David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, the captains of the companies who served the king by division, the captains of thousands, the captains of hundreds, and the rulers over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officers and the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor, to Jerusalem. Then David the king stood up on his feet, and said, “Hear me, my brothers, and my people! As for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and for the footstool of our God; and I had prepared for the building. But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for my name, because you are a man of war, and have shed blood.’ However Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen Judah to be prince; and in the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of Yahweh’s kingdom over Israel. He said to me, ‘Solomon, your son, shall build my house and my courts; for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues to do my commandments and my ordinances, as it is today.’
Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, Yahweh’s assembly, and in the audience of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of Yahweh your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever. You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. Take heed now; for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”
Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its inner rooms, for the place of the mercy seat; and the plans of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of Yahweh’s house, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of God’s house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things; also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of Yahweh’s house, and for all the vessels of service in Yahweh’s house; of gold by weight for the gold, for all vessels of every kind of service; for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service; by weight also for the lamp stands of gold, and for its lamps, of gold, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps; and for the lamp stands of silver, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps, according to the use of every lamp stand; and the gold by weight for the tables of show bread, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver; and the forks, the basins, and the cups, of pure gold; and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl; and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the plans for the chariot, and the cherubim that spread out and cover the ark of Yahweh’s covenant. “All this”, David said, “I have been made to understand in writing from Yahweh’s hand, even all the works of this pattern.”
David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed; for Yahweh God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of Yahweh’s house is finished. Behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the service of God’s house. Every willing man who has skill, for any kind of service, shall be with you in all kinds of work. Also the captains and all the people will be entirely at your command.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21 Or, chief servants, Gen. 37:36.
Or, chief servants, Gen. 37:36.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 1Ch 28:1 And David assembled all the princes of…
1Ch 28:1 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.
Ver. 1. And David assembled.] Here the holy penman returneth to the history, which he began to set forth. {1Ch 23:1-2} And verily this speech of David’s should be the more set by, because it was one of his last - inter Davidis novissima - wherein he ordereth what he would have done after his death; and taketh care of posterity. Me mortuo terra igne misceatur, {a} was a wild speech of a most wicked emperor. I could not but heartily affect the man, said Theodosius concerning Ambrose, because I saw him solicitous of the Church’s welfare after his decease, no less than he was wont to be while alive.
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And of his sons.] Or, And his sons; these were a part of the assembly.
{a} εμου θανοντος γαια μιχθετω πυρι.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 This assembly seems to be distinct from that 1Ch…
This assembly seems to be distinct from that 1Ch 23:2, and more general, as may be gathered from the persons said to be assembled here and there. Though others think them to be the same, and this to be a return to his former discourse.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 11 A great deal of service David had done in…
A great deal of service David had done in his day, had served his generation according to the will of God, Act 13:36. But now the time draws night that he must die, and, as a type of the Son of David, the nearer he comes to his end the more busy he is, and does his work with all his might. He is now a little recovered from the indisposition mentioned Kg1 1:1, when they covered him with clothes, and he got no heat: but was cure is there for old age? He therefore improves his recovery, as giving him an opportunity of doing God and his country a little more service.
I. He summoned all the great men to attend him, that he might take leave of them all together, Ch1 28:1. Thus Moses did (Deu 31:28), and Joshua, Jos 23:2; Jos 24:1. David would not declare the settlement of the crown but in the presence, and to the satisfaction, of those that were the representatives of the people.
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II. He addressed them with a great deal of respect and tenderness. He not only exerted himself to rise from his bed, to give them the meeting (the occasion putting new spirits into him), but he rose out of his chair, and stood up upon his feet (Ch1 28:2), in reverence to God whose will he was to declare, and in reverence to this solemn assembly of the Israel of God, as if he looked upon himself, though major singulis - greater than any individual among them, yet minor universis - less than the whole of them together. His age and infirmities, as well as his dignity, might well have allowed him to keep his seat; but he would show that he was indeed humbled for the pride of his heart both in the numbers of his people and his dominion over them. It had been too much his pleasure that they were all his servants (Ch1 21:3), but now he calls them his brethren, whom he loved, his people, whom he took care of, not his servants, whom he had command of: Hear me, my brethren, and my people. It becomes superiors thus to speak with affection and condescension even to their inferiors; they will not be the less honoured for it, but the more beloved. Thus he engages their attention to what he was about to say.
III. He declared the purpose he had formed to build a temple for God, and God's disallowing that purpose, Ch1 28:2, Ch1 28:3. This he had signified to Solomon before, Ch1 22:7, Ch1 22:8. A house of rest for the ark is here said to be a house of rest for the footstool of our God; for heaven is his throne of glory; the earth, and the most magnificent temples that can be built upon it, are but his footstool: so much difference is there between the manifestations of the divine glory in the upper and lower world. Angels surround his throne, Isa 6:1. We poor worms do but worship at his footstool Psa 99:5; Psa 132:7. As an evidence of the sincerity of his purpose to build the temple, he tells them that he had made ready for it, but that God would not suffer him to proceed because he had appointed other work for him to do, which was enough for one man, namely, the managing of the wars of Israel. He must serve the public with the sword; another must do it with the line and plummet. Times of rest are building times, Act 9:31.
