Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-29
Sermon Series: 2 Samuel: When God is Your King! – Sermon 07
What prayers are more worthy of God answering than a godly mother’s prayers for her unsaved son? David Jeremiah (picture), “The simple, daily influences of prayer, persuasion, and promoting of godly values are the most powerful tools a mother can use to unleash the potential of her children.”
Her name was Monica. Her passionate prayers were painfully answered with a NO. She was married to a pagan. Her husband was a prominent member of the community and a member of the city council, but he was unfaithful and indulged in sexual excesses. But he provided their son with the best education. The young man, deeply influenced by his faither, became a brilliant teacher but also became sexually promiscuous, a hedonist in constant search of pleasure. In essence, he was a rich, well-educated playboy.
His mother was a committed and devout Christ-follower. Her peace and purpose attracted her son, but not enough for him to follow her faith. While she prayed often for her son’s salvation, her prayers became even more fervent when he decided to leave home and go to the urban center of Rome. It offered greater education options for him and more opportunities to indulge his pleasures. She rightly imagined the worst, losing her son to the evils of Rome and feared that he’d be eternally lost. She prayed and wept before he left, pleading with God to intervene. Her passionate prayers and flowing tears are legendary. Though Monica prayed, begging him not to go, still he went. It broke her heart. It must have been so hard for her comprehend God’s No. If ever there was a woman that we’d expect God to hear, if there ever was a prayer that God should answer, shouldn’t it be a godly mother’s prayer for her prodigal son? But God said, No.
What do you do When God says, “No.” Most of us have been there. This morning we’re working through 2 Samuel 7 where God answers David, the one described as a man after God’s heart with a flat-out, No.
2 Samuel 7 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible. It’s up there with John 3 and the 23rd Psalm. It’s a vital chapter in the timeline of the Bible. It’s inspired a whole people group and engendered a national identity.
Simon Winchester (picture) wrote a book entitled The Meaning of Everything about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Borrowing from that title, it’s fair to say that 2 Samuel 7 opens the door to the meaning of everything—not just the meaning of everything in the Bible but the meaning of everything in the entire panoramic history of the world.
This is a major chapter. It’s why it’s incumbent for us to take the time to study it. It’s a vital link in God’s plan of redemption. It primarily consists of two conversations, two speeches, God’s and David’s – yet it has profound significance for us. If you’re taking notes…
1. When our good plans are not God’s plans, vss. 1-3.
We human beings are fairly predictable. When things are going well, we tend to forget God. We want to be in control. We like to do what we want, when we want to do it.
Recently, I read about a young man who was in his late twenties. He’s extremely handsome but single. He’s a Christian but had just not found the right woman to marry. He got on a plane and was having one of those down-and-out moments when he wondered if he’d ever meet the right woman. He sat in the window seat, with the aisle seat next to him unoccupied. He began to pray, “Lord, if you could just send the woman who is to be my wife and cause her to sit right here in this empty seat today, that’d be such a blessing.”
Passengers continued to board, but no one sat in the seat next to him. They’re ready to close the door of the plane when a beautiful young woman walks on. She had long hair, perfect features and lovely eyes. This young man began to pray even harder, “O Lord, let her sit next to me.” She walked back, looked at her ticket, and sure enough, sat down next to him.
Soon he engaged her in conversation, trying not to be too forward though at the same time. His heart was pounding with the sense that God might be up to something wonderful by placing this lovely lady next to him. Finally, he asked, “So, are you married?” She responded, “No, I just haven’t met the right man.” “Well, what kind of man are you looking for?” She said, “I like Native American men, you know – Indians with dark skin and dark hair. But I also like Jewish men. They have dark skin but are also often rich. To be honest, however, the men I like the most are the rugged outdoor type – you know, driving a pickup truck with a gun rack in the back.”
Then she asked him, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve asked you for your name?” He responded, “My name, oh it’s Geronimo Goldberg, but my friends call me Bubba.” That was a young man with questionable motives, but that’s not David. His motives are pure. He loves God. He’s grateful and wants to please and serve God.
