The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.
In Session 14 David wants to build a permanent home for the Ark of the Covenant which from the time that the Israelites were freed from Egypt, resided in a tabernacle or a tent. David decided to build an elegant temple. God told David no he was not to build him a temple but that He would build David's house. However He told David though Nathan that He had more in mind for David than him just building a temple. He was going to bless David beyond what he could even imagine. What we learn in this session is that
1. When God says “no” it is not necessarily discipline or rejection. It may simply be redirection, and
2. God does not call everybody to build temples.
For our study we will be using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, by Charles R. Swindoll, and The Hand of God by Alistair Begg. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.
Last week using David’s movement of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem which he had established as the capital of the nation or Israel after he united the nation under his leadership as king, to study the concept of obeying God’s precepts and honoring His principles.
Precept - a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought.
Principle- fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
A precept is a rule. The rule is the rule there is no give and take.
A principle serves as the foundation for a belief or behavior, a principle needs to be applied with wisdom.
With the ark of the covenant the principle is that, for Isreal it represented the very presence of God so it needed to be in the place that God said it should be and that was in the tabernacle. David in honoring the principle made the decision that the ark needed to be moved into the tabernacle in Jerusalem from where it was which was which was at a guy named Abinadad’s house where it was taken after the Philistines sent it back to Israel. We talked about the background of it being there last week. David wanted to get it to Jerusalem as quickly as possible, so he had it put on a new cart. The idea or principle was great the problem was that David either didn’t know the precepts or ignored them. Remember a precept is a rule and God gave the rule about how the ark was to be carried. When David obeyed the precept to honor the principle, he was able to move the ark to Jerusalem and into the tabernacle.
Here’s what we learned:
First, the better you know where you stand with the Lord, the freer you can be. When you do the homework, you find out where you stand with your Lord, and you follow His plan, then you are free.
You’ll be misunderstood. But you won’t care that much about public opinion. You’ll care about the Lord’s opinion. There is no freedom like the kind He provides. In a word, it’s grace.
Second: The freer you are before the Lord, the more confident you will become. When you know where you stand, that is real security. If it’s important to God, it ought to be important to you. If God took the time to put it down and it’s a precept, He never changes, and He means what He says.
God sets His heart of favor on those whose hearts are following Him. He honors those who honor His Word. He makes them exceedingly happy. Knowing where you stand before the Lord leads to true freedom. Being free before the Lord, you will become confident, and that is genuine security.
When God Says No
So here’s what David has done since he is not is charge. His reign started in Hebron where he reigns 7 and one-half years. He then unifies the nation and establishes the capital in Jerusalem and completes his reign which lasts a total of 40 years.
David expanded the boundaries of Israel from 6,000 to 60,000 square miles. He set up extensive trade routes that reached throughout the known world. Wealth came into Israel like the nation had never known before.
David unified the nation under Jehovah God, creating a national interest in spiritual things. He was not a priest; he was a king . . . but he lifted up the role of the priesthood so that Judaism could operate openly and freely in the land. He destroyed the idol altars.
The nation is a peace, the tabernacle is in Jerusalem and the presence of God is there because the ark of the covenant is there.
Now David had a time to reflect and because he loves and worships God he begins think of his blessings and as we often do we want to share what God has done for us to others, and to share how we in our limited capacity want to show how much we thank God for blessing us.
So David shares his thoughts to a good friend, Nathan, who also happens to be a prophet. He’s a friend first and he happens to be a prophet.
2 Samuel 7:1-3 NIV After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
Great idea. You have been blessed abunatly now you want to honor God by creating a permanent stately place for God’s presence and worship. Great idea go for it.
We’ve all had those kinds of thoughts. God has been so good to me I want to do something to honor him. For some who can afford it it may be to finance a building, or some project. Sometimes was ask God to direct us and we get what we think i what God wants us to do. Because it is a great thing and it will actually honor God we think the vision is from Him. It may not be.
