Thursday 18th December 2025
John Greig
“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 (NIV)
Building freedom
It’s beginning to look a lot like … the celebration of the Nativity. Advent moves to its climax. We do not live in a vacuum though; we cannot ignore that we are in the middle of a commercial event and that next Thursday will be a major social occasion for the rest of society, even if Advent does not impinge on their consciousness. Adults are in the throes of final preparations while children are excitingly counting how many sleeps are left.
Any big event in anyone’s life – their wedding, a holiday of a lifetime or a family reunion – usually has that dichotomy. The English language needs a word for that feeling: the mixture of anticipation and excitement, tempered with preparation-anxiety.
King David feels bad that he lives in an opulent palace while God is honoured in a humble tent. He is going to build a temple, but Nathan the prophet tells him that is not God’s will, others will build this.
By the time this came to be written down, sure enough, his son Jedidiah (Solomon) had constructed a lavish temple, but a victorious Babylonian army destroyed it and absorbed Judea into their empire. Those reading the written account drew hope from the promise of a great leader descended from David who would restore the Kingdom and rebuild the temple. They longed for this restoration and for centuries readied themselves for this.
Skip forward 600 years. Jesus is born from David’s line (two gospels give genealogies). He is not, however, the military ruler who had been expected. His Kingdom is not of this world. He has come not to free a land politically, but all humanity from evil. He does not build a new temple. He is the new Temple: the dwelling place of divine teaching. His Kingdom is of peace and love.
Shall we pray?:
Lord God, let us not be distracted by the busyness of Christmas. May we work to bring hope to all. Amen.
John Greig is session clerk of Tranent Parish Church.
Thinking it through:
God gave us hope; how can we respond and do what he asks of us?
How can we make our community and all the world a house for God’s Word?