In 2 Samuel 7 we find the account of King David enjoying his lovely cedar palace. While he is doing so, he remembers that the Ark of the Covenant was sitting in a tent. The tent was no place for the Ark of the Covenant because the Ark was not simply some piece of furniture, it was God’s dwelling place. Where the Ark was, God was.
King David goes to Nathan the prophet (the same prophet who would later in life boldly reveal to David the depth of David’s sin, in both adultery and murder). This is the first time we hear about Nathan. David explains to Nathan the situation and Nathan responds, “whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” (vs 3). Nathan has given David the green light. Nathan was quick to approve whatever David had in mind.
That night Nathan had a vision. God spoke to Nathan and gave him some instructions. The basic word that came to David, through Nathan, was “No… don’t tell David to go ahead with his intention to build a temple for the Ark”. That’s not a good idea. The Lord goes on to explain that one day David’s son would be the one to build a temple – but it wouldn’t be David himself.
With that revelation, Nathan had to go back to David and verse 17 simply says “Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation”. This was completely the opposite direction that Nathan had given the day before.
Making major decisions is seldom easy. We get an idea and we want to pursue it, but we’re not sure. How do we make important decisions? What do we do? And how do we treat others who are making (sometimes wrong) decisions?
There are some important takeaways for us from David and Nathan’s experience.
1. God is patient
We are not aware of any consequences on Nathan because of his initial hasty words. God could have withdrawn his support for Nathan. God could have done any number of things with Nathan because Nathan had spoken before actually hearing from God. God could have “fired” Nathan. Be he didn’t. We know this because later in life, God used Nathan to expose David’s sin. If anything, this shows us that God is patient, even when we mess up, giving us room to grow.
I think for us, it would be important for us to be patient with young(er) or less experienced leaders. Or even younger people in general – no matter what their role in life is. Sometimes us (slightly) older people expect the younger people to get it right… but some things are only learned from experience – sometimes painful experience. God was patient… we would do well to be patient (with others) ourselves. We (the slightly older folks) were once there ourselves – and the truth is, we still make mistakes.
2. People make mistakes
Initially, Nathan got it wrong. You can’t assume someone is always right just because of their title. I’m not suggesting that you should never take what someone says as truth – but there should always be room for asking questions. Nobody should be above being asked questions. Likewise, we ourselves should not feel threatened by the questions of others. If anything, we need to cultivate an atmosphere where people feel comfortable asking questions. Nobody likes to admit it, but sometimes we are wrong. We can’t assume someone is right, just because of their title (or how loud they are).
3. Don’t rush a decision
I remember my mother giving me a piece of advice when it came to major decisions… always sleep on it. If you are under pressure to respond right away … don’t … it is best to walk away. It is better to lose an opportunity than to suffer the consequences of a rushed decision. Wait. Waiting gives God an opportunity to speak to us.
Waiting overnight is particularly beneficial because it is at night when we quiet our hearts and minds, which will then enable us to hear from God. Notice it was overnight, that God spoke to Nathan.
Waiting also gives an opportunity for common sense to kick in. Take your time. Sleep on it. Don’t rush into making a quick decision. If the pressure is on, it probably isn’t a good idea.
4. Watch out for itching ears
We should all value the opinion of trusted friends, but we must be careful that we don’t develop itching ear syndrome – listening only to the people who will tell us what we want to hear.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 says “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
It is far too easy to listen only to what we want to hear – and tune out everything else. We would do well to intentionally go to someone who has an opposite opinion to what we want and ask them why they are the way they are. We might learn something. Better to be corrected before a poor decision than suffer the consequences of a poor one.
5. Know the scriptures
The scriptures are there to guide us. Acts 17:11 talks about the Berean Jews who “were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
Here are some people who hear from a trusted source (Paul) but they still want to verify that what Paul is saying lines up with the scripture. Because in the end, if something doesn’t line up with scripture, it simply is not right.
Truth is, we can find all kinds of reasons to justify what we want. We can always find someone who will tell us what we want to hear. But if it doesn’t line up with scripture, we simply can’t embrace it.
If the scriptures don’t speak directly about a topic or decision you need to make, surely there are principles from God’s Word that will guide us in knowing which direction to take. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” We absolutely believe God’s Word is here to guide us. Know the scriptures and don’t deviate from them.
6. Don’t panic
When everything is said and done, and you find you have made a poor decision, don’t panic. God has a way of setting things straight.
I really appreciate the events in Jonah’s life when it comes to this. Jonah got it wrong. He made a poor decision. But that wasn’t the end of the story. God had a way of straightening things out.
This doesn’t mean we should be careless. Not at all. There are consequences for getting it wrong. But in the end, God will set things right. In other words, if you make a mistake (not that we want to, but if we do), God has a way of working things out.
If you are facing any major decision or seeking advice on something; I hope that the experience of David and Nathan will serve as a reminder: to be patient, search the scriptures, understand that people make mistakes, and know that God is also patient – sometimes he has us wait before giving us the direction we need. Our responsibility is to wait upon the Lord in prayer; and to search the scriptures, believing, that God will guide us in the direction we should go.
