2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16

¹Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, ²the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent." ³And Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you." ⁴But 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? ⁶I 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. ⁷In 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?"' ⁸Now, 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. ⁹And 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. ¹⁰And 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, ¹¹from 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. ¹⁶And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.Your throne shall be established forever.'"

You ought to see my "Honey Do" list at home! There are so many projects, big and small, that I just never seem to accomplish. It's especially true during the holidays. Maybe half of our decorations won't even get out of the boxes, not to mention the gifts that won't get purchased and the cards that won't get sent.

Much more serious are the things I want to do and you want to do for God and never accomplish. What's on your "To Do" list for God? What's on our congregation's To Do list? Here's one that even the great King David couldn't do:

Building the Kingdom Cannot Be by Human Effort

but Is Perfectly Accomplished by the Eternal King, Jesus.

King David, once settled on his throne, had thoughts about doing something good for God. David had already accomplished so much —conquest of enemies (v 1), building projects, even moving the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). From his youth he had served in the court of King Saul. He played the harp to still Saul's heart. He singlehandedly killed Israel's arch enemy, Goliath. He won battles against the Philistines, and defeated the Lord's enemies. He built up the city of Jerusalem into one of the greatest cities of that time. He made Jerusalem the capital of Israel and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem where God could be worshipped. He built a palace of cedar for himself and reigned on his throne.

But there was something lacking. David had prioritized building things for himself and others rather than building for God. He had built great popularity for himself. He was a great military commander and general. He had become famous, powerful, wealthy. He had accomplished so much in his life, so much for himself.

But in the end, all that David accomplished for himself would turn to dust. David's family would be racked by problems in the coming years—his own sins of adultery and murder. Then incest among his children, and even rebellion from a son who took the throne from him and pursued him with the intent of killing his own father.

David indeed would die and be buried (Acts 2:29), his earthly accomplishments turning to dust like those of every one of us sinners. For we too have had great accomplishments. We have built our own empires, made great gains, and have done marvelous things for ourselves, our families, our communities, our church. But in the end, all our accomplishments will lie in dust and decay. They will crumble to the ground and nothing will be left of them.

But now David wanted to do something more. He was a man after the Lord's heart and he had dedicated himself to serving the Lord. Now he wanted to build a house for the Lord. He wanted to build a temple for YHWH to hold the ark of the covenant, a place for God to dwell on earth among his chosen people.

But in the end he would not build the temple. Because, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain" (Ps 127:1). God does encourage your heart, as he did David's (v 3), to look to do things for him. But what is most important is always to know what he has done for you in the past and what he does for you and through you in the future.

While we may focus on the things we build, the houses we build, our human accomplishments that will all crumble to the ground, the house that God builds is what demands the most attention—especially in this hectic holiday season! It is always our gracious God who constructs what is perfect and lasting.

God reminded David that it was he, Yahweh, who in the past had done everything for him and for all the people: Yahweh had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. No, not Moses. Moses did not cause the plagues, he was just a tool in God's hands. It was YHWH who brought them out of slavery and through the Red Sea.

Yahweh had shepherded them. For forty years through the desert wilderness they wandered, it was YHWH who gave them meat and bread and water. It was YHWH who defended them from their enemies. It was YHWH who led them to a place of rest. And it was Yahweh who gave them rest from their enemies. Yahweh had indeed already provided a place for his ark! And it was in this ark, a tent, that God would dwell among his people here on earth to shepherd them.

But most of all, God has done the same for you. A quick look at your life will see the same sinful insufficiencies David saw in his life: Your priorities have displaced God's priorities. You have placed your own activities and interests ahead of God. Your family is racked by sin, especially your own sins against every commandment of God. There is not a single commandment of God you have not failed to keep; not a single law you have not broken. Congratulations! You're batting 100. And in the end, you will die and be buried, and everything will turn to dust—all you have built, accomplished, done.

But God does everything you need! He has delivered you from sin and its slavery; He has brought you through Baptism's waters out of Egypt! He is shepherding you with his Scriptures and Sacraments. Here he gives you water from the Rock of Salvation, bread from heaven, and meat from his own flesh. The Good Shepherd, he defends his lambs from all that would threaten you. He has conquered Satan on a cross. And, instead of you having to build a house for him and build his kingdom, He has built for you the ultimate temple—Jesus! Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, the dwelling place of God among you, his chosen people.

The greatest accomplishment you need in your relationship with God is done by him—Jesus! Notice (v 11b) how God reverses things for David in 2 Samuel 7—he promises to build David a house! The "house" God promised to David was Jesus and the eternal kingdom of the Christ. "Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever," (II Samuel 7:16).

The baby whose birth we're about to celebrate was predicted to reign over David's kingdom forever. (Lk 1:32–33). In John 2, Jesus even called himself the temple, predicting that he would take the ultimate destruction, your eternal damnation, on the cross and rise victorious as your eternal king. Yes, providing an eternal "house" (home) for you with God is what Jesus has done. "I go and prepare a place for you in my Father's house," (Jn 14:2) and "I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God," (Rev 21:3).

You now have David's hope that God builds "the King's house" for you! You always hear Scripture's prophetic voice guiding you in Christ's grace. In word and sacrament the Shepherd leads his sheep to verdant pastures and still waters. Like David, you are commissioned to "do all that is in your heart" (v 3), knowing that the Lord is with you.

The tabernacle and the temple of the Old Testament did not endure. The cloth tent was never intended by God to be a permanent structure. The temple, eventually built by David's son Solomon, was destroyed after four hundred years. Its replacements also were demolished fairly quickly. God wanted his people to have lasting hope, not in earthly things or in their own accomplishments, but in his eternal King, Jesus, and his eternal kingdom. May enduring hope in Christ be your celebration this week and always! Amen.