…and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16).
When the Lord had given King David rest from all his enemies, David wanted to do something for God.
It is good that we want to do something for the Lord because He has done so much for us. David, having a heart full of gratitude, wanted to bless the Lord. This is a wonderful gesture on the part of any recipient of the grace of God. However, acts of grace are from the generous heart of the Lord and do not require repayment.
In this story, David wanted to build God a house. He was living in a very nice one, but the Ark of the Covenant which represents the presence of God was in a tent. David 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,” but the Word of the Lord came to the prophet in the night, saying that the Lord had something else in mind. It was good that David wanted to do something for the Lord, but it was much better that the Lord wanted to do something for David.
This is what the Lord said to David, “when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body […] I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. I will be His Father, and He shall be my Son….my mercy shall not depart from Him….and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
What an amazing prophesy! The Lord has fulfilled it in Jesus! What if David had persisted in doing something for God in lieu of allowing God to have His way in his life? He would have suffered eternal loss. We are often driven with good intentions to do things for the Lord, but we must rest in what He has done for us. God has given us His Son! His continuing desire is that we would apprehend all that Jesus is to us. For example, 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, “but of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Jesus is the riches of God! Christ is not only the fulfillment of His promise to build David a house (dynasty), but He is also our blessing. He is our very life!
Let us therefore, live our lives resting on the finished work of the Lord!! He is our all. He is what God the Father has done for us!