David And The House Of God

by J. Drain, Belfast | Category: The Life And Times Of David | Oct 1972

David enjoyed many qualities which gave him a place of great distinction in the sacred history of men and women. God could say of him, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who shall do all My will". The. outstanding claim to spiritual greatness in David's life lay in his attitude to the house of God. At Sinai God had given the' disclosure of His purpose, "Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" (Exod. 25:8). In his early days this wondrous purpose gripped the mind and filled the heart of David, bringing to him vision and purpose.

In some of his psalms David gives very clear indication of his thoughts about the house of God. His words in Psalm 23 trace the deep appreciation which he had of the results that flowed from the relationship in which he stood with the Lord and by reason of which he could say, "The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want". His blessings were many. But the crowning blessing in the Lord's bountiful dealings with him he found in the assurance, "I will dwell in the house of the LORD for length of days" (see Psalm 23:6, RV margin).

Most persons have desires and ambitions. In many cases human ambition is seen to be related to the desire to advance personal interests and to accumulate material things. David was a man of like passions with ourselves and he must have had his ambitions in life. But there was one thing which was of paramount importance to David and which to him was the consuming interest in his life. He stated, "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in His temple". Such words reveal the intense burning longing of a heart which appreciates the glory and the privileges of God's house. To David there was associated with the house of God glory such as could not be seen anywhere else on earth.

David had no hesitation in declaring that he loved the Lord. He valued what God had done for him and had revealed to him. Where there is love for God there will be love for everything that is precious to God. It is not surprising therefore to hear David saying, "LORD, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth" (Psalm 26:8). Those who have careless thoughts about the house of God should examine with humility any claim they make to love for God Himself.

God's house is to Him the place of His rest. It is clear that in His house His people would find spiritual satisfaction. David said concerning those who take refuge under the shadow of God's wings, "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures" (Psalm 36:8). David did not regard the house of the Lord as the grave of joyful aspirations. On the contrary, he viewed God's house, its purpose and its privileges, as offering full satisfaction and deep pleasure.

In the early days of his life David was seriously affected by the attitude and activities of Saul, the king. But when he ascended the throne of Israel and assumed the authority and power which belonged to his regal office David soon showed that he had a strong determination to give priority to the claims of the house of God. His deep exercise is referred to in Psalm 132: "LORD, remember for David all his affliction; how he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob: surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids; until I find out a place for the LORD, a tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob". For David, every other claim must yield to the claims of the Lord to have a resting place on earth, a house in which to dwell. Personal interests however legitimate, national projects however desirable must be subordinate to the command of the Mighty One of Jacob, "Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them".

One of the most remarkable features of the history of David is the divine refusal to permit him to build the house of God. It had grieved the spirit of David that he himself should live in a beautiful house of cedar and the ark of the covenant of the Lord remain under curtains. God was worthy of more than this. It was a reproach on the God of Israel which for too long had been tolerated with unholy complacency. David would build a house worthy of the great God who dwelt in the midst of His people. But God said, No. This veto would have stumbled many, but David unhesitatingly bowed to the will of the Lord.

His attitude to the house of God did not alter. The inward longings to see a place for God did not wane.

Though denied the privilege of actually building the house of God David, in the mercy of God, did have extended to him certain opportunities of participation by way of preparation. These he grasped vigorously. "So David prepared abundantly before his death" (1 Chron. 22:5). These words reveal to us a man who realized that his time was limited. A day would come when he would be gathered to his fathers. The day of opportunity would then be closed. And so, while it was yet day, David prepared with all his might. It was to be a material house and so material things would be required. David supplied these in abundance. There were the resources of the nation which David made freely available. But there was more. Hear his words, "Moreover also, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of mine own of gold and silver, I give it unto the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house... " (1 Chron. 29:3). For a man who loved the house of God there could not be too much, there could be nothing too good. "The house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries" (1 Chron. 22:5). "The palace is not for man, but for the LORD God" (1 Chron. 29:1). Such words from the heart of His servant must have given great pleasure to God.

David's zeal did not mislead him to think that by his own personal wisdom and knowledge he could draw up plans for the erection of the building for God. He knew that when the Lord said to Moses, "Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" He enjoined strictly, "According to all that I shew thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it" (Exod. 25:8,9). And so David accepted gratefully from the Lord the pattern of the house which was to be built and the pattern for all its service. This pattern he gave to his son Solomon for his observance. To build what would be acceptable to God Solomon must adhere to the divinely-imparted pattern. And he must build in the place of divine appointment and choice, which place David by God's direction purchased from Oman the Jebusite. Solomon wrote, "I was a son unto my father, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. And he taught me, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words; keep my commandments, and live" (Prov. 4:3,4). It is to the credit of Solomon that he obeyed God and his father. "A wise son maketh a glad father".

To the natural mind it may appear that David's intense zeal for the house of the Lord had an unpleasant anti-climax in that he was not permitted to build the house. The day is coming when David's great Son will reign on the earth and in that day the house of the Lord will adorn the City of David, Jerusalem, and will attract the nations of the earth. Then David will see the perfection of the glory which belongs to the house of God and will behold the splendour of the beauty of the Lord.

Down through many centuries words of David have clearly rung, "0 LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and prepare their heart unto Thee" (1 Chron. 29:18). May God's children hear that prayer today.

J. Drain, Belfast | Oct 1972
The Life And Times Of David