Going into II Samuel 7, the ark is now back where it should be, in Jerusalem, referred to as the City of David. It does not take David long to notice a disparity: How is it that he, an earthly king appointed by God and in all subjection to God, lives in a house made of strong cedar, while the ark resides in a lowly tent?
Nathan, David’s personal advisor and a prophet, agrees with David that the ark should have a refined structure built around it. He says to David, “Go do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” Nathan did not make this initial utterance as a prophet, speaking for God. We know this to be true because God comes to Nathan and delivers a twofold message. The first part of the message is an enlightening one for David, and for us. In verses 5-16, God tells Nathan to instruct David about God’s supposed needs for a structure on earth. The basic message is that God does not need a structure for His presence and if He wanted it, He would have commanded it be built. In His message to David through Nathan, God then lays out His blessings to David. It would seem that God would rather have David meditating on what God has done for him rather than supposing what David thinks God wants without being commanded.
God says in verse 9: “And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.” God speaks of how He will care for Israel and protect them from their enemies. The prophecy matures in verses 12-16 when God reveals His Davidic Covenant, a promise to David that He will uphold for David’s future and the future of His progeny.
Do not be fooled that this is a messianic prophecy, for it is not. This is a covenant that God makes with David so that the kingdom on earth will be known forevermore and will come through David’s son (Solomon). God’s primary aim towards David in this chapter is to redirect David’s focus from what David thought God needed from David towards what God has done and will continue to do for David. The effect hits the mark as David expresses worship, gratitude, praise, adoration and loyalty to Almighty God in verses 18-29.
David’s prayer is something that we can all learn from. The case with many of us is that we go to God in prayer primarily to ask for something that we think will benefit our situation. Sometimes we will ask if it is in accordance with God’s will, but mostly I fear that we ask based on what we would like to happen, and not necessarily how we think God would like things to progress based on His character we get from the Bible.
By contrast, David’s prayer to God is full of love, recognition, belief, and awe. He tells God what God has done and he affirms that God will do what He has said. In this way, David’s prayer is a form of worship and one that we would do well to emulate. David says everything in service to God, asking that God do as He wills as it pleases God. This deference, this dedication to God’s preference over man’s, is a perspective that we do not often encounter. Yet, as David prays in these verses, we are left wishing that our prayers could be more like his.
Monday Night Bible Study 