The Sunday School Lesson
God's Covenant With David

I CHRON. 17:1 Now it came to pass, as Da'vid sat in his house, that Da'vid said to Na'than the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains.

3 And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Na'than, saying,

4 Go and tell Da'vid my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in.

6 Wheresoever I have walked with all ls'ra-el, spake I a word to any of the judges of Is'ra-el, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?

7 Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant Da'vid, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people ls'ra-el:

8 And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth.

9 Also I will ordain a place for my people ls'ra-el, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,

10 And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people ls'ra-el. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee, that the LORD Will build thee an house.

11 And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

12 He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.

13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:

14 But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.

15 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Na'than speak unto Da'vid.

HEART OF THE LESSON

King David had established his throne in Jerusalem and transported the ark of God to that city. There was no permanent dwelling place for the ark, but David had arranged for it to be housed in a tent erected expressly for that purpose. That was the situation when this week's lesson text begins.

1. A desire to honor God (I Chron. 17:1). One day as David gazed at the luxury of his dwelling, he was struck by the disparity between his accommodations and those he had provided for the ark. Calling the Prophet Nathan to him, David revealed his plan to construct a temple suitable for the ark.

David's decision to first confide his plan to Nathan shows that the king knew any such idea needed to have God's blessing if it was to work out for the best. Nathan, as God's prophet, was an appropriate channel through whom to investigate God's will.

When we have an idea of doing, something for God, we do not have a Nathan. But like David, we need to bring the idea to the Lord before proceeding.

2. A divine halt (I Chron. 17:3-4) Nathan, speaking his own opinion, at first told the king to go ahead with his plan. That night, however, God spoke to Nathan and told him to tell David that he was not to go forward with the building of a house for the ark.

This is a helpful text for us when we are seeking to know God's will in our lives. Oswald Chambers, the great devotional writer from an earlier era, wrote, "If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our ordinary choices, and if we are going to choose what He does not want, He will check, and we must heed" (My Utmost for His Highest, Barbour and Company). In other words, sometimes, as with David, the way we find out what God wills is by laying out our plan, offering it prayerfully to God, and then, if we still have no clear word from Him, taking a few initial steps to make that plan happen. If, despite our best intentions, that is not what God wants, He will bring things to a halt.

3. Revelation of God's will (I Chron. 17:6-15). As He continued to relay His will to Nathan, God told of His intention to have David's son, who would succeed David on Israel's throne, build the house for the ark. Elsewhere, God explained that David should not be the one to build this temple because of his great bloodshed in war (22:8). Thus, David's role was to lay the groundwork for the peaceful reign of his son.

In reserving construction of the temple for David's son, God was not condemning or rejecting David. Peace in Israel had been made possible because of David's faithful seeking of God's will before going to war (I Chron. 14:10,14,16). God's choice of David's son to build the temple simply revealed that God has different tasks for different people.

Oswald Chambers advised that when God stops us from pursuing a specific plan, we should "never reason it out and say -'I wonder why I shouldn't?'" We should simply accept that God does not want us to go there.

Abanner hanging in one church had a large footprint on it. Above the footprint were these words: "The sign of God is that we are led where we did not intend to go."

We find out where God wants us to go by putting our plans before Him and then listening for His words.

QUESTIONS

1. What desire arose in David, and what comparison came to mind that encouraged him to act on it?

2. What two messages did Nathan give David with regard to his desire, and way were they different?

3. Instead of having David build a house for God, what did God say He would do for David?

4. What was going to be unique about the kingdom under Solomon?

(Reprinted by permission of The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society and Union Gospel Press, P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland, Ohio, 44101)