King David wanted to build “a house for the Lord.” He had united the tribes of Israel under one king. He had established a capital that all could pay allegiance to, Jerusalem. Now he wanted to centralize worship in a temple in that capital. He frames it as doing something for God, as if he could say to God, “You owe me one, buddy.” The prophetic message comes back to David: The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. You don’t build a house for me, David, I build a house for you. One of the common human temptations is to imagine that I can get God to act on my behalf if I just say more prayers, go to Church, give some charity away. The story of King David reminds us that God does for us and all we can do is respond with grateful hearts for blessings received. And what greater blessing do we have than the birth of Jesus which proves that “God is with us.”
