Praise out of the Holy Place

2 Chronicles 5:1-14 

1 So all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the LORD was finished; and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and all the furnishings. And he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

    2 Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up from the City of David, which is Zion. 3 Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month. 4 So all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. 5 Then they brought up the ark, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. 6 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. 7 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 8 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 9 The poles extended so that the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt.

    11 And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), 12 and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— 13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying:

    "For He is good,
    For His mercy endures forever,"

that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

Such praise came from the servants as the priests came from the Most Holy Place, the holy of holies where the Ark of God’s covenant of mercy was placed!  Solomon had finished the house of God, the tabernacle turned temple, and furnished it with precious things to honor the LORD as He directed to Moses and king David.  Then he had gathered all the leaders together to bring the Ark into its rightful place of honor in glorious holiness behind the veil.  They sacrificed innumerable multitudes of sheep and oxen and praised the LORD with trumpet and voice, sanctified and singing to serve Him wholeheartedly!  They added a string section and percussion to back the singers in joyful adoration and thanksgiving.  Those worshiping so thankfully sang of the eternal goodness and the mercy of the Lord, and God responded by shaking the house with His cloud of the glory of the LORD.  The cloud of God’s revealed glory made it impossible to continue ministry as they were engulfed in that glory!  Do we realize His presence in and among us as we gather in the beauty of holiness to worship Christ our Lord and our Father in heaven by the Spirit filling each of us with His glory as if the cloud told of in this passage?  Our joy should respond to His indwelling presence in each of us and in us as we gather in His name by such awestruck wonder at His majesty and in His merciful goodness of grace in Christ!  We should be singing, He is good for His mercy is eternal, enduring forever.  This is our praise as we come out of the holy place where we meet Him in worship, especially since Jesus has torn the separating veil of works to earn salvation that He may give us access by freely-given reconciling grace to the Father now. Amen and amen. 

Furnishing the House of God

 2 Chronicles 4:1-22

    1 Moreover he made a bronze altar: twenty cubits was its length, twenty cubits its width, and ten cubits its height.
   2 Then he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 3 And under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows, when it was cast. 4 It stood on twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. 5 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained three thousand baths.
    6 He also made ten lavers, and put five on the right side and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as they offered for the burnt offering they would wash in them, but the Sea was for the priests to wash in. 7 And he made ten lampstands of gold according to their design, and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. 8 He also made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred bowls of gold.
    9 Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court and doors for the court; and he overlaid these doors with bronze. 10 He set the Sea on the right side, toward the southeast.
    11 Then Huram made the pots and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of God: 12 the two pillars and the bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars; 13 four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on the pillars); 14 he also made carts and the lavers on the carts; 15 one Sea and twelve oxen under it; 16 also the pots, the shovels, the forks—and all their articles Huram his master craftsman made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the LORD.
    17 In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 And Solomon had all these articles made in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.
    19 Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of God: the altar of gold and the tables on which was the showbread; 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in the prescribed manner in front of the inner sanctuary, 21 with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold, of purest gold; 22 the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the censers of pure gold. As for the entry of the sanctuary, its inner doors to the Most Holy Place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple, were gold.

Solomon now furnishes the house of God.  According to the plan give to Moses and with the preparations according to His plan passed through the written word of the scriptures to king David, Solomon begins with the sacrificial altar, sea of bronze, and washing lavers immediately outside the temple house.  He then made the menorahs to place inside the structure, in equal numbers to the lavers of washing of the sacrifices.  Both the cleansing of the sacrifices of blood and light of God’s atoning grace are symbolized here, along with the showbread to sustain life, of which point ultimately to Christ as the bread and light of life (John 6:35, 51, John 1:4, 8:12).  The rest of the furnishings were to enable sacrifices to be made in an orderly manner and cleaned up afterwards.  The inside of the room, the doors, and utensils were all made of precious and incorruptible gold; these signified the purity of the LORD’s holy character and the necessity for the priests to follow suit in holiness (Leviticus 19:2, 1 Peter 1:16) while ministering in God’s holy habitation of atonement for the people who were also to be cleansed and made holy.  We see again that the Lord Christ is the ultimate high priest who is completely holy without blemish as the perfect sacrifice and minister to atone for our sin.  No man or priest has the power and right to intercede and make us holy in Himself.  On the Messiah, the Christ of God, is pure, and we are found righteous by trust in His righteousness counted as if ours because we are in Him by saving grace of eternal forgiveness and reconciliation.  These shadows of heavenly truths are seen in the physical tabernacle house of God with each piece pointing to His work which our works can never attain to.  He furnishes His house, which is the church, by His continuing work of sanctifying grace to the end (Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18).  Let us then come holding nothing back as we approach that throne of grace when we need help in this process as we are tempted and as we fall short of the golden standard of purity and holiness (Hebrews 4:16).

Building on God’s Chosen Spot

2 Chronicles 3:1-17

    1 Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 And he began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.
    3 This is the foundation which Solomon laid for building the house of God: The length was sixty cubits (by cubits according to the former measure) and the width twenty cubits. 4 And the vestibule that was in front of the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was one hundred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5 The larger room he paneled with cypress which he overlaid with fine gold, and he carved palm trees and chainwork on it. 6 And he decorated the house with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was gold from Parvaim. 7 He also overlaid the house—the beams and doorposts, its walls and doors—with gold; and he carved cherubim on the walls.
    8 And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length was according to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits. He overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold. 9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold; and he overlaid the upper area with gold. 10 In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim, fashioned by carving, and overlaid them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits in overall length: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub; 12 one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing also was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim spanned twenty cubits overall. They stood on their feet, and they faced inward. 14 And he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.
    15 Also he made in front of the temple two pillars thirty-five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. 16 He made wreaths of chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreaths of chainwork. 17 Then he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.

The place where Solomon built God’s house was on the hill called Moriah, meaning "chosen by Jehovah,” the same place where Abraham offered Isaac for sacrifice (Genesis 22:2), and was a on the eastern edge of Jerusalem.  This was the same place named by Abraham where the LORD would provide (Genesis 22:14) which was also called יְהוָֹה יִרְאֶה yhwh iyr’eh, or YHWH will see to it.  This place was also where king David had seen the Angel of the LORD on the threshing floor which once stood there (1 Chronicles 21:18) when Israel was facing judgment for David’s sin.  Now the house of the LORD was being built on that foundation of God’s mercy and providential intervention for His people, as well as a foreshadowing of the Messiah to deliver all the people of promise through Abraham, God’s only Son in place of Abraham’s only son Isaac.  Solomon built on this past and future hope in what now was Jerusalem on the Temple Mount.  He laid the building’s foundation on that foundation according to the heavenly design planned by God and passed to Moses and then to king David before given to Solomon to finish as a type of the Son of Promise with an eternal house in the heavens.  Here the Most Holy Place was made to find communion and atoning intercession with God by the High Pries, of which Christ is now forever, having made the eternal and lasting sacrifice for us and who tore the separation of the veil of our sin forgiven and covered by His work.  The temple had two pillars at the entrance as well, Jachin, "He will establish" and Boaz, “in it is strength.”   Here we see that this temple on earth was made and established by God Himself through Solomon’s hands, and the strength or ability to build it and to worship by sacrifice for atonement was His as well.  Our heavenly tabernacle which we are as His people in eternity in the New Jerusalem will sing His praises as we constantly call to mind His work of grace which culminated on the cross and resurrection, the access through the veil taken away to see that our deliverance, our salvation, is all His work and power to accomplish it.  This work was built on God’s chosen spot.  It is finished! 

Ready the Preparations to Build

2 Chronicles 2:1-18 

    1 Then Solomon determined to build a temple for the name of the LORD, and a royal house for himself. 2 Solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.
    3 Then Solomon sent to Hiram king of Tyre, saying:
As you have dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. 4 Behold, I am building a temple for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to Him, to burn before Him sweet incense, for the continual showbread, for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.
    5 And the temple which I build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?
    7 Therefore send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. 8 Also send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and indeed my servants will be with your servants, 9 to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.  10 And indeed I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, twenty thousand kors of ground wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.
    11 Then Hiram king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon:
Because the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them.
    12 Hiram also said:
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal house for himself!
    13 And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram my master craftsman 14 (the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.  15 Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants. 16 And we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem.
    17 Then Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, after the census in which David his father had numbered them; and there were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. 18 And he made seventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.

Solomon now readied the preparations needed to begin work on the house of the LORD.  He was determined to begin well based on the previous preparatory foundational work of his father King David.  Solomon had caught the desire to guild God’s house from that godly influence, that heart for God, and now that spark burned brightly in his heart and mind to complete the work and do it well to honor God.  This should be the driving force of discipleship in Christ as well, having a prepared heart motivated by following and imitating Christ and modeling that life to others to continue the work of the gospel.  Solomon here began by skiing for help and resources from a good friend of his mentor, needing materials and skilled workers to make a temple which properly honored God, much as we seek knowledge, wisdom, and methods to build in the lives of others as the example of Paul and Timothy which could be passed on (2 Timothy 2:2).  The physical house of worship was to be great in majestic design and craftsmanship, just as the spiritual one which is the universal church corporately and each individual as well (1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 2:22, 1 Peter 2:4-5).  Our church congregations and each of us is therefore to be prepared and built upon the solid foundation of Christ and His word (1 Corinthians 3:10-12, Colossians 2:7, Jude 1:20); this means we have to have a plan and materials to work with, bit a willing heart set on God’s glory is the most vital asset in building well on Christ.  This means time in the word and prayer, time to grow in wisdom on top of knowledge, and application of the word caught as taught by spiritual example mentoring.  Then others will see the wisdom as Hiram saw Solomon’s and glorify our Lord in heaven.  God will give us all we need to be built into conformity to Christ, including prudence and understanding, as we rely on His sanctifying work in our zeal of following obedience (Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13).  God gave understanding to the builders of His physical temple before, and certainly will do even more in building us up in Christ to worship Him with our life!  Have we made ready the preparations to build us and each other on this solid foundation?  Are we actively at work in this work of discipleship and sanctification to magnify God in these temples?  Let us always strive to do these things to please, honor, and glorify the Lord our Maker.

Kingdom Power and Prosperity

2 Chronicles 1:13-17

   13 So Solomon came to Jerusalem from the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of meeting, and reigned over Israel. 14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 Also the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
    16 And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king's merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 17 They also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

As Nahum 2:1 says, “Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.”  This is what Solomon did to ensure the peace of Jerusalem and the kingdom; he strengthened the military power of his realm, but he did not stop there.  The king also was blessed by God to add economic prosperity as another power of the kingdom to back that military as well as to engage in sales to neighboring kings for continuing economic success.  This was king Solomon’s military and economic power which he realized was given by God’s grace and imparted wisdom, not of his own efforts alone.  He therefore strengthened the kingdom against any who would oppose or attack, manning the walls of the city of David while keeping a watchful eye on the road outside.  He strengthened behind as well as in front and fortified the capital and kingdom for the LORD and His glory in His people, watching against sneak attacks and frontal assaults by increasing defense and bolstering the economy of Israel.  Prosperity and peace reigned for quite a while until Solomon later strayed away, being caught up in the idolatry of many unbelieving wives and concubines.  What good we learn here to encourage us is to rely on God’s provision and providence while supplying our willful participation in obedience to His word and will.  Then, as we follow Joshua 1:8 to abide in the written and living word, we will find peace in the soul’s prosperity in heavenly riches of the Kingdom of Christ.  We man our spiritual fortifications with a watchful eye (1 Peter 4:7, 1 Corinthians 16:13) as we build up our faith in the power of His Spirit in the inward man to fight the good fight of the gospel and defend the truth in love. 

Wisdom and Humility to Rule Well

2 Chronicles 1:1-12

    1 Now Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and exalted him exceedingly.

    2 And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers' houses. 3 Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. 4 But David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. 5 Now the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

    7 On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, "Ask! What shall I give you?"  8 And Solomon said to God: "You have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?"

    11 Then God said to Solomon: "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like."

In this second book continuing the Chronicles of God’s work with His chosen people, it begins with Solomon taking over the reigns passed by king David to rule Israel.  His first huge undertaking was to build the temple; therefore, he started with humility and reliance on the LORD his God.  God had begun the work in him by being for Solomon and by making him great in ruling well.  Solomon therefore gathered all the leaders together and first offered a plethora of sacrifices to the LORD to begin his reign based on pleasing the LORD.  When God then asked what He could give the new king, Solomon wisely confessed the foundation and purpose of God’s promise to his father regarding establishing a lasting kingdom, and knew he did not have it in himself alone for the task ahead.  He asked for wisdom (James 1:5, Proverbs 2:3-6) to know how to live, to go in and out before God’s people with wisdom and knowledge to rule as a God-pleaser.  He wanted to judge fairly and according to God’s standards of the law as written, knowing no man had such ability in and of himself.  He wanted to fulfill God’s promises and will but needed the ability to do these things, and do them well (Philippians 2:13).  The LORD honored this humble faith-filled heart by not only giving him abundantly more (Ephesians 3:20) than asked, but also what he did not ask.  God gave Solomon what other men would have desired only for themselves, namely, riches, wealth, and honor more than any other king ever had.  He also gave him the knowledge and wisdom to rule well as was on Solomon’s heart, a heart for God as given by the example of his father (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22).  Being a precursor in the lineage of He Christ, the Messiah, this was fulfilled in one greater than Solomon (Luke 11:31) with infinite wisdom of the divine nature in union with the mortal.  We see then the prophetic examples and words of an eternal kingdom represented in David’s line through promises being fulfilled in Solomon which would culminate in complete wisdom beyond the greatness given to Solomon.  We also find that a heart for God and desire for knowledge with wisdom to apply it in serving God’s people, the true church, is what we should set as the direction of our lives in serving Christ our Lord.  We need humility and godly wisdom to lead well. 

The King is Dead, Long Live the King!

1 Chronicles 29:21-30

    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.

Solomon was anointed king after his father’s preparations for the house of God to be built and continue on earth and in heaven.  David his father then died after thirty-three years ruling in Jerusalem and seven in Hebron before that.  He had a long and full life with a legacy of honor and riches, along with a son chosen to build the house of God for worship and honor of the LORD.  This house was a foreshadowing and pattern reflecting the tabernacle in the heavens where Christ sits as King forever (Hebrews 8:5, 9:23-24), just as Solomon was to begin an unending reign as the line to the physical side of the Messiah to come.  Solomon re-enacted the crowning as king after David’s prayer of thankful praise in the previous verses, and all the leaders and people bowed down in submission to him as the appointed ruler over His people.  The LORD lifted him up before the people of Israel under him that they all knew it was from God and endorsed by the man after God’s own heart.  The Royal majesty given by the LORD to Solomon was more aunt any ruler before him, demonstrating again the hand of God in Solomon and in the endorsement of David.  The old king died and you an imagine hearing as they cried, “long live the king!”  We rejoice in lifting Christ as the eternal King who is above all kings and lords, ascribing all honor and glory and majesty to Him.  Forever in eternity lives the King of Kings (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, 19:16)! 

Public Prayer of Praise

1 Chronicles 29:10-20 

    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.

King David gave a public prayer of praise for all the LORD had done for him and his people, and for the abundance of grace showered by Him on them all.  He began by acknowledging that God is their eternal Father, for the Jews absolutely knew Him as such, even of some now say they did not.  This is the revelation of scripture which records how they did know Him as Father, even though they did not comprehend Him as the eternal Son who is God’s Word yet.  This was hidden from them until the right time chosen by God as Galatians 4:4 tells us.  The praise continues by ascribing all the grandeur, power, glory, victory, majesty, and sovereign ownership of all to the LORD who is their and our God.  Because of who He is and all He proves as He demonstrates by action, He rules the universe and all He created in it, including people and nations.  The kingdom is the LORD’s, not ours!  He is exalted or lifted up in praise because He is worthy and in charge as the potentate (1 Timothy 6:15), the Lord and head of us of all (Colossians 1:18).  Everything we possess comes from His hand of grace, whether riches, honor, or strength.  He must be praised in humility for His rule and mighty hand (1 Peter 5:6) over us all and over world events and politics.  Because of His absolute rule of goodness and grace, we must respond with praise and thankfulness, lifting up His name above all else, for we have no other gods but God above.  This should make us think and pray as David here, dumbfounded that He should allow us to offer back what we can of all coming from His hand which He gives us!  Apart from Christ and the grace of reconciliation by atonement in His sacrifice of the blood of His life in place of ours, we are absolutely hopeless and lost.  But He brings us near who once were aliens from God’s chosen people (Ephesians 2:12), but now brought near and having such a solid and eternal hope in the Son of righteousness who has arisen in our souls and moved us to praise Him.  David prepared his son Solomon to build God a house; God’s own Son now builds an eternal house of worship in we His people.  Let us then follow the example by returning upright hearts of willingly obedience and fix them on the author and finisher of our faith.  Let us bow down and bless His holy name for our deliverance from hopeless darkness and translation into the light (1 Peter 2:9-10, Acts 26:18, Colossians 1:13)!  This should be our public prayer of praise. 

Offerings of Commitment Freely Given

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

    1 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.

With the preparations made for the house of God, king David was ready to pass the throne to his son Solomon.  He acknowledged again before the congregation of all God’s people that it was God alone who chose Solomon for this work.  David had been chosen by the LORD to set the foundation in place for the defeat of their enemies and for setting aside the materials necessary to erect the temple according to the heavenly plan given him just as Moses was given the original plans of the traveling tabernacle as we are told again in Hebrews 8:5.  David people to follow his example of wholehearted giving to God’s work, for he had not just what was gathered for the work, but also of his own personal wealth because he set his heart, his love for God, on this place to honor and glorify the LORD through sacrificial worship and honoring praise.  He was all in for God and the heart given to and for Him (Romans 11:36) and for His people to be right with their God according to His word.  This example moved them all to freely give (2 Corinthians 8:3) and then find overwhelming joy to outwardly express because they were able to freely give to God.  The king rejoined with them.  Our King Jesus Christ rejoices with us as we give to His work in building the house of God which is the individual and collective corporate, universal church of God in Christ.  We should likewise find great joy in giving to the work of the gospel in all things for His praise and glory, for age Himself has made the eternal sacrifice and torn the veil hiding His presence from us!  Our offerings must be of commitment which are freely and so willingly given. 

Chosen Son to Build God a House

1 Chronicles 28:1-21

    1 Now David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all the mighty men of valor.
    2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, "Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.' 4 However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. 5 And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 Now He said to me, 'It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. 7 Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.' 8 Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.
    9 "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it."
    11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; 12 and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; 13 also for the division of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD. 14 He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; 15 the weight for the lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. 16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each table, and silver for the tables of silver; 17 also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; 18 and refined gold by weight for the altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19 "All this," said David, "the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans."
    20 And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 21 Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command."

David gathered all the leaders, military, government officials, and the mighty valiant men together to announce the building of God’s house.  He told all who were there that his own deep desire to build the house of the LORD was not to be, for God did not want a man of war and bloodshed building a house of peace with God.  He chose Solomon instead, a man of peace, to be chosen as a son forever in God’s house, a clear picture and foreshadowing of God’s eternal Son to come who would bring true peace with God (Romans 5:1).  King David made the needed preparations for the temple by collecting all the material and communicating God’s design given by His Spirit in verse 12 to Solomon, and now announced it publicly to get everyone behind the effort.  Though David was chosen by God to rule His people, Solomon was likewise chosen to rule them in great peace and prosperity.  Of course, the success of Solomon ruling depended on his keeping God’s word as the warning was firmly and clearly given in this covenant of works.  The covenant of grace in the blood of Christ and His eternal work enacted upon the earth as a sacrifice was yet to follow.  David summarized it in verse 19 by telling them that the LORD gave him the understanding to prepare and design this house of God by writing it all down (as we can see recorded in the scriptures).  God’s hand was on David and would be on Solomon as well in the work to follow.  His hand directs and protects, guides in supernatural wisdom with divine enablement.  Therefore, David encouraged Solomon to be strong and courageously valiant in the huge and important effort before him, not to fear or be dismayed; for God was with him as surely as He had been in David’s conquests which set the stage yet kept him from building a foundation of peace on blood.  The Messiah to come would be the one to shed blood and build the true and lasting house for Him to eternally dwell in, that is, His Spirit within each of His people of promise.  Just as God was to be with Solomon until all the work was finished, so His Spirit is with us to the end to work in us with completion of sanctifying Grace (Philippians 1:6).  We build this house as living stones for Him to receive our worship as living sacrifices with reconciling peace (1 Peter 2:5, Romans 12:1, Romans 5:1, Colossians 1:21, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20).  His chosen Son is building an eternal house (2 Corinthians 5:1) in the heavens to live with and worship Him forever, and has chosen us in Christ to this end! 

Military Divisions, Leaders, and Officials

1 Chronicles 27:1-34 

    1 And the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers' houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every matter of the military divisions. These divisions came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division having twenty-four thousand.
    2 Over the first division for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel, and in his division were twenty-four thousand; 3 he was of the children of Perez, and the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month. 4 Over the division of the second month was Dodai an Ahohite, and of his division Mikloth also was the leader; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 5 The third captain of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was chief; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 6 This was the Benaiah who was mighty among the thirty, and was over the thirty; in his division was Ammizabad his son. 7 The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 8 The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 9 The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 10 The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 11 The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbechai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 12 The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 13 The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 14 The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 15 The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; in his division were twenty-four thousand.

    16 Furthermore, over the tribes of Israel: the officer over the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; over the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah; 17 over the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; over the Aaronites, Zadok; 18 over Judah, Elihu, one of David's brothers; over Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; 19 over Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; over Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel; 20 over the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; over the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; 21 over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; over Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; 22 over Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

    23 But David did not take the number of those twenty years old and under, because the LORD had said He would multiply Israel like the stars of the heavens. 24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census, but he did not finish, for wrath came upon Israel because of this census; nor was the number recorded in the account of the chronicles of King David.

    25 And Azmaveth the son of Adiel was over the king's treasuries; and Jehonathan the son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the field, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses. 26 Ezri the son of Chelub was over those who did the work of the field for tilling the ground. 27 And Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the produce of the vineyards for the supply of wine. 28 Baal-Hanan the Gederite was over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands, and Joash was over the store of oil. 29 And Shitrai the Sharonite was over the herds that fed in Sharon, and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the herds that were in the valleys. 30 Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys, 31 and Jaziz the Hagrite was over the flocks. All these were the officials over King David's property. 
    32 Also Jehonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a scribe; and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king's sons. 33 Ahithophel was the king's counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king's companion. 34 After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, then Abiathar. And the general of the king's army was Joab.

Here the military leaders, family tribe leaders, and government officials under king David are described.  The military had divisions of twenty-four thousand each, and rotated month by month in an ordered pattern to keep them experienced but not overwork them.  This was wisdom given by God.  The leaders of each family tribe of Israel are also talked about, naming each officer leading their respective tribe, but with no description of their accomplishments.  It does say that David refused to count the adults to know their strength, trusting God to fulfill His promise originally made to Abraham to multiply his descendants as stars and sand (Genesis 15:5, 22:17).  This promise to be fruitful and multiply was originally given to Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:22, 28), but was disrupted by sin and reset through the great flood (Genesis 9:7-8).  David likely knew that the original sin of disobedience to God’s commands was not to be taken lightly, and obeyed in not numbering God’s people, preferring instead to trust Him to fulfill the promise (this also implies that the twenty-four thousand of each army was not the total of all Israel).  Joab, however, did begin counting and brought God’s wrath for the disobedience on Israel.  Finally, we see the government officials named and described somewhat; the treasurer, storehouse manager, head of agriculture, vineyards, orchards, livestock, and other functions of David’s goods.  Through all these seemingly insignificant descriptions we learn about trusting God’s promises and providence to provide our needs and protection through wisdom given us to do His work, whether in leading family or government.  But we are also shown it must be according to God’s word, or consequences will come.  As God’s people in Christ, let us do all things decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40) as written and commanded for His glory and our good. 

Guarding God’s Treasure, Attending to His Matters

1 Chronicles 26:20-32

    20 Of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasuries of the house of God and over the treasuries of the dedicated things. 21 The sons of Laadan, the descendants of the Gershonites of Laadan, heads of their fathers' houses, of Laadan the Gershonite: Jehieli. 22 The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the treasuries of the house of the LORD. 23 Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: 24 Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasuries. 25 And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son.
    26 This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things which King David and the heads of fathers' houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. 27 Some of the spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the LORD. 28 And all that Samuel the seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, every dedicated thing, was under the hand of Shelomith and his brethren.
    29 Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons performed duties as officials and judges over Israel outside Jerusalem.  30 Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred able men, had the oversight of Israel on the west side of the Jordan for all the business of the LORD, and in the service of the king. 31 Among the Hebronites, Jerijah was head of the Hebronites according to his genealogy of the fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought, and there were found among them capable men at Jazer of Gilead. 32 And his brethren were two thousand seven hundred able men, heads of fathers' houses, whom King David made officials over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and the affairs of the king.

Here some of the Levites guarded God’s treasure in the house of the LORD, while others attended to His matters of state and of God Himself.  They ensured that the things valuable to God and His people in His house were kept safe and secure from theft, including dedicated items to the LORD and spoils of the battles against strong enemies which He gave them victory over.  They were all there to be used for God’s glory and worship, not for personal gain or boasting.  The things taken in the fight were used to maintain the temple, likely sold or reappropriated in such ways as melting down and used for repairs.  Either way, all was used to honor God in devoted worship.  Some Levites were officials and judges outside of Jerusalem where the house of God stood, serving His name and the government given by Him to the king, attending to the Master’s business.  We should also be about our Master’s business (Luke 2:49, John 4:34-35) while we are about our business as we serve Him in the gospel and in the work outside of His house, our jobs.  The “affairs” or words of the king follow the words of the King over all, the words of life (Acts 5:20) in the gospel of Jesus Christ which His house, the church, stands for.  We must guard the treasure of truth in the scriptures from inside theft and pilfering (Acts 20:29-31, 1 Timothy 6:20, Jude 1:3), as well as from outside His house.  The gospel is founded on His word, both living and written, and we must defend these in our understanding by faith and gospel teaching straight and true.  Wolves abound without and within, so we are to be valiant for the truth, bold and unwavering (Acts 19:8) as guards of the treasurer and ambassadors of the heavenly state as we attend to His matters. 

Gatekeepers of Holy Worship

1 Chronicles 26:1-19

    1 Concerning the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. 2 And the sons of Meshelemiah were Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.
    4 Moreover the sons of Obed-Edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, 5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him.  6 Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers' houses, because they were men of great ability. 7 The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were able men.  8 All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their brethren, able men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-Edom.  9 And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, eighteen able men.
   10 Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the first (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him the first), 11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.
    12 Among these were the divisions of the gatekeepers, among the chief men, having duties just like their brethren, to serve in the house of the LORD. 13 And they cast lots for each gate, the small as well as the great, according to their father's house. 14 The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the North Gate; 15 to Obed-Edom the South Gate, and to his sons the storehouse. 16 To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came out for the West Gate, with the Shallecheth Gate on the ascending highway—watchman opposite watchman. 17 On the east were six Levites, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, and for the storehouse two by two. 18 As for the Parbar on the west, there were four on the highway and two at the Parbar. 19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the sons of Korah and among the sons of Merari.

The gatekeepers were the guards around the temple, chosen and blessed by God for their service.  Some had great abilities, were described as very able (valiant and of great strength), and they served in the house of the LORD.  Each post was chosen again by lot, putting the decision in God’s hands and not by chance as if they used their own reasoning alone.  The gates at all four points of the compass were covered to protect God’s place of worship, and ran in shifts to keep constant and alert coverage.  Even the parbar, the attached temple court, on the west side of the temple structure was guarded.  What we gather from this passage then is that God wanted His place of worship to be kept safe from defilement and attack.  Likewise, we now watch over our places of worship to keep out those wanting to bring in bad and deceptive teaching as if an opposing army was attempting to defile with unholy actions or corruption of we who are priests to our God in Christ.  This also applies to the temples of our bodies where He dwells as the Holy Spirit.  Let us be valiant then for the truth of His word, holy and alert to the enemy’s methods and means of attack.  We know his strategy, his wiles, so let us defend the LORD’s worship and people accordingly.  We are gatekeepers of holy and truth in worship. 

God Chooses the Music

1 Chronicles 25:1-31

    1 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: 2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. 3 Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the LORD. 4 Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to exalt his horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
    6 All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the authority of the king. 7 So the number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the LORD, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.
    8 And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, the teacher with the student.
    9 Now the first lot for Asaph came out for Joseph; the second for Gedaliah, him with his brethren and sons, twelve; 10 the third for Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 11 the fourth for Jizri, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 12 the fifth for Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 13 the sixth for Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 14 the seventh for Jesharelah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 15 the eighth for Jeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 16 the ninth for Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 17 the tenth for Shimei, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 18 the eleventh for Azarel, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 19 the twelfth for Hashabiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 20 the thirteenth for Shubael, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 21 the fourteenth for Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 22 the fifteenth for Jeremoth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 23 the sixteenth for Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 24 the seventeenth for Joshbekashah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 25 the eighteenth for Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 26 the nineteenth for Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 27 the twentieth for Eliathah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 28 the twenty-first for Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 29 the twenty-second for Giddalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 30 the twenty-third for Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 31 the twenty-fourth for Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve.

Here the lots are cast once again, this time for God’s choice of the music by selecting which musicians play at which times.  He is absolutely sovereign over worship, a fact by example here which we would do well to follow.  The lots purple the choice of who serves at what times; He sets the schedule as well as the manner and content of our worship in song and instrument, that is, if we put the choice in His hand.  All these mentioned here served the LORD with this mindset to set the example as well as pleasing God in His way at His time with those He chooses.  This choosing by lot is normally now done with fasting and prayer instead of a roll of the dice, but the concept is the same.  We allow God to choose, then reveal that to us that we may align with His will in all matters of importance.  This is not just for certain believers, but for “the small as well as the great, the teacher with the student,” as it is written in verse 8 in this chapter.  None of us is so great or so lowly as to ignore seeking God’s Will and direction.  Even Jesus as a man cried out, not My will, but Yours (Luke 22:42).  Remember that He sets the people and songs for worship, just as He gave words and instruments to king David, Asaph, and others appointed to the privileged task of music in worship under the authority of the under shepherds who are under the King of kings appointing these things.  God chooses the music for worship according to and in alignment with the scriptures. 

The Lots of Priests and Servants

1 Chronicles 24:1-31

    1 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 And Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests. 3 Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service.
    4 There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen heads of their fathers' houses, and eight heads of their fathers' houses among the sons of Ithamar. 5 Thus they were divided by lot, one group as another, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of the house of God, from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar. 6 And the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites, wrote them down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests and Levites, one father's house taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.
    7 Now the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, 8 the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, 9 the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, 10 the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, 11 the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, 12 the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, 13 the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, 14 the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, 15 the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, 16 the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel, 17 the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, 18 the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
    19 This was the schedule of their service for coming into the house of the LORD according to their ordinance by the hand of Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

    20 And the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. 21 Concerning Rehabiah, of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. 22 Of the Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. 23 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 24 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah; of the sons of Michah, Shamir. 25 The brother of Michah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah.

    26 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi; the son of Jaaziah, Beno. 27 The sons of Merari by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. 28 Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. 29 Of Kish: the son of Kish, Jerahmeel.  30 Also the sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.

    31 These also cast lots just as their brothers the sons of Aaron did, in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests and Levites. The chief fathers did just as their younger brethren.

God commanded Aaron to pass the work of priestly ministry to his sons and theirs.  They were divided up according to the work that each group was tasked with, and scheduled accordingly.  Their workload was assigned by the number of each group in order to share the burden and responsibilities equally.  As for the other Levi’s other sons, they also cast lots to avoid favoritism and fairly assign their duties in their service alongside the priests (Numbers 3:9-10).  This fair distribution of duties by families and casting of lots put the ultimate decision in God’s hands to ensure equal opportunities were given in alignment with God’s purposes and choosing over man’s reasoning and faulty division of labor and responsibility.  Father knows best.  We find this in Acts 1:26, where Matthias was chosen to replace Judas the fallen of the twelve apostles that there be another to take his office per God’s word and choice (Psalm 109:8, Acts 1:20).  The eleven other apostles knew they had to pick a replacement for Judas, but went only so far as to look at two original witnesses of Jesus and propose their choices, leaving the final assignment to the Lord by casting the lots to allow Him to reveal which of the two was His choice.  This roll of divine dice was the providence of God in action by their faith, just as the priests and Levites of old had done.  We learn then that we plan and order our ways, but the Lord guides where our feet walk (Proverbs 16:9, Psalm 37:23, Jeremiah 10:23) and our ultimate decisions in His good sovereign providence.  These then are the lots cast for His ministers and servants. 

Division of Labor

1 Chronicles 23:1-32

    1 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.  2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the LORD, six thousand were officers and judges, 5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with musical instruments, "which I made," said David, "for giving praise."
    6 Also David separated them into divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
    7 Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one father's house.
    12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. 13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name forever. 14 Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were Gershon and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershon, Shebuel was the first. 17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first. 19 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second.
    21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and their brethren, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
    24 These were the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses—the heads of the fathers' houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and above.
    25 For David said, "The LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever"; 26 and also to the Levites, "They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service." 27 For by the last  anymore; words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above; 28 because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God, 29 both with the showbread and the fine flour for the grain offering, with the unleavened cakes and what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of measures and sizes; 30 to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening; 31 and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the set feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the LORD; 32 and that they should attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the LORD.

David passed the throne to his son Solomon at last, having made preparations for him to finish the work of building the house of God, the permanent tabernacle.  The Levites were told they would never again have to carry the tents and articles of the mobile tabernacle from place to place anymore; it was settled in Jerusalem as God’s dwelling place forever now as verses 25-26 tell us.  David had made instruments to praise the LORD in worship, and these were in the hands of four thousand of the Levites dedicated to this ministry, a kind of Old Testament choir.  Other Levites were assigned the ministry of the temple, serving and helping the sons of Aaron the priests.  These stood up morning and evening to praise and offer thanks to God for who He is and all He does for His people.  They all served together to honor and sacrifice to the LORD their God and deliverer.  We have no Levitical tribe of God’s people called together in Christ now, but we do have callings and roles to serve in the local and universal church in His body as He gives gifts and responsibilities.  There are shepherds, servants, administrative roles, and various spiritual things given to honor and praise our Lord and Savior.  We therefore find rest in the tabernacles of each of us He lives in, as well as corporately as His temple (Ephesians 2:22, 1 Peter 2:5) in which He dwells permanently and forever in this eternal life given us by grace in Christ Jesus our Lord.  We have a division of labor, but not of importance in Him within this church. 

Preparations to Build the Temple

1 Chronicles 22:1-19 

    1 Then David said, "This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel." 2 So David commanded to gather the aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to cut hewn stones to build the house of God. 3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance beyond measure, 4 and cedar trees in abundance; for the Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.
    5 Now David said, "Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it." So David made abundant preparations before his death.
    6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon: "My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the LORD my God; 8 but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.' 11 Now, my son, may the LORD be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the LORD your God, as He has said to you. 12 Only may the LORD give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. 13 Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the LORD charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the LORD one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. 15 Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. 16 Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and the LORD be with you."
    17 David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 18 "Is not the LORD your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and before His people. 19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the LORD."

