I Went With You

As we leave 1 Samuel and begin 2 Samuel this week we see a shift. 1 Samuel records the work of the prophet, priest, and king maker, Samuel. We have walked through the life of Saul, the first king over Israel. But as we finish 1 Samuel, we see that both Samuel and Saul are dead. 2 Samuel begins with the anointing of David as king over Judah. After a brief power struggle, David is anointed king over Israel. He is now reigning over the entirety of God’s people.

One of the striking aspects of David’s reign is his great desire to honor God. We see this in the way that David continues to respect God’s anointing of Saul. When word comes that Saul has died, David questions the messenger closely. He finds out that this messenger was the one who took the life of God’s anointed. Broken hearted, even though Saul had treated David as an enemy, David puts to death the one who would take the life of Saul. It is a sign of David’s deep respect and reverence for the will and movement of God.

As we continue to read, we discover that David wants to honor the presence of God by building a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. He seeks guidance from Nathan, a prophet of God. At first, Nathan tells David to do what he desires. But Nathan is soon visited by God and given a different message to give to the king. In 2 Samuel 7, Nathan goes to David and relays God’s message.

It is a reminder of relationship and covenant. God takes David back through history and reminds him that God has chosen to live among His people in the tent constructed by His design and for His purposes. God is a God who walks with His people. Through the time of the wanderings, through the conquest of Canaan, as the Judges ruled in Israel, and even in the time of David, God has chosen an intimacy that is hard to imagine. God never asked for a house to be built. He was content to go with His people through wandering and battle, through settlement and growth. God has chosen to walk among man.

At the heart of this reminder is a touching phrase. In 2 Samuel 7:9 God makes the relationship with man personal. He tells David, “I went with you…” David’s rise and success has been the work and the plan of God. But that plan was never intended to be accomplished at a distance. God had intended from the beginning to walk with David. David’s desire to honor God speaks of the relationship that they share, but David has missed a piece of the puzzle. God wanted no house of cedar, that task was already assigned to a future king, David’s son. At this moment, God wanted David to experience His presence.

The God who desired to walk closely to David wants to walk closely with you. You have become the temple of God. At baptism, God moves into your heart to take up permanent residence. Unlike any story or tale that has gone before, the truth of God’s passion for you lies in His desire to walk closely with you. He goes with you as you walk in the mundane moments of human life. He stands beside you as you relate to friends and family. He goes before you as you struggle with sin and the world. God continues to seek a relationship, a covenant with man.

As we embed the Bible this week, don’t miss the promise of God to be a part of your life. He wants to rest in your heart and shape your actions, thoughts, and feelings. He does not seek a grand home, but he does desire a permanent residence. The place He has chosen is in the center of your life.