The House That Bach Did Not Build Alone

Johann Sebastian Bach signed nearly every manuscript the same way: "S.D.G." — Soli Deo Gloria, "To God alone be the glory." In the dim candlelight of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, he composed cantatas, fugues, and chorales not to build his own reputation but to honor the Almighty. He died in 1750 with failing eyesight, largely forgotten by the musical world, his scores stuffed into cupboards and used as wrapping paper by a butcher's shop.

Bach wanted to build something for God. But God was building something through Bach that dwarfed anything the cantor of Leipzig could have imagined. His sons Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, and Johann Christian carried his musical legacy across Europe. A century later, Felix Mendelssohn resurrected the St. Matthew Passion, and the world finally heard what God had been composing through one faithful man's obedience. Today, Bach's music fills cathedrals on every continent.

This is the pattern of 2 Samuel 7. David longed to build God a house of cedar and stone. But the Lord reversed the gift entirely: "I will establish a house for you — a dynasty, a throne that will endure forever." David offered God a building. God gave David an eternal covenant, a lineage that would culminate in the Son who would call the Most High "Father."

When we offer God our small plans, He answers with promises that outlast generations.