This is the first time we meet Nathan the prophet. As Samuel was the prophet for King Saul, Nathan is the prophet for David. I can almost picture David and Nathan sitting on the back porch of David’s cedar house, sipping coffee after dinner. David’s heart is filled with gratitude to God for His goodness. For the first time in decades, he’s living in a time of personal and national peace, “the Lord had given him [David] rest from all his surrounding enemies” (2 Samuel 7:1).
As they talk David shares with Nathan his dream. He says, “I’m living in this gorgeous house, but God and the Ark dwell in a tent. It doesn’t feel right. God is the one who’s given me every good thing, but God is in a tent while I live in a beautiful house.” Remember that David brought the Ark of the Covenant (picture) into Jerusalem. The Ark was a gold-covered portable box that’s central to their worship. It’s a visible symbol of Israel’s invisible God, and a sign of God’s presence.
David longs to use his money and skills to upgrade the accommodations for God’s Ark. It’s not selfish ambition. It’s all about God! Matthew Henry (picture) writes, “Gracious grateful souls never think they can do enough for God, but, when they have done much, are still projecting to do more and devising generous things. They cannot enjoy their own accommodations while they see the church of God in distress and under a cloud.”
Don’t you love moments like these? Spiritual turning points when a Christ-follower moves from receiving to giving. Too many of us, when we get to a point in life where we’re comfortable so we can retire, find retirement leads to self-absorption and boredom. Not David. He desired to devote his new-found spare time to honoring God who’d been so good to him.
As Christians, the antidote to selfishness is to devote ourselves to honoring the God who’s so good to us and gave us all the success we enjoy. Those in a financially comfortable position should be the first to give generously in gratitude to the God who made us financially comfortable. We should be the first to serve, using our gifts for Christ’s kingdom now that we don’t need to deploy those gifts with such vigor for the good of our workplace.
If someone is a craftsman, or has other skills, they should use those gifts to help build God’s kingdom. It’s what David did. It’s what we should do.
David displays another quality of a spiritually astute person. He seeks godly counsel. He asked someone he respected what he thought of his idea to build a better home for the Ark. Too many of us only listen to our own counsel. It’s why a church family is so vital. We need the wise counsel of other mature believers. None of us have arrived.
When was the last time you sought godly counsel? Sadly, for us as we age, particularly for men, it’s rare. We foolishly think we’re the answer people when in God’s Kingdom, we’ve only just begun.
David respected Nathan the prophet, so he shared his dream with him. “And Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you’” (2 Samuel 7:3). If David is an example of someone who desires to honor God in his success, Nathan is an example of a great encourager.
Just as we should look for ways to honor God, we should look for ways to serve Him by encouraging others who are growing in their faith. It may be encouraging someone to break a sinful habit. It may be encouraging someone who is beginning to spend time in God’s Word. It may be encouraging a father that’s taking time out of his busy life to spend more time with his children. It may be encouraging a mom struggling to balance out her life, to have godly priorities and not cave to peer pressure.
While things look good in 2 Samuel 7, we have an unexpected change. We learn godly people with the best motives and intentions can be wrong.
2. God blesses those who want to honor Him, vss. 4-17.
Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps (Proverbs 16:9). This is a critical issue that’s at work in this story. Even the best of human beings with the highest motives will get things wrong. This is especially true when we plan what we believe is God’s will.
There’s a big difference between “God told me this is His will” and “I believe this may be where God is leading.” The only thing that’s clearly God’s will is what’s written in His Word. It’s why we must know our Bible.
Verse 4. “But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ‘Go and tell my servant David’” (2 Samuel 7:4-5). Nathan has some egg on his face and must go back the next morning to withdraw the building permit.
What praise God gives David. What would be the highest compliment to you? To be called “my servant” by God is such a high accolade. Only three other biblical heroes are called “my servant” – Abraham, Moses and Caleb.
