There was a sense of excitement in the air. For hundreds of years the people of Israel had worshipped their God in a tent. But that was going to change, they were at the beginning of a process that would culminate in a house of worship that would be known throughout the world and throughout history as the “Temple of Solomon.” But, that was the end and this was the beginning. This was where the temple started, where it all began. Without this chapter in the book of Chronicles there would never have been a temple of Solomon, without these 20 verses, the people of Israel would have continued to worship God in the Tabernacle, they would never have had the opportunity to have been blessed or to have blessed others. Jews from around the world would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship in the temple and this was the beginning.
The story is told in the book of 1 Chronicles which is the 13th book of the bible. Jewish tradition holds that the book was written by the Prophet Ezra and although there is no evidence to prove this there is no evidence to disprove it either. The book was written around 450 BC and the two books of 1 & 2 Chronicles were originally one book, the book of Chronicles. And although much of the information in these books was already provided in 2 Samuel and 2 Kings it is here for a different purpose. Chronicles was written after the Kingdom had been torn apart and the Jews were living in captivity and so the Author was assuring them that God was still in control and still had a plan for the people of Israel. If you’ve read the book of 1 Chronicles you know it starts with the intensity of a phone book. For nine chapters it list name after name. Names of fathers, names of sons and names of families. Most without comment. Later in the book we read lists of the Levites, who were the priests, lists of those who sang in the tabernacle, that would be there worship team. Then the author goes on to list the gatekeepers of the city, the officers of the Army and the King’s closest advisors.
It was in this book that we read the prayer of Jabez and discover how David brought the Ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. And in the last two chapter we discover David’s plan and passion for a temple to worship God in.
Why was the book written? Apparently to help the Israelites recognize their Godly background and to rediscover their roots.
And so we are going to skip through phone book section of the book and leap to the end, to chapter 29 where Karen read earlier and we are going to take a look at the beginning of the temple and how it happened. God didn’t just zap the temple into being, it happened because people wanted it to happen. And they were committed to seeing it happen. And yes they gave to make the dream a reality. This morning we are looking at the Givers and their Gifts.
1) David’s Gift David has come to the end of his reign and is about to appoint his son Solomon to serve as King. But there is one thing that David has not been able to accomplish as King and that was to build the temple. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. Way back in chapter 22 David confined in his son and told him 1 Chronicles 22:7 “I wanted to build a Temple to honour the name of the Lord my God,” But listen to the rest of the story, 1 Chronicles 22:8 “But the Lord said to me, ‘You have killed many men in the great battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood before me, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honour my name. Now personally if I was David I would be a little confused, after all he was just following God’s commands. But I’m not David and I’m not God. And the issue here wasn’t whether David was obedient or disobedient it was a matter of God’s timing. Instead, God told David that Solomon would be able to do what David wasn’t able to do. And that was to build the temple. And even though it wasn’t going to be David who would ultimately build the temple it didn’t keep David from doing his very best to see that the temple got built.
Now I don’t know if people got tired of hearing David talk about the temple that was going to be built and how nice it was going to be not to have to set up and tear down the tabernacle all the time, and how great it was to have a place to call their own. But this time it was different, because this time David starts by telling people how committed he is to the entire project.
1 Chronicles 29:3 And now because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. And then in front of God and everyone he tells them exactly how much he is giving. 1 Chronicles 29:4 I am donating more than 112 tons of gold from Ophir and over 262 tons of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings. Now David could have simply said “I’m really, really, really committed to this and so I’m going to give a bunch of gold and silver.” But he didn’t, he said I’m giving 224,000 lbs of gold, 464,000 lbs of silver. Now we don’t know what that was worth in their economy. There was no currency as we know it in Israel at that time, but in today’s dollars that much Gold would be worth close to 10 billion dollars Canadian. You could fund 10 national gun registries for that or spend it on something useful.
So why did David publicly state how much he was giving? A month ago I told you as a congregation how much Angela and I were committing to our building project over the next three years and I know that some of you wondered why I had to state it publicly. Why I didn’t just stand up and say “I’m really, really, really committed to this and so I’m going to give a bunch of money.”
I don’t think David did it to prove how special he was, everyone knew that David was the richest man in the Kingdom. It wasn’t going to benefit him much 25 verses later he died. I don’t think he did it to shame people into giving. When I decided to tell you how much I was giving it wasn’t so you would think, “Wow that Denn is a great guy.” If you are going to base that on money there are a lot of people out there that can do more then I can does that make them greater. I certainly didn’t do it to shame people into giving as much as I was giving. I sure hope I’m going to live longer then another 25 verses. The reason that David announced for everyone to hear the amount of his gift was for one reason and one reason only. To show that he was committed to the process. Listen again to his words 1 Chronicles 29:3 And now because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple.
He was saying not only am I talking about this, I am committed to the task it’s not just talk. Listen up folks I’ve been talking the talk about a new building for a long time, on February 8th I was saying not only am I talking the talk but I’m walking the walk. For me it was time to put up or shut up. And I know that I offended some people and made them feel uncomfortable with my announcement and if you fall in either of those two camps I am truly sorry that I offended you or made you feel uncomfortable. That was not my intent. I’m not sorry about making the announcement but I am sorry that it bothered you.
I am committed to us having a new church building, a place to call our own, how committed am I? I am committed enough to make some sacrifices over the next three years to make it a reality. That’s the bottom line.
Now David wasn’t the only one who gave toward the temple. Let’s carry on with the story. 1 Chronicles 29:6 Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly.
