Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Worship and Obey the Lord

The Lord's Message to David

(2 Samuel 7.1-17)

17 Soon after David moved into his new palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look around! I live in a palace made of cedar, but the sacred chest is kept in a tent.”

² Nathan replied, “The Lord is with you—do what you want.”

³ That night, the Lord told Nathan ⁴ to go to David and tell him:

David, you are my servant, so listen carefully: You are not the one to build a temple for me. ⁵ I didn't live in a temple when I brought my people out of Egypt, and I don't live in one now. A tent has always been my home wherever I have gone with them. ⁶ I chose special leaders and told them to be like shepherds for my people Israel. But did I ever say anything to even one of them about building a cedar temple for me?

⁷ David, this is what I, the Lord All-Powerful, say to you. I brought you in from the fields where you took care of sheep, and I made you the leader of my people. ⁸ Wherever you went, I helped you and destroyed your enemies right in front of your eyes. I have made you one of the most famous people in the world.

⁹ I have given my people Israel a land of their own where they can live in peace. They will no longer have to tremble with fear—evil nations won't bother them, as they did ¹⁰ when I let judges rule my people, and I will keep your enemies from attacking you.

Now I promise that like you, your descendants will be kings. ¹¹ I'll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried beside your ancestors. I'll make him a strong ruler, ¹² and no one will be able to take his kingdom away from him. He will be the one to build a temple for me. ^13 (A) I will be like a father to him, and he will be like a son to me. I will never put an end to my agreement with him, as I put an end to my agreement with Saul, who was king before you. ¹⁴ I will make sure that your son and his descendants will rule my people and my kingdom forever.

¹⁵ Nathan told David exactly what the Lord had said.

22 ^(A) The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated. ^2 (B) Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river are trees^[a] that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations.

^3 (C) God's curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God ^4 (D) and will see him face to face. God's name will be written on the foreheads of the people. ^5 (E) Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.

The Coming of Christ

⁶ Then I was told:

These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord God controls the spirits of his prophets, and he is the one who sent his angel to show his servants what must happen very soon. ⁷ Remember, I am coming soon! God will bless everyone who pays attention to the message of this book.

⁸ My name is John, and I am the one who heard and saw these things. Then after I had heard and seen all this, I knelt down and began to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown it to me.

⁹ But the angel said,

Don't do that! I am a servant, just like you. I am the same as a follower or a prophet or anyone else who obeys what is written in this book. God is the one you should worship.