This is definitely not a text a minister should use if her congregation is thinking of building a new church structure or adding to an existing one. King David, well-meaning to be sure, develops pangs of conscience because he is living in his “house built of cedar” and thinks to do better by God. “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God’s Covenant Box is kept in a tent!” (2 Samuel 7:2 TEV) So David determines to build God a temple, and initially with the prophet, Nathan’s, blessing.

Misreading God

It is obviously all too easy to misread what God wants. But that is really no surprise, because often we do not do well in reading what another person really wants, either. We offer one thing, and what they want is something quite different. We offer what we think they want and what the…