What is the implication of David’s comparison between his palace of cedar and the tent in which the ark of God is residing?
By making this comparison, David voiced his concern over the fact that the house in which he lived (a palace of cedar) is superior to the house in which the ark resided (a tent).1 To his mind things were the wrong way round. Surely the Lord who is superior to David must dwell in a house that is also superior to the house of David? It is inappropriate for a servant to live in a nicer place than his master.2 The timing of David’s question follows on his conquest of Jerusalem and the bringing of the ark into the city (2 Samuel 5:1–6:23). To David it appears as if the conditions of Deuteronomy 12:10–11 have thereby been fulfilled and that it would now be an appropriate time to build a more permanent structure.3 His desire is to honour the Lord as the true King of Israel4 in response to the grace which God had shown toward him.5
2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”