King David goes to Nathan the prophet (the same prophet who would later in life boldly reveal to David the depth of David’s sin, in both adultery and murder). This is the first time we hear about Nathan. David explains to Nathan the situation and Nathan responds, “whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” (vs 3). Nathan has given David the green light. Nathan was quick to approve whatever David had in mind.
That night Nathan had a vision. God spoke to Nathan and gave him some instructions. The basic word that came to David, through Nathan, was “No… don’t tell David to go ahead with his intention to build a temple for the Ark”. That’s not a good idea. The Lord goes on to explain that one day David’s son would be the one to build a temple – but it wouldn’t be David himself.
With that revelation, Nathan had to go back to David and verse 17 simply says “Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation”. This was completely the opposite direction that Nathan had given the day before.
Making major decisions is seldom easy. We get an idea and we want to pursue it, but we’re not sure. How do we make important decisions? What do we do? And how do we treat others who are making (sometimes wrong) decisions?
There are some important takeaways for us from David and Nathan’s experience.
1. God is patient
We are not aware of any consequences on Nathan because of his initial hasty words. God could have withdrawn his support for Nathan. God could have done any number of things with Nathan because Nathan had spoken before actually hearing from God. God could have “fired” Nathan. Be he didn’t. We know this because later in life, God used Nathan to expose David’s sin. If anything, this shows us that God is patient, even when we mess up, giving us room to grow.
I think for us, it would be important for us to be patient with young(er) or less experienced leaders. Or even younger people in general – no matter what their role in life is. Sometimes us (slightly) older people expect the younger people to get it right… but some things are only learned from experience – sometimes painful experience. God was patient… we would do well to be patient (with others) ourselves. We (the slightly older folks) were once there ourselves – and the truth is, we still make mistakes.
2. People make mistakes
Initially, Nathan got it wrong. You can’t assume someone is always right just because of their title. I’m not suggesting that you should never take what someone says as truth – but there should always be room for asking questions. Nobody should be above being asked questions. Likewise, we ourselves should not feel threatened by the questions of others. If anything, we need to cultivate an atmosphere where people feel comfortable asking questions. Nobody likes to admit it, but sometimes we are wrong. We can’t assume someone is right, just because of their title (or how loud they are).
3. Don’t rush a decision
I remember my mother giving me a piece of advice when it came to major decisions… always sleep on it. If you are under pressure to respond right away … don’t … it is best to walk away. It is better to lose an opportunity than to suffer the consequences of a rushed decision. Wait. Waiting gives God an opportunity to speak to us.
Waiting overnight is particularly beneficial because it is at night when we quiet our hearts and minds, which will then enable us to hear from God. Notice it was overnight, that God spoke to Nathan.
Waiting also gives an opportunity for common sense to kick in. Take your time. Sleep on it. Don’t rush into making a quick decision. If the pressure is on, it probably isn’t a good idea.
4. Watch out for itching ears
We should all value the opinion of trusted friends, but we must be careful that we don’t develop itching ear syndrome – listening only to the people who will tell us what we want to hear.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 says “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
It is far too easy to listen only to what we want to hear – and tune out everything else. We would do well to intentionally go to someone who has an opposite opinion to what we want and ask them why they are the way they are. We might learn something. Better to be corrected before a poor decision than suffer the consequences of a poor one.
5. Know the scriptures
The scriptures are there to guide us. Acts 17:11 talks about the Berean Jews who “were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
Here are some people who hear from a trusted source (Paul) but they still want to verify that what Paul is saying lines up with the scripture. Because in the end, if something doesn’t line up with scripture, it simply is not right.
Truth is, we can find all kinds of reasons to justify what we want. We can always find someone who will tell us what we want to hear. But if it doesn’t line up with scripture, we simply can’t embrace it.
If the scriptures don’t speak directly about a topic or decision you need to make, surely there are principles from God’s Word that will guide us in knowing which direction to take. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” We absolutely believe God’s Word is here to guide us. Know the scriptures and don’t deviate from them.
6. Don’t panic
When everything is said and done, and you find you have made a poor decision, don’t panic. God has a way of setting things straight.
I really appreciate the events in Jonah’s life when it comes to this. Jonah got it wrong. He made a poor decision. But that wasn’t the end of the story. God had a way of straightening things out.
This doesn’t mean we should be careless. Not at all. There are consequences for getting it wrong. But in the end, God will set things right. In other words, if you make a mistake (not that we want to, but if we do), God has a way of working things out.
If you are facing any major decision or seeking advice on something; I hope that the experience of David and Nathan will serve as a reminder: to be patient, search the scriptures, understand that people make mistakes, and know that God is also patient – sometimes he has us wait before giving us the direction we need. Our responsibility is to wait upon the Lord in prayer; and to search the scriptures, believing, that God will guide us in the direction we should go.
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