I figured I’d post my final paper for preaching class. It is an advent themed sermon based on the reading of 2 Samuel 7:1-16,18. I’m posting it to give you an advent reading which is slightly different from what we’ll be doing in church this year. I hope you enjoy it and find it encouraging.
You can read the sermon by expanding this post. It’s about the equivalent of 2 1/2 pages.
Introduction:
When you listen to the songs of Christmas, you will soon hear the name David come up. Open to the Gospel of Matthew and the first words you’ll read are, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Each of the Gospel writers connect David and Jesus. So it seems significant for us to better understand Jesus, we must properly understand David. These two people are linked and to better understand how they are linked, we can look to our passage this morning. When we read our passage, we see a God who refuses a Kings kindness, while simultaneously showing David just how overwhelmingly gracious he is.
Trouble in the passage:
In the scene of our passage, David is finally at rest. He has been fighting the surrounding enemies that were exploiting and oppressing the Israelites. The volatile political situation, the civil unrest, and instability the Israelites were experiencing as a nation, all have stabilized. David for all practical purposes was a success. Personally and for the nation. He now lives in a beautiful and expensive house and is at rest.
Yet something remains incomplete. More than that, it gnaws at King David. I am living in luxury while God’s temple is in a tent. [pause] I am a backpacker. As much as I love backpacking and camping in the woods, the tent I sleep in is not ultimately as satisfying as the first day home, when I can sleep in my own bed once again. As much as I love my tent, after a half-dozen years of sleeping in it in the rain and sleet, through harsh winds and cold nights, it loses it’s usefulness. The tent is not as resilient as it was a few years back. It has accumulated odors within the fabric itself; Mustiness. It has worn thin in places and I’ve resealed the seams of fabric multiple times.
In our passage, King David turns to his pastor and tells him, “How can I live like a king, while God lives in a tent?” An old tent. A tent that has has been exposed to weather, the elements and is now musty and worn. Fabric has a life-span and the thread-bare tent has seen better days. David talks with Nathan the prophet about it and he says that it sounds reasonable to him. Eugene Peterson, from his commentary on 2 Samuel says, “There are times when circumstances are so clear and obvious, our motives so selfless and pure, that it hardly seems necessary to pray.” Then God tells Nathan, ‘no, David’s not the one to build it‘, later that night.
“Have I ever asked anybody for a house yet? Why do you think I would want you to build me a house? I am a God who lives with His people.” God is reminding David of a couple things. Firstly, God is a God who is among His people. When they were wandering in the desert, God was wandering with them. What the people experienced, God experienced. What’s more, the people don’t have established security yet, so God won’t have it. If God’s people are poor, God will be poor and if they suffer, God will suffer. What God is telling David is the situation is not settled yet, so I’m not ready settle.
Secondly, God is a God of grace. God reminds David that it was He, that called David out from being a shepherd. It was He who made you a shepherd amongst men and women. It’s because of God that you rule and all you have is because of God. It is only by God’s grace that David has power and success. “You won’t build me a house, David… but I, will build you a house.”
Trouble in the World:
In ancient days, it was typical for the king after successful military campaigns, to build an ancient god a temple. The priests would have a ceremony for the king. Exclaiming that since you, o king have built my dwelling place and you outstripped the other kings before you, I will establish your throne through distant days. There are multiple examples where the ancient king would build their god a house and then their god would establish the reign of the king. And this is what King David is about to do as well.
God steps in. Not all religions in the world are alike. All religions are not just different ways to worship the same God. The worlds religions are built on the principle that, when you build god a house, then he will establish you for generations. You do for your god, then your god will bless you. The God of David, is a God of grace. God says, “I will build you a house, you will not be building me one.” The difference between other religions and Christianity is that the God of the Bible will bless unconditionally. He tells David, that he is not like other gods. Our plans for God can never out do God’s plans us. In fact, God protects us from our seemingly innocuous plans. Here is Peterson again:
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Do you know what I think? I think that David is just about to cross over a line from being full of God to being full of himself…Heady with all of his success, the king believes he is now going to do God a favour. The tell-tale clue is in his proposal to Nathan: See I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent. Implicit in that comparison is the judgement that David is now housed better than God, that he has achieved a standard of living better than that of God , that he believes that from his current position of strength, he now can do something significant for God. If David continues along these lines, he will soon be ruined as God’s king. If any of us develop a self-identity in which God and God’s actions are subordinated to us and our action, our king work is ruined.
Does anybody have the ability to do God a favour? Can a king, by building this wonderful temple, really court favour with a god? What kind of a god would stoop to say, “I will build you a great dynasty,” just because.
Grace in the Bible:
How can God be such that He lavishes grace on to you first, without expecting something first. David promised and God said, no. God promised and it floors him. In verse 18, which is outside of our reading, David asks God, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?” Sometimes God seems to shut a door and we cry out, “WHY?” We don’t know why. Maybe God will send a Nathan into our lives to tell us. Maybe not.
C.S. Lewis once said, and I’m paraphrasing from memory, “Why do you insist on asking God for a new roof, when he wants to build you an entirely new castle?” We want a roof, or maybe a wall moved out, when God wants to transform the house from the basement all the way up. God tells David, “You won’t build me a house, I will build you a house.” The house David wanted to build was made of stone and cedar. The house God makes David is a dynasty. God tells David that the house I’m building you, will stand the test of time. It will stand despite the sinfulness of your descendants. It will stand, and even death can’t break my commitment to you.
In verses 12 and 13, we see God’s promise beyond David’s death. A son will build me a house. In verses 14 and 15, we see that despite the sin of his descendants, God will be committed to His promise. Finally, in verse 16, we see that time will not get in the way. God tells David that his throne will last forever. We can understand the sentiment. We are familiar with the refrain, “Long live the King!” For God, this is not just an expression. We know this because, we know David’s descendants. We know that God is not talking simply about a kingdom, but ‘Thee’ kingdom. David is being told that one of his descendants will not simply be ‘a‘ king but ‘Thee’ King.
Grace for the World:
There was a baby, born in a manger and is a saviour, but not just a saviour, but a Davidic King, but not just any king, but a king that over-came. This king overcame death, when he rose triumphant over the grave. This king literally overcame sin, when he died on the cross paying the debt of the human race. This king overcame time, because this kind is not only the son of David, but also the Son of God. In the words of Handel from The Messiah, “And He shall reign forever and ever! Hallelujah!” [Pause]
Conclusion:
It is in Jesus that we see God suffer with his people, and wander with His people. “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” What the Old Testament claimed symbolically, Jesus really did. This is what the baby born in a manger is all about. It’s about triumph over death, sin and time. Only with Jesus as king will there be any hope. For he will bring the kingdom down one day to transform and renew the world. This is happening now and will happen fully one day. Jesus is not only saviour, but also a king with a kingdom. And kings want their kingdoms to be good places to live. A place of security, prosperity, justice and peace.
Christmas means the one who is rich became poor. The king, who transcends death, time and sin, came to serve. He came to begin renewal and gather ones around him to bring renewal as well.