1 Chronicles 29: 1 – 30
Good Intentions
29 Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God. 2 Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. 3 Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: 4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; 5 the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?” 6 Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly. 7 They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly. 10 Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 “Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You. 15 For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope. 16 “O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand and is all Your own. 17 I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. 18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. 19 And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.” 20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the LORD your God.” So, all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king. 21 And they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank before the LORD with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time and anointed him before the LORD to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted themselves to King Solomon. 25 So the LORD exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. 26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 28 So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.
By just having good intentions what will that do? Christians are to be doers of the Word not just hearers. We are not to trust in our minds but live by the Word of God. In the Bible we see times where good intentions led to bad decisions and sin.
Good intentions are not good at all. When you’re in front of our Holy God you can’t say well I was going to obey, but this, this, and that happened.
God Is not fooled.
We all need to understand that ‘Good intentions’ lead to bad decisions.
Luke 14:28-30 says, “28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?
We also need to be aware that things might seem pure to us, but God knows our motives
Proverbs 16:2, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirits.”
Proverbs 21:2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts.”
Sadly, good intentions often lead to sin and disobeying the Lord’s law.
1 Samuel 15:22, “So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams.”
The road to hell is paved with good intentions as Samuel Johnson once said.
Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
Matthew 7:13 Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
Matthew 7:21-23, “21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
God is not mocked
2 Corinthians 5:10, “10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
Galatians 6:7, “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
Remember that God doesn’t think like us
Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.”
And finally, here is a reminder for all of us to memorize.
James 1:22-234 “22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”
Having made his own huge contribution towards the Temple David now calls on his officials and people to make their own contribution towards the building of the Temple, pointing to his own personal giving. He does not want the work to be all his own, but to be the activity of all Israel. The call is successful, and the people give gladly. There is a reminiscence here of how the people had previously gladly given for the construction of the Tabernacle in the days of Moses (Exodus 35.21-29).
29 Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God
Once again David calls on the whole assembly of leaders at all levels, to support his son Solomon in the project that lay ahead, but this time with a view to obtaining their contributions towards the project. He calls on them to join with him in his consecration to God.
2 Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance.
He initially points out the vast amounts of gold, silver, bronze and other valuable items which have already been contributed out of the treasury of the house of God, and out of the dedicated treasures that have resulted from the huge booty gained in war over the previous hundred years or so, ‘the dedicated things’ (26.26-28). David saw himself as building the Temple as Moses had the Tabernacle, utilizing the wisdom of God and the gifts of the people.
3 Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: 4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;
He then stresses the contribution that he has made from his own vast treasures because of the love that he had for this house of God which is in preparation. There can be no questioning his own zeal, dedication and love for YHWH.
5 the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?”
His gold and silver would not only overlay the walls of the buildings which were part of the Temple, but would also be used for vessels and instruments which would be made by skilled artificers. He thus calls on those assembled for their willing contributions to the work.
6 Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly.
Moved by David’s enthusiasm, and full of praise towards YHWH who had made their country so rich and powerful beyond their dreams, the princes, generals, commanders and rulers, joined together and offered willingly towards the work.
7 They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.
And they added for the service of the house of God even more than David had added from his own private wealth. The sums were enormous. They offered five thousand talents in weight of gold, plus ten thousand darics (drachmas) of gold, ten thousand talents weight of silver, eighteen thousand talents weight of bronze and one hundred thousand talents weight of iron.
8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.
Those who had precious stones also gave them to the treasure of the house of YHWH, which was under the supervision of Jehiel the Gershonite. Nothing was too good for YHWH.
9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly.
The heartfelt and willing giving to YHWH was a cause of joy to all the people, and David also rejoiced in it with great joy.
These prayers of David are remarkable as providing a pattern for prayer. Indeed, they are the pattern for all true prayer when not wrought out of adversity, as so many of David’s psalms were. But this was a time of joy and thanksgiving, unaffected by adversity, and it is reflected in the prayer. Commencing with worship, it includes thanksgiving, and then moves on to intercession, as all general prayer should.
10 Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
The manifold gifts, and the joy and willingness and perfect heart with which they were given, moved David to bless YHWH and acknowledge that all that they had was His.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all.
He extols the greatness, power, glory, triumph and majesty of God, in that all things are His, whether in Heaven or earth. And that includes the kingship of the world, because He Is exalted as Head above all. Thus, He Is Lord of all, Ruler of all, Creator of all, and Owner of all.
12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.
Whatever wealth men receive, and whatever honor they achieve, they come from Him and belong to Him, because He rules over all. All power and might is in His hand, and it is in His hand to make great, and in His hand to give strength to all.
13 “Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.
And because David has become great, and Israel have become great, thanks and praise are due to ‘our God’ because it is all of Him. He thus thanks God and praises His glorious Name.
14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You.
This recognition that all is of God, leads on to the recognition that if we have received anything, it is of what belongs to God. For all things come from Him. And David is thus humbled to think that they can give willingly to God because God has first given willingly to them. As he says, ‘who am I and what is my people, that we should have this wherewithal to give to God?’ He recognizes that it is of God’s graciousness, and fully undeserved, and that they do but give Him what is already His own. (If only Solomon had held on to things so lightly he would have been saved from huge problems).
15 For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope.
He acknowledges that their life on earth is a temporary gift, fleeting as it is. And that while they may live on earth, and in some ways possess it, it does not belong to them. For in God’s eyes they are as ‘strangers. That is, they are having no rights of possession. They are as ‘sojourners’, here for a brief time with temporary privilege of residence, and then gone. For their days on earth are but a shadow, soon fading away. No man can settle on earth for a longer period than God allows. They are temporary residents, not permanent dwellers. They thus have no rights of possession.
