Because God is wise, He can deal with various demands and desires yet still get His way in the long run. The Old Testament has two examples of the Lord doing this.
The first one concerns kings. God didn’t want Israel to have a monarch. He was the ruler of His people, so they were already well-governed.
But that didn’t stop the nations from clamoring for one. They approached the old prophet Samuel and made their request.
They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” 6But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.” – 1 Samuel 8:5-7
Why be different from everyone else? All the other countries have kings; why shouldn’t Israel?
God agreed with them halfway. They were right; Israel did need a king. But they were wrong, because they already had One! The Lord Himself guided and protected His people.
Samuel warned the people they were asking for trouble. Kings exercise too much control and they charge too many taxes. Did the nation know what it was getting into?
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 21When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.” – 1 Samuel 8:19-22
The Lord gave Israel what it wanted. First was Saul, then David, then Solomon, and then a host of others. Some were righteous, but many were corrupt.
Even though Israel wanted kings to fight their battles, these rulers couldn’t win without God’s help. The Lord remained the true Ruler.
Another example of God’s flexibility with His people concerns the temple. He never told Israel to build one. But He gave Moses detailed instructions about the construction of a tabernacle.
“Then have them make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them. 9Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” – Exodus 25:8-9
A tabernacle is a tent; so it’s not confined to one spot. Through the tabernacle, God wanted His people to know He was everywhere for them. He could show up in locations that were in trouble. And there, the priests would offer the prescribed sacrifices.
But in the eyes of some, the tabernacle was second-rate. God deserved more than a tent; He should have a grand building!
After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” 3Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.” 4But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: 5“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build Me a house to dwell in? 6I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as My dwelling. 7Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, “Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?”’” – 2 Samuel 7:1-7
The Lord didn’t need a temple and He hadn’t asked for one. But He was willing to let David’s son Solomon build it. Yet Solomon himself recognized the inadequacy of even an elaborate building.
“The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. 6But who is able to build a temple for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I to build a temple for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?” – 2 Chronicles 2:5-6
God already had a tabernacle within which to burn sacrifices. He didn’t need a temple. But He accepted its construction.
Why did God grant His people kings and a temple?
He used these to presage His Son.
As He hung on the cross, Jesus endured agonizing wounds all over His body. He also suffered ridicule.
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 22Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” – John 19:19-22
Mocking Jesus and irritating the Jews, Pilate announced Jesus as Jewish royalty. Written with scorn, the statement was still true! Unaware of the fact, Pilate was proclaiming the core of the gospel! Jesus is King!
The temple also points to Jesus Christ.
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21But the temple He had spoken of was His body. 22After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. – John 2:19-22
Solomon’s temple replaced the tabernacle. The Babylonians destroyed that temple, and the Jews rebuilt it. Centuries later, King Herod expanded it. But Christ’s body supersedes physical temples. People destroyed His body like they did the sanctuary of the past. But God raised Jesus from the dead! This is a temple that will never fall apart and never end.
And by His grace, God invites us to take part in Christ’s fulfillments. We begin to reign with Him.
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one Man, Jesus Christ!” – Romans 5:17
God has also made the church Christ’s temple.
“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 2:5
The Lord directed the wishes of the people toward ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. And His grace continues through us, the church. We cooperate with Christ’s rulership and enjoy its benefits. And God dwells in us as He did in the temple; He overflows our lives.
Does God want us? Will He use us? Yes and yes! As we look to Jesus, we will find ourselves in the center of God’s will.
His plan all along!
Recent Comments