God of Home

David was anointed king of Israel long before he actually became the king of Israel. There was the little matter of Saul, and Saul's son (David's friend), Jonathan, that had to be sorted out first. It was clear that God was against Saul, but David didn't really think Jonathan had to be part of Saul's punishment. 

Of course, he did. He was the firstborn son. It's really hard to become king when you're not the firstborn son of the king, especially when the firstborn son is right there. Even with God's anointing on you, even with the people behind you, even with everyone believing in you, it's hard when Jonathan is still hanging around. God used the death of both Saul and Jonathan to help clear the way for David to step into his promised kingship. 

But not right away. 

After the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (on the same day), David asks the Lord - is it the time? Is now the time? 

God says yes, but first...go home. First, go establish your place. First, take your wives and settle down, settle in. Know where you're rooted. Know where you are. Know where you're coming from before you start going to where you're going. 

This is so important. Remember, David has been on the run for a very long time. He's been living in caves, hiding out in Philistine territory, living a double life trying to stay away from Saul but remain in the good graces of Israel. He's not had a place to lay his head, not a place that is his place, since he was first anointed and then called into the service of Saul as a musician. Sure, the first few years in Saul's house were not too bad, but when you're playing second fiddle (or first fiddle) in the place you're anointed to lead, it still doesn't feel like your place. Not like it's supposed to. 

So before David steps into the kingship, into the leadership of the entire nation of Israel, God tells him...go home. Make your home. 

He says the same to us. 

So many of us spend our lives floating around in the world. This place just isn't like it was even a few generations ago, where folks settled down and had their own rhythm of life. Everything is changing, all the time and really fast. It's extremely uncommon for anyone to spend their life in one place, be it one home or one town or one job or whatever. We are a people on the move, nomadic in a way that we haven't been in a very long time, and so there's something in us that is restless. Something in us that never quite settles down. Something in us that doesn't feel like it has a place. 

That's where God steps in. He tells us plainly - invites us, really - to a place called home first. A place of our own. He invites us to settle down, to settle in. To figure out where we are so that we know where we come from before we get to where we're going. He wants us to have roots, to have our place. And so He calls us home before anything else. 

Can you hear Him? 

Will you go?