What do you
do when people say “no” to you? Generally speaking, most people react in one
of two ways: Either they get mad or they
pout. King David chooses a third option
and that choice changes everything.
In 2 Samuel
7:2, David states, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of
God remains in a tent”. He decides to fix
that problem by building a place to worship God. In fact, he wants to build a temple that is so
beautiful that everyone will know, just by looking at it, how wonderful God is
and how good he has been to his people.
There was
just one problem with David’s plan: God
says “no”.
In fact,
God says that David has shed too much blood in war, so the job of building this
temple was going to fall to David’s son, Solomon, instead (1 Chronicles
22:8). David’s reaction to this news is
not only Godly, but I think it is also a reminder to God’s people for all time. Rather than saying, “Well, I tried!” and
quitting, David decides that he is going to gather all the material for the
temple so that Solomon’s job is easier.
1
Chronicles 22 states that, “David gave orders to… prepare dressed stone for
building the house of God. He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for
the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be
weighed. He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted… [David also gathered] a hundred thousand
talents of gold [that is approximately 3,450 metric tons], a million talents of
silver [about 34,500 metric tons], quantities of bronze and iron too great to
be weighed, and wood and stone” (Verses 2-4 and 14).
I love the
fact that David was able to think “long term” and that he was able to be
generous so that others could benefit.
He gave extravagantly to build something that he would never even see. He gave his best and that helped the next
generation to find and worship God. I
imagine that every time Solomon went to the temple, he remembered, not only his
God, but his Dad’s faithfulness, as well.
David spent
the last part of his life making sure that the next generation knew and remembered
the God who loved and cared for them. He
left a legacy of faith that was real and visible.
That all
makes me wonder: What is our legacy
going to be? What are we leaving for the
next generation? What will we be
remembered for?
You can be “David”
for someone.
Comments