I direct your attention to 2nd Samuel.
Chapter 7. It's one of the mountain peaks,
maybe three or four mountain peaks of scripture in the Old
Testament. This is one of them.
We're looking at King David, the man after God's Own Heart.
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 the 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
Org, 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've been moving
about in a tent for my dwelling, in all the 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'll shoot, you shall say to my servant
David. Thus, saith 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 if 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 and I will appoint a place for
My People, Israel and will play. Them so that they may dwell in
their own place and be disturbed, no more and Violent
Men shall afflict them. No more is formally from 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 when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with
your father's, I will raise up your Offspring after you, who
shall come from. A 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 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 when 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,
the word of the Lord, you may be seated.
About every other sermon in this series, which we started back in
the late summer. I've had to remind us that.
It's not about Eli. It's not about Samuel.
It's not about Saul. It's not about David.
It's about Jesus Christ. The King of Kings and the Lord
of lords, what we've been studying here in these
narratives in the Old Testament, is the historical account of how
God literally historically in time.
And in place, and over the generations establishes his
kingdom. This is the form.
The kingdom took in the early days.
When God made his Covenant with Abraham.
It was with a man. When God renewed, his Covenant
with Moses, it was with the people, an ethnic group a tribe.
Then God moves through and establishes his Covenant, the
same Covenant yet again. And it's with the nation, the
nation that's been United. Under one Shepherd, one king,
the southern Kingdom Judah, first, and then the Northern
Kingdom Israel joined with them and they are now a United
Kingdom. And so many things that God
promised to his people have already come to pass, God
promised him. He would lead them out of Egypt.
He would lead them out of bondage.
He would save them in the wilderness.
He would deliver them safely into the land.
He's done all of that. There's not failed one, good
word that the lord gave to his people and now time has gone by
and the Lord has raised up judges.
And now he has placed the king upon the throne.
The Bible says, the Lord had given him rest from his
surrounding enemies. Almost everything in the Old
Testament, that has a literal historical personal fulfillment
in David or any of the other leading characters in God's
history. Almost everything has an
immediate reference, but then it goes beyond that.
And that's what we see in this particular passage.
God says he gave them rest in the days of Joshua.
We've been on. What was it?
A complete rest. God says he gave them rest here
in the days of King. David God promises In this
passage that he will give them rest in the future, but it is
only when we come to the absolute and complete and final.
Fulfillment of all of these promises do.
Hear someone say come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy
laden and I will give you rest. The writer of Hebrews says,
there's a rest that remains for the people of God.
It's a ultimate rest of final rest.
It's a rest of Peace. It's a rest of prosperity.
It's a rest that is complete in Christ.
So really this passage is all about Christ, isn't it?
Now, historically, we have the prophet Nathan showing up.
And we don't know where he came from.
This, the first mention of Nathan and we'll hear more about
Nathan extraordinary profit. Very close personal minister to
King David. And he's sitting there with the
king and the king is sitting in his house of Cedar that tire
that Hiram, the king of Tyre had contracted and built and it was
a palace and it was in The Citadel of David in the city of
Jerusalem. It was right next to Mount.
Zion where David? We saw last week had pitched a
tent and it brought the Ark of the Covenant up and placed it in
that tent. and so, David is Enjoying the prospects from this
point on. We don't see David going to war
very much for the all practical purposes.
The great enemies of Israel, the Philistines and the edomites
have been subjected to his power.
David is enjoying rest if we follow David through the caves
in the wilderness and in and out, we've see what David's been
through. This is rest for David sitting
in a palatial home. On the heights of Jerusalem.
And he has this need this urge this Niche within him to do
something for God. Because God has done so much for
him. He's brought the ark.
But he feels that he needs to do yet more and he has this, this,
this urge this, this desire. To build the Lord, a house to
build a temple. Now I would like to suggest to
you. The temple building is a
universal urge of worshipping Humanity.
Just look the world over and look through the history books.
The idea of building a building for the glory of God, for the
presence of God is a strong. Urge.
In the heart. Of the person.
But he means more too. Men kind that it does to God.
And Nathan. Who at this point is a good
friend of David and a very supportive preacher.
Says that sounds like a good idea.
Well, that's a magnificent idea. To build a temple.
Instead of that tent that we have over there on Mount Zion.
Let's think in terms of a permanent house.
A beautiful house Temple. In fact, Nathan the prophet who
speaks for God in this instance, spoke as Jeremiah warns the
prophets not to do. He spoke out of his own heart.
And not from the revelation of God in his own prophecy to David
was positive and affirmative. Yes, that sounds like a
wonderful idea go and do. The Lord has been with you and
everything you've done and this is a wonderful thing that you
have in mind. Go and do what's in your heart.
Not just like to say parenthetically here that that's
not how the Tabernacle got built.
God emphasise to Moses over and over and over.
Build it, like I tell you to build it on the mountain.
Follow every intricate detail of how I tell you to build it.
The Tabernacle. And the reason of course we
learn later is that the Tabernacle was the perfect
picture in the symbol of Christ Christ in his Incarnation
Christ, in his Humanity skin stretched over bones.
