Camping

Here's this week's Bible study blog entry for i.ucc

David thought that the ark of God needed a more permanent place to live. He lived in a palace and thought that it was simply wrong that the ark stayed in a tent instead. The court prophet, Nathan, agreed.

God, however, wasn’t on the same page. God was fine with the tent – and had never asked to live in a palace – or any kind of building. That would come later – not now. For now, God told David that the house-building was going to be in God’s way. It was going to be about building a house – a royal house that would last forever.

God was fine with the tent. Fine with camping out for awhile longer. No fancy buildings or finely decorated worship areas. All of that wouldn’t make God happy or any more present. Honoring God with the best building wasn’t what God was asking for at all. Camping out was just fine.
Do we try to build too much to honor God? Does God want to be in the place we think God deserves? Is there anything we could ever build that we could truly call “God’s house?”

What if we came to the realization that we can't control God; we can’t house God; we can't hide from God; and we can't go anywhere God is not?