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May 10, 2007
I Chronicles 28 - II Chronicles 1
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I Chronicles
Chapter 28
- And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.
- Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:
- But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.
- Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel:
- And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
- And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
- Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.
- Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
- And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
- Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.
- Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,
- And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:
- Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD.
- He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service:
- Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick.
- And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver:
- Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver:
- And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
- All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.
- And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
- And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.
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I Chronicles
Chapter 29
- 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.
- 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.
- 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,
- 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:
- 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?
- 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,
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
- And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.
- 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.
- Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.
- 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.
- And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.
- 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,
- 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.
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II Chronicles
Chapter 1
- And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.
- Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers.
- So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.
- But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjath-jearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.
- Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.
- And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.
- In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.
- And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead.
- Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.
- Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?
- And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:
- Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.
- Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel.
- And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
- And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.
- And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
- And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.
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Thought for the day:
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There is one verse that that stands out in my mind from today's passage. It is found in
I Chronicles 28:9, where David reminds Solomon,
"And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever."
David first of all instructs Solomon to know the Lord. This is crucial, for an individual can not serve One whom he does not know. Husbands are to dwell with their wives "according to knowledge"
I Peter 3:7). This enables them to love and care for their wives in a correct manner. Paul's request was "that I may know Him" (
Phil. 3:10). Many people attempt to serve the Lord without knowing what it is that He wants them to do. They may fall into doctrinal or practical error because they do not have a true knowledge of the Word of God. David wisely encourages Solomon to know God first, so that he can effectively follow Him.
David next instructs Solomon not only to serve God physically, but to serve Him with his heart and mind as well. Sometimes a believer can do the things that he is supposed to do, but not do them out of a heart of love. He can serve, but with a poor attitude. He can work in the church, but do it with an unbelieving mind, or a mind that really wishes that God would use someone else. Often no one knows that the Christian feels this way internally. Sometimes it may show on a person's face, but we humans are good at masking our true thoughts and emotions. God, however, sees our hearts, and He understands what our attitude towards service really is. He searches our hearts and finds every trace of hypocrisy, faithlessness, and selfishness. He understands my thoughts. He knows what I want to say even when I manage to hold my tongue. He knows what I want to do even though I may stop myself. He knows what I want to listen to and look at, and he knows what I think about in the privacy of my own head. Because it is the Lord that we serve. and because it is the Lord Who will sit as our judge, it becomes imperative that our minds and hearts be pure before Him.
Finally, David teaches Solomon to seek the Lord. Of course, this command is found in other passages of Scripture as well (
Isaiah 55:6). God wants us to want to be with Him; to fellowship with Him, to know Him, and to know His will. He wants us to desire Him as we would desire the most precious object that we can imagine, for He is more valuable than all. He wants us to view our fellowship with Him as more important than any earthly companionship, and His wisdom more sure than that of all of the world's great thinkers. He wants us to care about Him, as well as what He cares about. The promise given in this verse is that if Solomon would do these things then he would find the Lord, and all the spiritual riches that come from that relationship. However, if he failed to abide with God, he would be abandoned by the Lord, even in his hour of need (
Prov. 1:26-29). We as believers need to be reminded of this truth. Certainly we have the eternal security of salvation (
John 10:29), and God has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). However, it is apparent that the blessings of the Christian life can be sacrificed, prayers can go unanswered, and eternal rewards can be lost by the man who chooses to forsake the way of the Lord. May we heed David's injunction to his son, and choose to know, follow, and serve the the Lord with our hearts as well as our actions.
Pastor Dr. Mark J Montgomery
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