And so many parts of that Tabernacle inside and out the
furniture of the Tabernacle itself, all of the things that
surrounded, it gave us a picture of the person and the work of
Jesus Christ. But not so with the temple.
The temple was an architecture design that was derived from
many of the Pagan temples in the ancient world.
It's certainly symbolized in pictured, Christ in many ways
and we'll see you in just a moment.
The most important thing, the temple symbolized.
But David was anxious to build this beautiful Temple.
He already knew a good contractor.
Ohio, the tire was an excellent Builder.
He already had a site picked out.
It was a threshing floor there at the summit of the mountain.
That would make a wonderful bed for the foundation for the
temple. David had already begun to
gather some of the materials gather, some of the things that
would be needed to build the house.
But the word of the Lord came to the prophet.
And it was the word of contrast. No.
You go to King David, Nathan and you say to King, David.
Will you build me a house? I never asked for a house, says
the Lord. The whole time I've been
traveling with my people from the days of the Tabernacle, all
the way through the Wilderness wanderings, and into Canaan, and
several hundred years of living in the land.
I've been in a tent. I've been moving about.
I have not found one particular location.
I've not been tied down. I have been at times most
eminent in the midst of you as a pillar of fire and a smoky
cloud. And there are times in which
I've been distant and far and Transcendent and high and lifted
up. And my presence has struck
Terror in your hearts. I am a god of immensity.
And omnipresence. I don't dwell in a little house
that you've made for me. I'm bigger than that.
And my purposes are better than that.
Not only have I never asked for a tenth, the Lord says, but I've
always been free to move in all the places where I move with the
people of Israel. But let me explain to you David
one, more time. How a covenant works.
God's covenant is a unilateral promissory Covenant.
That is he makes the rules. He sets the stipulation.
He has accomplished everything that it needs to bring it about
and he imposes it with his loving, perfect will upon the
vassal upon the subject David. You are my subject.
I took you from following the Sheep.
And made you prints over my people.
God says, I've been at work. I've done this.
This is my kingdom. This is my work.
But I need for you to David is to continue to be submissive to
me and to do that, which I tell you.
And let me tell you this David. The Lord continues to talk
through Nathan, the prophet. I'm going to build you a house.
You're not going to build me a house.
I'm going to build you a house and there's a little play on the
word house. In the first instance.
It's means a temple. The Lord says, you're not going
to build me a temple. The house also means the
household are the family are The Offspring.
Are the lineage. The Lord says to David.
I'm going to give you a house. I'm going to build you a house.
Now, we know how all this was fulfilled.
As we read through the scriptures.
In fact, the story in the Bible moves through and tells us that
David did not build the Lord of Temple instead.
David's son, who was probably yet to be born.
Solomon. David was a man of war Solomon.
Shalom was a man of peace. God, granted great things to
Solomon. Wisdom power.
In fact, in the days of King Solomon, Israel was the most
powerful Nation on earth. Now, admittedly to get there.
Assyria was in a bit of preliminary decline babbling had
not Arisen Egypt was in somewhat of declined.
And all the glory of the nations came to the courts of Solomon.
And yet. It was through Solomon.
The Lord said I'm going to give you the offspring.
And then God begins to make promises.
That go Way Beyond Solomon. Go all the way to Jesus Christ,
even though Solomon built a great Temple, you know, what
happened in about 400 years. It was destroyed completely
raised and rated taken off. The people were taken to
Babylonian captivity, even when they returned about 75, 80 years
later, they built the temple again, but it was a pitiful
looking Building compared to Solomon's Temple.
In fact, the old man cried. Because they remembered the
glory of Solomon's Temple in their youth.
And now these 70 years of captivity had come and gone and
this new temple built under the rubble and haggai and others did
not have the glory. But the Lord says, I'm going to
bring a Brea greater glory to this Temple than was the glory
of Solomon's Temple. And the glory he brought was it
was to that temple. Zerubbabel's temple.
The second temple. Did Jesus Christ?
The true Temple came. And here's what Jesus thought
about the temple. He said, tear it down.
Got in a lot of trouble for saying that too.
He knew the great symbolism of Solomon's Temple and
zerubbabel's Temple that had been enhanced greatly by King
Herod and others that Temple. Had one great significance.
It was teardown of all. It's that your word is that it
was tear down the Bible. It was subject to destruction.
And in that it symbolized the human body of Christ that was
subject to death. Even the death on the cross.
And Jesus said, tear this Temple down and in three days, I'll
raise it again. And that's exactly what
happened. The temple is to tell us the
gospel of the tearing down in the raising up of the very Body
of Christ. God had gone Way Beyond Solomon
when he talked about, he was going to give him an offspring.
That Offspring move Beyond Solomon.
It moved Beyond Rio boehm. It moved beyond the whole
lineage of the Judean Kings and moved all the way to Jesus
Christ and the New Testament over and over and over.
