For Kids · 4 min with a grown-up
David wants to build a beautiful house for God. Instead, God surprises him with a promise so big it reaches all the way into forever.
Today's Story
King David sat in his lovely palace, made of strong cedar wood, and a thought tugged at his heart. “Here I am in this beautiful house,” he said to the prophet Nathan, “but God's special ark is still in a tent. I want to build God a house!”
That night, God gave Nathan a message for David. And the message turned David's idea completely around.
God said, in effect: David, you want to build Me a house? I am going to build YOU one instead. Not a house of wood and stone — a family that would last and last. God promised that David's family would go on, and that one day a King from David's family would rule forever and ever.
When David heard it, he was so amazed he went in and sat down quietly before the LORD. “Who am I,” he asked, “that You would do all this for me?”
David hadn't built God anything yet. And already God had wrapped him up in a promise bigger than the whole sky. “You have blessed my family,” David prayed, “and it will be blessed forever.”
A Big Word
Memory Verse
Talk About It
- David wanted to give God a gift, but God gave him a bigger gift first. How does it feel when someone is kind to you before you do anything for them?
- God promised something that would last forever. What are some things that wear out or end — and what is something about God that never will?
- David sat down and whispered, “Who am I, that You'd be so good to me?” What is one good thing God has given you that you didn't have to earn?