Then King David rose to his feet and said: Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. -- 1 Chronicles 28:2
David was a man after God's own heart, yet he was not allowed to build the temple for the Lord. It fell to the son, the man of peace, Solomon, to give the ark a place to rest.
Much like the ineffable, sometimes enigmatic God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, David could rain wrath upon his enemies. At one point, he was going to wipe out the entire household of Nabal because the man had refused to requite the assistance of David's followers. He was merciful, but it could seem a severe mercy. He was just, and, despite his own stumbling, he had little patience for the unjust and the unrighteous. David was a man after the heart of God the Father. The Father alone cannot give us peace and rest.
We take nothing from the infinite power, mercy, love, and grace of our Father. Yet through earthly leaders, God could not give His people rest. The humble yet mighty prophet Moses who spoke with God face to face could not do it. The great warrior and conqueror Joshua could not. The good shepherd and giant-killer, David, could not. Not even the wisest man of his day, Solomon, could bring God's people to Him. They could typify and foreshadow what was to come, but that was all.
The Father needed the Son to be the House of Rest. In taking on flesh, the Son of God became the Son of man, and, though they destroyed that temple, in three days, He raised it back up. In the risen Savior, at last the presence of God could rest and remain with man. And not only can He be with us, we can rest in Him.
That's the Christmas Story.
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his (Hebrews 4:9-10).
