Disappointment - His Appointment

Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around that the king said to Nathan the prophet see now I dwell in a house of cedar but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains then Nathan said to the king go do all that is in your heart for the Lord is with you but it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying go and tell my servant David thus says the Lord would you build a house for me to dwell in for I have not dwelt in a house since the time of the Lord.

That I brought the children of Israel out up rather from Egypt even to this day but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel saying why have you not built me a house of cedar.

Now therefore thus shall you say to my servant David thus says the Lord of hosts I took you from the sheepfold from following the sheep to be ruler over my people over Israel and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you and have made you a great name like the name of the great men who are on on 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 nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore as previously.

Since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that he will make you a house.

When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers I will set up your seed after you who will come from my from your body and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall be my son if he commits iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

But my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul whom I removed from before you and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you.

Your throne shall be established forever. According to all these words and according to all this vision so Nathan spoke to David. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and he said who am I the Lord God and what is my house that you have brought me this far.

And yet this was a small thing in your sight the Lord God and you have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man O Lord God?

Now what more can David say to you for you Lord God know your servant for your word's sake and according to your own heart you have done all these great things to make your servant know them.

Therefore you are great O Lord God for there is none like you nor is there any God besides you according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people like Israel the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for himself as a people to make for himself a name and to do for yourself great and awesome deeds for your land.

Before your people whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt the nations and their gods. For you have made your people Israel your very own people forever and you Lord have become their God.

Now O Lord God the word which you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house establish it forever and do as you have said. So let your name be magnified forever saying the Lord of hosts is the God over Israel and let the house of your servant David be established before you.

For you O Lord of hosts God of Israel have revealed this to your servant saying I have built you a house therefore your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to you.

And now O Lord God you are God and your words are true and you have promised this goodness to your servant. Now therefore let it please you to bless the house of your servant that it may continue before you forever.

For you O Lord God have spoken it and with your blessing let the house of your servant be blessed forever. Okay beautiful chapter.

Interesting chapter. Some of it I would say as I've said of a number of chapters in 2 Samuel. Some of it very familiar. You know a little bit about this particular incident in the life of David.

Where David wanted to build the temple build a house for God. I've entitled my message tonight and I have to have a title because it's on the website and you know you have to have titles for sermons.

But I've entitled it rather oddly maybe maybe you'll think so but I've entitled it Disappointment His Appointment. Disappointment His Appointment.

And I didn't come up with that on my own. I borrowed this from a poem actually written by a lady by the name of Edith Lillian Young. I don't know if you've ever heard of her.

Probably you've not. But some of you may have heard of Phil Kagey who took some of the words of this poem and put it to music. And the poem goes like this. Disappointment His Appointment.

Change one letter then I see. That the thwarting of my purpose is God's better choice for me. I love those words. Disappointment His Appointment.

Whose? The Lord who loves me best. Understands and knows me fully. Who my faith and love would test. Disappointment His Appointment.

No good thing will He withhold. From denials oft we gather treasures of His love untold. Disappointment His Appointment.

Lord I take it then as such. Like the clay in the hands of a potter. Yielding wholly to Thy touch. Those aren't all the words but some of the parts of it that I like the most.

So disappointment His Appointment. Change the D to an H. And so then the thwarting of my purpose or purposes is God's better choice for me.

I love that. And that fits this event in David's life. It fits it to a T. And it's a lesson. A lesson to learn.

And it's not an easy lesson to learn. It was certainly not an easy lesson for David to learn in this part of his life. Why? Because David desired a good thing.

He desired to build God a permanent home. A brick and mortar home. Actually, he desired much more than just that. But a brick and mortar kind of dwelling or home instead of the tent that he had been dwelling in since Israel came out of Egypt.

This is what David desired to do. He desired to build God a house. And what did God say? He said no. He said no, as we're going to see.

But I guess the good news is that's not all he said. Okay? He didn't just say no. He said more than that. So disappointment, His appointment.

His appointment. So let's look at this tonight as we look at various parts of the passage of this chapter. And I've divided it into three parts. And here's the first part.

An honorable resolve. Of course, I'm talking about David. On the part of David. In the heart of David. An honorable. Honorable resolve that David came to.

