When God gave the law to Moses, God instructed him on
how to build a tabernacle. Throughout Israel’s history,
from Mount Sinai to the reign of David, the tabernacle had functioned
flawlessly. God remained with the chosen people as the
ark sat sheltered in the tabernacle; when the people moved from
one location to another, the tabernacle holding the ark went with
them. God ultimately gave them victory over their enemies and
possession of the promised land.

When David becomes king, he builds himself a beautiful
palace. Admiring his good work and fortune, he notices the ark
and decides that he will build an appropriate house for God.
But through his counselor and prophet, Nathan, God informs
David that it is God who will build a house for David, not the
other way around.

God promises David an everlasting throne, continued rest
from his enemies, a good name, and a house that will last
forever. The descendants of David—his “house”—will enjoy a
unique and privileged relationship with God, often described
as a father-child relationship.

Yet, as is often the case with biblical revelation, the human
actors think and behave one way, while God reveals another
possibility. God’s intended outcomes are vastly more expansive
than the ones humans can conceive as they strive to place their
own mark on history. How do we align our aspirations with
God’s? How are we to make sense of our relative place in the
created order? And how shall we interpret good fortune or bad
from the perspective of God’s good care for us?

As the biblical story unfolds, David’s own story finds an
astonishing climax with the birth of a boy in a stable centuries
later, “of the house and lineage of David.” Imagine!