1 Chronicles 22:1-19
David Prepares to Build the Temple
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.”
Because the LORD was with David and his son Solomon, he charged the son who was to build God’s house with the task of first seeking Him with all his heart and soul, all his life and desire, as the commandments (Mark 12:29-30, 31) meant for us all to do. This is especially poignant when we consider that He is for us as with Solomon in this account of grace and responsibility to do God’s work with the proper motives of heart and soul. We now do these as written on our hearts by His Spirit living inside each of us (2 Corinthians 3:3, Hebrews 10:16, Jeremiah 31:33, 34, Ezekiel 36:26, 27) and not as cold hard rules inscribed onto hard stone tablets of mere outward efforts of compliance to checkbox rules. David prepared everything his son would require to build God’s house, and we are given all we need (2 Peter 1:2-3, 4) to build up these individual temples (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19) as well as the corporate one (1 Peter 2:4-5) for His habitation of honor and glory ministered by us to Him and one another in fulfillment of the commandments from the heart of love and mind of understanding (Ephesians 4:12-13, 15-16) in His work. Since we have peace with God through His Son as Romans 5:1 tells us, then we should use all prepared for us to build His house by edifying one another with knowledge of the truths of God, understanding of what they mean, and wisdom to apply all He gives each of us for one another to honor and glorify Him in the daily sacrifice of ourselves (Romans 12:1) to conform these temples individually and collectively to His design outlined in the scriptures. We are called to seek the Lord wholeheartedly with a mind to know and grow for His glory and in conformity to Christ the Son (2 Corinthians 3:18) in this grace in which we stand.
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