Elder Lee Kong Sing

“The Privilege of Service” – 2 Samuel 7

God in His sovereign purpose has ordained that believers should serve Him. But that is not to say that God is unable to accomplish His will without us; neither is God diminished in any way if man chooses not to serve Him. God in His sovereign plan purposed that man should labour together with Him (1 Corinthians 3:9). Knowing that God has no need of man’s help and yet has chosen to include him to be part of His work should lead us to respond with a sense of thankfulness and gratitude. God in His great mercy and grace seeks out sinners in the depths of sin, cleanses and saves them by the precious blood of His only begotten Son, making them fit to be the sons of God, calls them to labour together with Him, equips them with all grace sufficient to accomplish His will and finally accords them with blessings for serving Him. Understanding all these should stop us from viewing service to be nothing more than a burden; but instead we should view service as a great privilege that is meant for our blessing and we should willingly answer God’s call to serve with much humility and thankfulness.

This was the experience of David in the passage for our meditation.

“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; That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.” 2 Samuel 7:1-3

The epiphany to build God a house came to David while he sat in his own house which he described as a “house of cedar”. David highlighted this fact as a means of comparison to the house of “curtains” where the ark of the LORD resided. This would have been the tabernacle (6:17) which was a temporary structure used in the time of Moses during the wilderness wandering.

David’s heart was right. Upon surveying his own house, he observed that while God had done so much for him, David had done so little for God. Out of a sense of gratefulness, David purposed to build God a house. God was with David on his decision.

However, there were some lessons that David had to learn to enable him to serve God with greater understanding and humility.

That same night, God’s word came to Nathan. Through Nathan, God asked David a rhetorical question.

“Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?” 2 Samuel 7:5b

Can David build a house for God to dwell in? Can David or any man build a house for the God of the universe? The answer is of course a “no”.

“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 spoke I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying “Why build ye not me a house of cedar?” 2 Samuel 7: 6,7.

Before the very formation of the nation of Israel, God neither dwelt in any house nor did He have any need for one. God brought the nation of Israel into existence, after which He walked with and fed them, never asking for a house of cedar to be built for Him. Why then would God, who existed before the nation of Israel, who mightily brought into existence the same nation, stand to gain in anything from His own creatures? Without God, there would be no Israel. Can the creature return anything to the Creator? Is there anything that the Creator lacks that can be filled by the creature?

“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.” 2 Samuel 7:8,9

David’s rise from a mere shepherd to be the king of Israel and his subsequent well-being and successes were not by chance, neither were they due to his ability. It was neither David’s military prowess nor acumen that allowed him to cut off all his enemies. God was very clear to make emphasis on this fact when He said “I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people.. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies.. and have made thee a great name”. It was by the mighty, sovereign and providential hand of God that David was raised from a humble shepherd boy to become the great king Israel.

“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 formerly, 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 a house.” 2 Samuel 7:10,11

Thus far, God spoke of all that He had done for David and the nation of Israel. Then God shared with David what He would do in the future. God declared He would establish and secure Israel for all eternity. God will establish a permanent place for the people of Israel where they will enjoy permanent peace. The emphasis was again on what God Himself will do; “I will appoint.. will plant them”, “I commanded judges.. and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies”. This is with reference to Christ’s future Millennial kingdom.

In addition, God also declared that He would build David a house. God used the same original word for “house” which David used to refer to his own physical house and by deduction referred also to the house he intended to build for God. However, the house that God was referring to was not a physical but a spiritual one. Nonetheless, God used the same word because He wanted to make reference to David’s offer to build God a house and now wanted to return the blessing upon David but in a far mightier fashion.

“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 a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” 2 Samuel 7:12,13

After David’s days on earth were done, God would establish a King out of David’s own seed and lineage and His kingdom will be an eternal kingdom. God was referring to the Millennial Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Messiah would not only come from the Abrahamic line but would henceforth also come from the Davidic line. The house that God intended to build for David was the lineage of the Messiah. It was a great blessing and honour that God had accorded to David.

“Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O LORD GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” 2 Samuel 7:18

After hearing and understanding all that God had done and would do for him, David became a man quiet and deep in thought. David realised how insignificant he was and wondered why God would do all this for him and for his house. David sat before the LORD and spoke of his unworthiness.

“And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, LORD GOD, knowest thy servant.” 2 Samuel 7:20

There were no words that David could find to express himself that God did not already know. David understood the significance of the blessing and was overwhelmed by humility and thanksgiving for what God had done and would do for him.

“For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.” 2 Samuel 7:21

God has done all his works because what God says He will do and because of His sovereign will and purpose. God made David to know all this and David acknowledged the lesson that he was to learn.

“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD GOD: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” 2 Samuel 7:22

God’s providential hand and blessings in the life of David preceded David’s existence, even the existence of the nation of Israel. It encompassed his life as a shepherd boy and then the great king of Israel, and extended beyond David’s life on earth even into the eternal kingdom of Christ. In the life of David, God’s sovereign will encompassed before, during and after. There was no part that was not within God’s power and control. As David (and we as well) surveyed the greatness of God’s works, David’s response (as ours should be) was, “Thou art great, O LORD GOD”! There is no God who is like Jehovah. God’s sovereignty is unsearchable! David could not help but to praise and exalt God almighty!

“And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever.” 2 Samuel 7:28,29

David laid claim to the truthfulness of God’s Word and the faithfulness of His promises and accepted the blessing of the Lord on the house of David.

There are precious lessons that we can learn from this account that relates to the service of God. God laid upon the heart of David to serve Him by building a house of God. Likewise, God today lays upon our hearts to serve Him in one capacity or another. David was faithful to answer that call and as he did so, God reminded him of his proper place before God and his need to continue to rely upon Him. David was able to serve God only because God enabled him to do so. Similarly, when we answer a call to serve God, we too must remember that our very being and all our abilities come from God and God alone. We are able to serve God only because God has enabled us to serve Him. Related to this is the fact that God is also able to help us when at any time we feel inadequate or lacking in ability to serve Him. God is the Giver of all grace sufficient for us to serve Him faithfully. We should therefore not neglect to go to Him to find grace to help in time of need. Whom God has called to serve, He is faithful and will enable.

David’s realisation of the greatness of God and his subsequent humility and thankfulness towards Him should also be our disposition. When we serve God, we must recognise our nothingness. We must acknowledge our very dependence upon Him. We must be ever humble and we must never dare rob God of the glory that He rightly deserves. We are able to serve only because of His calling and enabling, without which we are nothing.

Finally, just as God blessed David, God also takes pleasure in blessing His children who serve Him willingly and faithfully. Serving God is for God’s glory and also for our blessing.

May we always see service with eyes of humility and gratefulness, remembering that service is a privilege.