God Is Still Moving
The passage I’m going to read from 2 Samuel 7 is one of the most important in the Old Testament for Christian faith yet it is not familiar to many people. In 2 Samuel 5 David becomes king of all Israel and Judah. He captures the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites and makes it his capital and he also defeats the Philistines in battle. Then to help unite the people north and south, to add prestige to his new capital city, named in his honor, David has the Ark of the Covenant (yes, that Ark of the Covenant, which was a sacred object to the northern tribes), brought to the city to make Jerusalem not only a political and military center, but also a religious one. So the fighting is over, David has solidified his rule, the Ark is in Jerusalem, and David was living in a lovely home made from cedar trees, a gift from Hiram, King of Tyre the neighbor to the north. David is a man of action so he starts thinking about his next project.
December 18, 2011
Luke 1:26-38, God Is Still Moving
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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Before I read this passage, remember a good principle to keep in mind when you are reading or studying the Bible on your own is to look for repeated words, phrases, or images because those often are clues to what a passage is about. Listen closely and you’ll notice the reading from 2 Samuel 7 is a good example of that. See if you can figure out what key words or images are used multiple times.
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
7:1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you.”
But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.”
A primary word that is repeated a lot is….”house.” King David is settled in his new house and all of a sudden he has a realization that he shares with his confidant, the prophet Nathan, “I’m living in this beautiful cedar house and the Ark of God is in a tent.” Anyone who ever saw the 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark with Harrison Ford has a little idea about the Ark of God. The characteristic feature of the Ark was that it could be carried about. The Israelite Ark led the people in the desert (Numbers 10:33), was carried round the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6), and was brought into the camp during military operations (1 Samuel 4:2-4). It was kept in a tent (2 Samuel 6:17) with an attendant (1 Samuel 7:1) and used to ask God for direction (1 Samuel 14:18). According to biblical tradition, the Ark contained the two tablets of the law God gave to Moses (Deuteronomy 10:2, 5). Perhaps the most striking fact about the Ark was that it was a direct manifestation of God’s presence and was virtually identified with God. So in other words, David is feeling badly he is in a better house, than the Ark, that represents God’s presence among the people, which is in a tent. Nathan assures David that the Lord is with him so if he has a plan coming to mind to go ahead. But, that night the prophet Nathan hears from God. God often speaks to us at night because it is when we are quiet, still, and less distracted so the Lord can get our attention. Nathan is told to tell David, “Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”” The Lord is making an important point. While David may want to build a permanent place for the Ark of God, coincidentally in the new capital city which is named after himself, since the Exodus, the Ark that represents the presence of God has been mobile, moving about, free to go wherever the Lord wants.
I think this conversation demonstrates the contrast between the human desire to be sure of and to locate God’s presence in one familiar, predictable place and God asserting the divine freedom to move and manifest the presence of the Lord any place, any time, and in any way the Lord chooses. When God led the people out of Egypt and in the wilderness, God was moving and the people needed to follow. God wasn’t found only in one place, God moved and the people needed to be alert and to keep up. God didn’t allow them to get too comfortable in one place. At times there were surprises and movements the people could not or did not anticipate or even understand. These same things are true of us in our journeys of faith. God is not static or locked in place. God is still moving.
The Lord makes this point with David and there is a second repeated phrase and that is God saying all that the Lord will do for David. God says, “You’re not going to build a house for me, but this is what I will do for you.”
First, God reminds David that he is in the position of victorious and prosperous king solely thanks to God. “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you.” If God had not been with David, none of the good that has happened to him, for him, or through him would have happened. One doesn’t go from being the younger brother minding the sheep to the top of the heap without God’s help so this is a reminder to give thanks and praise to God for the good things we have in life. God has been with David and, hopefully with us, at all times. So the Lord is humbling David a little reminding him that any success he enjoys and whether the Ark has a permanent home is up to God and the Lord’s initiative. “I will make for you a great name… I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more…and I will give you rest from all your enemies.” God will do all these things for David and God’s people. God doesn’t like to share credit.
Then God makes an amazing promise playing on David’s use of the word “house.” “Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.”
This statement is crucially important for a couple reasons. First of all, up to this point, Biblical faith has been an “if, then” proposition. God says, “If you obey my commandments, my ordinances which I’m giving you, then, I will bless you.”
Here God says to David with no ifs and no provisos, “David, not only are you not going to build me a house, but I am going to make your “house,” your family, sure forever before me, your throne shall be established forever.” That is a grace, undeserved unmerited favor or blessing. God will bless David’s line and descendents forever.
Things didn’t go so well for quite some time after that, eventually the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, the Ark of God disappeared never to be found again except in a movie, the magnificent house or Temple that David’s son Solomon built was destroyed and no trace of it has been found either. Cities and buildings and objects built by human hands all eventually pass away so we shouldn’t get too attached to them. But God’s promise endured. God kept moving regardless of the sins and failures of human beings.
That is what connects this passage with the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and declaring said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” That statement by the angel Gabriel is tied to what the Lord spoke through the prophet Nathan to David hundreds and hundreds of years before. Whether a woman like Elizabeth is barren or a woman like Mary is a virgin, nothing is impossible with God when God is moving and working in our midst and in the world.
God was moving during the Exodus, during King David’s time, in the first century with Mary and the birth of Jesus, God is still moving today. We need to be alert, keep our eyes and our spirits open to what God may be doing and where the Lord may be leading us.
Marie Sherman shared the following story with me this week written by a musician in New York City. “It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just up from Times Square. Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it’s enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth. For a musician, it’s the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure gig – I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the ’40s to the ’90s with a few original tunes thrown in. During our rendition of the classic, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along. After the tune was over, she approached me. “I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?” she asked. “No,” I replied. “We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?” To my delight, she accepted my invitation. “You choose,” I said. “What are you in the mood to sing?” “Well. … Do you know any hymns?”
Hymns? This woman didn’t know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. “Name one.”
“Oh, I don’t know. There are so many good ones. You pick one.”
“Okay,” I replied. “How about ‘His Eye is on the Sparrow’?”
My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, “Yeah. Let’s do that one.” She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing.
“Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?”
The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion. “I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free. For His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me.”
When the last note was sung, the applause rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, “Oh, y’all go back to your coffee! I didn’t come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get something to drink, just like you!” But the ovation continued. I embraced my new friend. “You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!”
“Well, it’s funny that you picked that particular hymn,” she said. “Why is that?” “Well . ..” she hesitated again, “that was my daughter’s favorite song.”
“Really!” I exclaimed. “Yes,” she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual… “She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week.” I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. “Are you going to be okay?”
She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. “I’m going be okay. I’ve got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs and everything’s going be fine.” She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone. Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this wonderful lady happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it.
God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it’s no stretch to imagine that God could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting God and singing the songs, everything’s going be okay.”
God is not found in one place like a Temple in Jerusalem or a church or even the Bible. The God we meet in the Bible is still moving and doing new things. God is still moving make sure your eyes open and you’re ready to move too.