Year One, October 9

The People Rejoiced Because They Had Given Willingly1

David never turned away from his desire to see a glorious temple built to the honor of the Lord his God. Although he was not allowed to build it himself, he worked hard to provide the materials for it and eagerly encouraged Solomon to follow through with the construction. At last the time came to gather the people and turn this great work over to his son.

  

1 Chronicles 29:1-9; 20-23

1And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the LORD God. (God must never be served in a careless manner. We should feel under obligation to do our best in all religious work, because the work is not for us, but for the Lord God.) 2So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony,2 colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble.”

David had given a lot of thought about having the temple built and provided many things of the best quality. He has given us an excellent example of serving God with clear thinking and sacrificial giving.

3“Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 43,000 talents (about 112 tons) of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents (about 262 tons) of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house, 5and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?” (Those who give freely have a clear conscience to ask others to give. Those who ask others to give but never contribute are inconsistent.)

6Then the leaders of fathers’ houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king’s work. 7They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents (about 187 tons) and 10,000 darics (about 156 pounds) of gold, 10,000 talents (about 375 tons) of silver, 18,000 talents (about 675 tons) of bronze and 100,000 talents (about 3,750 tons) of iron. 8And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.

David kept a very accurate record of what was given. God’s business should be done in a well organized way. Church funds should be very carefully accounted for. This also helps to prevent someone from stealing from the church treasury and bringing disgrace on God’s name.

9Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

The joy of giving to the Lord is a very great one. Angels might well envy us such happiness.

20Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless the LORD your God.” And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king. (They gave worship to God and respectful honor to the king.) 21And they offered sacrifices to the LORD, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. (The threshing floor of Araunah was saturated with blood. The foundation of the temple was built on the blood of sacrifice. Happy are those who are built on the substitutionary death of Jesus.) 22And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. (Our sacred worship should not be done in sadness. It should be considered a special celebration.)

And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the LORD, and Zadok as priest.

23Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father, And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

For a while, Solomon acted as his father’s representative, then he succeeded him with the approval of the whole nation.

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¹ 1 Chronicles 29:9

² antimony - A shiny, silvery white metal often mixed with other metals to produce a higher quality metal.