The
theologian, Walter Brueggemann, once wrote about this passage in particular, saying,
“I judge this oracle with its unconditional promise to David to be the most
crucial theological statement in the Old Testament.”[1] In
other words, one of the finest late-twentieth to early-twenty-first century Old
Testament thinkers believes that this is the most important
passage this side of Jesus. Then it would stand to reason it should affect us
in some way. But at first blush it’s hard to see how. So, God promised David a
kingdom forever. What does that have to do with us?
Firstly, let's set the scene: the prophet Nathan brings a message from God to David, who
has decided to build a temple—or “house”—for God. God’s responds by saying that
he doesn’t need to live in a house, and in fact what really matters is not the
house David builds for God but the house God is making for David; not a house
made of bricks or wood, but a dynasty. At the heart of Nathan’s message are two
verses
“When your days are fulfilled and you
lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who
shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall
build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever” (2 Sam 7:12-13).
This is God’s big
promise: David and his descendants will be on the throne forever. But it’s also a strange promise if you know the history of
Israel, because it wasn’t
long after this that the people were exiled into Babylon, the temple was destroyed; and the
promise seemed to be broken. So how can this be the most important statement in
the entire Old Testament when only a few generations later it seems like it was
all a lie?
Either God broke
his promise, or the promise wasn’t quite what the people expected.
As it turns out, Israel discovered
what was true about God only when it looked as if the promise were broken. When
they were exiled in Babylon
their God was not defeated; instead, God went with them into exile.
We face the
same critical questions today that the Israelites did in the exile. We
are part of what is so often called the “declining church.” Something like 1-2%
of mainline Protestant church members are leaving the ranks every year—often
from death or apathy—and this decline has been ongoing for the better part of
thirty years. That’s a massive exodus of people from the institutional church.
You don’t need to be told this; you’ve lived it. This is the reality in Kittson County
and Grand Forks and Minneapolis
and Atlanta;
it’s happening just about everywhere. The fastest growing religious group in
the United States—for
the first time ever—is the “Nones,” by which is meant those who claim no
religious affiliation. The promise seems broken. The dynasty
seems for all intents and purposes to be dying along with the institutional
church.
So, is that really
what’s going on here? Are we actually dying? For that matter, was the promise
broken when the Israelites were sent into exile?
Everyday, our
world bears evidence against the legacy of David; every day our world rejects
Jesus Christ as the final heir to the throne. This never happens more these
days than when our churches moan about decline; when we live as if there is not
enough. We have so much to complain about—have you noticed this?—the economy,
natural disasters, hunger, corporate greed, and everything else that is wrong
with the world. Everyday we talk as if the world is going to hell, as if the
enemy is secularization, politicians, economic policies and the like. Each and
every day we are being taught to believe that the reign of David is over; that
the promise that God makes to David is no longer applicable; that we’re living
in an age of despair and hopelessness; that the good days are behind us.
The funny this is:
nearly every generation feels this way. Nearly every generation has believed
the world was going down the tubes and the next generation would be worse than
the last. And yet, we’re still here. When we find ourselves thinking this is
the worst of all bad times in the history of the world we have to get over
ourselves and our simplistic perspectives.
God’s promise to
David is no more broken today than it was in the exile. When the people of Israel were
forced from their land they discovered that God did not reside in a house.
Today, we are in a place to discover again that God does not live in the church
building or in the things we do. The promise doesn’t mean more if we have a
beautiful sanctuary or a run-down shack. That’s what Israel learns in exile. When
everything physical that we value decays and dies the promise God made to us
does not die with it; in fact, the promise is the only thing left. Why do you
think the areas of the most vibrant faith in the world today are places like
Sub-Saharan Africa, rural China
and the poorest areas of Central and South America?
Why does it always seem that the oppressed have the strongest faith?
Maybe it’s because
we’re too comfortable; too brainwashed to believe that we’re entitled to a good
life and that God is a nice idea for Sunday mornings.
Or for that
matter, why do people listen more closely at a funeral than during Sunday morning worship?
Maybe because it’s
the only time that the life-and-death nature of everything we talk about in
worship hits us between the eyes. If that’s the case—if we can’t live as if
worship and everything else that we do together as the people of God is
important enough to impact our lives—then we’re not going to realize it when
the death of the church is finally staring us in the face.
The death of the
church is not today… but maybe it should be.
David does not
realize the power of the promise until he has made the biggest mistake of his
life, until he has slept with Bathsheba and sentenced her husband to death;
only then does he discover that his sins have caused the death of his son. Yet, at the same time, David discovers that the promise is not broken
because of his indiscretions. God will stick with him in spite of his
selfishness and greed. That’s the promise
we all have, and I suppose it’s why this is the most important statement in
the Old Testament. We are God’s people, which means firstly that we are going
to fall short of God’s expectations for us—we’re going to talk about things
like declining numbers rather than Jesus; we’re going to concern ourselves with
looking decent to the rest of the world rather than worshiping as if nothing
else matters; we’re going to hang on tightly to what we have rather than giving
away with abandon the gifts we have been given.
Nonetheless, the kingdom of God will be unmoved by our mistakes,
irrespective of what we do to try to push Jesus out of our lives. The promise
God makes remain resolute. When we get bound up in statistics and polls and
politics and church polity the first thing we forget is Jesus. God’s promise to
David can be that reminder for you: nothing will separate you from the love of
God; not anything you hear on the news; not anything your neighbor tells you in
hate; not anything you tell your neighbor in return.
This is the good
news of God in as tidy a fashion this side of the New Testament. That
is why this may be the most critical statement of faith ever made before the
coming of Christ. It’s a promise worth living into today.
Amen.
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