What God Said

2 Samuel 7:25-29

²⁵ And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. ²⁶ And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. ²⁷ For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸ And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. ²⁹ Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

One of the most intriguing aspects of Bible study is the continuity and cohesiveness of the story. All the stories are interconnected to create one large story – the Meta narrative. The verses we read today from 2 Samuel is one of the pivot points in that Meta narrative. Here we see the thread of God’s redemptive action flowing through the lives of His people, bringing us a Savior. Back in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are promised that God will send a Redeemer to pay for their sin. A few thousand years later, Abraham is promised that he will be the father of God’s people; the progenitor of a nation. Now, David is promised that one of his off-spring will be the ultimate King; the One through whom salvation comes. In the Gospels we see the fulfillment of that promise as Jesus is born a baby and dies a horrible death for our sin. Finally, in the Revelation, that Savior returns to take us all home with Him just as He promised. The thread that begins in Genesis flows through our story for today and right into our very lives in 2017.

As we read the Bible, it is always interesting to look for that golden thread, that unifying factor that is always there. God is not making up this story as He goes along. No, this story has had plan and purpose from the very beginning. There are some in Christendom who would teach that God has had to make a few mid-course corrections in His plan. This is not the case. Scriptures are very clear that God’s plan has been in place since the very beginning and He is patiently putting all the pieces in place so that His will is played out exactly the way He has always wanted it to be and has always known it would be! You are a part of that plan. Before the foundation of time, God knew that you would be inside of His kingdom and He planned accordingly, just for you. While this is sometimes difficult to understand, it is the truth. You are and always were a part of God’s plan!

One of the aspects of our faith that make us unique on a global scale is the many promises of God. The Judeo / Christian faith is the only one where the leader of the faith, in this case God Almighty, has made promises that He intends to keep (or has already kept.) Our religion stands alone in that God does it all. We are His children and recipients of His gracious action. In other faiths, there are works to be accomplished to earn your way into heaven or earn the love of your god. Not so in Christianity!

David has settled into his role as king and is well on the path to establishing the kingdom that God had prepared for him. He has set about strengthening his capital in Jerusalem and is drawing close to successfully eliminating the enemies of Israel. This is the kingdom God had planned for His people for so long. At this juncture, David sits down with God and has a little review. The conversation, on David’s part, goes something like this; “God you said you would bring about a great kingdom and establish my name forever. Remember? You said you would make your people strong and you promised to bless my family forever. Remember?” And while he is saying all of this, David is also giving praise to a mighty God for keeping His promises and following through with the plan. This conversation depicts a relationship that is strong, personal and comfortable between David and God. Can your relationship with God be defined like that?

It is always a good idea to see how we are treating our relationship with God. There are several discernable levels in how important we view that relationship and where it stands at any given time.

1. Don’t know God at all – There are multiple millions out there who don’t know God at all. He is at best a mystery to these people or they don’t want to believe He exists at all.

2. Believe there is a God – But He is distant and not a part of their lives. This group of people are not ready to discount God all together, nor are they ready to engage Him as important in any way. Might attend church on holidays.

3. Believe in God – And accept that Jesus, His Son, has saved them. Their faith goes no further than this and God is not a part of their everyday lives.

4. Have a relationship with Jesus – This includes a stunted prayer life and a small amount of knowledge of the Bible.

5. Are intimate with and submitted to God – And include Him in every part of their lives. Prayer is rich and all-inclusive, and knowledge of the Bible is precious because it means knowledge of God.

Level 5 is where we find David. He is always ready to sit down and talk with God honesty, holding nothing back. While the words are couched in heartfelt praise, they also resound with “this is what You said You would do.” That is a real relationship. David isn’t afraid to expose what lies in his heart and for him God is real and God is present. Did David walk around with his heart always firmly planted in God’s kingdom? Sadly, no, as we learn in later chapters of 2 Samuel. But for the most part, David was God’s man. We all waver in our faithfulness. Hopefully we don’t dip into the place where we are not connected with God very often or for very long. But it happens sometimes.

We’ve all had friends with whom we’ve lost touch or who we don’t get to interact with often enough. But we all know how to use the phone or jot and email. We just don’t take the time. The same can happen with God as we forget to pray or ignore reading the Bible for a time. But with our true friends, and definitely with God, the relationship can be renewed and move into life together again.