Divrei HaYamim Alef 17

Thanks for That!

David was living comfortably in his palace, but it troubled him that the Ark resided in a house roofed with curtains. He expressed to the prophet Nathan that he wished to build a Temple for G-d's glory and Nathan enthusiastically replied, "Sounds good to me!" But it did not sound so good to G-d, Who spoke to Nathan later that night. G-d sent Nathan back to David with the following message:

"You won't be the one to build My Temple, which, by the way, I never asked for. I took you, David, from being a shepherd to king of My nation. I have made you great and conquered your enemies. I will likewise give the nation security. I will establish a dynasty for you, David, and after you pass away, it is your son who will build Me a Temple. I will have a unique relationship with this son and I will never give up on him as I did with Saul. It is through this son's descendants that your dynasty will be established for all time." (The son, of course, was Solomon.)

While he was no doubt disappointed with his inability to build the Temple, David thanked G-d wholeheartedly. Not only had G-d done so much for him already, but He was promising to do much more for both David and his descendants. Since G-d has promised David this eternal dynasty - not that David asked for it or felt he deserved it - David requests that it be fulfilled in order to serve as a praise to G-d in the eyes of the world.

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz