A “through the bible” devotion from 2 Samuel 7.
Whenever we’ve gone camping, we’ve taken time to walk through the grounds to see the variety of trailers and coaches set up for the night or for a long stay. We were always the smallest kid on the team, setting up camp in a tent, pop-up camper, or small trailer next to the behemoth rigs. With five slide outs, some of those forty-plus-foot vehicles had almost as much living space as the first house we bought.
Dwarfed by huge coaches at an RV park, I struck up a conversation with one owner who was grilling supper. He told me they had to stay put for a while because he really couldn’t afford the fuel to drive anywhere. That didn’t sound like much fun to me.
One day King David decides that God needs something better than a tent. If he’s living in a nice cedar-walled house, God should have a nice place, too (2 Samuel 7:2).
That’s not God’s style. The Lord says, “Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling” (2 Samuel 7:5,6).
God’s never had a house. His place was a tabernacle, set up wherever his people happened to be. The almighty creator of the universe was comfortable in a tent.
One day a descendant of David would build a house for the Lord. But for now, God has a better idea. “I will build you a house'” (2 Samuel 7:27). Someone from the house and lineage of David will always be on the throne of Israel, a promise that finds ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do something for the Lord. The magi bring gifts. A woman anoints him with expensive perfume. Tearful friends wrap his body in line and lay him in a tomb. His followers offer themselves up as living sacrifices.
I just need to remember that God’s greatest desire is to do something for me. He wants to give me abundant, eternal life.
Waite for it... 