God says no to David so graciously that David is hardly aware he’s being turned down. That’s the way God deals with faithful servants. Even when He says no, He does it with unconditional love and acceptance. It must have disappointed David, yet he accepts it in faith and grace.
I don’t want to rain on your parade, but God doesn’t need you. He doesn’t need our presence, abilities or money. What’s true is that we need God, desperately! We foolishly think we have something to offer God that He needs. D. A. Carson (picture) writes: “[God] doesn’t go through the week saying, ‘Boy, I can hardly wait till Sunday. I haven’t been stroked recently. I’m a bit disappointed. I’m having a bad hair day because they used out-of-tune guitars instead of a decent pipe organ this week.’ He doesn’t need us. He’s not psychologically or materially or spiritually or emotionally or intellectually dependent upon us…He just doesn’t need us.”
Yet what a wonderful, no. We find two truths: God’s presence and God’s promise. As A.T. Pierson insightfully said (picture), “Disappointments are His appointments.” What God gives David is so wonderful that it’s incomparable to what David was going to give God. That’s always true. What God gives us is incomparable to anything we can give or do for Him.
It begins with a speech. We all know of famous speeches that changed the course of history. Think of Martin Luther King’s (picture), “I Have a Dream” or John F. Kennedy’s (picture) “Ask Not” speech. God’s famous speech changed more than a nation; it changed the world. It’s the longest direct speech from God in Scripture since giving the Ten Commandments. God shares that His people have something better than a house.
We have God’s presence. It’s what theologians call “the incarnational principle.” God wants to be in the same place and in the same condition that His people are. “I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for My dwelling” (2 Samuel 7:6). He’s the God who travels with His people in all their topsy-turvy, here and there wanderings. Do His people live in tents? So, does He? The God of the universe does not delight in an immaculate house. He delights in being with us, His people.
God loves being with His people. It’s why He wanted a tent so He could walk with His people. This is why Jesus, God’s Son, took on human flesh. He took on a body so He could be one of us, so He could save us and eternally be with us. And when Jesus returned to heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in us because His joy is in being with us.
If you are a Christ-follower, you’re never alone. He promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). When we gather as a church family, God has joy because the Bible tells us that God dwells among His people when they’re gathered together in an even more intimate way than our one-on-one time with Him.
Sam Rayburn (picture) was Speaker of the House of Representatives longer than any other representative in our history. Rayburn was one who knew how to be present. The teenage daughter of a friend died suddenly one night. Early the next morning the man heard a knock on his door. When he opened it, there was Sam Rayburn…standing outside. The Speaker said, “I just came by to see what I could do to help.” The father replied in his deep grief, “I don’t think there is anything you can do, Mr. Speaker. We are making: all the arrangements.” “Well,” Rayburn said, “have you had your coffee this morning?” The man replied that they’d not taken time for breakfast. So, Sam Rayburn said that he could at least make coffee for them. While he was working in the kitchen, the dad came in and said, “Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning.”
“Well, I was,” Rayburn said, “but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble, and I couldn’t come.” That’s presence. And whether you’re on the top or the bottom, God is always present.
Then David has the blessing of God’s Promise. Some of you sitting here this morning are struggling with this God stuff. Maybe you’re a skeptic. Many of us have been there. I’ve been there. But I want you to grab your Bible. If you don’t have one, grab the chair Bible and turn to Luke 1 (page 803). Look at verse 30-33: “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of his father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Did you catch that? And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of his father David. It began here, 1000 years before the birth of Jesus. This is what’s known as the Davidic Covenant or the Promise from God to David.
David wanted to build God a house and God told David, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” God was going to build David a house, not a physical one but a dynasty. It would be a salvation house for all the people of the world, and it all begins here in 2 Samuel 7.
The Bible’s radical message is not simply that God exists or that He’s the Creator. It’s more than God’s purposeful actions in history. It’s even inadequate to realize that the Bible is God’s message. Because it’s possible to know and understand all of those things and yet still not know what the Bible is all really all about.
