Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH. Thank you for being with me today.
Yesterday, when I
read the Gospel lesson from Luke 1, I read Gabriel’s message to Mary saying
that, “[Jesus] will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And
the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign
over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” I
said then that we’d talk about that “tomorrow.” Well, today is tomorrow. What
is all this stuff about David being Jesus’ father and a reign that lasts
forever? To find out we turn to our Old Testament lesson for this Sunday.
The Old Testament
reading for the 4th Sunday of Advent is ….
The Reading:
2 Sam. 7:1–11, 16
(ESV)
Now when the king
[David!] 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.
… 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever
before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"
Comments
This
account begins with David wanting to build a house – a temple – for God. He was
grateful for all of God’s blessings to him, so he wanted to do something in
return. Maybe you’ve felt that way, too, at some point. It is a good and
beautiful thing to give back to the Lord from all of His blessings to us. But
in David’s case, God made it clear that He did not want David to build a house
for him.
God
built David’s house in two ways. First was the natural way. He gave him
children who would rule after him. Solomon and his sons would be kings, and
Solomon would be the one who would build a house for God. However, those kings
disobeyed God, and those rulers came to an end. That was not before those
descendants of David had lots and lots of children. (Remember, that Solomon
himself had 200 wives! That is a recipe for lots of children!)
There
was a second way, a supernatural way, that God built David’s house – through
the promise of an heir who would reign forever. Down through the ages as
David’s children had children and the family tree’s branches grew far apart, eventually
a young lady from Nazareth who was betrothed to marry one of David’s
descendants, and she would be the mother of the promised son who would reign
forever.
Jesus
is a different kind of king than David was, and His kingdom is not of this
earth. His is the kingdom of heaven, and just as David was a man after God’s
own heart, Jesus’ heart was set on doing His heavenly Father’s will. He is a
king who reigns with justice and righteousness. He is the prince of peace.
Jesus is the Sovereign who died to save his subjects, and who rose to give them
everlasting life.
Did
David understand all that? I suspect he did not in the moment. Nevertheless,
God’s promise to David is fulfilled in Jesus, our heavenly king. For now, He
reigns His people through His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit in our
lives. But a day is coming when our King will return in a way that makes
David’s grandeur seem quite meager indeed!
One
more thought: There were about 1000 years between David and Jesus. That is
about 1000 years to keep this promise. Consider that when you wonder about God
keeping His promises to you. He doesn’t forget, and His timing is perfect. So
often when we pray we want quick answers and speedy miracles. Perhaps we should
consider this as we pray, and remember God’s faithfulness.
I
recently heard Mark Batterson talking about prayer. He says that he has begun
using an acronym for his prayers. The acronym is A.L.A.I.T.L. – As Long As It
Takes, Lord. We trust God’s mercy and love will prevail in God’s perfect
timing, and we can wait patiently as long as it takes. God kept his promise to
David. He will keep His promises to us.
Prayers
Lord, when I
consider that You promised David an heir who would reign forever about 1000
years before that heir was born, I am amazed. Your faithfulness is so
marvelous. Thank you for keeping your promise to David and for giving Jesus to
be our King and Savior. Please forgive us for being so slow to trust you in the
midst of our short lives. Please give us Your Holy Spirit to strengthen our
faith, and to help us to trust You with our whole hearts. Amen.
Memory Verse:
Luke 2:1-20
I would remind
you once again that God’s salvation is so great that it impacts our physical
life as well as our spiritual life. One of the ways that we can express the
fullness of God’s salvation in this world is through the devotional habit of
giving of alms, which helps people with their earthly needs. I encourage you to
be part of God’s incredible salvation as you give to help people in need.
Would you do me a
favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
share it on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you do social media? That would help
me get the word out, and hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to
others.
God bless you!
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