No one understood such a position as David did. For a large part of his early life he had literally been a ‘stranger’ and a ‘sojourner’, living among strangers with no rights of possession, and with no permanent home. And as we see here it had formulated his view of life. It was something that he had never forgotten, and that had made him what he was. He would never hold on too tightly to earthly things. And it had reminded him of how his people had also once been strangers and sojourners in the wilderness (‘as all our fathers were’), something which he may well have meditated on in his times of adversity. It was a necessary reminder to a great king of the temporary nature of life. It was, however, a gift that he could not pass on to Solomon, born in security and always spoiled.
This is a reminder to us that we also are ‘sojourners and pilgrims’ in the earth and should not hold on to earthly things too tightly (1 Peter 2.11).
16 “O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand and is all Your own.
So, he acknowledges that although they have given generously and willingly, they have really given nothing. For it all belonged to God anyway. Having known what, it was to have had nothing to call his own, he held lightly to earthly things. Thus, he recognized that all that they had laid in store as preparation for building God’s house had come from God’s hand in the first place.
17 I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.
He calls on God very personally as ‘MY God’, and as the One who tests men’s hearts and has pleasure in uprightness, to recognize that he gives from the uprightness of his heart. He wants Him to observe that there is no dissimulation or hypocrisy in him, that his is a genuine desire to honor YHWH, and YHWH only. He openly claims that he has willingly offered all that he has offered from a pure heart, and what is more, that his heart rejoices because God’s people, now present with him, have also offered willingly in the same way,
18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You.
Please notice David’s good intentions. In chapter 28.9 he had prayed that Solomon would keep his heart perfect and his mind willing because God understood all the imaginations of men’s hearts. Now he prays that YHWH the God of their fathers will keep the imaginations of the hearts of His people in the same way, and will make their hearts ready before Him, as He had their fathers. It is a clear recognition that if men are to be open and honest, they require God’s help in the process. Sadly how quickly we fall away from the God we profess to love.
19 And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.
Acknowledging that the same was true of Solomon he calls on God to also give him a perfect heart to keep His commandments, His testimonies and His statutes and that he might from that perfect heart do all the things that David required of him, and might build the house for which he, David, had made provision. YHWH is to be King among them.
20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the LORD your God.” So, all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.
Having finished his worship and prayer David now called the overall gathered assembly to ‘bless YHWH your God’. In his faith, wrought in the crucible of tribulation, all could worship God freely. And the assembly obeyed him as one man, and all blessed YHWH the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and worshipped Him.
21 And they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.
There was then on the following day a great celebratory sacrifice, as they sacrificed sacrifices to YHWH and offered up to Him burnt offerings. They sacrificed/offered many bullocks, a large number of rams, and a large number of lambs, along with ample drink-offerings. Such a huge volume of sacrifices was necessary if there was to be a great feast, as animal slaughtered for eating had to be slaughtered as sacrifices. Thus, they sacrificed sacrifices in abundance for ‘all Israel’. To satisfy ‘all Israel’, even in a limited sense, would require a huge number of sacrifices.
22 So they ate and drank before the LORD with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time and anointed him before the LORD to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest.
The offerings and sacrifices were followed by the celebratory feast ‘before YHWH’. It was a time of great gladness as they celebrated His presence with them and sensed that He shared with them the joy of the day.
Then they made Solomon --- king the second time.’ . The first time had been the hurried coronation in 1 Kings 1.
Abiathar the Priest (1 Samuel 30.7) had been disgraced because he followed Adonijah, and his son Ahimelech (2 Samuel 8.17) presumably fell with him. Thus Zadok, although he had been High Priest before along with Abiathar and Ahimelech (24.3, 31; 2 Samuel 8.17), was now anointed as sole High Priest. It was in a sense a new beginning.
This summary takes up the fact that Solomon was made king and anointed as prince, and summarizes what was to be the situation in the first part of Solomon’s reign. It stresses that he took over all the majesty of David and received his people’s obedience as David had. He was essentially David’s successor.
23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
Solomon takes his place on ‘the throne of YHWH’ as king as David his father had done. He does so as YHWH’s under-king, His anointed ‘prince’. And the prosperity of the kingdom continues, and all Israel obey him, as they had David. David’s wishes are being fulfilled.
24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted themselves to King Solomon.
There was complete submission to Solomon. All the tribal leaders, and all the king’s officials, and the mighty men, and even David’s own sons, submitted themselves to Solomon as king. The succession was passed on successfully without a hint of any further trouble. The kingdom was intact, and Solomon was over all.
25 So the LORD exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
God raised Solomon to a height that would not be seen in Israel (or Judah) again. All Israel acknowledged his magnificence and recognized his royal majesty as supreme. He was king par excellence. Outwardly it boded well for the future.
26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.
It is now stressed that David the son of Jesse ruled over ‘all Israel’. Israel was a unified kingdom.
27 And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.
David ruled for forty years ‘over Israel’, seven years in Hebron, and thirty three in Jerusalem.
28 So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place.
‘He died in a good old age.’ Such a sentiment indicated that YHWH had given him long life. Similar sentiments were echoed of Abraham (Genesis 25.8); Isaac (Genesis 35.39); Gideon (Judges 8.32); and Job (Job 42.17) although with differences of wording. ‘Full of days’, he had lived a full and long life. ‘Full of riches and honor’. God had made up to him abundantly for his earlier trials (as He did Job). And to crown it all Solomon, his own son, now reigned instead of him. His cup was full.
29 Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.
In these accounts are told the details of all his reign and all his might, and all the times that he went through, and that Israel went through, and that all the nations round about went through. They made up a complete history.
At this point in our Bibles 1 Chronicles ends, but in the Hebrew Bible there was no break. The story continued without a break in what we call 2 Chronicles.
