We all desire to honor God and see His kingdom manifest on the earth. We give our lives toward this end. King David honored God, even though at times he messed up (as we all do). Since David lived in a beautiful house and God lived in a tent, David wanted to honor God by building Him a house/temple to live in.
David desired to honor God
The king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains." Then Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you." (2 Sam. 7:2,3 NKJV). Cool, now David has a prophet agreeing with the plan. David's pure heart desire aligned with David's destiny to honor and lift the rule of God on the earth. The prophet agrees. However, was it the wrong thing to do?
- By the way, the New King James Version (NKJV) translation is correct: “all that is in your heart” to do, and not as the New American Standard Bible (NASB) translates it, which is “all that is in your mind" to do.
- It’s sad that my favorite translation, the NASB, translates this word mind and not heart. This Hebrew word shows up 249 times in the O.T. and is translated 238 times heart(s) in the KJV, which is the accurate Hebrew meaning of the word - H3824 - lêbâb - lay-bawb' From H3823; the heart (as the most interior organ) Brown-Driver-Brings Hebrew Definitions.
- Ok, so this would appear to be a godly desire, to honor the Lord by building Him a house. Nathan’s initial response was affirmative, but upon sleeping on it, God corrects Nathan, and says, "NO, it will be David's son who will build this house for God." (Read: 2 Sam. 7:4-17.) David could gather the resources to build it, but God said, he was not to build it.
David accepts Nathan's words, worships, and gathers all the building supplies for his son to use in building the temple. David did NOT build the temple for God to live in.
Lessons we can learn from this story
- What is in my heart, even if my heart is pure and the activity lines up with God’s overall vision, may NOT be what God specifically wants me to do. Notice when Paul wanted to evangelize certain regions, the Spirit forbade him (Acts 16:6,7), even though Paul was called to be an evangelist.
- Even prophets can be wrong if answering off the cuff, but God can correct them during their sleep. I use "The Leaders Paradigm" especially for any big decision. This allows me to receive God's confirmation through six ways the Bible says that God reveals Himself to us.
- God has reasons for why He doesn’t want me to do something, even when I think it's a good thing to do (1 Chron. 28:3). Since God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours, God may or may not explain His reasons to me. In this case, God did reveal the reason to King David: "I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. But God said to me, 'You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood'" (1 Chron. 28:2-3).
- I need to be careful to follow God’s voice every step of the way, and not just do what I think is good and honoring to God.
Abraham brought catastrophe by doing what he felt was aligned with God’s destiny for his life, but God had not spoken to him to do it.
- God had given Abraham a promise that He would bless the world through his seed (Gen. 12:1-3). After waiting many years without having children, Abram had a son (Ishmael - Gen. 16) through his wife's handmaid, something allowable in that culture.
- God rejected this child because it was the fruit of Abraham and Sarah's "good idea" to help God’s vision along, and it did NOT come from listening to God's voice.
- When Ishmael was becoming a teenager, Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him" (Gen. 17:18-19).
- The fruit of this "good" idea: We still have a war going on today between the descendants of Abram's two children: the Arabs and the Israelites.
- God's plans bring glory to God because God likes to work through supernatural events that bring honor to Him and turn man's eyes toward God.
Lessons for me to learn
- Don’t be impatient, and act on my great ideas for how to fulfill the destiny God has for me. Don’t plan on my own. Instead, listen to God's voice and do ONLY what He says.
- Jesus did NOTHING on His own initiative but ONLY what He heard and saw His Father doing.
- God often takes longer than I think He should to accomplish His promises in my life.
- My great ideas can bring great calamity to me, my family, and the world.
- Just because there is a need, it is not necessarily a need that I am to meet.
- I must follow the voice of God in my heart. There are a bunch of projects and activities I would love to get into the middle of and fight for, but God says to me, “No, Mark, that is not your fight. I have called you to restore the eyes and ears of My Church to Me. That is what you are to stand for and fight for and do."
- God also tells me steps to take in fulfilling this vision and steps NOT to take. That is a bit tough for a man of action (which I am).
So I know the lane I am supposed to stay in. Do you know the lane you are to be in? Are you staying in that lane and blessing the world through that specific call and destiny upon your life?
Journaling
- Lord, what lane am I to be in?
- Lord, what am I to be doing now?
- What am I not to be doing now?
Learn how to hear God's voice: www.CWGministries.org/4keys
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