Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
When the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but God's ark dwells within curtains."
Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you."
That same night, the Lord's word came to Nathan, saying, "Go and tell my servant David, 'The Lord says, "Should you build me a house for me to dwell in?
Now therefore tell my servant David this: 'The Lord of Armies says, "I took you from the sheep pen, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are in the earth. I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be moved no more. The children of wickedness will not afflict them any more, as at the first, and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. I will cause you to rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord tells you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men;
Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever."'"
I indeed declare, "Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens. Your faithfulness is in them." "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant,
'I will establish your offspring forever, and build up your throne to all generations.'"Selah. The heavens will praise your wonders, Lord, your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ( as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace."
What strikes me most about these readings is how God's promises unfold across generations in ways we never expect. David wants to build God a house, a temple worthy of the Almighty. It's such a human impulse, isn't it? When we love someone, we want to give them the best we have. But God flips the script entirely: "I'm not looking for you to build me a house, David. I'm going to build you one."
In ancient Israel, when someone spoke of building a "house," they often meant establishing a dynasty, a family line that would endure. God promises David that his lineage will last forever—a promise that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, born into David's line centuries later.
What I find beautiful here is how Zechariah's canticle connects these dots for us. This elderly priest, struck mute for months because he doubted God's promise of a son, now overflows with words of praise. He sees his newborn John not as an end in himself, but as part of this magnificent story that began with Abraham, continued through David, and now reaches its crescendo in the coming Messiah.
This reminds me that we're all part of stories much bigger than ourselves. That project at work, that conversation with a struggling friend, that moment of patience with a difficult family member—these aren't just isolated incidents. They're threads in the tapestry God is weaving across generations. We may not see how our small acts of faithfulness connect to God's larger plan, but they do.
The dawn from on high has already visited us in Jesus, yet we're still called to prepare the way, to shine light in dark places, just as John did.
How might God be using your ordinary Wednesday to build something lasting? What small act of faithfulness is he asking of you today? Where do you need to trust that God's timeline is bigger than your own?