David

May 24

2 Samuel 7:1-7, 12-13

A palace and a tent

Things started to settle down in the palace. The Lord had kept David safe from his enemies, and now he was king of Israel. However, David started feeling a little uneasy in his heart. He called the prophet Nathan and said, “Here I am, living in a beautiful palace while God’s Covenant Box is being kept in a tent.”

Nathan replied, “Do whatever you are thinking because the Lord is with you.”

But that night the Lord said to Nathan, “Tell David that he is not the one to build the Temple for Me to live in. I will make one of his sons king and he will build the Temple for Me.”

Is a church building important?

If God is everywhere, why was it so important for David to build a Temple for the Lord to live in?

If we can pray to the Lord and read our Bibles wherever we like, why is it important to go to a church building?

The Bible tells us that all those who believe in Jesus are a part of His body, the Church. That means every believer fits into a special place like a living stone in His Temple. (1 Peter 2:4-5).

But if we, as living stones, are scattered all over the place and never get together, no one would even know that we are part of one big Church. If we only watched a preacher on TV or listened to a sermon on the radio, it just wouldn’t be the same as going to worship the Lord together with other believers.

Although a building is not important, the fact that we should get together is important—whether it is under a tree, in a tent, or in a beautiful stone building. When we get together, God is there!

Verse for today

I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." Psalm 122:1