The Cedar Palace, the Tent, and the Promise

 

In my personal study time this morning (yesterday now).  I set out to start a journey through the book of Hebrews in a different sort of way.  I was certainly not going to rush through it.  I wanted to paraphrase the passages in my own words as I read them.  I was going to document my thoughts and feelings as I read each particular verse.  I was going to dig into the references and the side notes (Scofield Study Bible) and really try to glean some extra wisdom and meaning from the book.

Well, it kind of worked out like that!  First, I documented my general mood and feelings (kind of a short Diary entry) so that maybe when I look back on my notes I may see the reasons why I might have had a passage speak to me the way it did.  You know the bible is funny like that.  You can read a passage one day and have it speak volumes to you,  then maybe a month or a year later you will read it again, and it will not say the same thing, or it may speak volumes in a different light.  That is the Lord speaking to you through the passages.  What an amazing instruction manual we have been given, that really can guide us through any situation we face today.

Moving on, I made it all the way through Hebrews  1:1-5 this morning (in about 3 hours time).  You see God really did have different plans for me this morning.  It was at verse 5 that I was referenced to 2 Samuel 17.  And that is where I started this little thing I called a “side study” and that is where I spent most of my time.  2 Samuel 7:1-17, that’s Old Testament Folks.  Before Jesus came as man, as the Son, as the Savior. Grab your bible I recommend a ESV or NIV version, something with more modern language that we can understand better in these days and times.  I want you to skip this next part because you went and got your bible and read the verses out of your own bible.  But just in case you grew up in a family like mine where we had 1 bible in the house that was translated in such old English that you can hardly understand it, I don’t want you to miss out on an opportunity to read the word of God so Here it is in the ESV (English Standard Version).

2Sa 7:1-17
(1)  Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies,
(2)  the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent."
(3)  And Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you."
(4)  But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan,
(5)  "Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?
(6)  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.
(7)  In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"'
(8)  Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.
(9)  And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
(10)  And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
(11)  from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.
(12)  When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
(13)  He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
(14)  I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
(15)  but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
(16)  And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"
(17)  In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

The Davidic Covenant.  I missed all this in Sunday School growing up.  But I suppose you have to attend more than a few times a year to really learn much more than the Christmas and Easter story.  I also must say, I have missed it for how many years now?  Lets see since 1997 well, that is umm…. too much math.  Lets just say I certainly should have come across this by now, but lets be honest, I have not been one to flat out fully read the bible all the way through ever!  I hope that is going to change.  That might be  a great thing here.  If you grew up the same way as I did perhaps we can go through this and learn brand new things together.

OK, lets get to the meat of things here.  Chapter 7 starts with King David (a very prominent figure in the Old Testament) lounging around in his palace made of Cedar.  He had been given rest from his enemies by God.  This was apparently fairly unusual.  The Prophet Nathan and he were hanging out and it seems that King David had a guilt trip come over him.  He was living in this palace (the NIV has Palace rather than house in the ESV) made of Cedar and The Ark of the Lord was living in a tent.  I don’t know if the tent was in the front yard or the back yard or some kind of courtyard but none the less it was in the yard protected by a simple tent.  It was not in the house/palace with David and apparently that was out of the question.  It appears that David was considering building him  (God, and the Ark) His own house.  You see in those days the spirit of the Lord did not dwell within people as it can today.  It was a separate entity all together.  So King David tells his feelings to Nathan, and Nathan tells him (apparently from his own understanding), Whatever you have in mind go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.

Three things I get from this. First, what would the houses we typically live in here in America be considered these days?  I picture something made of Cedar and I have a hard time thinking of it as a Palace.  But today we live in homes made of wood, rock, cement, and so much more.  We don’t have to light candles everywhere, we can twist or lift a lever and have clean water to drink.  Maybe there is a reason we call that porcelain fixture in the bathroom “the throne”.  Second, how sad it is that for so many today the spirit of the Lord is still relegated to outside when he can be even closer to us than he could have ever been to King David. And finally, we should really seek the Lords guidance before we speak on such important matters.  And if we don’t we should be sure to listen and make any corrections with anyone or anything we need we must not be afraid or ashamed to admit we were wrong.

You see that is what happened to Nathan.  He had an idea that King David was thinking of building a house for the Ark, for God.  He told him right then and there Go ahead with whatever it is your planning.  The Lord favors you.  But that night the Lord comes to Nathan (in a dream?) and clearly says to tell David some things.  Which we see in Verse 17, he does.  Those things are….

• Verses 5-7.  More or less.  A house really are you going to build me a house?  Is this something I have commanded or is it something you desire to do?  To Whom are you seeking to bring Glory too?  I have lived in a tent since the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt!  I have commanded many rulers over the Israelites and I have not asked a single one to build me a house.  I have not asked you either.  He Rebuked David for what appear to be reasonable thoughts and ideas.
• Verses 8-11.  Look here Shepherd boy, I took you from following a flock of sheep in that pasture and made you a ruler over my people!  I have been protecting you from the people who rise against you.  It was me not you!  Now I am going to make you even greater, As great as some of the greatest in all the earth.  I am going to provide a place for the people of Israel, I am going to continue to protect them.  And you know what?  Since I have made you leader of them I am going to do all this for you too.  It’s me buddy, it’s not you! 
• Verses 11-16.  God tells David his plans through Nathan.  He makes David a promise.  The Lord says,  When you are dead and gone, your offspring (your bloodlines) will succeed you.  I will establish his kingdom as well.  He is the one who will build me a house.  And the kingdom will last forever!  I will be his Father and he will be my Son he will be flogged by men, but my Love will not be removed from him. It will be through you (your offspring) that the kingdom will be established. The throne you sit on now will be established forever.

