2 Samuel 7
Have you ever had the blessing of being put first by a parent, family member, or friend? In my family of origin it was my mother that lived this way for my sisters and I. It seemed that she was focused on seeking out what was best for us and not as focused on herself. She was tough and relentless, in the midst of fighting for us she opted out of choosing things that would have been better for her personally. She was a sacrificial parent in this regard. Her love, her plan for raising her children, was sacrificial. I believe this kind of love is godly, and I see it exemplified perfectly by the Lord in this passage.
There are three main ways that the Lord shows us his loving plan.
The Lord loves David & his chosen people in the current moment of the passage.
The Lord lovingly sacrifices for his people.
The Lord indicates how he will continue to love his people.
Let's look again at verse 1, “Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies.” The verse sets up where the Lord is going to take the rest of the passage and the book. But there is a little bit of information we need to key in on. The Lord had given David rest from all of his enemies. What a gift, I am sure that after everything David had been through this was a huge blessing to take a break, connect with the Lord, be with his people. The Lord shows here in a seemingly small but very significant way that he is a God of mercy and care for his people.
The Lord our God put his interest in a permanent dwelling place second behind establishing a safe dwelling place for his people. In verse 2 we see David allude to how he lives in the house of cedar while the Ark of the Covenant lives in a tent. It’s not long before the Lord brings that up with the prophet Nathan. But the Lord highlights to Nathan how he will establish David and his family, how he will establish Israel, and it isn't until then that a son of David will build a permanent home for God’s dwelling place on earth. The Lord remarks how he has not had a home since Egypt, but he shows that a home isn’t his main goal. His main goal is establishing his people. He sacrificially dismisses a home for himself to accomplish a bigger and more loving interest in establishing his people.
I don't know about you but verses 13-17 are just amazing, exciting verses to take in. Not only has the Lord been loving towards his people in the context of David, but now he points to a longer term love, a longer term plan. He says ‘forever’ 3 times in that span. This is a forever plan, a forever love. His words here also mirror or imitate what will happen when Christ once and for all sets us up for that relationship. The Lord's love for us in the current day and all of eternity is being reflected to us. Let us rejoice.
That's exactly what David does. He rejoices, he praises God in thankfulness. Honestly, that is all I can think of doing after reading this passage. Friends, brothers, sisters, let us today and all today rejoice in the truth and love of Christ our King and God the Father.
