Why accepting God’s ‘no’ is a better way (2 Sam 7:1-17)

A few years after I started working, I felt the stirring for Christian ministry. An opportunity arose with a mission in the UK reaching out to international students and during my interview, my future supervisor raised the possibility of a long-term role. I was elated and, within a month or two of starting out with the mission, I was told that the long-term position was mine if I wanted it. However, by that stage, I was having grave doubts if I could do the job. I felt conflicted both wanting the opportunity because what would I do otherwise and not wanting it because I felt like a square peg in a round hole. Eventually, my supervisor decided that given my ambivalence, it was perhaps best if I did not take up that position and withdrew the offer. I was immensely relieved and bitterly disappointed at the same time. It seemed that God closed the door in my face, and I felt a failure. Living with God’s ‘no’ can be difficult to take.

A seemingly good plan

David in our reading faces God’s ‘no’ as well and, from a cultural perspective, this may have felt like a considerable failure. Kings in the ancient Near East built temples, which enabled worship of the deity whose representative the king was, but it also helped legitimate the king. Initially, the project seems eminently suitable, since the king has established himself and is not fighting protracted wars (2 Sam 7:1). David’s motive is admirable, concerned as he is about giving God due honour. How could he, the earthly king, live in a luxurious house (of cedar) when God’s dwelling is a makeshift tent (2 Sam 7:2)? Nathan’s approval (2 Sam 7:3) suggests that prophets were not only given direct messages from God but sometimes offered advice using their God-given understanding, much like Christians seek guidance from the Lord most of the time today. However, in this case, Nathan’s and David’s assessments are wrong, and the Lord corrects them.

God’s superior wisdom

First, building God’s temple must come at God’s initiative (2 Sam 7:7) and at His timing. The reference to God moving with His people, as well as the promise of later rest (2 Sam 7:6, 10-11) suggests that Israel has not achieved the kind of settled state that God considers right for temple building. Like David, we too must remember that we do not see the full picture and God, in His wisdom, knows better. His stopping us need not be taken as our failure – He has something better in mind. This is David’s story who receives the most staggering promises of victory over enemies, a great name, a living space for his people where they can rest and, ultimately, an ongoing dynasty on the throne (2 Sam 7:9-12). This covenant with David has a pun at its centre playing on the double meaning of ‘house’. The king is not allowed to build a house (a building) for God, but God will build a house (dynasty) for him. While God promises never to reverse this commitment to David’s family, it does involve discipline when David’s descendants sin (2 Sam 7:14-16).

Trusting His better ways

David’s story here is a reminder that when God closes a door, He may open a window to something new. Instead of fuming and insisting on his own plan, David’s submission to God’s will yielded the promise of a royal dynasty, which in turn became the foundation for later messianic hope. My own experience after my stint with the international student mission mentioned above was a return to Hungary, but this was not the end. Two years later, the way opened for me to study theology, which eventually led to the path of teaching the Bible, a path I am still on today, albeit in a non-structured context. The way forward when God says ‘no’ to our hopes and plans is to submit to Him and trust that in His wisdom He knows better, even if we never get to see or understand His reasons – at least not in this life.

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