Continues from the first chapter of Matthew all the way through
to the Book of Revelation to make a big deal how that Jesus
Christ of Nazareth. and, by the way, that To named Nazareth
comes from the Hebrew root knots are, which means Branch or
shoot. And David is called, in the Old
Testament, the shoot out of the stump of Jesse his father, Jesus
Christ, fulfills all of that. He is that offspring.
That seed that lineage that are that dynastic King.
From David. And he has come to establish.
A kingdom that is for ever notice how many times the word
forever is used? The Lord declares that he will
make you a house when your days are fulfilled in you.
Lie down with your father's. I will raise up your Offspring
to get that language. Not just that.
I will give you a lineage. I will raise up your Offspring.
That's gospel. That's Christ.
That's what portal Nathan was, preaching, was the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. I will establish the Throne of
his kingdom, Jesus Christ for ever.
And it's interesting that. The Lord anticipates in this
prophecy that there will be descendants of King, David and
Solomon. Some would be obedient to the
Lord and walk in the ways of David, their father and son
would be Wicked Kings. And the Lord promises that the
good Kings those that walk in the ways of David.
Will be blessed. And if a king sins or if he
Strays or if he doesn't follow in the footsteps of his father,
David that he will be disciplined.
According to the stripes of the sons of man.
That's Christ right there. Jesus was the perfect son.
In fact, it said so in the adoption language of Psalm 2.
In Jesus ministry, he heard the voice of the Lord saying this is
my beloved Son in whom I am. Well pleased ask of me and I
will give you the nation's. That's who Jesus Christ.
Is he is the perfect obedient son.
Of God. But he came and stood in the
place of the disobedient Kings of Israel.
Those that didn't walk in the statutes of the Lord are
following. The steps of David.
He came and stood in their place and took upon him as the
scripture says here, the stripes of the sons of men.
Gospel all pointing to Christ. There's a lot more here than
just what I've suggested this morning.
I'm just going to conclude with this one, little term there in
verse 15, but my steadfast love will not depart from him.
The steadfast love is the Covenant Love.
It's the Covenant. Keeping love of God.
And if there's anything that's going to abide.
Upon Christ. It's the steadfast love of God.
And it is through that, steadfast love of God, which is
bestowed upon Jesus Christ. As the anointed one, The Chosen
One, the Savior, the anointed king that is imparted.
That love is imparted to a people.
And in the book of Acts more than once, you'll hear the the
apostles Proclaim, this little truth.
The Lord says I will return and will rebuild the Fallen House of
David. Do you know what it's referring
to? In every case?
It's referring to the Gentiles. The people's the nation joining
with David and Israel into a mighty nation.
The True Body of Christ is his people.
Salvation is not about buildings.
It's about people. Rescuing people saving people
and God has determined that he would.
And it's interesting in one passage.
Which and I have time to read for IV.
Let me just summarize over. Amos.
There was one tribe that was named, that would become part of
the Kingdom of Israel of all the tribes.
And we've talked about all those a'ight, you know, the amalekites
and you know, the Philistines and all the rest of it, but
there's one tribe that's mentioned.
And it's the edomites Edom will come into the fold into the
kingdom, into the population with Israel.
What's so significant about that?
Well, the edomites are descendants of Esau and if there
ever was a man, it was outside the Covenant there.
Ever was a man with the Lord said, Jacob.
I loved Esau, I hated but in the gospel in Jesus Christ, he
brings the edomites in How many termites are here today?
How many of you have not come to the King of Kings and the lord
of the Lord, not bowed your knee to Jesus Christ.
Your edomites. It said if he saw that, he lived
according to the lust of his flesh.
Everything about a sinner is described.
According to Esau, Esau despised, the Covenant.
He despised the birthright. He couldn't care less about the
things of God. But God left him in Jacob in
Christ and brought him in. And that's the gospel.
The gospel goes from David and Israel to Christ.
And to the world. Every single tribe, every
ethnicity, Every Nation, every people group, none, or excluded,
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. David said I'm going to build
you a temple. The Lord said no, I'm going to
build you. A house is going to be the
household of faith. It's going to be my people.
Now if you want to see some Splendor David you stick around
a few Millennia and I will show you when the New Jerusalem, the
bride of Christ, descends from God, out of Heaven to the Earth.
There's a Temple and each of us are living stones fitted and
placed into that. Wonderful Temple.
It is the Lord that builds the house.
It is the Lord that builds his people.
A mighty name, a mighty nation of people resting in the Lord
secure in their place. And as I mentioned think it's
about eight times. This term is used Forever.
This is eternal salvation. What are you staying?
What's your what's your place in?
Holy history. This is not just academic study
this morning. This is for you.
This is Gospel. Truth, what God Said to David
1,000 years before Christ died and rose again, and it's been
2000 years since then never changes.
The message. That Nathan preached is the
message. I'm trying to preach in that is
of Jesus Christ, all in all. Your savior, your lord, your
king for all eternity. How about it?
How have you waited out? How have you measured it?
How have you considered it? What is your commitment?
What is your Allegiance? What is your willingness to come
and and stay? In the kingdom of God.