03
Bless my house or His?
Rod ShimabukuroNow therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.” 2 Samuel 7:29
Has something you’ve said ever been misunderstood or taken out of context? Have you ever felt like you’ve been misrepresented by someone’s personal slant when they use what you said for their benefit? I’m sure God feels this way when Christians use passages like the one above, for personal gain. I wonder how David feels about us taking his stories to grossly be misapplied to our lives today.
I, along with other pastors have used this passage to quickly as improper application for lives today, without spending time giving quality observation of the context. I’m frightened by what I’ve taught in the past, misapplying the text to mean that God will bless my household forever. Too many of us teachers give a “Bless me, prosperity slant” to this passage and others like it.
God spoke a specific word through the prophet Nathan to David - to build Him, God, a house - a temple to live in. Up to this time, the presence of God dwelt in a mobile setting called the Tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies. The Ark of the Covenant is what represented the presence of God. There is also implication that God will bless David’s house - the Temple of David, connected to the lineage of the Messaiah to come. (Heb 1). The house of David refers to the Temple where God wants to live.
The application we can draw form this text is that God does bless His servants. But we have to be careful not to make this a promise connected to prosperity, healing, meeting all our needs. He is Provider - He does bless His people - but I’ve seen too many lives misled and damaged by us misusing the “Promises of God.” We need to make sure the Promises of God are rightly observed and interpreted in context according the the original intent and meaning, taking into consideration the historical, cultural setting of the day.
I want to live differently by acknowledging the mighty, loving and revealed presence of Jesus my Messiah through the family of David. The promise spoken through Nathan, has included me - to be spiritually blessed in my spiritual house with presence of God. His provision of blessing - changing my life through Jesus!
I’m blessed to have my heart and life touched by Your presence of God. I am overwhelmed by Jesus - revealing Himself to me, transforming my heart, because of His promises to work through His lineage...to reach my heart. Thank you Jesus! I love You!
