God’s Word for You
1 Chronicles 17:1-2 The Plan
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, January 24, 2024
17:1 This happened when David was living in his house: David said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.” 2 And Nathan said to David, “Do everything that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
The first words take us into the time when David’s cedar palace had been constructed, and he was already unpacked, moved in, and living there. Whether it was before or after the procession that brought the ark into the city is not really clear. It’s probably easiest for us to assume that there is some chronological order to these chapters and that for the most part, things mentioned first happened first, but we know from some of the battle scenes that this isn’t always the case; some things are arranged more topically.
David’s conscience was troubling him about living in a nice permanent house when God’s ark just had a four-hundred year old portable tent. Surely the tent curtains and the poles and the fittings and so forth were all things that could be replaced or repaired. If some accident happened and, for example, the table of the showbread were ruined or broken, they would have called in a craftsman and replaced it. The same was true of the outer curtains, the waterproof coverings, the poles, the bases, the water basins, and everything else. We might even suppose that if the Philistines had smashed or destroyed the ark of the covenant, the Israelites would probably have collected the broken pieces (and the precious contents, the pieces of the Ten Commandments), and they would have made a new ark.
But David isn’t thinking of repairs. He says specifically that the ark lives “under a tent.” He seems to be thinking of his own years, decades, living mostly outdoors, and only “under a tent” on a good night. He lived a hard, rugged life in his years both as a shepherd and as a captain in Israel’s army. He had an idea that he wanted to build something nicer for a place of worship. Having obtained a good, defensible capital city behind stone walls, he wanted to bring the Lord’s sanctuary there. This was not a violation of any of God’s commands, but it wasn’t commanded by God, either.
While Israel was moving toward Canaan in the days of Moses, the ark went wherever God placed it, at the center of the camp of all Israel. During the time of Joshua, the tent was set up at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1). It remained there in Shiloh during most of the period of the Judges (Judges 18:31; 1 Samuel 1:3, 3:21). After the ark was lost, either all or part of the tabernacle was moved to Nob (1 Samuel 21:1-4) and some time later, to Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39; 1 Kings 3:4). It seems that David wanted to bring the whole worship place together, along with the ark, as God intended. When he brought the subject up to Nathan the prophet, Nathan had no objections. He said, “Do everything that is in your heart.”
However, nobody asked God about it. While we have a certain freedom in planting churches and staffing them today, such a complete change that David was considering wasn’t in line with God’s original commands about the tabernacle. “You are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go” (Deuteronomy 12:5). Had God asked for a new dwelling apart from Gibeon? For that matter, had God asked for a new dwelling apart from Nob, before the move to Gibeon? These are things that are not recorded, and we simply don’t know the answer. But surely Nathan should have told David to inquire of the Lord; to seek the Lord’s word about this plan of his.
The most practical application of this account for us is to be careful not to insist that the church use a gift only in the way the giver desires. A member of the church may make any number of mistakes by doing this:
1, If a gift is a banner or some other form of artwork, it might contain a misrepresentation of a scene from the Bible that actually contradicts Scripture (the wrong people depicted in a scene, such as Mary and Joseph both at the crucifixion), irreverent or ungodly images (Jesus kissing a woman, Jesus depicted as a woman) or nudity or other graphic images, or too shocking a depiction of Satan, or of sacrifices, or other things.
2, If artwork depicts foreign languages, Biblical or otherwise, that have misspellings that could offend, or even foul language, whether inserted by mistake or as a joke or social statement.
3, If a donated object would make worship inconvenient in some way, or as a distraction, or suggesting an inclusiveness to false religions or false gods or false doctrine.
4, If a donation drives ministry or forces a congregation to obey the will of the giver rather than opportunities presented by the Holy Spirit.
5, If a donation might bring a sinful glory to the giver that might cause jealousy or resentment from members.
6, If a donation would tax the resources of the congregation to maintain, which can be the case sometimes with real estate donations without consulting the leaders of the church.
7, Putting conditions on a gift, which drives the ministers and leadership to obedience to the giver. For example, a member with a strong opinion about a certain Bible translation might attempt to donate hundreds of Bibles in a translation that would confuse the members and which the pastor(s) would not be able to use.
A church must be able to refuse a gift in some cases, or must feel free to use a gift other than the way a giver may have intended, in order to carry out the ministry of the gospel. When David planned to build a magnificent temple, would he have gotten very far without God’s blessing? Or, if God had never said a word about it, but Nathan the prophet and Zadok the priest were against it, would he have carried through with it? We pray that God will guide our work for him. It is probably wise that we do not choose to be too innovative too often and never without cause. Let us serve God with humility, with reverence, and with the good of his kingdom at heart, even if it might mean setting aside a dream. Such are the crosses of the bold.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.