He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. – 2 Samuel 7:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 9, 2016): 2 Samuel 7

William IV of the United Kingdom ascended to the throne at the age of 64. While most of his contemporaries were preparing for the final days of their lives, William was preparing for a new career. William was the third son of George III of the United Kingdom. And third sons rarely ascend to the throne. William had no expectation that he would ever be king. His older brother, George the IV, reigned as king. The next oldest of the sons of George III was Prince Frederick. And Frederick was heir presumptive, or heir to the throne providing George IV remained without a child, for most of the reign of George IV. But Frederick had dropsy and died of cardiac disease three years before his older brother. And suddenly William IV became the heir presumptive, and then the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom – and the last king to reign over both the United Kingdom and Hanover.

Unfortunately for William, his reign is largely forgotten. During his reign, the influence of the crown on the people and politics suffered a steep decline. He reigned seven years (1830-1837), but his reign is overshadowed by those who came before, and his niece who reigned after him as Queen Victoria.

God tells the priest Nathan that David is not the one who will build his temple. That task would be left to his son. I really think that God was hoping that David would forget about the dream of a temple. After all, God was not going to be contained within a brick and mortar building. But David never forgot the dream. And as his son and heir, Solomon, began to grow, the king told his son all about the temple that Solomon would build – the house would bear the name of God and the throne would last forever.

The problem was that it didn’t. Oh, we remember Solomon, but the kings of Israel are long gone and forgotten. And temple that he built is gone as well. We have nothing to remember it by. There was a second temple, Zerubbabel’s temple which became Herod’s Temple. And from that temple, we, at least. have a wall and some foundational elements, but Solomon’s temple, the one that David dreamed of, has totally disappeared.

Of course, now we know that God was not talking about Solomon. The son of David that would build a temple that would bear God’s name and whose throne would last forever was a different son. His name is Jesus. And of his reign, there would be no end.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 8