1 Chronicles 22:1-19
1 Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.
2 And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;
4 Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.
5 And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an 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 an house unto the name of the LORD my God:
8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon,a and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
10 He shall build an 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 for ever.
11 Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee.
12 Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.
13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.
14 Now, behold, in my troubleb I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.
15 Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workersc of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.
16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.
17 David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,
18 Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine 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; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.
The Book of 1 Chronicles
God rules History
1 Chronicles
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 22
David prepares for the *temple – 1 Chronicles 22:1-19
v1 David said, ‘We will build the *temple of the *LORD God here. Also, the *altar for *burnt *sacrifices for *Israel will be here.’
v2 David ordered the foreigners that lived in *Israel to gather. Then he chose some of them to cut blocks of stone for the construction of God’s *temple. v3 David provided a large amount of iron. This was to make nails and other bits for the doors of the gates. Also, he provided more *bronze than people could weigh. v4 And he supplied more *cedar wood than they could count. The people from the cities called Sidon and Tyre had brought a lot of this *cedar wood to David.
v5 And David said, ‘My son Solomon is young. He does not yet have experience for the task. The *temple that he will build for the *LORD must be great. It must be famous among the nations because of its greatness and its beauty. Therefore, I will prepare all that I can for it.’ So, David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died.
v6 Then David called for his son Solomon. David told Solomon that he (Solomon) must build a *temple for the *LORD, the God of *Israel. v7 David said to Solomon, ‘My son, I had wanted to build a *temple for the name of the *LORD my God. v8 But the *LORD sent his word to me. He said, “You have killed many people. You have fought many wars. You must not build a *temple for my name. This is because you have spilt much blood on the earth. (In other words, you are responsible for the deaths of many people.) And I have seen what you have done. v9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest. I will give to him peace from all his enemies round him. His name will be Solomon. And I will give to *Israel peace and quiet while he is king. v10 He will build a *temple for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish the *throne of his *kingdom over *Israel for all time.”
v11 Now, my son, I ask the *LORD to be with you. Then you will be successful and you will build the *temple for the *LORD your God. He has said that you will carry out this task. v12 The *LORD will give you command over *Israel. I pray that he will also give to you wisdom and the skill to understand. This will help you to obey the law of the *LORD your God. v13 Be careful to obey the rules and laws that the *LORD gave to Moses for *Israel. If you obey them, you will have success. Be strong and brave. Do not be afraid but always have courage.
v14 I have worked hard to provide for the *temple of the *LORD. I have supplied 100 000 *talents of gold and 1 000 000 *talents of silver. Here are vast quantities of *bronze and iron; too much to weigh. And I have gathered a lot of wood and stone. You must add some more. v15 You have many workers. You have men who work with stone. You have men who build with bricks. You have men who work with wood. And you have men who are skilled in every kind of work. v16 They are skilled to work with gold, silver, *bronze, and iron. You have more skilled workers than you can count. Now begin the work. And I pray that the *LORD will be with you.’
v17 Then David ordered all the leaders of *Israel to help his son Solomon. v18 David said to them, ‘The *LORD your God is with you. He has given to you peace from all our enemies. He has handed over to me the people who live in this country. The *LORD and his people control this country. v19 Now give your hearts and minds to obey the *LORD your God. Begin to build the *temple of the *LORD God. Then bring the *ark of the *LORD’s special promise and God’s holy things to the *temple. You will build the *temple for the name of the *LORD.’
Verse 1 God had dealt with David at the place where Araunah used to prepare his grain. David had built an *altar at this place. He had burned *sacrifices to the *LORD here. He knew that the *LORD wanted his *temple to be here. This was where the *temple should be. The *altar would be here and here the priests would *sacrifice to God. David was already using this place on *Mount Moriah as if it was the *LORD’s *temple. The actual *temple was not yet here. But Solomon his son would build it (2 Chronicles 3:1).
Verses 2-4 David used the foreigners who lived in *Israel to carry out the initial work for the *temple. Some of them had to cut stones and to shape them ready for the builders. They stored these stones until Solomon started to build the *temple. Some of them worked with metals. They made nails and other things for the doors. And there were workers in wood who would prepare the wood for the *temple.
David provided all the materials such as iron, *bronze and wood. The wood came from Lebanon where the *cedar trees were very tall and straight.
Verse 5 We are not sure about the age of Solomon at this time. The date of his birth was probably about 990 *BC. He became king in 970 or 971 *BC. So he was 20 years old when he became king. He had a son, Rehoboam, who was then one year old. This chapter is about David’s actions near the end of his rule. So, it seems that Solomon was a youth under 20 years of age.
The *temple had to be great, and it was. It had to be famous among the nations, and it was. But Solomon was young. So, David prepared all that he could. The *LORD would not allow him to build the *temple. But he got as much ready as he could.
Verses 6-10 King David was preparing his son to be the next king. David had desired to build the *temple for the *LORD. But the *LORD would not let him do it. This was the most important task for his son to do. So David explained to Solomon what God had said to him.
This *temple must be for the name of the *LORD. This means more than for the *LORD’s honour. It means for the person of the *LORD. It must be a place where the people could go to meet with God. It will be the most important place of *worship for *Israel.
