BUILD ME A HOUSE by Larry W Peebles March 15, 2019 19.07
“Will you build me a house?” was a question I loved to hear. It was like music to my ears. For over thirty years I worked in the home-building industry. I owned my own company for a short while, but had the most success working for the large national homebuilders. Every time the company sold a home, the agreement to buy/build was put in written form. The agreement stated, among other things, the parties building and buying, the exact home with its specifications, and the price. Building and buying a home is no small event, and every time we sold a home we celebrated. Someone trusted us with this major milestone in their life.
King David offered to build a house for God. From the time of the Exodus until King Saul’s reign the Ark of the Presence of God had been with the Israelites. The Philistines defeated Saul and captured the Ark of God. God’s presence was sorely missed because His presence brought the realm of the miraculous. David was established as king over all of Israel. David and the people grieved and longed for the Ark of God’s Presence to return. When the Ark was brought back to Jerusalem David worshipped with great joy and abandonment before the people. His passion for God’s presence seemed more than anyone who had gone before him. To honor David’s position and as a sign of respect, Hiram, the King of Tyre, sent cedar, carpenters, and masons to build a house for David (2 Samuel Chapter 7). However, David lamented that he was not content to live in a new house while the Ark of God (the presence of God) resided in a tent. David wanted the presence of God to have a fitting place for His glory to permanently abide.
He expressed his feeling to Nathan the prophet, who told him “Do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Samuel 7:3). The ark was more than a symbol of the presence of God; it actually contained His presence. When the ark was held by the Philistines, the enemies of God, they were cursed. When it was held by the Israelites, they were blessed. Scriptures teach that God is omnipresent—He is everywhere and always present at the same time. Jeremiah 23:24 says- “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him declares the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?” Psalm 139:7-10 also clearly makes this point. He is a supernatural God, but there are times and places when He tangibly manifests or shows Himself in the natural world. It is those times we are speaking of in this article.
The Lord was extremely pleased that David wanted His presence and desired to house the presence of God permanently. The presence of God enabled him to defeat the lion and the bear as a boy tending sheep. He felt the presence of the Lord when he was anointed king by Samuel, and it was the presence of God that enabled him to kill Goliath. He knew he could not lead the people of Israel as their king without the presence of the Lord.
God spoke to Nathan, and told him to take a message back to David. (2 Samuel 7:6-16) God was extremely pleased that David wanted His presence on a continual and permanent basis. He recalled that He never asked anyone to build Him a house, but because David had volunteered to do so, the Lord made two strong promises to David. He said that even if David committed iniquity (which he later did), God’s “mercy would not depart from him” (v. 15). God also promised David’s “house and kingdom shall be established forever” (v.16), which of course it was through Jesus, descendant of David. The Lord does not force His presence on anyone, but He rewards those who earnestly desire His presence.
Moses also knew and valued the presence of God. He encountered the presence at the burning bush (Exodus 3), where he was told to “take off your (his) sandals, for the place where you stand is Holy” (v.5). The person of God speaking from the bush also identified Himself as the “I AM” (v.14). Only from that experience of being in the presence of the Lord could Moses lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. During forty years of wandering in the desert, His presence was continually manifested by the cloud that led them by day, and by fire that led them by night. (Exodus 13: 21-22) In the tent of meeting (Exodus 33:7-11), Moses would spend time in the presence of the Lord, and “talk face to face, as a man would talk with a friend”. When it was time to leave the desert and finally turn toward the Promised Land, Moses knew the only way the people would succeed was with the presence of God, so he asked that the presence would go with them. He felt so strongly about needing the presence of the Lord that he pleaded “if Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here (the desert).” (Exodus 33:15). In the presence of God Moses saw the power of God to save the people from captivity. In the presence of God the people saw Pharaoh bow to the commands of God to let His people go, and the people finally found their rest in the Promised Land (Exodus 33:14). Without the presence of the Lord, there was no point even starting such an ambitious and difficult task.
Joshua grew up in the presence of God, sitting at the door of the tent of meeting and watching Moses (Exodus 33:11). This qualified him to be the leader that replaced Moses. He became the one who would actually lead the people into the Promised Land. His strongest encounter with the presence of the Lord may have occurred near Jericho. Joshua had prepared the people to enter the Promised Land. They washed their clothes, and the men were circumcised as a sign of consecration to the Lord. They crossed over the Jordan River, which miraculously stopped flowing when they put their feet in the water. Then the first real test lay before them-the fortified City of Jericho. The question was what to do next.
A Man with a drawn sword, who identified Himself as “The Commander of the Army of the Lord”, appeared to Joshua and said “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is Holy.” (Joshua 5:13-15) This is the same I AM that appeared to Moses and spoke those same words. In Revelation 19:14 Jesus is described as commanding the “armies of heaven”. Twelve times in the Book of John and the Book of Revelation Jesus described Himself with I AM statements such as “I AM the way, the truth ,and the life” (John 14:6), and “I AM the Alpha and the Omega” (Revelation 1:8). The presence of God appeared to Moses and then to Joshua in the person of Jesus.
Joshua knew he could not lead the people into the Promised Land without the presence of God. Jesus Himself gave Joshua the strategy for taking the City of Jericho. Joshua (Chapter 6) was told to have the “men of war” walk around the city each day for six days. Seven priests with seven trumpets were to also walk before the ark (presence) of God. On the seventh day (the day of completion), they were told to walk around the city seven times, blow the trumpets, and shout. The great walls then fell flat, the men charged the city, and utterly destroyed all that was in the city. The Lord Jesus, the Commander of the Army of the Lord, gave it to them. His presence assured their victory.
The Book of Joshua then recounts supernatural victory after victory as Joshua led the children of Israel to take and occupy the Promised Land. In Chapter 10 the Lord caused the sun to stand still for “about a day” and handed them a great victory over the Amorites. In Chapter 12, there is a list of thirty-one kings and kingdoms Joshua and the Israelites defeated because the Lord fought for them and was present with them.
Near the end of Joshua Chapter 21, and near the end of the Exodus that began with Moses in Exodus Chapter 3, Joshua wrote this beautiful conclusion (verses 43-45) – “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their forefathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” In the manifest presence of the Lord is where we too will find our place and purpose, fulfillment of every promise, victory over every enemy, and rest.
David, Moses and Joshua knew and experienced the presence of the Lord. They knew they could not find or fulfill their destiny and purpose as men of God and leaders without it. By earnestly seeking the presence of the Lord, they found victory and rest. We must do the same. We must rely upon the promise in Jeremiah 29:13- “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” The presence of the Lord, knowing Him on a personal basis, must be our highest priority in these days. He is still asking for a permanent place to reside in our hearts. Will we build a home for Him?