We must be careful not to be prideful, we must not go it alone.  For this passage like John 15 is clear, everything is done by God through us we can do nothing without him.

Jesus Christ is the Son whom God spoke of to David.  Jesus Christ was from the bloodlines of David. His throne was established forever, God’s home was built within each one of us.  We must invite him into this home.  He politely and lovingly awaits our invitation, he sometimes pleads and prods for the invite but he leaves the choice to us.  Have you made your choice?  Is God relegated to the tent in your life, or is the spirit of the Lord at home within you?  I pray it is.  If not contact me we can talk about it.  God Loves you, may he bless you and may you know him more intimately with each passing day.

Andy

What is This? Who am I? And Welcome!!!

Welcome!!

This is my first real post of any kind to a blog.  I guess I will start by telling you a little about myself and what my intentions are.  So here goes.....

I was Born in Minnesota, and now live in rural Central Texas.  As I write this I am 33 years old, I have a beautiful wife of almost 14 years, whose name is April.  We have 4 young children at home and what a blessing they are to us.  I am a licensed master plumber in the state of Texas.  I currently work for a large local company after recently shutting down my own business of 8+ years.

Something I should mention early on is the general lack of grammatical integrity in my writing.  I often miss punctuation & capitalization in my writing mostly due to a lack of care.  I have never really been overly interested in English.  Therefore it was one of my worst subjects throughout my school years.  I certainly have a weak spot.  I understand that proper grammar leads to a greater joy and ease of reading something, so my promise to you as my reader is this, I will proofread every post before I publish it in an effort to correct problems.  I will also promise that I will mess up many times!  Prayerfully you will see improvement from post to post and find yourself benefiting from what I have to say.

I was redeemed by the blood of Christ in October of 1997 at a Promise Keepers Conference in Houston TX.  We are active members at our local church Andice Baptist Church here in Texas.  I honestly would have never guessed a Church would mean so much to me.  The people are fantastic and the Lord has laid a burden upon my heart for that church particularly, and the state of the general church.

I am certain on 2 of the gifts God has created within me for me to use in helping build his kingdom.  I have a great gift for discernment, spiritual and otherwise.  I find myself pretty capable in reading peoples mood, feelings, and intents.  I read body language and listen carefully to words often picking up on very small things that say a lot.  I am very good at reading written words and gleaming a sense of the mood and developing the intent from the author.  Little words can often change what something says so drastically.  I do this with my bible study.  I look deep into the text doing my best not to take things out of context. Instead I try to read things around the passages and listen to the spirit guide me on what is right and wrong in my interpretation. I try to find what the divine Author (God) is telling me through the writings.  I may miss the mark, or I might find something you of missed.  Let's discover this together.  I also have a natural leadership ability.  I often find that I become someone that people look to for direction and someone to follow.  I certainly did not ask for this and it often makes me feel uncomfortable and unworthy.  I have recently been becoming slightly more accepting and comfortable with this notion but still feel unworthy for the task.  Now though, I am convinced that this is from God and I am to use my gifts to honor him.

My plans are to use this blog to more or less document my own studies of the bible.  I am a very transparent person where nothing is really hidden.  Sometimes I might post about things that are not strictly about the bible or it's application to life, I might just be sharing about things happening in my life.  But really everything has a biblical application.  Everything has been allowed by our creator for the sole purpose of glorifying him and our greater good.  I am a sinner, and I am convinced I will not be free from sin in thought, word, and deed until I am no longer physically on this earth.  I will likely openly share thoughts and questions I have in my studies.  Sometimes, they may even call some doctrines into question.  I plead with you to bear with me and keep comments edifying and encouraging in the proper direction.  I will do the same for you.

Once again, I am not by any stretch of the wildest imagination a biblical scholar, but I have been getting an increasing desire to know more and to do more for the kingdom which the bible documents.  If at any point you think I challenge good sound doctrine of the Christian faith please comment on it.  I will gladly listen and reply as needed.  You may change my mind, I may change yours, or we may simply have to disagree.  I firmly believe in what Paul calls "more noble character" in Acts 17.  I believe a person should listen to teachers (such as Paul) and then search the scriptures to see if what they said is true.  We need to make a decision for ourselves as we are the ones that will be held accountable on our day of judgment.

So with all that said, I hope you will find this blog useful in your own life.  If you have not allowed the Holy Spirit to take control of your life my prayer is for you to do so.  If you do not know the Lord in a personal and loving way, if you do not feel his work upon your life, I plead with you to accept the loving act of Christ upon that cross 2000 years ago.  No matter how "bad" you have been,  no matter how "good" you are it is all the same to him.  And accepting that truth in faith is all that matters from this point all the way into forever.  May God Bless You, in your Travels Home! 

Andy Yeager