And, you know, again, I think we ought to think about David's viewpoint. Think about all of this from David's perspective. His viewpoint. The nation of Israel at this point.

All 12 tribes have been unified under one king. One king. A king they loved, finally. A king that they respected and were willing to follow and would follow and even die for.

A king they had always wanted, actually. Just didn't know who it was. They got Saul first instead. And he didn't fit the bill at all. But here now is a king they always wanted.

And a king given to them by God. And it's David. Alright? So, wow. Wonderful place for Israel to be in. Finally. And not only that, but Jerusalem had been conquered.

This great city. This wonderful city. This strategic city. It had been conquered. And established as the city of their king. The city of David. David.

And a beautiful palace had been built for David. Hiram, the king of Tyre, sent his best carpenters and artisans and had built a palace.

Now, we don't really have it described anywhere, but I'm sure it was quite something. Some kind of house for David to live in with all of his wives and concubines. I always mention that. And also, David had brought the Ark of God.

It had been in obscurity. Kind of in hiding. Kind of in ill use. Not used at all. And he had brought the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the very presence of God.

And he restored it to its rightful place in the tabernacle. That tent. And in that place within the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies.

The tabernacle which David had erected there in the city of David in Jerusalem. He brought the Ark. Restored the Ark to its rightful place. And we could say that the Philistines, their enemies, had been conquered a number of times.

And subdued. Now, they aren't going to go away. But for a time, they have been subdued. At least for now. And now David is enjoying a time of rest.

We might even say a much deserved, much needed time of R&R. You know, rest and relaxation. And verse 1 says that. Now, it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, his palace.

Taking it easy in his house. You know, probably had his own little man cave in that house, I'm sure. Like all of us men have, right? No, not really. And it goes on to say, And the Lord had given him rest.

Now, when the Lord gives you rest, that's real rest. He had given him rest. Time of peace. Rest from all of his enemies all around. All right. So, not just the Philistines, but all other enemies.

And so, it was peace time. All right. So, when all that happened, it came to pass that, and then I can insert kind of a paraphrase, a thought came to David's mind.

Really, to his heart. And it was a good time for this thought to come to his heart and mind. I'm sure he had thought of this before. But now he had time to really dwell on this. He was at peace in his home.

Comfortable. Comfortable. Things could not have been better. He had his city. Had his throne. Had his palace. Had his enemies held at bay for a time. And all was good.

And so, it gave him time to think about some things. And so, a thought came to his mind. Here I am. Sitting in my beautiful home. Best house in all of Israel.

No doubt. And here I am sitting in my home while the ark of God. God sits over there in a tent. And an old tent, by the way.

It had been built. Been constructed years and years before. Very soon after the people of Israel came out of Egypt. So, it's been a long time. So, this is an old tent they've been dragging around all over.

Kingdom come. And here I've got my beautiful house, you know. And there's the ark of God. You know, in a tent.

Which, by the way, is the same as David's saying. God is living in a tent. Now, God is not actually living there. Right? Because God does not dwell in houses made by earthly hands.

I mean, the heavens are his throne. And the earth is his footstool, the Bible says. So, and God is omnipresent. He's everywhere. So, he's not confined to any particular place.

But the ark of God represented the very presence of God. I read this scripture last week. I believe that his throne is between the cherubim.

Speaking of the cherubim on the top of the ark of the covenant. So, it represented his presence. And so, David begins to think. You know, God deserves better than that.

Right? I mean, he's God. And also, because of all he has done for me. And look, here I am. And God deserves to live in the best house in Israel.

Not me. God does. And so, David resolves in his heart to do something about it. Now, what's wrong with that? Huh? Nothing wrong with that. That's a good thing for David to want to do.

And so, he, what's the natural thing to do? He shares this with Nathan the prophet. It's kind of like sharing it with God himself. And so, he's kind of looking for an okay.

And kind of an approval to go forward with this. And he says to Nathan the prophet. He says, see now, I dwell in the house of cedar. But the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.

And what does Nathan say? Go to it. Go to it. Sire. King. Do what is in your heart to do.

I mean, the Lord is with you. Alright? So, initially, anyway, David had approval from God's prophet. Which David, rightfully so, would take as a word from God himself.

