1 Chronicles 29:1-9
Offerings for Building the Temple
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.
We find the example for our own giving to the work of the Lord in this account. King David had prepared the materials and provided God’s design for the house of the LORD to his son Solomon, knowing that the work would be immense but necessary because the building was for God and not the people. It was to be the place God met with man and man offered sacrifices of praise and worship to acknowledge the worth One above any other. David had given freely and abundantly of his own treasure to the project and then challenged the others who were listening to devote themselves to the work of the LORD along with him. The leaders all offered willingly as well with a loyal heart, wholeheartedly and perfectly at peace, complete and at rest in the decision as the word loyal (שָׁלֵם šâlêm) means here. They did this with joy in their abundant giving (2 Corinthians 8:3-4, 5) as we should also with a willing (2 Corinthians 8:12) heart and mind at ease in giving to meet needs (2 Corinthians 8:13-14) and for the work of the Lord in His house we meet in to worship together in God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving as we meet those needs. Loyal hearts give freely with complete peace in such acts of worship and praise.
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