2Samuel 7:1-3
God Said No
Some things we never outgrow. One is that no one likes to be told NO. Some time
ago, I knew two adults who were friends. The first asked the second to do
something. It wasn’t anything big, but the second said no. The first got their
feelings hurt over it.
Knowing them both, I thought that was a little strange. The first knew well
enough that they needed to ask for the favor, not just presume upon the friend.
To me, that implied that the first knew it was the second’s right to grant or
deny permission, but then the first was offended when the second said no. I
wanted to tell the first that if you are going to ask anyone for something, you
ought to expect that they have the right to say no.
But then I considered the fact that I don’t like to be told no either and just
kept my mouth shut.
Tonight we study a passage where God tells David, "No."
I. \\#2Sam 7:1-3\\ David’s Proposal
A. Time is passing in the life of David.
1. \\#2Sam 5:1-5\\ - We saw David receive the kingdom.
2. \\#2Sam 5:6-9\\ - David made Jerusalem the capital.
3. \\#2Sam 5:11\\ - David had a beautiful royal palace built.
4. \\#2Sam 6:1-19\\ - David brought up the Ark of the Covenant,
making Jerusalem the religious capital of Israel as well.
5. \\#2Sam 7:1\\ In this passage of time, David defeated his enemies.
B. \\#2Sam 3:1\\ Now, David is starting to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
1. David is sitting in his palace, rejoicing in God’s blessings,
looking out the window at the Lord’s Tabernacle, the place of
God’s presence, dwelling in a tent.
2. That picture bothers David.
a. He is in a beautiful palace.
b. God is dwelling in a tent.
C. So David decides to fix the situation.
1. He begins to make plans to build God a beautiful temple.
2. I am not certain if the plans are just in his head at this point
or if he has actually started putting things together.
3. But at some point, he decides he had better ask the man of God,
Nathan.
a. This is the first reference to Nathan.
b. Nathan just kind of comes out of nowhere, but he will be with
David until his death.
4. \\#2Sam 7:3\\ Nathan’s first impulse is, "Go for it!"
5. \\#2Sam 7:4\\ But that night, God gives Nathan a different answer.
II. \\#2Sam 7:4-7\\ God Passes
A. \\#2Sam 7:5\\ God really never gives David a NO answer (there are
only a series of rhetorical questions listed), but that is still the
message.
1. This is interesting.
a. David wants to do something that from all appearances is right.
b. He wants to build God a beautiful, permanent place to be
worshipped.
c. The idea seems both fitting and selfless.
d. Yet God says, "NO."
2. In a world where so many are willing to so little, you would
think God would appreciate what David had proposed.
3. But God said, "No."
B. Consider, it is God’s sovereign right to say NO.
1. We must always remember.
a. God is God.
b. God is sovereign.
c, It is our place to do God’s will. Not God’s place to do our
will.
2. God said NO in the Bible to a lot of important people.
a. It would have been Abraham’s pleasure to rear both Ishmael and
Isaac but God said, "No."
b. It would have been Moses pleasure to die in the Promised Land,
but God said, "No."
c. It would have been Jonah’s pleasure to have another prophet go
to Nineveh, but God said, "No."
d. It would have been Habakkuk’s pleasure to have a nation other
than the Babylonians to judge them, but God said, "No."
e. It would have been James and John’s pleasure to call fire
down upon the Samaritans’ village, but God said, "No."
f. It would have been Paul’s pleasure to have the thorn in the
flesh removed, but God said, "No."
3. You just can’t argue with sovereignty!
a. There is no argument to give or recourse to seek.
b. Who are going to tell if you don’t feel God is treating you
right?
c. Who are going to appeal to?
d. God is Master and Lord.
e. He owes no one anything, not even an explanation.
f. Even if God has no reason, God can still say, "No."
4. We all understand that no one likes to hear NO, especially when
that NO spoils our fun.
a. One person’s NO can stop all of our plans.
b. Some times, many can be saying YES but just one NO stops
everything.
c. A NO can have a lot of power, and most of us don’t like someone
else having that kind of power over us.
d. God has that kind of power over us!
C. In this situation, God does give David some reasons for saying NO.
1. God never HAS to give reasons, but He did give David some reasons.
a. God told David that he was the wrong man.
1Chronicles 22:8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed
blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto
my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
(1) David was a warrior. He had killed many.
(2) God did not want a warrior to build His temple.
(3) The temple was not to be either a shrine or an atonement
for a warrior.
(4) That is also interesting to me.