Alright? But, I'm going to jump the gun here a little bit. And so, he gets that approval from Nathan the prophet. Go ahead.

Do it. And so, David is resolved to do this for the Lord. And it's an honorable resolve. I mean, everything about it is honorable. I mean, in the first place, it was a good resolve.

It was a good thing. David wanted to build God a house that was worthy of his majesty. That's what he wanted. And ultimately, that house would be built.

But not by him, but his son Solomon. And we'll get to that here in a little bit. That's what David wanted. In fact, in a parallel passage. There are a number of parallel passages to this time in David's life.

In 1 Kings, but also in 1 Chronicles. And even in 2 Chronicles. And in 1 Chronicles 22.5, David says, The house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous, and glorious through all countries.

That's how David felt about it. And continued to feel that way about it. Even after he discovered from God that he was not going to be the one to build it.

In fact, what he's saying here are instructions to his own son who would build the temple. It must be magnificent. Exceedingly magnificent. That is, there should not be a house anything like it.

And it should be famous. Everyone should know about it. It should be something that the world knows about. And is in awe of. And glorious.

Glorious throughout all countries. Not just Israel. This is how David felt about it. It was a good resolve. And in 2 Chronicles 6.7.

Solomon this time speaking. He said this of his father David. He said, It was in the heart of my father David. To build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

And yet, as of course you already know and we'll see. God did not let David build it. But God did say, by the way, in 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 8.

You did well in that it was in your heart. So, with God, it's the thought that counts. Well, not always. God doesn't want us just to have thoughts of doing good things and right things.

He wants us to do the good things and right things. For most things, the thought doesn't count. But here in this instance, because David truly desired to build a magnificent, exceedingly magnificent house for God.

God would not let him build it. But God did commend David for his heart. It was in his heart to do it. So, it was a good, good thing.

Good resolve on David's part. It was also a gracious resolve. There was grace involved in this. David is not asking for anything in return.

In fact, several places that I've already read in our passage, and you can find it in other places as well. It's clear that it's not David's name he is interested in honoring.

It's not David's name that he's interested in promoting here. It's the name of the Lord. God's name. He wanted to build the house to glorify God's name.

Compare that to many of the great, magnificent edifices that have been built by man in the name of Christianity. I mean, gaudy things and extravagant things.

And even in our day, you know, churches that'll spend, you know, $100 million and build a huge church plant and a big church auditorium, you know.

And you wonder, you know, are they doing it for the name of God or are they doing it to make a name for themselves? It was a good resolve, a gracious resolve.

And I would add one other thing before we go to point number two. It was a godly resolve. In fact, this kind of sums it up. It was all about God. All about God.

David would say later in verse 18, who am I, O Lord God? That is, I'm nothing. That's really what he's saying. I'm nobody. And what is my house?

Meaning, my house is nothing. And what is my house? That you have brought me this far. Very godly resolve.

So, an honorable resolve. This is what he wanted to do. He wanted to do it more than anything else. I think we can gather that from the passage. And also considering how many times this particular thing in David's life is repeated for us in several books of the Bible.

This was one of the main things with David. He wanted to do this. And he initially had approval from God's prophet Nathan. And so he's going to do it.

He's going to go forward with this. Nathan said, go to it. And so he began to make his plans. And we can find, when I have time tonight, find many other passages where David actually did contribute.

Make plans and contribute to the plans that would lead up to the building of the temple. And not just the building of it, but also the staffing of it. And the duties of the priests.

And all of that. All these things were devised in the heart and mind of David. And this was something God did allow him to do. So, he's going to do this. At least at this point.

And he's making his plans. And I can imagine probably he'll lay awake at night thinking about it. And what he's going to do. And he would do it.

Or so he thought. But here comes his disappointment. And it is a disappointment. I mean, can't you imagine? It would be a major disappointment. And so, second then.

Not only an honorable resolve. But number two. A heavenly response. In fact, there are several responses from God here.

And several elements to it. Glorious responses. That, by the way, would give David great comfort. You know. Disappointment, yes.

But God's appointment. And so, these were designed to not just tell David no. But to reveal to him something far better.

