Written by :   Zac Poonen Categories :   Leader
WFTW Body: 

David wanted to build a temple for the Lord (2 Samuel 7). Nobody told him to do it. But he thought in his heart, "I dwell in a beautiful house, but the ark of God dwells within a tent" (v.2). I wish more believers would think like that: "Lord, what a comfortable house I have built for myself. How much money I have spent on my own house. How little I have given for Your work! How little I am concerned about Your work!" God's work requires workers who will sacrifice themselves, their ambitions, their time and their money. Many believers work overtime in their factories and make profit for their companies. Can't we as God's servants do a little overtime work for Him - without any pay and without any complaining?

David was a man after God's own heart, and he was concerned about God's house. May all of us have such a heart as his, till the end of our days - always concerned about God's house more than our own house. God will take care of your house if you take care of His. Many years ago I said to the Lord, "Lord, I have a house and You have a house. Give me grace to look after Your house, and You look after mine. " I made that little exchange with the Lord, and I want to say that God has been more faithful in looking after my house than I have been in looking after His.

But God did not permit David to build His house. The reason was that David had been a man of war and only a man of peace could build God's house (1 Chr.28:3). Notice this principle: A man of war cannot build God's house. We have to go beyond the war and enter into God's rest. War is necessary to begin with. But we must enter into rest. David cleared the ground for Solomon by defeating all the enemies of Israel. He also collected all the gold and silver required for the temple. But Solomon built it. Are we willing to do that? Can we do all the hard work and then let someone else get the honour for doing the work? Or do we want the honour ourselves? The man after God's own heart does all the work in the background to make it easier for others and is willing to let them get the honour.

Even though Solomon was the wisest and most intelligent man that ever lived, and even though he was the one who was going to build God's temple, yet God gave the plan of the temple to David and not to Solomon. It is really amazing to read in1 Chronicles 28:11-19that the wisest man in the world had to be told how much gold he should use for the lampstand and how to make forks! Why was the plan given to David? Because David was a man after God's own heart. Solomon was a man who had a clever head, but David had a good heart.

God gave the plan of the tabernacle to Moses not when he was 40, but when he was 80. Why? At 40, he was full of the wisdom of Egypt and would have modified God's plan considerably. Then the glory of God would not have rested on the tabernacle. But by the time Moses was 80, the chaff of human wisdom had been sifted out of his head, and he was willing to submit to God's wisdom. Then he constructed the tabernacle as a simple structure. as God intended it to be.

It was so with the temple too. Solomon was only the contractor who built it. The one who got the plan from God was David - "the man after God's own heart". Even today, God does not reveal His plan for building the church as the Body of Christ, to clever people with good brains, but to humble people with good hearts. If you are intelligent and also humble, that is fine. But the primary requirement for God's work is humility, not intelligence.

1 Corinthians 3:18 says, "If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise." Thank God for the intelligence He has given you. That is very useful in the study of science and mathematics. But when it comes to Scripture, it is different. Here you have to become foolish in order to be wise. That means that you have to come to God in humility and say, "Lord, in spiritual matters I am as stupid as a donkey. Please teach me". The cleverness of this world is foolishness with God (1 Cor.3:19).

It is written further that "God catches the clever in their craftiness. The reasonings of the clever are useless" (1 Cor.3:20). Take all the reasonings and arguments of the cleverest people in the world and put them all together, and God says that all of it is useless. When it comes to spiritual things it is the one who is humble who has a great advantage. And the person who is proud of his intelligence and cleverness has a tremendous disadvantage.

If intelligence had been the main requirement to serve God, then Jesus would have gone to the Bible school that Gamaliel was running at Jerusalem, and selected His apostles from there. Why didn't He do that? Why did He go to the lakeside in Galilee, and pick fishermen who had never been to a Bible school? Because He was not looking for clever men but for humble men, who were willing to learn. Are you teachable? If you are offended by what you are reading, that would be the clearest proof that you are proud. Only proud people get offended.