King David has conquered his enemies and is secure in his kingdom. So now it is time to turn to other matters. And one of the first to be attended to is the building of a house for the Lord. After all, David has a fine house of cedar to live in, while the Lord’s house is still a tent! The prophet Nathan appears to think this is a good idea at first. But God has other ideas.
The response of God reminds me on the word from Cole Porter’s song “Don’t hem me in”:
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in
God has been with God’s people without needing a house. God has travelled with the Israelites and never once demanded a permanent house to be built! “Don’t try to hem me in!” I can almost imagine God demanding! “Don’t try to corral me, tame me, domesticate me!” A building is not required - God promises to remain with David for the rest of his life.
God will be God, and nothing can corral, tame of domesticate God.
I’m reminded of this wildness and fierceness – and faithfulness - as the wind howls outside my room. It’s been blowing hard for almost a week. The Brisbane westerlies usually arrive during August, in time for exhibition (Ekka) time. They are a couple of weeks early – unpredictable – just like God!
Rev Ceri