After King David waged successful wars for God’s people but failed to collect the half a shekel towards the building of the tabernacle from each one counted, he then learned the price, counted the cost, and moved from warring to planning.  He had stones cut, iron and bronze gathered together, and piled up cedar logs for his son Solomon.  These things he did because God told David that he was a man of war and had the blood of war (and of Uriah) on his hands, and therefore was not to build the holy house of God.  David really had his heart set on building the temple of the LORD, but accepted God’s decree of holy judgment and acted accordingly to His will.  Massive preparations were made for Solomon to be successful and not delayed due to his inexperience, but David also gave his son godly advice.  He told him why God chose Solomon to not only build a physical house, but be an eternal house as a line for the Anointed One, the Messiah/Christ.  God would give Solomon peace won by David’s battles, but more so by God’s own hand of grace in His selection of Solomon to bring peace and quietness (Psalm 131:2), for even the name Solomon means ‘peaceful.’  The messianic prophecies included being a son to God as Father (Hebrews 1:5) and having an eternally-established rule (Isaiah 9:7).  He prayed for wisdom and understanding for his son from the LORD, and that he would be faithful in following all of God’s word; only then would Solomon be blessed in all he set out to do as the chosen of God.  He reminded him to be strong and not afraid in this great task, but to take courage and do the work given him.  Then David reminded his son that he had prepared the material part ahead of time to build the temple, freeing him to concentrate on the spiritual aspects without worry for how to gather what was needed; David equipped Solomon, both with godly advice for and with provisions to accomplish the great task of building the house of God.  This house then was of the physical temple as well as the unseen dwelling to come of the Messiah in His people through his lineage (2 Corinthians 6:16).  The final charge was to bring in the Ark of God’s covenant into the finished house of God, and to aim his heart and life at the LORD his God above all things.  Such is the charge to us as well; we are to build on the foundation of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-17) wisely, for we are the temples of the Lord now.  This means we set our souls and hearts on following Him in devoted and willing obedience out of love.  These are our preparations to build His temple in us and among all called in Christ; He is our eternal rest and peace, sitting forever sovereign on His throne to rule us.  May we be children who honor Him by following His every word.  Amen and amen.

Counting and the Cost

1 Chronicles 21:1-30
    1 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, "Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it."  3 And Joab answered, "May the LORD make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?"
    4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. 6 But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
    7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. 8 So David said to God, "I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly."
    9 Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying, 10 "Go and tell David, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you."'"  11 So Gad came to David and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Choose for yourself, 12 either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the LORD—the plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.' Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me."
    13 And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man."  14 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the LORD looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, "It is enough; now restrain your hand." And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
    16 Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 And David said to God, "Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me and my father's house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."
    18 Therefore, the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD. 20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. 21 So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. 22 Then David said to Ornan, "Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the LORD. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people."
    23 But Ornan said to David, "Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all."  24 Then King David said to Ornan, "No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing." 25 So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. 26 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the LORD; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering.
    27 So the LORD commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.  28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 For the tabernacle of the LORD and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

Counting the people in the time of Moses required each of the people to contribute "half a shekel towards the building of the tabernacle," that there might be no plague among them when he numbered them (Exodus 30:12), and also that the Levites not be counted at all.  Here the incitement, the temptation of sinful pride, to David led him to have all Israel counted, along with the Levites.  This was opposed to trusting God foremost in multiplying His people as promised to Abraham, and secondly in violation of His word.  God made it clear that according to His word, the order to count must come from Him and not a fallen angel.  He also set the order and requirements to include the temple tax of sorts to be made.  This latter point is crucial because David is about to make preparations for his son to build the temple. Perhaps God allowed the tempter to sway the king to take the census to prove the military might and victory were David’s and forget it was all of God.  That was basis of the original temptation in Eden’s garden, to doubt God’s word and act directly opposed to it (Genesis 3:4-6) instead of learning from God’s word and taught directions (Hebrews 4:15).  We see then the consequences of disobedience as the leader of God’s people, in that many had to  suffer and die by the king’s hand in this foolishness.  Joab even tried to talk David out of this, knowing the word of the Lord, yet the king’s pride ignored good counsel.  The LORD offered three options of retribution; the first was a long famine where people would suffer to die, the second was humiliating defeat after so many successful battles showing that the LORD was on their side, and the last option was to put themselves directly into God’s hand for the consequences of judgment.  David chose the latter, knowing it was best to be in God’s hands even for harsh and deserved punishment.  The people began being cut down by the destroying angel of the LORD, and the king interceded by offering himself and his descendants as the recipients of judgment instead.  The Angel stopped, David worshipped, and he learned the cost - that he paid the price of personal sacrifice, not cheap grace with that which cost him nothing.  He learned ultimately that to obey was better than sacrifice, and that the price was earned and owed personally (Romans 3:10, 23, 26).  Through through the judgment as the Angel cut people down and David and the sons of Ornan trembled at seeing this heavenly giant, the owner of the wheat being threshed did not cower or fear.  He stood with trust in the LORD while faced with God’s power as David fearfully offered to buy the place for an altar.  This is the point where David learned to count the cost and accept responsibility, and paid for the place and right to sacrifice in atonement.  Still the king was afraid to go to inquire of the LORD for further direction out of the fear of further judgment at the hand of His avenging messenger.  We fear judgment until Christ intercedes and atones for us, and then we trust as Ornan as judgment falls in the final day, knowing the price paid was Christ’s and the mercy of the Sacrifice keeps the sword from taking us eternally.  This is counting according to God’s word and reconciliation of grace.  It cost Him much, and costs us only our lives given to Him.  We then worship being mindful of the cost and consequences apart from His merciful grace, and lay down our lives as crucified with Him in that cost.  We count the cost and thus offer everything because of that grace.