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 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 planning, 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?

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 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 gather together, no one would even know that we are part of one big Church. If we only watched a preacher online or on TV, it wouldn’t be the same as worshiping the Lord together with other believers.

Although a building itself is not important, gathering together is important—whether it is under a tree, in a tent, or in a beautiful stone building. When we gather 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

Back