In this message we will begin to consider David's care for God's habitation on the earth. As we will see, in chapter six David took care of the habitation of the ark of God, and in chapter seven he wanted to build a house for God.
By the time of chapter six, David was not lacking in anything. All things had worked together in David's favor. He had become the king not only of Judah but also of all the tribes of God's people. He had obtained a stronghold—Zion—and a capital—Jerusalem. Furthermore, he had a palace, which had been built with cedar from Lebanon. He was under God's sovereignty, and God's presence was with him. At that juncture he began to take thought about God's dwelling place on earth. Whereas he was living in a house of cedar, the ark, which represented God, still did not have a home (2 Sam. 7:2). Unable to bear such a situation, David decided to remove the ark of God to a permanent dwelling place. This indicates that David's heart was set on God's house, God's habitation.
The matter of God's dwelling place on earth is worthy of much consideration on our part. We need to realize that whatever God does for us and whatever He gives to us should be altogether for our concern for the building up of God's dwelling place on earth. For God to have a house on earth is a great shame to His enemy, Satan. For generations Satan has been struggling to abuse, usurp, and occupy the earth. As a result, in a sense God has been driven away from the earth. That was the situation at David's time. However, David was for God; he was one with God and according to God. As a man according to God's heart, David desired to prepare a place where God could settle Himself down on this earth.
In order to understand adequately David's taking care of the habitation of the ark of God, we need to review the history of the ark of God.
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