The golden thread that holds the Bible all together, its central message is – God has promised! The ultimate worth of the Bible is that God makes and keeps His promise. Faith is believing in God’s promise. Unless we see that everything in the Bible is related to God’s promise, we miss the point.
What’s the promise? It begins in Genesis with the promise of a Savior to the fallen pair. It’s the promise of a people and land to Abraham. Now it’s the promise of a coming king and a Savior through the line of David. It’s the promise of the king who comes, dies for our sin, rises again and ultimately takes His throne and reigns. This promise is the key to everything.
King David is the link between Abraham and Jesus. While sin can bring disaster on any resident of the house, as it will with the kings from David’s line who fail, it can’t destroy the house. The word house is used 15 times in this chapter. God is going to build David a house of flesh and blood, a dynasty of kings. Here are some key points.
Death cannot end the promise, vss. 12-13. David will die, but God will raise up David’s son. The “he” will be Solomon, David’s 2nd son with Bathsheba. Solomon will build God’s temple. The “he” also refers to an enduring line of sons, David’s offspring. More sons will follow Solomon. David’s line will never end. Not even death will annul God’s promise.
Sin cannot destroy the promise, vss. 14-15. If this promise depends on the faithfulness of David or his descendants, it’s doomed. When David’s sons disobey God, He faithfully disciplines them. He won’t reject them though because of David. But when King Saul went astray, what happened? God rejected him. Saul’s kingdom was over.
Not so with David’s line. God will not allow sin to have dominion over His dominion. God will shower David’s family with His steadfast love. What’s known in Hebrew as God’s hesed, His loving kindness and mercy. We’ve seen this word before, hesed. Itappears 250 times in the Old Testament. It’s not just love, it’s loyal love. Covenant and hesed are related. Sin can never dissolve God’s hesed. It’s this loyal love that makes the covenant possible.
Time cannot exhaust the promise, v. 16. Three times we read the word forever. Three times the word established is found here. God’s promise to David is eternal. It’s a forever house. It’s an unconditional promise.
This promise has both a past and future fulfillment. When were these promises to David fulfilled? Some of them in David’s lifetime, and then in his sons and grandsons. But the Davidic Covenant didn’t come to completion in the Old Testament. Prophecy often has a near and distant fulfillment. We need to turn to the New Testament to fully understand this covenant.
The New Testament begins with these words, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David” (Matthew 1:1). Son of David is a messianic title. Two blind men call out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us Son of David” (Matthew 9:27). When Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the crowds cry out. “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9). Jesus is David’s ultimate heir.
2 Timothy 2:8, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.” Jesus Christ fulfills this covenant. He rules and reigns today in the lives of His people and one day, He’ll return to claim David’s throne as the angel promised Mary in Luke 1:32, “And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David.”
Remember that movie, Crocodile Dundee (picture). One of my favorite scenes is when Dundee is in New York City walking down the street with his girlfriend. From out of the shadows, a gang of thugs emerges. One of the hoodlums brandishes a knife and demands Dundee hand over his possessions. Calmly, Dundee looks at the thugs before responding, “That’s not a knife…this is a knife!” And he pulls out a huge knife, which makes the would-be mugger’s switchblade look like a penknife. The thugs flee for their lives. It reminds me of 2 Samuel 7. David wants to build God a house, but God says “that’s not a house. Let me show you a house, David.”
3. When you trust God, you don’t kneel before Him in prayer, you sit before Him in praise, vss. 18-22.
Let me encourage you to read the rest of this chapter later. It’s great stuff. Let’s focus on verses 18-22.
“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” Did you catch that? “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord…” David sat. He probably went near the Ark to shower God with praise. By sitting down, he renounced his royal initiative and abdicated kingly authority. He takes himself out of the driver’s seat and deliberately, reverently placed himself before God. Ten times in this prayer he refers to himself as the Lord’s servant. He submits and trades his plans for God’s.
It’s the only time in the Bible that someone sits before the Lord and prays to Him. David isn’t in a hurry. He’s filled with love and praise. He pours out gratitude to God for what He has done and will do. I wonder how much we miss out on meeting with God because we’re continually in a hurry.
Studies show that meditating on Scripture increases your mental and emotional health. God’s Word is medicine for our souls. Can I challenge you to consistently dig into God’s Word? I know that I find in my own life that I can sport a ‘tude until I spend time in the Word. It’s amazing how time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer changes my heart.
David learned what we need to learn. We think a lost world should look at Christians and say, “What impressive works they’ve done! They must really love God!” In reality our witness to the world should have them saying, “Wow! What great things God has done for them!”
We’re not primarily role models. We’re trophies that demonstrate God’s saving grace. No one admires a trophy for having done something great; they recognize that the trophy represents someone great. Our lives are to burn brightly as evidence of God’s greatness.
David only makes one request. He asks God to keep His promises. It’s perfectly proper to ask God to do things you know He’s going to do anyway. Of course, we rarely know about the timing of His answers.
It’s a prayer of celebration. David confesses his gratitude to God for what He’s already done and for what He’s certain to do in the future. David trusted God and was grateful. How grateful are we for all that God has done for us?
Conclusion
Let’s tie it all up. God’s promised kingdom is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of David. It comes to us through God’s mercy, His steadfast love. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5). David’s covenant isn’t just for him or Israel. It’s a blessing for all those who put their faith in David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ.
Four lessons from our text:
When God says no, He has a better plan and a better way. God’s refusal wasn’t rejection, it was redirection. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
The only right response to grace is worship. Even though God said no to David, the king was overwhelmed by God’s grace. Too many of us run so fast that we never take time to just sit with the Lord. Psalm 95:6, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!”
A true understanding of grace makes us humble not proud. The person that truly understands grace is stunned that God could love one such as them. They’re not swallowed up by their goodness, they’re staggered by God’s mercy and humbled by His grace.
The gratitude of grace always leads us to worship. It spurs us to action. It convinces us that no one is a lost cause and consequently it motivates us to share the message with others. This grace, when understood, transforms us. It makes us alive. It sets us free. It turns our hearts toward Home.
Kingdom promises are always more than we imagine. David couldn’t imagine the far-reaching magnitude of this promise. “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
It’s for those who are part of God’s house. Are you part of God’s house? Is Jesus your King? There’s no question that Jesus is the king in the Kingdom of God. There’s no question that Jesus alone can forgive your sins and give you life in His wonderful kingdom, but has Jesus done this for you? Have you surrendered the throne of your life? Have you embraced Him by faith as your Savior, Lord and King.
2 Samuel 7 reminds us that When God says, “No” He always has a better way. Remember Monica? She was so disappointed when God didn’t answer her prayers and her son left for the vile city of Rome. Her worst nightmares came true. Her son wandered further from God and indulged himself more in sin. He fathered a child with a woman that he lived with but never married. He became professionally successful but miserable. Eventually, he became a teacher and while teaching students the latest philosophies, he came to the conclusion that they were all untrue. But he was trapped in his sin but wishing he could find freedom. And on a hot August afternoon in 386 A.D, God forever changed this thirty-two-year-old teacher and he turned to Christ. His name was Augustine (picture).
He describes his conversion in his autobiographical Confessions. It was in his leaving his home and small town that he finally came Home to God. God heard his mother’s pleas but knew that Augustine needed first to come to the end of himself, be weary of his sin, before he’d turn his life over to Jesus Christ. He grew into a powerful preacher and theologian. He became one of the greatest leaders of the early church. His theological writings influenced John Calvin and Martin Luther and are still impacting believers today. When God says No, He always gives us something better.
Augustine personally met David’s greater Son. My friend, have you met David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus? Have you committed your life to Him? Is Jesus the King of your life?