The *LORD refused to let David build the *temple. The reason was that David was a man of wars. The problem was not just that he fought wars. But David had killed people other than in war such as Uriah (2 Samuel 11:15). He was guilty of cruelty as he was with the soldiers from Moab (2 Samuel 8:2).
Before he was born, God chose Solomon to be king after David. The *LORD loved Solomon from birth. God promised that Solomon would rule in peace. As far as we know, Solomon fought only one battle. That battle was after he had built the *temple (2 Chronicles 8:3).
In this passage, David repeats the words that Nathan spoke to him from the *LORD (17:12-14). The *LORD promised to be as a father to Solomon but Solomon had to be loyal to the *LORD. Later in life, Solomon was not loyal to the *LORD.
The ‘*throne’ of Solomon’s *kingdom means the kings from the family of David. God would establish their ‘*throne’ for all time. This means that one of David’s *descendants will be king for all time. That *descendant is the *Lord Jesus. (Both Mary and Joseph were *descendants of David.) The *Lord Jesus is sometimes called King David’s greater son, because he is David’s most important *descendant. And, although he is David’s *descendant, he is more important (greater) than David. There will be no end to the rule of the *Lord Jesus. His *throne will always remain. His *kingdom will never end (Luke 1:32-33).
Verses 11-13 In these verses, David repeats to Solomon much of what God had said. God had said that Solomon would build the *temple. God had said that he would make Solomon the king of *Israel. So, David encourages his son to do as God had said. David is telling Solomon: ‘Build the *temple and obey God.’
David prays that Solomon will be wise. And David prays that Solomon will obey the law of the *LORD. Solomon will be successful only if he does obey the rules and laws of the *LORD. He will need wisdom from the *LORD to be able to govern the people. And he will need to be brave and to have courage so that he can rule *Israel.
Verses 14-16 We do not know the value of these metals at that time. But it must have been a very large sum.
David had provided a vast quantity of all that the builders would need for the work. But Solomon must add some more. Perhaps David thought that more was necessary. But perhaps David was encouraging Solomon to make the task his own. Solomon would involve himself more in the task if he gave toward it.
David had organised the labour with men skilled in all the trades. This large number of workers was ready to start the work. Therefore, he told Solomon, ‘Get on with it. Build the *temple of the *LORD. It is what the *LORD wants. And he will be with you.’ Solomon could not begin yet. But as soon as he became king, this was his first and most important task.
Verses 17-19 Finally, David praises God for all that he has achieved. The *LORD has given peace to his people in *Israel. The *LORD has defeated all their enemies. The *LORD is with his people. The *LORD has given to them the country called *Israel.
Now the people must give themselves to the *LORD. They must work with Solomon to build the *LORD’s *temple. That *temple will be the place where the *Israelites will *worship the *LORD their God.
The *ark of God was in the tent that David had prepared for it, in Jerusalem. But the *Israelites must bring the *ark into the *temple. David had already built his *altar in the place where the *Israelites would build the *temple. Many of the holy things were in the tent at Gibeon. They must bring these things into the *temple.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God. Or, a building for the worship of false gods. The Jews had a temple in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.worship ~ acts to show honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. The name probably means: ‘He is always God.’ This name has a relationship with God’s special promises to his people.
altar ~ the special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts to God (or to false gods).'burnt (sacrifice) ~ a sacrifice that the priests burned completely on the altar.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal when people offered it as a gift to God. They burned all or part of it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. ‘To sacrifice’ means ‘to give a sacrifice’.
altar ~ the special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts to God (or to false gods).
sin ~ Sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because they are guilty of sin.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal when people offered it as a gift to God. They burned all or part of it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. ‘To sacrifice’ means ‘to give a sacrifice’.
altar ~ the special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts to God (or to false gods).
sin ~ Sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because they are guilty of sin.
Israel ~ Israel is the special name that God gave to Jacob. His descendants were called Israel after him. So, Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
bronze ~ a kind of metal. Its colour is brown, but it polishes well. It is very strong.
cedar ~ a kind of tree. Its wood is very beautiful.
throne ~ the special chair for the king.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules and the people over whom a king rules.
talent ~ measurement of weight equal to 75 pounds or 34 kilograms. But some students say that a talent was sometimes twice as heavy as that.
kilogram ~ measurement of weight; also called a kilo. It is slightly over 2 pounds.
ark ~ the ark of the LORD or the ark of God; the Bible also calls it ‘the ark of God’s special promise’. It was a wooden box with gold all over the outside and inside. It had two models of gold cherubim on the top (see Exodus 25:10-22). The Israelites kept the ark in the most holy place; first in the LORD’s tent and then in the temple.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. The name probably means: ‘He is always God.’ This name has a relationship with God’s special promises to his people.
cherubim ~ special angels who were in the most holy place of the temple.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God. Or, a building for the worship of false gods. The Jews had a temple in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
angel ~ one of God’s special servants from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
worship ~ acts to show honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Mount ~ mountain.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
worship ~ acts to show honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. The name probably means: ‘He is always God.’ This name has a relationship with God’s special promises to his people.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.