Far greater. And so, several responses here. The first one starts there in verse 4. If you look at it. But it happened that night. That the word of the Lord came to Nathan.

Saying, go and tell my servant David. This, thus says the Lord. Would you build a house for me to dwell in? Now, in case you're thinking. That doesn't really sound like God is saying no.

In fact, it doesn't really sound that way, does it? Actually, that is what he's saying. It doesn't sound that way. But it is what he's saying. And we could prove it even from that sentence.

That particular question itself. But we can go other places. We can go to the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles chapter 17. And verse 4.

In fact, if you read 1 Chronicles chapter 17. It almost reads verbatim. To what we have right here in 2 Samuel 11. Not 11, 7. Almost verbatim.

With a few differences. And one major difference. Or maybe addition. And so, this is how it reads. Go and tell my servant David. Thus says the Lord. Lord, you shall not build me a house to dwell in.

There it is very clear. You shall not. You shall not do it. That's what David wanted to do. Resolved to do. And it was good and gracious and godly.

And God said, you will not do it. And why is that? Why would God refuse to let David build his house? David's the man after God's own heart.

And why would God deny that? Deny him that desire? Well, actually, four reasons. Two of them come right out of the passage here in 2 Samuel.

A couple of others come from other passages. Other supporting passages. But here's the first reason. There's no precedent for this. No precedent has been established that God would live in a house.

You say, well, that's no reason. But this is the reason God gave. God had never before dwelt in a permanent building. And so you see verse 7. After God essentially says, and we know he says from supporting passage, essentially says, no, you're not going to build a house for me.

He says in verse 6, 4. And here's one of the reasons. I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel out from Egypt. Even to this day.

But have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. And he's basically saying there's no precedence for me to be living in a house. A real house. Until I'm ready.

Until I say so. No precedence for it. The second reason is also here in our passage in 2 Samuel. And that is no request. No request has been made by God for such a house.

And that's what he says. I mean, these plans, though honorable, were David's plans, not God's. God didn't ask for it.

God didn't ask for it. These plans, pure of heart as they were. And they were. There's no doubt about that. That's not the argument. David was sincere and pure.

But these plans came about through David's own initiative. This is what we need to understand. They were not of God.

These plans were not of God. As good as they were. And this is basically what he says in verse 7. Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

Have I ever asked for this? Is there any? Has there been any request from me? You know, still that doesn't mean that, you know, it's not a good thing.

But it's interesting, isn't it? And is it possible? Think about this in your own life. In the life of a church. Is it possible to have a good and gracious and godly desire to do something for God that is actually against his will?

Is it possible? Of course it is. Because here's an example right here. It was not God's will that David built him a house. It was a good desire, gracious desire, godly desire.

I mean, selfless desire, all of that. It just wasn't God's will. And the third reason, and we have to go elsewhere to find this out, and this is perhaps one of the reasons that we think of more often if we're familiar with the story, and that is that no man of war may build God a house.

Now, we don't find that here in 2 Samuel 7. But we do find it, again, in other parallel passages. For example, 1 Chronicles chapter 22 and verse 8.

But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, You have shed much blood and have made great wars. You shall not build a house for my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.

Again, 1 Chronicles 28 and verse 3. But God said to me, You shall not build a house for my name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.

All right, so I guess then David's kind of a bad guy. Is that what we're to conclude by that? Does that mean that David was a bad man?

He had blood on his hands, not worthy before God because he had shed blood? Is that the idea here?

It's not. It's not a rebuke of David. I mean, David was out fighting the battles against the enemies of the Lord, and he was doing so by the will of God, in the power of God.

God is not a criticism or rebuke of David being out there with his armies and leading his armies as a great king and being victorious.

God had given him the victories. It's not a rebuke of that. So why then was this important? Well, you know, there's a lot to consider about that.

And maybe we could just boil it down to this. God's house must be a house of peace. I mean, the gospel is a gospel of peace.

The house, the temple that would be built for God eventually, was a type, a foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace.

His house must be a house of peace, and therefore God's house must be built by a man of peace. And that was not David. That was not David. That would be his son, Solomon.

Solomon. And Solomon's name is a derivative of the Hebrew word shalom, which is peace, means peace.

