2 Samuel 7:1-8:14; 1 Chronicles 17:1-18:13; Psalm 60

David desires to build a permanent temple for the Ark of the Lord to rest in. The Lord informs David through the prophet Nathan that he is not the king who will build a permanent temple for the Lord. Rather, the Lord will establish David’s family as a dynasty and his son will have the honor of building the Lord’s temple. David praises God for blessing his descendants. David then goes about defeating the last of Israel’s enemies in order to secure her place among the nations. David then writes a psalm asking the Lord for help against Israel’s enemies.

David wanted to do a good thing; he wanted to honor God by building a permanent home for the Ark. Even though God did not allow David to build the temple God did promise David a permanent dynasty. David accepted God’s decision that his son would be the one to build the temple.

We can learn three important things from this passage. 1) When we are trying to discern if God is calling us to do something it is good to consult with a spiritual adviser (as David consulted Nathan). 2) Sometimes God blesses other people through us. In this case David’s offspring were blessed in part due to David’s faith in God. David himself was not blessed in the way he requested (with the honor of building the temple. 3) God blesses as he see fit. Ultimately we do not decide God’s will; God decides God’s will. Even if we are not blessed in the way we wanted we are still to honor and worship God for blessing us in the way he has decided to bless us.

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