2 Samuel 7: 1-16
Psalm 89: 1-4,19-29
Luke 1: 67-69
It must be my faith heritage and its respect for the Word, but I can’t seem to read just the selected portions of scripture only. Invariably I will read the whole chapter around the selection for context – often discovering a wider truth, a response to what came before, an enlarged picture, a surprise and even an unexpected gem.
God’s gift of a large, promised and enduring love is the underlying theme of these three readings. The 2 Samuel reading is the prophet Nathan’s response to King David’s desire to build God a physical dwelling place. In a reversal Nathan tells David . . . that God wishes to give David a ‘house’ of his own – a long and enduring line of descendants. Reading on, David’s response is praise and a question regarding this gift, … “Is this your usual way of dealing with humankind?” . . . (2 Samuel 7:19)
The psalmist recounts God’s promise to David of this enduring love, but (oops reading further again) laments that God appears to have spurned his people and turned away from his unconditional love. The psalmist expresses his doubts, feelings and questions to the Lord. One can almost hear David’s words again . . . “Is this your way of dealing with humankind?” Surprise gifts, twists, generosity, covenant-breaking, enduring love?
Yet Zechariah’s song rings out that salvation has come through the very ‘house’ that God gave David. We look back and see the Divine faithful through the trail of humankind. We will question, praise, fall down, get lost, stand up, lose hope, be disappointed, begin again. We are human.
The Divine’s love – the gift that keeps on giving . . .
Joy Alloway