1 Chronicles 22, 9, Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around.

You see the picture of Solomon, picture of rest, picture of the gospel, the man who would build a temple as the house of God, the man of rest, and God gave him rest from his enemies all around.

His name shall be Solomon, which, again, the root of it means peace. For I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.

He shall build a house for my name. And there's a fourth reason that we could add on to that, a more practical reason, and that is at this time, there was no, not enough safety.

Safety. Safety could not be assured for the ark since Jerusalem had not yet been completely fortified against our enemies. They were building walls.

Remember they had expanded Jerusalem, I told you, when David was able to conquer Jerusalem, and he expanded its territory, and its walls, and a lot of that construction had not yet been completed when David had this desire to build a house for God.

And you can find mention of that in 1 Kings chapter 3. We'll not turn to it and look at it. You can look at that on your own. 1 Kings chapter 3, verses 1 through 4.

Speaks of the walls, not being yet built. And so the worship, even the sacrifice, were done, the Bible says, in the high place. Because even though the ark had been brought in to Jerusalem, the altar had not yet been brought in.

And so they would go to Gibeon, I think it was Gibeon, where the altar was, and they would make sacrifice there. And the reason was given because the walls had not yet been secured in Jerusalem.

All right, so, God made a second response to David. First response is, no, thanks, but no thanks.

You're not the guy. A second response really is where we begin to hear from God, you know, his appointment for David, his blessing for David.

You can't build me a house, but I want to tell you about a blessing for you that is far greater. And so he's basically going to say in this next response, David, you are not going to build me a house, but I am going to build you a house.

That's a pretty good blessing, isn't it? David had in his heart to build a house for God, and God said, no, you can't build me one, but I'm going to build you one. And not a brick and mortar house, but rather a dynasty.

That is, David, your kingdom, your reign is going to extend beyond you. You're going to have sons in the first place.

One of them is going to build me a house, but your kingdom will actually have no end. I'm going to build a house for you. It's not going to be like Saul's where all of his descendants die, and I put an end to his kingdom, his dynasty, before it ever really gets started.

Yours is going to continue. I'm going to build a house for you. And that's what we see really there starting in verse 8. In fact, let's look at that again. Verse 8. Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold.

So he reminds him of his background, what God had done for him from the very beginning. I took you from the sheepfold. Remember David was out there, he's the ruddy little son, youngest son of Jesse, and he had all these kingly sons, you know, and Samuel went through the whole list, and God said, those guys aren't the ones.

None of those guys are going to be king. And then little David comes in. Remember, Jesse said, oh, I've got one more son, he's out there taking care of the sheep. And God brought him out of the sheepfold, he said here, to remind you.

I took you from the sheepfold, from following sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I've been with you wherever you have gone, and we have a testimony to that, don't we?

As we've been walking our way through, first, walked our way through 1 Samuel, now on into 2 Samuel, and we see what God did with David, and how he preserved his life from his enemies, and God is just kind of chronicling this again, reminding him of this.

And I made you a great name. Great name, like the name of great men who are on the earth. I've made you famous.

And he was. Beyond just Israel. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in the place of their own, and move no more, nor shall the sons of wicked oppress them anymore, as previously.

Since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies, also the Lord tells you that he will make you a house.

To make you a house. So this is God's response to David's resolve to build him a house. And he says, first, no, you're not going to build a house, and here's why.

But, by the way, I'm going to build you a house. An eternal house. And then the third response goes even further.

And it's even greater. And it's really a prophecy. A prophecy. And as is the case with many of the prophecies in the Old Testament, that are given in the Old Testament, this prophecy has a near future fulfillment, fulfillment, and a distant future fulfillment.

That's very typical of most of the prophecies in the Old Testament. And so the near future fulfillment of this prophecy is Solomon.

It's Solomon, David's biological son. He will build the house for me. You're going to have a son. David, take heart. You can't build it, but your son's going to build it.

Now that's some consolation for David. All right, so this is a prophecy, a near future prophecy, not very far out into the future. Solomon will come along and build the temple and so forth. But it has a distant future prophecy that is significant for every one of us here.

