Understanding the Will of God in Psalm 132

William Goloboy

Throughout the Tanakh, we read the story of King David’s attempt to build the Temple. This story is told in both II Samuel and I Chronicles, but nowhere in scripture is it depicted as beautifully as in Psalm 132. As the story goes, David sought a place for God to dwell. After David understood that God’s dwelling place was to be on Mount Zion, he wished to begin construction of the Temple. God then spoke to David and informed him that his descendants would be kings, but David himself would not be able to build the Temple because he shed much blood while fighting in many wars.

Nowhere in Psalm 132 does it mention that David was prevented from building the Temple because he fought in wars. This is despite this detail being mentioned in other tellings of the same story in Tanakh. Why does the Psalm leave out such an important detail of the story? To answer this question, we must understand the relationship between the actions David takes in service of God, his understanding of the will of God, and the actual eternal will of God. David adheres to what he believes to be God’s will even to the point of extreme anguish. As his understanding of God’s will changes, David readily submits to God. Because he follows the will of God, David is rewarded for his intentions. David’s disqualification from building the Temple does not change his submission to God; therefore, Psalm 132 does not need to mention it. Psalm 132 is not focused primarily on actions but instead on David’s intention to follow God’s will, even when that understanding changes.

The Psalm opens: “A Song of Ascents. Remember, Lord, unto David his extreme anguish” (Psalm 132:1). Rashi explains that David’s anguish refers to “how he worked and toiled to find a place for You (God).” At this time, David swears an oath to seek a place to build the Temple: “I will not enter my house, nor will I mount my bed, I will not give my eyes sleep, nor slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord” (Psalm 132:3–5). Here, David sacrifices his own comfort and desires, to the point of great affliction, in pursuit of what he believes to be God’s will.

When David’s understanding of God’s will changes, he readily submits to it. Though not mentioned in Psalm 132, David is told by God that he will not be able to build the Temple because of the bloodshed he committed in war. David states, “And God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name, for you are a man of war who sheds blood’” (I Chronicles 28:3). David accepts this shift in God’s will, submitting to it despite its contradiction of what he previously believed.

Why did David’s wars disqualify him from building the Temple? Were these wars unjustified in God’s eyes? When Solomon prepares to build the Temple, he echoes his father’s statement in I Chronicles 28:3, saying, “You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the enemies that surrounded him” (I Kings 5:17). Solomon frames these wars as defensive, fought against surrounding enemies to secure the kingdom. By contrast, in I Chronicles David is described as “a man of war who sheds blood,” a formulation that does not distinguish between defensive and offensive conflict. If these wars were helpful in contributing to Israel’s security, why did they disqualify David from building the Temple?

In addition to being beneficial, these wars were undertaken in accordance with God’s will. Before going to war, David would consult the Urim ve-Tumim through the High Priest to ensure that the war aligned with God’s will. As the Talmud states, “And they ask the Urim ve-Tumim” (Berakhot 3b). Through the Urim ve-Tumim, God’s will was conveyed before David went to war; thus David’s wars were not only advantageous for the kingdom but also divinely sanctioned. Why then, if David was acting in accordance with God’s will, did God prevent him from building the Temple on account of these same wars?

The Torah reveals that the will of God was indeed for David to fight the wars and for Solomon to build the Temple. Rashi elucidates this view by connecting King Solomon’s statement in I Kings 5:17 to Moses’s statement in Deuteronomy 12:10–12:11. Rashi comments on I Kings 5:17: “The Torah states, ‘And He will give you rest from all your enemies surrounding you’ (Deuteronomy 12:10), and after that it says, ‘It will be that the place, etc., will you seek His Presence, etc.’ (Deuteronomy 12:11).” First, Israel must be delivered from all its surrounding enemies, and only afterward can the Temple be built. David fulfilled the first part of this sequence by fighting the wars to secure the kingdom in accordance with God’s will. Despite this, David still could not fulfill the second part—to build the Temple—even though he had secured rest from Israel’s enemies. David was prevented from building the Temple not because the wars were sinful, but because its construction required separation from war. This distinction reconciles the apparent contradiction between David’s divinely sanctioned wars and his inability to build the Temple. The will of God was for David to fight the wars and for Solomon to build the Temple.

Because David realigned his actions with God’s will, even when it meant relinquishing the Temple he had prepared to build, he was rewarded by God for his original intention. Psalm 132 says, “The Lord swore to David in truth, and He will not turn back from it: ‘One of your own descendants I will set up on your throne. If your sons keep My covenant and My statutes that I teach them, then their sons also, to the end of time, shall sit upon your throne.’ For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has desired to dwell there” (Psalm 132:11–13). David’s reward takes the form of kingship: his descendants would be kings of Israel so long as they kept to God’s covenant and statutes. He had secured the site that God confirms here to be Zion. God rewarded him with a lasting royal line through which the Temple would be built. As long as these kings followed God’s will, they would remain on the throne.

By following God’s will in not building the Temple, David is treated as if he had built it. According to his initial understanding, David was to build the Temple, and because of his kavanah—his intention—to find a dwelling place for God, it was called by his name. The Midrash explains, “And what is written afterwards? (I Kings 12:16) ‘Now, O David, look to your House.’ Because David devoted his life to it, it was called by his name. And thus you find that whatever a man devotes his life to is called by his name” (Mekhilta De-Rabbi Yishmael, Tractate Shirah 1:5). Having endured great anguish in pursuit of what he thought to be God’s will, David is rewarded for his kavanah. By carrying out God’s will and changing course when required, David is regarded as though he had actually built the Temple.

Throughout this account, David zealously follows what he understands to be God’s will, even as that understanding changes. He seeks a place for God to dwell and wages wars to secure the kingdom, all in accordance with God’s will. When it becomes clear—from the Torah and later prophecy—that he will not build the Temple, he accepts this and continues to follow God’s will. He is rewarded with a royal line and with the Temple being associated with his name. While the shift in David’s understanding of God’s will is central in II Samuel and I Chronicles, Psalm 132 does not emphasize it. Instead, it focuses on David’s enduring devotion to God: the anguish he undertakes in seeking a dwelling place for God remains constant even as his understanding changes.

Many times in life, people have a certain perception of what God wants for them that later turns out to be incorrect. By submitting to the will of God even when it is contrary to what a person thinks, they are able to overcome themselves and truly serve God with proper kavanah. By engaging deeply with Torah, every person can better understand what God wants from them and, like King David, adjust their actions accordingly. May we all merit to serve God with full intention in order to complete the work of King David and find a place for God to dwell—may it be soon and in our day.