We’ve made our plans to do something really nice, something special, something we believe would be good, and then we’re told “No!”, it can’t happen, it won’t be allowed. Whether this is some good project we wanted to do at work, something good we wanted to do with or for our children at home, or something else, it is a big disappointment. Is my boss angry at me or out to get me? Are the people who tell me no just trying to be mean? Maybe, or maybe not. How about when it is God who tells us “No”? There are times when we pray for something, something that we believe is a good prayer, not anything selfish, maybe even something that could be a blessing to others. Then the answer we receive is, “No, the Lord doesn’t want that.” In our Scripture passage today, we read of something that King David wished to do, and the “No” response that God brought to him. Let’s take a look and see why, and what the Lord had planned instead.
As we know from reading our Bible, King David loved the Lord God, and had a strong personal relationship with Him. After he became king of Israel, David built himself a grand palace, as any king naturally would do. However, after David built his own home, as he looked around at how wonderful it was, he then thought about the Tabernacle, and how the Ark of the Covenant was residing in tents. Here he was in a luxurious palace while the Ark of the Covenant, where the Mercy Seat was, was just in a tent. It just didn’t seem right to him. David wanted to build a house or Temple for God. That would seem to be a good desire, wouldn’t it? David felt so, and he started to make plans, to draw up the blueprints, and start purchasing the materials.
However, God had different plans, and He sent His prophet Nathan to tell David that He said “No”. Was it because David had done something wrong, or that God was angry at him for making these plans? No, that was not the case here. When God says no, it is not necessarily done for discipline or rejection. That was not the case here with David. With only a few exceptions, David pursued God’s will in his life, and wanted to do His will. However, God told David no, he was not to build God the Temple, and David was to accept that answer.
God had something better, something greater in mind for David. As His prophet Nathan spoke His words to the king, he found out what that was. God was going to build David a great house, not a physical dwelling place, which he already had, but a dynasty, a lineage, which would rule over God’s people forever. This was fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:22-36), who was David’s descendant, and who is greater than any Temple, which would later be built by David’s son Solomon.
God reminded David that He had abundantly blessed him, raising him to success from being a lowly shepherd to becoming a king (vs. 8), and had protected him wherever he went (vs. 9). Now God promised David that He would continue to bless him even further. The Lord gave David a special promise that his lineage, his house, his descendants would last forever, and his throne would last forever (vs. 12-16). Again, this was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is a physical descendant of David. We know that God keeps His promises. Since we do not see any descendants of David reigning today, and they haven’t for about 2,500 years now, either God failed in this promise, or we see and acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, God’s Chosen One, and know that He is the fulfillment of this promise. Jesus is greater than the Temple, which was destroyed in 70 AD, and has never been rebuilt. Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after His resurrection, and He is seated at the right hand of God, reigning forever, which is a fulfillment of that promise.
Whenever we find God saying “No” to a prayer or desire of ours, we should look to see why. It might be that our desire may be harmful to us or others. Or perhaps, as we saw with David, God has something even greater for us than what our plan was. He is always looking out for us, and we can trust that He always keeps His promises, as well.
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