During his reign, King David looked at his palace and compared it with the tabernacle of the Lord. He considered that God should dwell in a structure more magnificent than his own. Of course, the tabernacle was merely a tent for meeting with God, in which the Ark resided containing the covenant God had made with his people. God could never be contained within a tent, building or even the whole universe. It was left to his son, Solomon to build a permanent structure in which God could be met.

After the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, when the people approached, they pleaded not in their name but in the name of David, the anointed one of God. They knew they weren’t worthy themselves to approach God, to plead the covenant God had made with David.

For though God had declined David’s desire to build him a house, God promised to build a house for David. A house which would never fall, but would last for ever. For it is through the line of David, that the King of kings and Lord of lords would be, Jesus Christ.

For through Jesus Christ, God would truly dwell amongst men, in the hearts of all who believed in the Christ. Through Jesus Christ, men would be able to plead before God, not claiming any righteousness of their own for they have none, but pleading solely in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

As the Israelites were debriefed from their mission to conquer Canaan, their faithfulness was acknowledged by Joshua. They were reminded to keep the commandments of God, for their reward was their God. With God as their reward, all other things were peripheral as they went to their homes with their material possessions.

Sometimes, we forget to express gratitude to those around us, sometimes to those to whom we owe the most. We must be mindful to thank others where it is due.

Much like the Israelites, we may forget that our great reward is our God, and we become preoccupied with the things of this world. Worrying needlessly about what we may eat or drink, forgetting God will provide our every need. This is not to say we shouldn’t plan, and consider the future, but we should be anxious about nothing.