1Chronicles 29:1 ¶ Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.
This chapter continues in context from the last…
David emphasized to the people once again that Solomon, whom God had personally chosen to be the next king, was yet young and inexperienced for such a great work. Building a palace for the LORD God is a much greater endeavor than building a palace for a man.
1Chronicles 29:2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
David reiterated that he had prepared to the best of his ability for the construction of the house of God by providing a great supply of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, onyx stones, gems of every type and color and marble stones.
1Chronicles 29:3 Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,
1Chronicles 29:4 Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:
1Chronicles 29:5 The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?
David also revealed that he had contributed a great deal of his own wealth for use in building the house of “my” God—3000 talents of gold from Ophir and 7000 talents of refined silver—to be used to overlay the walls and anything else it was needed for. He then called for contributions from the people from those who were willing.
I liked Guzik’s comment: “David gave all he gave because he loved the house of God. We naturally give to and support that which we love.”
Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
JFB notes that gold from Ophir was “esteemed the purest and finest in the world.”
1Chronicles 29:6 Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, offered willingly,
1Chronicles 29:7 And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.
1Chronicles 29:8 And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.
1Chronicles 29:9 Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.
The people responded with willing generosity. They gave 5000 talents and 10,000 drams of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of brass and 100,000 talents of iron. Those who had precious gems donated them to the treasury in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. The people followed up their gifts with a time of rejoicing. It was obvious that they had given willingly and wholeheartedly to honor the LORD. David rejoiced greatly at the response of his people.
This section is a blueprint for the type of giving that pleases God. He is only blessed when we give willingly and wholeheartedly. That type of giving causes rejoicing in the heart of giver and receiver.
2 Corinthians 9:7 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
The NIV Commentary explains the “dram” or daric – “The ‘daric’ was a Persian gold coin, first issued by Darius I in the century before Ezra; in David’s day this figure—the equivalent of about two and one-half talents—would have represented the corresponding weight in small pieces of the precious metal. The weight of gold contributed by David’s leaders comes to about 190 tons, and there were about 375 tons of silver.”
(NLT) 1 Chronicles 29:7 “For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave almost 188 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, about 375 tons of silver, about 675 tons of bronze, and about 3,750 tons of iron.”
(CJB) 1 Chronicles 29:7 “They gave for the service of the house of God 165 tons of gold, 330 tons of silver, 594 tons of bronze and 3,300 tons of iron.”
As shown above, commentators and translations value these offerings at varying amounts, the main point is that it was a vast amount; the people gave very generously.
1Chronicles 29:10 ¶ Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
1Chronicles 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
1Chronicles 29:12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
1Chronicles 29:13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
David then blessed the LORD before the whole congregation. He acknowledged the LORD as the God of Israel our father—a reference to Jacob. He declared that relationship to be forever, without end. That description necessarily implies the relationship to include Jacob’s descendants. David praised the LORD for His greatness (mighty acts and majesty), power (force, mastery, might, and strength), glory (beauty and honor), victory (splendor, truthfulness, confidence, continually) and majesty (grandeur and excellency). As I look at the Hebrew for each of these words (in parenthesis) it paints a vivid picture of the LORD that deserves our total commitment to serve Him in obedience.
David recognized the truth that everything in heaven and earth belonged to God (as our Creator is inferred I believe). He declared the LORD to be ruler over everything—the things we see and the things we don’t.
David recognized that riches and honor ultimately are from the LORD and that He is sovereign in their distribution. It is the LORD who holds the power and might to make great and to give strength according to His own purposes. The king then offered thanks to God as he once again praised His glorious name.
As I read through these verses again, I get the feeling that David just can’t find enough words to express his praise to the LORD.
1Chronicles 29:14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
1Chronicles 29:15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
1Chronicles 29:16 O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.
As David continued, he began to reflect on what they had given and realized that they were only able to give generously because the LORD had blessed them so abundantly. We have nothing that we have not been given.
John 3:27 “…A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Whenever we give anything to the LORD, we are only giving back what He has given us. We are only temporary residents on this earth. Our life on the earth is but a shadow, of short duration before it’s gone. Again, David acknowledges that everything they had contributed to the building of the temple had come from God in the first place.
1Chronicles 29:17 I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.
1Chronicles 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
1Chronicles 29:19 And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.
As David began to close his prayer, he acknowledged that God knows what is in a man’s heart and takes pleasure when He sees that heart as being undivided and in agreement with His heart. David boldly declared that he had given willingly and rejoiced to see that his people did the same. He prayed that the people would always serve the LORD with the heart they had demonstrated that day, with love and joy.
David then prayed for his son Solomon to stay committed to serving and obeying the LORD wholeheartedly and that he would complete the construction of the temple with the abundance of material that he had gathered.
That is a prayer I often make for my children. I want them to stand strong and confident in their faith—in good times and in bad. I want them to love the LORD with their whole heart and to strive to do His will. I pray that they will never fall for the deceit of the enemy or fear his attack. I want them to KNOW that the LORD is sufficient for their every need in every circumstance.
1Chronicles 29:20 And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king.
1Chronicles 29:21 And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings unto the LORD, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:
1Chronicles 29:22 And did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest.
David then turned to the people and urged them to praise the LORD “your” God. So the people all bowed their heads, prostrating (from the Hebrew) themselves before the LORD and the king. Then they made sacrifices and burnt offerings to the LORD. The joyful celebration continued into the next day. They sacrificed 1000 bulls, 1000 rams and 1000 lambs along with drink offerings on behalf of all Israel.
The people confirmed Solomon as king again, anointing him to the LORD and declaring Zadok as the high priest. This seems to be a reference to events surrounding Adonijah’s attempt to seize the throne (IKings 1).
1Chronicles 29:23 ¶ Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
1Chronicles 29:24 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.
1Chronicles 29:25 And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
Solomon then sat on the throne “of the LORD” as David’s successor. He prospered as the people accepted his authority. Everyone, including his brothers, submitted to Solomon as king. The LORD caused Solomon to be great in the eyes of all Israel and blessed him with greater splendor than either Saul or David before him.
“throne of the LORD” – That phrase jumped out at me. We would normally call it the throne of David or the throne of Israel. In truth, David was only the forerunner to the One for whom the throne was established—the Messiah, King Jesus, the Son of God. This was the message the angel declared to the virgin Mary.
Luke 1:31–33 “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
Hebrews 1:8 “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
1Chronicles 29:26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.
1Chronicles 29:27 And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
1Chronicles 29:28 And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.
1Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
1Chronicles 29:30 With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.
This book closes with a summary of the reign of King David, son of Jesse. He served as king of Israel for 40 years—7 years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem. He died having lived a full life blessed with riches and honor. His son Solomon became king after him.
The Chronicler notes that more is written about David in the books of the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad. These accounts told all about his reign as king and the events that marked his reign over Israel and his experiences with the kingdoms around them.
I liked Courson’s closing summary: “And so we come to the end of the life of the shepherd who became a king, the giant-killer who invented musical instruments, the fugitive who wrote psalms, the sinner who would be in the lineage of the Messiah. We come to the end of the life of David, the man after God’s own heart.”