FROM BETHLEHEM TO NEW JERUSALEM
Text: 2 Samuel 7:1-17
7 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;
2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.
4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,
5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
6 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.
7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
8 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:
9 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.
10 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 beforetime,
11 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 an house.
12 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.
13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
1. David’s Dream (vv. 1-3)
- In our text, we see David’s dream, his vision, his desires, his plans to build a house for God to
- David can see it in his mind. It is beautiful. It is ornate. It is fitting for God.
2. God’s Redirection Of David’s Dream (vv. 4-13)
God sends Nathan back to David to s tell him that God is redirecting his dream into something even bigger and better for both God and David.
Nathan shares with David that God is going to build him a house, a household, a dynasty, a lineage which will reign on the throne of Israel forever.
- And then Nathan shares with David that his son (offspring, seed, heir) will build God a house (vv. 12-13)
- There is a double entendre, a double meaning in these words:
1] Your son (
2] Your seed (Messiah /
3. David’s Dream Realized Through Solomon
- David draws up the blueprints, the plans. He figures all the materials. He finds the location. He then prepares and acquires all the materials in abundance.
- God says no to David, and David in his humility relents and does what he can to
- Solomon builds the temple in 2 Chronicles 3.
4. God’s Redirection Of David’s Dream Realized Through Jesus
- In the OT the glory of God tabernacled (dwelled) behind a curtain of fabric (veil) in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and temple.
But in Christ’s incarnation the glory of God tabernacled (dwelled) behind a curtain of
At Christ’s birth, God moved into the neighborhood in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus will fulfill the Davidic Covenant. He will reign forever. (Lk. 1:32-33)
Where was Jesus born? Bethlehem.
- And from his birth He is making His way to Jerusalem to die for our sins.
His death on the cross would establish the New Covenant to be entered into by men through simple faith and trust in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
The shed blood of Jesus is what provides for the forgiveness of sin and
- At the incarnation, God moved into the neighborhood, but you can’t come to Him as long as the curtain is closed, as long as Jesus is
- Now that we have access to God through faith in His death, we can boldly come to God, uninhibited, unashamedly, clean and righteous not because of us, but because of Jesus.
When we come to God through faith, His Holy Spirit comes to take up residence in us, i.e. the
One day, because Jesus fulfills all the covenants of God (e.g. Abrahamic, Davidic, New, etc.), God will dwell with the household of the redeemed for all eternity. (cf. Rev. 21:1-3)
Bottom line: David dreamed of building a dwelling place for God out of
and
. God dreamed of building a dwelling place for Himself out of
.
- When it comes to Christmas, we tend to get stuck in Bethlehem. It’s understandable. It’s where the Christmas story takes place.
But the story of Jesus’ birth is only one chapter in God’s greater story of redemption and restoration.
- 1) The Christmas chapter: God tabernacled in Jesus’ flesh
- 2) The final chapter: God will tabernacle with the redeemed for all eternity in New Jerusalem
- 3) Your chapter: God will tabernacle in you through His Spirit because of the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ on cross outside the city gates of Jerusalem some 2000 years ago, but you have to