Proverbs 18:17 English Standard Version (ESV) The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

Yesterday the idea that God might have a different opinion about the final resting place for the Ark of the Covenant was presented. That was written from a human perspective, how one human might feel about the intentions of another. That thought does not cover all the thoughts of man, only one opinion.

All we have to gauge the thoughts of God are written in His Word. One of the sad truths about the human perspective is that it is often emotional and short sighted.  We are conditioned to think for ourselves and in doing so do not see things as God sees them.

We have the Word to tell us what the end result was in man’s attempt to house God in a temple. The focus fell away from honor and worship to dishonor and greed. Jesus declared they had made God’s house a den of thieves. Ref. Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17, Luke 19:46 and John 2:16

Many good intentions get corrupted because God did not author the work. The human perspective that does not seek the will of God has set his foot to fail before he has even begun. The human perspective replaces God’s judgment for its own.

Jeremiah 24:7 English Standard Version (ESV) I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

It is important to know who we are from a human perspective but we should never allow that to say “God thinks the way I do!” That is not true. We must accept we are human and that we make mistakes. Knowing the Lord in intimate relationship allows us to understand when we have strayed away from the truth. That creates a gap of our own making. We can repent and return to follow our Lord.

1 Chronicles 28:2 English Standard Version (ESV) Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building.”

We so like to tell God what we want to do for Him to honor Him. So often it is what we are willing to do or what we think would please God based our own desires. Do we ask God what He wants?

There are different ways of arguing David’s desire and some of them are more obvious than others. Before we explore any of those “human thoughts” let us see what God had to say on the subject.

1 Chronicles 28:3 English Standard Version (ESV) But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’

God neither denied nor confirmed that He wanted a house but rather spoke to the quality of the type of man who should build that house. So will God allow that house to be built?

1 Chronicles 28:6-7 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁶ He said to me, ‘It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.’

In the middle of this pronouncement is that every present conditional promise. “If he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules.” We can read for ourselves how that turned out.

Consider all that the Ark of the Covenant had performed for Israel in their wilderness journey. Was building a “resting place” an indication that David believed God was done with Israel? While David sought to honor God, perhaps God did not feel honored. Perhaps.