Preparing God's House

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Opening Prayer

Gracious Lord Jesus, You called me Your friend and appointed me to be a friend to others. Communicate Your love through me.

Read 1 Chronicles 22:1-19

^[1] Then David said, “The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” ^[2] So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. ^[3] He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. ^[4] He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David. ^[5] David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death. ^[6] Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. ^[7] David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. ^[8] But this word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. ^[9] But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. ^[10] He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will 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, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. ^[12] May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. ^[13] Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. ^[14] “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. ^[15] You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work ^[16] in gold and silver, bronze and iron-craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you.” ^[17] Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. ^[18] He said to them, “Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his people. ^[19] Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD.”

Meditate

“We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Cor. 5:1). Praise God!

Think Further

Maybe you have been involved in churches undertaking building programs–with countless meetings dealing with vision and needs, architecture and budget, personnel and resources. It can be a daunting, detailed and time-consuming task. Although the actual task of building the Temple would be left to his son, David was keen to help him along. As he embarks on his preliminary role, we’ll observe what a persuasive entrepreneur and spiritual leader David was. He’d be an asset to any church-building committee!

The site for the proposed building came into David’s possession in an unexpected way. After significant conquests early in his monarchy, he foolishly ordered a census to calculate his population gains. His arrogance displeased God, and, following an angelic encounter at a Jebusite threshing-floor, he offered sacrifices there to avert the Lord’s wrath. As evidence of contrition, he purchased the property (1 Chron. 21:22-26) that became the authenticated “here” (1) for the future Temple and sacrificial system–a perpetual sign of God’s grace and forgiveness.

David had access to stone, timber, iron, bronze, silver and gold, some from surrounding allies, some from the booty of war (1 Chron. 18-20). He initially conscripted resident non-Israelites to help prepare materials for later building and decorating by local skilled craftsmen. He had a serious discussion with the son nominated for the task–Solomon, the man of peace–explaining the seriousness of the assignment and why it was being passed on to him. He spelled out the spiritual nature of the project, first to Solomon and then to Israel’s leaders, encouraging them to devote themselves to completing the task for the sake of the Lord. Together they could do it!

Apply

“Nothing was achieved without human commitment. Nothing was achieved without divine involvement” (John Goldingay). How do you monitor the divine-human balance in your life?

Closing prayer

Father God, as I strive to do Your will here on earth, let me find contentment and balance.

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