After God had made David King, David's heart was set on pleasing God, hence, David is coined as "a man after God's own heart." He made mistakes, shed blood, and even committed adultery, but his heart's intentions were in the right place and God recognized those intentions for what they were. In 2 Samuel chapter 7, David's eagerness to please God came to a halt when God had other plans for him.
Starting in the 7th chapter of 2 Samuel, we see that God had given David a physical break from his enemies.
"And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies." 2 Samuel 7:1
As he sat there, he got to thinking about all God had done for him. In doing this, he told Nathan the prophet, that he almost felt bad that his house was made of cedar (expensive housing material) and that the Ark of God was only housed by curtains.
"That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains." verse 2
This troubled David because he loved God and wanted to do whatever pleased God. After he told Nathan about his desire to build God a physical home, God told Nathan His answer and told him to relay it to David.
"Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? Whereas
I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the
children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a
tent and in a tabernacle. In
all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel
spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to
feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar? Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: And
I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine
enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the
name of the great men that are in the earth. Moreover
I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that
they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall
the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, And
as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel,
and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And
when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I
will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels,
and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I
will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I
will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the
children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever." verses 5-16
God's answer in verse 5 is a humble answer that almost shows Him being flattered by the idea that David would even consider doing something that nice for Him. God's response to David was a "no" but He did it in a gracious manner. Charles Spurgeon said, "Though the Lord
refused to David the realization of his wish, He did it in a most gracious
manner. He did not put the idea away from Him in anger or disdain, as though
David had cherished an unworthy desire; but He honored His servant even in the
non-acceptance of his offer."
David was eager to please God. He was very grateful for what God had done for him. God had delivered David from his enemies, blessed him materialistically and spiritually, and chose him to be King of His people. All David wanted to do was build a house for Him, but in II Chronicles we find that God had requirements for the one who was to build the house (I Chronicles 22:5-11):
"And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord
must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all
countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David
prepared abundantly before his death. Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel. And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God: But the word of the Lord
came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made
great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou
hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold,
a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will
give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be
Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He
shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be
his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel
for ever. Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee."
As much as David wanted to do this for God, he found out years later that God was preparing his own son, Solomon, to build His house. Why? David was a King of war and bloodshed and His house would not come from those hands, but of the hands of his own son who was "young and tender" (verse 5).
God did, however, make a covenant with David that was far more exciting than what David was expecting. God promised that David's seed would carry within it the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
"And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever." verse 16
How many times have we vowed to do great things for God and even offer ourselves fully to Him to only realize that God says, "No thank you my beloved. I have someone else lined up for that, but if you wait, I have something else in store for you to do for Me." Even though God didn't give David that opportunity to do something for Him as nice as building a house for Him, He saw David's intentions and still blessed him for it. David's eagerness should be contagious to us if we are true believers. We should be eager to do something for the Lord on a daily basis and offer our time to Him consistently. If we don't get that church position or extracurricular activity that would serve the Lord, but our hearts are eager to do anything, God will have something for you to do. He loves being asked about serving opportunities because it blesses Him. How eager are our hearts for God? Are they as eager as David's?
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