like we are making some sacrifice when serve the Lord or attempt to do something “for Him.”  The reality is that it is a privilege to serve Him and we always end up getting more than we give.

DAVID TRIES TO BUILD A HOUSE FOR GOD AND ENDS UP HAVING HIS HOUSE BLESSED BY GOD: In David’s mind it is simply not acceptable for the ark to be in a tent while he lives in such a comfortable home.  He decides to build temple and shares his vision with Nathan the prophet of the Lord.  Nathan blesses the plan and encourages David to move forward, but then God speaks to Nathan.  God tells Nathan that He has never asked for or needed a house and then proceeds to tell Nathan that he is to tell David about His plans for the future.  God reveals to David that his son will be the one to build the temple; which was an indication from God that David’s family would reign for longer than Saul’s.  This in and of itself was a blessing.  However, God was just getting started.  God goes on to promise David that his descendant would always have the right to reign in Israel: that his house, kingdom and throne would be established forever.  In essence, God was promising that the Messiah who would save and rule over the people would come through the house of David.  Christ is clearly the fulfillment of this promise and one day we will see Him come as King and He will reign forever and we will be honored to reign with Him.  We need to be careful to not think that we are providing something to the Lord; He alone is providential.  We are the recipient of His grace, not the other way around.

DAVID STOPS TRYING TO WORK FOR GOD AND STARTS TO PROMOTE THE WORSHIP OF GOD: When David hears the Word of the Lord through Nathan, he is simply flabbergasted at God’s grace.  David recalls his own humble beginnings and then looks at what God has already done and then on top of that, he hears the promise of what God is planning to do.  This is more than David can comprehend so he does the only thing that he can think of doing: he praises the Lord.  David recognizes that it is not his place to do anything for the Lord but that it is simply his job to praise the Lord for all that He has done.  We are merely instruments in His hands.  God graciously uses us to accomplish His will on the earth, but we must never forget that it is He who is at work in us and not us that is at work for Him.  God gave David the honor of being used to kill giants, play instruments, conquer nations and even be able to praise Him.  The very breath we use to praise the Lord is in itself a gift from the Lord.  We are greatly blessed by God and it should be our natural response to simply praise and worship Him for all that He has done for us, in us and through us.

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