And the distant future fulfillment is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, David's spiritual son. He would come out of David.

And so look there, verse 12 again. When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, that is, you're going to die and after you're gone, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom.

Now who's he talking about? Well, Solomon and Jesus. Jesus. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Who's he talking about? Well, actually, not Solomon because Solomon's throne was not forever. He's talking about Jesus. I will be his father and he shall be my son if he commits iniquity.

I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. Solomon? Yes. Jesus?

Yes. Though they will not be his iniquities, but my iniquities. He was chastised for my iniquities, my sins.

But my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul whom I removed from before you and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you.

Your throne shall be established forever. And according to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. This is marvelous, marvelous prophecy.

Thank you. And again, I want you to understand that Solomon would indeed build the temple, the house for God, the very first one.

And it was magnificent by all accounts. And we have a number of sources, extra-biblical sources, that speak of Solomon's temple unequaled, actually even unequaled by subsequent temples that would be built.

An amazing place. It was one of the wonders of the world. One that actually made Herod's temple that would come later, you know, started to be built before Jesus came.

Wasn't finished until after he died and soon after it was finished it was destroyed by the Romans. And it was magnificent. Remember, the disciples were in awe of it. They looked at it and said, look at this, this wonderful, beautiful thing.

But by all accounts, Herod's temple, by comparison, looked like a shack. But the prophecy concerning an eternal kingdom, that could not apply to Solomon.

Solomon's kingdom was not permanent. His reign was not permanent. Historically, Solomon's kingdom ended soon after his death. But it would be another son of David, another son of David, son coming out of David, whose kingdom would be everlasting.

And that is, of course, Jesus. The Bible calls him the son of David. Matthew 1.1. See the connection. So here's a marvelous prophecy that would be tremendously encouraging to David on two accounts at two levels.

One concerning a near future fulfillment that his son, his son coming out of him, would build the temple. That would be encouraging for a father.

Not me, at least my son is going to build a house for my God. The one that went way beyond Solomon to the Messiah, to the Christ who would come.

And he would come out of David. He would come out of David. Remember, Jesus claimed that he would build a temple. Remember? Tear this temple down and I will raise it up in three days.

Different kind of temple. An eternal temple. David also, or rather Jesus also claimed to possess an eternal throne. And Jesus also claimed to possess an imperishable kingdom.

And all of those things are promised or covenanted. This is a covenant that God is making with David. Covenanted with David here in this passage that I just read.

So, disappointment, his appointment. Marvelous. Wonderful. And so, it's not bad news, is it? I mean, we think of this as a negative time in David's life.

Oh, poor David. He didn't get to build the house. And most of us, all we remember is that God said, you can't build it because you're a man of war. You've killed all these people. And that's about all we remember of it.

We don't really understand what that means. But it's a whole lot more than that. God said no, but that's not all he said. He said some marvelous things that have, of course, tremendous implications for us today.

All right, so, given all that, how could David react? how, what, what, what, what's he going to say to all that? Now, what could he say?

And so, third and finally, a humble reaction. And I'm not going to read all of the rest of the passage, but just point out some key things that David said.

And just really, I think, kind of capture, capture how David was thinking at that point. And so, verse 18 says, then King David went in and sat before the Lord.

And I read this a moment ago. And he said, this is what we would say. after all of this, he said, who am I? Who am I? Lord, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far?

Verse 20, now, what more can David say to you? It's just, like maybe David thought he had an argument, had a case against God. I mean, what do you mean I can't build you a temple?

And then when God told him why he couldn't, and that, what else God was going to do, what, what can I say? What else can I say to you?

For you, Lord God, know your servant. Verse 22, therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you, nor is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Skip on down to verse 27, for you, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore your servant has founded in his heart to pray this prayer to you, and now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this goodness to your servant.

It's really a marvelous chapter in 2 Samuel, Samuel, and one that is so encouraging to us. Yeah, yeah, we sometimes can want to do good things and right things and honorable things and even scriptural, biblical things, but if God hasn't told us to do it, then it's not his will.

And so we might be disappointed, but God doesn't just say no. He says more than that. And so he has his appointment.

No, you can't do this, but you can do this, and this is what I have for you. Beautiful lesson.