David and The Temple
On Not Standing Idly By
Towards the end of David’s life, when he had defeated many enemies and brought Israel into a time of peace, he started to think about what to do next. His mind was set on building a temple, a house for God. When he consulted his head prophet, Nathan, he was originally given the green light. Nathan told David that The Lord was with him, and he should do what he saw fit.
However, this changed. There are different accounts of exactly what took place, but the takeaway is that David was not the one that God wanted to build the temple. Instead, his son Solomon, the next king, would do it. This was meant to represent a transition to something new, to a time of peace and prosperity in Israel. David had overseen many wars and shed quite a bit of blood himself. He wasn’t the right person to begin construction on the temple.
When David learned this, through both Nathan and God, he accepted it. He understood the decision and rather than be upset or even indifferent, he was thankful to God that his offspring would be able to participate in such a project. But it’s what he did next that I’ve recently been inspired by.
Rather than sit by or simply discuss what might be done once his son was king and the temple was ready to be built, he got to work. He drew up plans, hired laborers, and gathered immense…