2) The Gifts of the Leaders You know I’m pretty sure that Solomon could have gotten a building up for 10 billion dollars or if not it probably wouldn’t have been much of a problem to go to Jerusalem Dominion Bank with that much of a down payment and getting a mortgage for the rest.
But David didn’t want to deprive others of the opportunity to share in the process, the opportunity to make the building their own. So the next people who gave were the people in leadership. They were the ones who were close by while David was casting the vision, they had heard about what the temple would look like, what it would cost, what it would accomplish and they wanted to be a part of it. They didn’t want to be left out of the process.
Now I’m pretty sure that not all of the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. There were probably those who didn’t give for a variety of reasons. But the majority of them obviously gave. Not because they had to, there is no indication in any of the scriptures that David demanded that they give, no ultimatum was given not threats made. Instead the scripture tell us that they gave willingly.
We do know that no one of them gave as much as David did by himself, but then again none of them were as rich as David was. It was a matter of not equal giving but equal sacrifice, which sounds kind of familiar. And even though they individually didn’t give as much as David they gave a pile of money between them. Listen to the list: 1 Chronicles 29:7-8 For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave almost 188 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, about 375 tons of silver, about 675 tons of bronze, and about 3,750 tons of iron. They also contributed numerous precious stones. But it wasn’t the money, and I know that when anyone says it’s not the money it’s the money. What all that gold and silver and bronze and precious stones said was “We’re behind you King David. We believe in the vision and we want to be a part of it.”
Do you know what the message would have been if the leaders had of said “We’re behind you King David. We believe in the vision and we want to be a part of it.” But they had only given 4 lbs of gold, 3 lbs of silver and seven precious stones, which do you think David would have put more stock in, their words or their actions? Yeah. Because your commitment is more accurately measured by our actions then our words.
When the Board Members and Building Committee Members and Building on Faith directors came to the table and said “we are willing to commit a total of $290,000.00 toward the construction of a permanent home for Bedford Community Church” what does that tell us? Does it say that they are committed to this vision, they are committed to seeing it happen to seeing it become a reality? I think so. If they had of said “We are willing to commit a total of $290.00 toward the construction of a permanent church home.” I would have been a little worried no I would have been a lot worried.
The leadership of BCC has spoke about a permanent church home for a long time but it was the night the tentative commitments were turned in that I knew they were as committed to the vision as I was. Do I feel bad about challenging them to give that much? No, it was their decision and they obviously agreed with C.S. Lewis who said “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.”
Besides I did them a favour by challenging them to give, listen to the words of Solomon in the Proverbs 11:24 It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. And listen to what Jesus said Luke 6:38 “If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you.” You can thank me later.
The gifts didn’t stop there though listen to the story. 1 Chronicles 29:9 The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and King David was filled with joy.
3) The Gifts of the People Ultimately it was the generosity and sacrifices of David and the leaders that motivated the people of Israel to also give for the construction of the temple. And they were given the opportunity to give for the same reason that the leaders were, so they could be a part of the process, so when the came to the temple to worship they would know that they had a part in the construction. The only way the ordinary people of Israel would ever feel that they had a part in building the temple of God would be if they were permitted to make sacrifices to see the temple become a reality. David could have said “Hey I don’t need what little bit you can contribute.” And he probably didn’t need for them to give. But they needed to give, not for David but for God. This was their opportunity to give back to God in thanks for what he had done for them as a people.
Besides it would have been selfish of David and the leaders to have robbed the people of the blessing of being able to give. I mean if we believe what Jesus said in Luke 6:38 “If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you.” Then it would have been selfish of David to not allow the people to give. And I love how they gave the Bible says they gave freely and wholeheartedly. They didn’t give begrudgedly or out of a sense of obligation. They didn’t give as little as possible they gave as much as they could. Kind of sounds like the description of how the believers from the Macedionian church gave, remember from 2 Corinthians 8:2-3 Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
When the day comes that the doors of our Church building are opened for the first time I want you to be able to walk in knowing that you had a part in its construction. For you to know that without your gifts and your sacrifice that the construction of that building would not have been possible. What should you give? We’ve discussed this before. That is something that you need to pray about. Listen again to God’s word, this passage is almost tailor made for this occasion. Paul is talking to the believers in the church in Corinth about this very subject 2 Corinthians 9:5-8 So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given under pressure.
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
So what do we have, David’s Gifts, The Leaders Gifts and the Peoples Gifts. Oh yeah we can’t forget the most important gifts of them all, let’s go back to the story.
1 Chronicles 29:16 “O Lord our God, even these materials that we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name come from you! It all belongs to you!
4) The Gifts of the Lord You see ultimately all the gifts came from a single source, from God. And every dollar that comes into the Building on Faith campaign will come from the same source, from God. There might be some who are thinking, “Hey I work hard for my money it doesn’t come from God.” No problem, it would be ok then for me to pray and ask God to not bless you financially anymore. I mean if what you have doesn’t come from him then it shouldn’t bother you for him to stop giving what he doesn’t give, right? No, I’m not going to do that.
Stewardship in a big part is simply acknowledging that what we have comes from God. Can we say with David Psalm 16:2 “You are my Master! All the good things I have are from you.”
I want to close with a quote from French author Andre Gide who said “Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.” In other words when you decide to give you decide what you own and what owns you.
I hope you enjoyed this message, PowerPoint is available, just email me at denn@bccnet.ca
