In 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 David says, "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it."

Did God need a “house” to dwell in? Solomon himself would say in 2 Chronicles 2:6, “heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him.” The LORD instituted the building of the Temple so the people could honor Him in the building of it and use the Temple as a means to continue to worship and honor Him. The foundational aspect to honoring Him would be to do things the way God prescribed them to be done. David told Solomon that he needed to “know the God of your fathers.” We need to know more than just rules; we need to know His heart. 

In Amos 9:11 the LORD says, "…I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old.” Today’s Bible reading has some things to say about the Tabernacle of David. What is the Tabernacle of David? It’s the tent that King David set up for the ark of God’s covenant; prayer, praise and worship continued around it 24/7.

1 Chronicles 25:1, 3 says, “Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. …who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the LORD.” 

David had an army of people “who should prophecy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals …to give thanks and praise to the LORD.” David knew his help and the help of his nation was from the LORD. For a few more notes on the Tabernacle of David, see this link:

http://www.intercessorsarise.org/Intercessors_Arise/The_Tabernacle_of_David.html

2 Samuel 24:1 says, “And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah,” and 1 Chronicles 21:1 says “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”

These 2 verses sound like very contradictory statements; let me try to explain what I’ve discovered without confusing it more. In 2 Samuel 24:1, where it says “he moved David,” the word “he” isn’t necessarily referring to God; in fact, the Hebrew can be translated “it.” In 1 Chronicles 21:1, the name “Satan” should probably be translated “an adversary;” it’s true that Satan was behind the scenes motivating, but this was most probably a person/people that incited David to number Israel. So, 1 Chronicles lets us know that an adversary stood up to Israel (in some fashion) and David then decided it would be good to number the soldiers in Israel. 2 Samuel starts with a heading or title of sorts: “the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel,” then it states an unnamed “he” or “it” moved David to number Israel. This may not completely clarify the verses, but I wanted to share what I did to show the LORD did not contradict Himself in His Word.

Now, let’s try to answer two more questions someone may have.
What was so wrong with numbering the soldiers of Israel? First off, God never said to do it. Second, this was an action that revealed trust in their army instead of the strength of the LORD; in a word this was pride.

Why was God angry with Israel?
It don’t know that it specifically says, but it may have been because of how the people followed Absalom when he asserted himself into power.

If you have thoughts or questions on these chapters, please include them in the comments

2 Samuel 11-12 records David’s lowest moments up until this time. I don’t think it is a coincidence how the account starts. It says, “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1). David had achieved much success and it appears that he had become somewhat complacent. The LORD speaks powerful words to David through Nathon; in 2 Samuel 12:8 He says, “I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!” God had blessed him like no other and He says “I would have given you much more!” That is an amazing statement; He lets him know how happy He would have been to give him more if what he had wasn’t enough; just don’t take what belongs to another man. We see in 2 Samuel 12:13 that God’s forgiveness comes the very moment he confesses the sin; it says, “So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’” He was forgiven but finds out that he opened the door to hardships that God never intended for him or his family because of his foolishness. 2 Samuel 12 ends with a bit of a warning from Joab to David that he better get back to fighting the LORD’s battles. It says in verse 27-28 “Joab sent messengers to David, and said, "I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city's water supply. Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called after my name.’" We cannot rest on our past successes; there is more land to conquer; more victories to win, and God wants to give us more.

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David knew he needed more than forgiveness of his sin; he needed a changed heart. He prays in Psalms 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” If we error, we need to do more than receive forgiveness; we need to ask God to help change in us what needs to be changed. David said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalms 51:17). There was nothing David could do to “undo” what he did, but God would forgive because He saw the real remorse and repentance. 

David prayed a powerful prayer in Psalms 86:11. He said, “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.” Notice the words, “unite my heart;” we need God’s grace to keep our heart from wandering; David knew this all too well now. The LORD’s testimony of David in the beginning was that he was a man after His heart, but David had saw how His heart wandered from his devotion and love of God. As we seek the LORD, He will teach us His way, and He will unite our heart to fear Him. Everyone should make Psalm 86:11 their prayer also.

Psalms 20:6-7 says, “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
·         Faith comes when we esteem His word more than what we see. David basically said, “no horses, no chariots, no problem; we have God on our side.” It’s one thing to say, but David proved his faith continually by acting on the truth he knew from Gods word.

