The fourth Advent candle has been lit, telling us that we are almost ready, just a few hours as a matter of fact, to celebrate our Savior’s Christ Mas. The fourth candle is the Angels candle and reminds us of the important job of the angels during this Advent season. The angel worked tirelessly to prepare the world for the coming of the Savior. The angel announced to Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth, would be the mother of the forerunner of the Savior. The angel announced to Mary that she would be the mother of the Savior of the world. The angels announced to the shepherds that the Savior was born. So much work for the angels. The angels were doing the Lord’s bidding and announcing the fulfillment of what God had promised so many years earlier. Our text reminds us of God’s promises.
Our text begins with David taking stock of all he had done. We begin at verse one, “1Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, 2the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent’” (v. 1-2). The Lord had given David rest. God working through David had done a lot of work in his lifetime. He helped unite the people, the children of Israel into one nation. He worked to rid the promised land of the foreign, heathen, pagan nations. And of course, we know, he sinned, and he suffered the consequences of his sin. And he repented and received forgiveness. David had a full life.
David also realized that the Lord had given him everything and even a palace in which to live. I am sure he was aware of this all throughout his life, after all, the Lord said of David that he was “a man after His heart.” But here, in our text we see that David takes some time to sit back and count all the blessings the Lord has given to him, that in itself might be a good example to us today, that is that we might take the time to sit back and count the blessings the Lord has given and continues to give to us today.
After some reflection, David asks the question of what could he do for the Lord? David does not ask what he can do to repay the Lord. He knows he can never repay and that God never asks us to, even, attempt to repay. David asks how he can respond to all the Lord has done for him and all the Lord has given to him. That is how it is with us when we practice being priests in the priesthood of all believers, living our lives as living sacrifices for the Lord, that is being good stewards of all that God has given continues to shower down on us. God has given us everything. Everything we have is a gift from God. God continually fills us with His blessings, blessings upon blessings, blessings even to overflowing. Upon some reflection on our part we sit back and say, what can we do for the Lord? How can we respond to all the Lord has done for us and given to us.
David tells the Lord’s representative, the prophet Nathan, what he has in mind and then we have the Lord’s response to David’s plan. We pick up at verse three, “3And Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.’ 4But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5‘Go and tell my servant David, “Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6I 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. 7In all 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?’”” (v. 3-7).
At first, Nathan gave David the go ahead. He gave his “go ahead” without consulting the Lord. The Lord came to Nathan and said “No” to David’s plan. But the Lord’s “no” came with an explanation. The Lord reminds David that He has never dwelt in a house and that He does not need to dwell in a house. A house cannot hold the Lord. Yes, we would like to think that we come to church, to the Lord’s house to worship Him and we do. Some people would like to keep Him here, only coming on Sundays to visit Him, yet, our Lord is not contained by these four walls and a roof. God is everywhere present and our coming here to divine service does not diminish His omnipresence.
The Lord reminds David that in the desert a tent was His house. In John’s Gospel he reminds us that Jesus is the Word made flesh who dwelt or tented among us. God does not dwell in a permanent building on earth. God merely tents with us on earth because this tenting shows us that the earth is not His permanent residence.
And God tells David that He has never asked for a temple. God’s desire is not to locate Himself in any one particular place, but to assure everyone that while He is always everywhere present, that is, He is right here with us, He is also everywhere else at the same time. God is not bound by time and space as we are, because He is God.
Rather than letting David build Him a temple, the Lord tells David what He will do. We read picking up at verse eight, “8Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11from 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” (v.8-11).
The Lord turns the tables on David. Rather than David building the Lord a permanent house, a temple, He tells David what He, the Lord, will do for David. He reminds David that He has always taken care of Him, that He is taking care of him and that He always will take care of him.
He tells David that He will make his name great. Even today David is known as the greatest, or one of the greatest, kings of Israel. David is known to us as one of the ancestors of the Savior of the world.
And God says that He will give the people a permanent home. Contrary to what some teach and believe in our world today, the Lord’s promise of a permanent home is not necessarily a promise of a permanent earthly home. Remember, the promise of a Savior was not the promise of a political savior, but the promise of a spiritual Savior, a Savior who would bring forgiveness and restoration with God the Father, thus God’s promise is for an ultimate permanent home in heaven paid for by Jesus on the cross. We have talked about this before, how the children of Israel, as a result of their continually disobeying God were disciplined in that they were moved from place to place as they were conquered by many nations. We can relate to this, not that we are moved because we are conquered by many nations, because of our sin and disobedience, but because so many people work for companies that move them from place to place. Here during the hustle and bustle of Christmas we cling to God’s word of promise that He gives us rest.
The last verse of our text pulls us into the Advent season. We read verse sixteen, “16And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (v. 16). Here we have words of the promise of a Savior. God will make David’s kingdom endure forever and He will do it through the birth of the Savior through David’s throne.
God will establish David’s throne forever. The Savior that will be born will also be king and ruler in heaven. Paul in our Epistle lesson reminds us that Jesus was established by God according to the mystery hidden for long ages past. Jesus was the promise fulfilled for our salvation, to the glory of God.
Jesus kingdom will be forever. It will have no end. In our Gospel for today, the angel expressed the words to Mary, “And the Lord God will give 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.” By God’s grace, through faith, we are children of Abraham, we are children of David, we are a part of God’s redeemed children and we will reign with Him forever in eternity.
So what does all this mean? We have the privilege of being able to look back and see that all this has taken place. The Savior of the world was born through the line of David. Jesus is from David’s royal line.
Even more, the Savior established the line of faith forever. By faith in Jesus’ work on the cross we have become children of Abraham, heirs with Jesus, brothers and sisters in the eternal kingdom. Heaven is ours.
And even more, the Savior established this forever. God’s promise to Abraham is still His promise to us. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. By faith we are the children of Abraham and heirs of eternal life. God promised Abraham that he would give him the promised land. The promised land to which we look forward is eternal life in heaven. God promised Abraham that through him all nations would be blessed. We are blessed because through Abraham the Savior of the world, our Savior was born. And through this Savior we have the greatest blessing ever, the forgiveness of sins.
Today we are not greeted with angels bringing us good news, but we are greeted with God’s Word, the Bible. As were read and hear God’s Word, the Holy Spirit works through that Word to bring us to faith, to strengthen us in our faith, and to keep us in our faith. God’s Word works faith which makes us children of Abraham, heirs of eternal life in heaven and recipients of all God’s good gifts and blessings. And like David, we are left with only the option to respond as the Lord moves us to respond. Today we are left to say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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