2 Samuel 7:18-29
We live in a culture that has few good models in the leadership of our nation, Congress is a total mess, with a bunch of self-seekers, who would do almost anything to keep what they believe is power. The sad fact is until you have encountered Jesus Christ you have no real understanding of power, for in Him is life-changing power. And speaking of models, you will find few in the sports world or Hollywood, but when you see some one they are making fun of by the more enlightened of our media, take notice.
The prophet Isaiah talks about the time that is coming in Isaiah 5:20-21, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their on sight!”
Yes, we live in a time where there are influential people spending millions to remove any memory of men of our history and replace them with what? These same kinds of people are sons of the devil, tools in his hand and they hate the light for it exposes the evil of their mind and heart. They and I use that to cover a large group from the beginning of mankind who hate authority and do not want to submit to God’s power. David was not such a man, in fact, if you need a model he is a great one, so lets explore the account in 2 Samuel 7:18-29.
The prophet Nathan has delivered a message from God that countermand’s what Nathan has told David the day before. David’s desire was to build a place of worship for God, and the answer from God was you are not the man to do so. Have you ever had a sincere desire to bring honor to God? David did, and this is how he responded to the news; “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.” You will find that in Psalm 8:1, and in 2 Samuel 7:18, we see David going into the tent of meeting and sitting in the Lord’s presence.
What a model, when disappointed, when told you’re not the person for the job, do as David and sit before God, be still and have a heart of gratitude for all that God has done for you and your family. David understood Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? He knew if this was done by future generations; the Lord would work through a surrendered heart.
David understood God’s grace in his life, and I’m fearful that many in our time are caught up in the big me, and a small god, and that is sad, but that big me and little god will always fall short of leaving a vision for the next generation.
It is incredible what King David understood about God’s purpose for Israel, it was more than a people called by His name. It was to make a Name for himself, so others like you and I would turn to Him.
David's heart desired to make sure God’s name was exalted forever, now you and I should make sure that our goal and the first action should be to God. David understood that God’s word was without error, and that was his foundation for his life.
David was more interested in how God was understood and perceived than how he was, that is a great thing to model.
From the Back Porch,
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