Psalms 67:5-6 says, “Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.”
·         Real praise that magnifies God is one key to seeing the harvest God has for us come forth. The harvest could be souls into the kingdom, or the manifestation of any promise He has given us. It’s as simple as lifting Him up instead of magnifying the problem or the current condition of something.

David says in 2 Samuel 9:1, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

This word translated “kindness” in this verse is a Hebrew word with one of the richest meanings. The Hebrew word is, “chêsêd” and implies much more than emotion. Let me give an example; the word is translated as “mercy” in Deuteronomy 7:9.

It says "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”

So, Deuteronomy 7:9 says chesed is something He “keeps.” Chesed has to do with covenant and not emotions that can change. Remember how David and Jonathan had made a covenant (See 1 Sam. 18:3-4), and how David swore to Jonathan and his decedents. Jonathan said to David in 1 Samuel 20:14-15 “You shall not only show me the kindness of the LORD while I still live, that I may not die; but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the LORD has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth."  So we see that because of love, David made a commitment to always show chesed to the family of Jonathan.

What David does for Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9 is a beautiful picture of what Jesus has done for us. His love caused him to make a covenant for us! Though we were “lame” and an outcast, the one who “keeps covenant and mercy” brought us to His table

David wanted to build God a house; a place for the ark of the covenant to reside. God let David know that his heart was right in one sense, but he reminded David that He had not asked for a house yet. Then God said that He was going to build David a “house” instead. This house wasn’t to be made of brick and wood, but would be a royal lineage. This is why Jesus Christ’s lineage on Joseph’s side was of the line of David.  Jesus last statement in Revelation 22:16 contain these words, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." Jesus Christ is coming back and will reign over all the earth.

David said in 2 Samuel 7:18-19, "Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come.” It is amazing how David praises God for the great favor He gave to him and then says, “This was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD.” Nothing is impossible for God, so I guess it’s all a “small thing” to Him. Next time you’re facing any problem, remember: It’s a small thing to God.

When David became King he said in 1 Chronicles 13:3 “…let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul." David’s priority was to have God first in everything; after the ark was brought to Jerusalem David “left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister before the ark regularly, as every day's work required (1 Chronicles 16:37).” David knew that as they continued to make God first and seek Him in prayer and worship, the LORD would bless them. David made sure prayer and worship went up continually to give the LORD the glory due His name.  

The following are a few scriptures and comments from today's reading:

2 Samuel 5:12 says, “So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.”

• We need to remember why God promotes us to certain positions, and gives us spiritual gifting; it's because of His love for mankind.
  

2 Samuel 5:23-2 “…it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines."

• The LORD revealed to David that he needed to wait till he heard marching (God’s angelic army) going before him; then he could proceed in battle. We should proceed in life with courage, but not presumptuously.

1 Chronicles 11:6 says, “Now David said, "Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain." And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and became chief.”

• If you’re going to be a leader, you need to do what others are hesitant to do, and be willing to do it first.
  

A battle of Eleazar is described in 1 Chronicles 11:14, “But they stationed themselves in the middle of that field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.”

• The LORD brings about great victories through those who “station” themselves in faith; those that won’t give up, but fight for what God says is theirs. The LORD wants to bring about so many victories, but He needs people of faith that will dare to believe.
  

1 Chronicles 12:2 speaks of some of David’s men who came to him from Saul’s army. It says they used “both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow.” These men were not all born ambidextrous, but they practiced (probably often and with much repetition) to be able to use both hands the same. This is a good example for us how we need to train for what God has ahead for us. He wants to bring about great victories through our life, so we should cooperate by training now. Of course it is important that we are built up spiritually through God's word and prayer, but there is natural skills that should be learned and cultivated also.

Notice the underlined phrases in 1 Chronicles 9:28-33,
“Now some of them were in charge of the serving vessels, for they brought them in and took them out by count. Some of them were appointed over the furnishings and over all the implements of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the incense and the spices. And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices. Mattithiah of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the trusted office over the things that were baked in the pans. And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites were in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath. These are the singers, heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night.”

Every Levite knew what they were “in charge of,” or “appointed over,” or “had the trusted office over.” In the Church, everyone who isn’t a new believer should know the same things. This isn’t limited to positions and duties like ushering, or being on the worship team. As some of the Levites were appointed over the incense and singing, so there are places in the Spirit we are called to occupy in prayer and worship to God alone. These are not positions where man notices us serving them, but God is glorified as we do what He has called us to do in the prayer closet. What has God put you in charge of concerning prayer; what has He appointed you over so His Kingdom comes and His will is done in a particular situation or person or people?