But when it’s not of God, it won’t come to fulfillment . . . nor should it. And it’s often hard to determine which is which. It’s awfully hard. We have to make sure that this is God’s purpose or plan for you. In other studies, we have talked about how God can and does speak to us. A quick review
1. Prayer. In order for God to speak to us, we need to be in his presence listening for his voice. As we spend time in prayer, we may sense God's leading in our lives.
2. His word. God speaks to us through his written word as we study and meditate upon his holy scripture.
3. Circumstances. Many times God will cause doors to open, or others to close. If we are walking in obedience to him, we have to assume that events in our life are ordered by God. They don't just happen by chance.
4. Our heart. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will minister to our spirit and reveal God's plan for us. We will have an assurance deep in our heart. We will feel God's voice guiding us.
5. Others. God can use other believers to bring us his direction. Sometimes we will be singing a song in church, or we will be reading a Christian book, or hear the Pastor's message, or one of our friends will say something that will show us God's will. God can reveal his direction to us through any of these five ways. But even when he does, it's sometimes difficult to discern that what we sense or feel is truly God's plan for our lives so we need Him to confirm His direction the same way He revealed it to us
In David’s case he spoke through his prophet friend David. As a friend Nathan said great idea you have the resources go for it.
However God spoke to Nathan the prophet and told him to go back to David and tell him no I will not allow you to build a temple for me.
2 Samuel 7:5-7 NIV “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’
We should not feel that if God says no to our noble idea that He is dissing us. It’s just not His plan for us to do this. He may have something more in mind for us. He told David though Nathan that He had more in mind for David than him just building a temple. He was going to bless David beyond what he could even imagine.
First, He reminds David where He had brought him from and where He had placed him and that he will have a legacy.
2 Samuel 7:8-16 NIV “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”
Speaking of legacy here’ what Solomon who was the son that built the temple said at the temple’s dedication.
2 Chronicles 6:3-11 NIV While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. Then he said: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, ‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’ “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’ “The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”
God says to him, “I commend you for that thought. I commend you for having a heart that is so sensitive to Me that you would want to construct a house of worship for My glory. It is well that it was in your heart. It’s not My plan for you to do that, but I commend you for such a thought.”
SOME EARTHBOUND WISDOM
When God says “no” it is not necessarily discipline or rejection. It may simply be redirection.
Don’t worry about what other people say. You may have shared your dream with others and when it didn’t pan out the way you dreamed it others may ridicule you. They may say you didn’t have enough faith. God punished you for what you did in your life. It didn’t happen so move on. I’m not talking here about your dream but something that you think God either told you or you thought He told you. Remember I said that God may just be redirecting you not rejecting you.
The thing we have to do in our walk with God is to listen carefully from day to day. ” We need to look at it each day, keep it fresh, keep the fire hot, keep it on the back burner, keep askin “Lord, is this Your arrangement? Is this Your plan? If it is not, make sensitive to it. Maybe You’re redirecting my life.”
God does not call everybody to build temples.
That is the role of spiritual gifts in the church. God has different people do different things. They are in different roles but God’s purpose is to edify the church which is us.
1 Corinthians 12:27-30 NIV Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
1 Corinthians 14:26 NIV What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
What we should be seeking is God’s long term plan for us not get stuck on that one no to what we thought was a great idea. Thank God for showing us His final plan for us which is eternal life in His presence.
That’s what David did. After Nathan told him that God’s answer to his great idea of building a temple was not not you but your son plus here is what I have in mind for you.
2 Samuel 7:11, 16 NIV …“ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”
We know that the fulfillment of that prophecy is Jesus.
David didn’t pout in fact what he did was to thank God for clearing things up for him.
2 Samuel 7:18-29 NIV Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human! “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight. “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
When God says no to it’s because He knows better and has a better way so support God’s better way. That’s obedience.
To some, He says, “yes.” To others, “no.” In either case, the answer is best. Why? Because God’s answers, while surprising, are never wrong.
Bible Study Audio
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