Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Peace and rest

1 Chronicles 22:5-12 TNIV

David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

“Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.

My thoughts -

David observed that, while he the king lived in a magnificent palace made of cedar, the ark of the Lord resided in a humble tent. This seemed wrong to him. A man, who by nature is temporary, dwells in a "permanent" home and yet the ark of the Lord, which contains the eternal promise of God, dwells in a "temporary" home, a tent. David, rightly I think, observed that this should not be so and vowed to change it. But God rebuked him.

What is it about Solomon that God would chose to give him this honor instead of his loyal servant David? We are presented with an answer in this text from David's own mouth. While David fought and won many great victories for the Lord and his people, Solomon was to be a man of "peace and rest".

While we don't often equate greatness with peace, what more could any of us want than peace and rest? We often view the God of the Old Testament as being a militaristic God full of judgement while Jesus then comes in the New Testament and brings peace. But here we have God the Father, the Lord, showing favor for peace and rest over judgement, wrath, and war.
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