(a) War is a fact of existence on this planet and while
God understands it, it is obvious that God still
does not like it.
(b) It is a good thing for the Muslims that the God of
the Jews is first a God of peace.
b. God told David that it was the wrong time.
1Chronicles 22:9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of
rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name
shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
10 He shall build an house for my name….
(1) It would appear that God had planned on having a temple
built for His Ark.
(2) But it was to be built later.
2. It is very likely that God has told you NO before too, but He
probably didn’t send a prophet by to tell you why.
a. God has told me NO to some things that, at the time, I wanted
very badly.
(1) In some of those cases, I feel like I came to understand
why.
(2) In some, I suppose I never did.
b. What are some reasons God might tell you, "No."
(1) God might tell you NO because, like with David, He has
other plans.
(a) It looks David wanted to do something nice for God
and God nixed it.
(b) (God almost comes out looking bad.)
(c) Little did David know that God already had something
in the works and he was about to gum things up.
(d) Face it, there isn’t anything you and I are going
to think of that God hasn’t already thought of.
(e) As we will see, that doesn’t mean you cannot show
initiative and ask God for opportunities.
(f) It just means that SOMETIMES, God will say NO.
(2) God might tell you NO because what you are asking is not
good for you.
(a) There are two ways what we ask for can be bad for us.
i. We could be asking for bad things.
ii. Getting what we ask for may have bad effects on
us.
(b) That last one is why I think I get turned down a lot.
i. Getting everything you ask for can hurt a child
whether he is five of fifty.
ii. God has to say NO to some of us to keep from
spoiling us.
(3) God might tell you NO because what you are asking is not
good for someone else.
(a) This is much more complex and is normally beyond our
view.
(b) However, God is not dealing with a single child.
God is dealing with a whole family.
(c) I heard the story of a wealthy man who, at his death,
took most of his fortune and gave it away. He left
each of his children with only a "modest"
inheritance. In his will he told them, "What I have
done may not be the best for EACH ONE, but it was
the best for everyone."
III. \\#2Sam 7:8-17\\ God’s Promise
A. Even though God passes on David’s proposal, God does not reject David.
1. It is at this time, God adds David to His eternal plan.
2. Some of you may remember the Abrahamic Covenant \\#Gen 12:1-4\\.
a. God expanded upon that with the Mosaic Covenant
\\#Ex 19:5-6\\.
b. God expanded upon that with the Davidic Covenant in these
verses.
B. The Davidic Covenant promises:
1. \\#2Sam 7:10\\ God promises the Jews an eternal place.
2. \\#2Sam 7:11-15\\ God promises David an eternal Heir.
3. \\#2Sam 7:16\\ God promises David an eternal kingdom.
C. The Davidic Covenant is an important enough passage and raises some
important enough issues that it needs to be studied by itself.
1. The biggest issue is, "If God promised it to David, why don’t the
Jews have their land, their king, and their kingdom today?"
2. The short answer is that they broke the covenant, but God will
not.
3. He has suspended the covenant with Israel, but He will soon remove
the church and renew that covenant.
4. Even during this suspension, David’s Son (Jesus) still rules,
He is not just a king, but the King of kings,
and He offers to them an eternal place.
D. I don’t know that mind or plan of God well enough to presume that God
included David in His eternal plans just because David wanted to do
something nice for God!
1. Rather, I suspect God always planned to include David.
2. However, it is interesting that God chose to reveal His eternal
plan to David at this time, is it not?
3. Is there a lesson here?
a. Perhaps.
b. Perhaps what God is showing us is that you can never offer to
God a truly selfless gift and God not be pleased with it,
even if God declines it.
IV. \\#2Sam 7:18-20, 26-29\\ David’s Praise
A. Let’s keep things in human perspective.
1. David had his heart set on building God a temple.
2. God said NO.
3. How do most people react when told NO?
4. How will David react?
B. He praises God.
1. Now you can say, "David might not have been so free with his
praise if God had not rewarded him," if you want.
2. I would say, "If that was going to be his reaction, God wouldn’t
have rewarded him."
C. The bottom line is that when it comes to what God says to us, we have
no control at all.
1. If God wants to say NO to everything we ask for, even the selfless
gifts we want to give to Him, we have no recourse at all.
2. He is God.
D. However, there is one thing that we have control over.
1. How we will respond.
2. The way we ought to respond, even to God’s NOs, is with praise.
3. No matter whether God gives us something to make up for the NO
or not, God is always worthy of praise.
How will you act when God tells you no?
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