IV. He produced his own title first, and then Solomon's, to the crown; both were undoubtedly jure divino - divine. They could make out such a title as no monarch on earth can; the Lord God of Israel chose them both immediately, by prophecy, not providence, Ch1 28:4, Ch1 28:5. No right of primogeniture is pretended. Detur digniori, non seniori - It went by worth, not by age. 1. Judah was not the eldest son of Jacob, yet God chose that tribe to be the ruling tribe; Jacob entailed the sceptre upon it, Gen 49:10. 2. It does not appear that the family of Jesse was the senior house of that tribe; from Judah it is certain that it was not, for Shelah was before Pharez; whether from Nahshon and Salmon is not certain. Ram, the father of Nahshon, had a elder brother, Ch1 2:9. Perhaps so had Boaz, Obed, and Jesse. Yet "God chose the house of my father." 3. David was the youngest son of Jesse, yet God liked him to make him king; so it seemed good unto him. God takes whom he likes, and likes whom he makes like himself, as he did David, a man after his own heart. 4. Solomon was one of the youngest sons of David, and yet God chose him to sit upon the throne, because he was the likeliest of them all to build the temple, the wisest and best inclined.
V. He opened to them God's gracious purposes concerning Solomon (Ch1 28:6, Ch1 28:7): I have chosen him to be my son. Thus he declares the decree, that the Lord had said to Solomon, as a type of Christ, Thou art my son (Psa 2:7), the son of my love; for he was called Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him, and Christ is his beloved Son. Of him God said, as a figure of him that was to come, 1. He shall build my house. Christ is both the founder and the foundation of the gospel temple. 2. I will establish his kingdom for ever. This must have its accomplishment in the kingdom of the Messiah, which shall continue in his hands through all the ages of time (Isa 9:7; Luk 1:33) and shall then be delivered up to God, even the Father, yet perhaps to be delivered back to the Redeemer for ever. As to Solomon, this promise of the establishment of his kingdom is here made conditional: If he be constant to do my commandments, as at this day. Solomon was now very towardly and good: "If he continue so, his kingdom shall continue, otherwise not." Note, If we be constant to our duty, then, and not otherwise, we may expect the continuance of God's favour. Let those that are well taught, and begin well, take notice of this - if they be constant, they are happy; perseverance wears the crown, though it wins it not.
VI. He charged them to adhere stedfastly to God and their duty, Ch1 28:8. Observe, 1. The matter for this charge: Keep, and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God. The Lord was their God; his commandments must be their rule; they must have respect to them all, must make conscience of keeping them, and, in order thereunto, must seek for them, that is, must be inquisitive concerning their duty, search the scriptures, take advice, seek the law at the mouth of those whose lips were to keep this knowledge, and pray to God to teach and direct them. God's commandments will not be kept without great care. 2. The solemnity of it. He charged them in the sight of all Israel, who would all have notice of this public charge, and in the audience of their God. "God is witness, and this congregation is witness, that they have good counsel given them, and fair warning; if they do not take it, it is their fault, and God and man will be witnesses against them." See Ti1 5:21; Ti2 4:1. Those that profess religion, as they tender the favour of God and their reputation with men, must be faithful to their profession. 3. The motive to observe this charge. It was the way to be happy, to have the peaceable possession of this good land themselves and to preserve the entail of it upon their children.
VII. He concluded with a charge to Solomon himself, Ch1 28:9, Ch1 28:10. He was much concerned that Solomon should be religious. He was to be a great man, but he must not think religion below him - a wise man, and this would be his wisdom. Observe,
1. The charge he gives him. He must look upon God and the God of his father, his good father, who had devoted him to God and educated him for God. He was born in God's house and therefore bound in duty to be his, brought up in his house and therefore bound in gratitude. Thy own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not. He must know God and serve him. We cannot serve God aright if we do not know him; and in vain do we know him if we do not serve him, serve him with heart and mind. We make nothing of religion if we do not mind it, and make heart-work of it. Serve him with a perfect, that is, an upright heart (for sincerity is our gospel perfection), and with a willing mind, from a principle of love, and as a willing people, cheerfully and with pleasure.
2. The arguments to enforce this charge.
(1.) Two arguments of general inducement: - [1.] That the secrets of our souls are open before God; he searches all hearts, even the hearts of kings, which to men are unsearchable, Pro 25:3. We must therefore be sincere, because, if we deal deceitfully, God sees it, and cannot be imposed upon; we must therefore employ our thoughts, and engage them in God's service, because he fully understands all the imaginations of them, both good and bad. [2.] That we are happy or miserable here, and for ever, according as we do, or do not, serve God. If we seek him diligently, he will be found of us, and that is enough to make us happy, Heb 11:6. If we forsake him, desert his service and turn from following him, he will cast us off for ever, and that is enough to make us miserable. Note, God never casts any off till they have first cast him off. Here is,
(2.) One argument peculiar to Solomon (Ch1 28:10): "Thou art to build a house for the sanctuary; therefore seek and serve God, that that work may be done from a good principle, in a right manner, and may be accepted."
3. The means prescribed in order hereunto, and they are prescribed to us all. (1.) Caution: Take heed; beware of every thing that looks like, or leads to, that which is evil. (2.) Courage: Be strong, and do it. We cannot do our work as we should unless we put on resolution, and fetch in strength from divine grace.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–20 And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the…
And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes,.... Whose names are given in Ch1 27:16.
and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course; monthly, each having 24,000 men under him, whose names are expressed, Ch1 27:2.
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and the captains over the thousands; of which there were twenty four in a course, at the head of each 1000, under the chief captain:
and captains over the hundreds: centurions under the second captains:
and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons; whose names may be read in Ch1 27:25.
with the officers: the courtiers:
and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men; both men of valour, and of wealth and riches: these David
assembled unto Jerusalem; the metropolis of the kingdoms and where his court and palace were.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 David declares to the general assembly, that God had…
David declares to the general assembly, that God had appointed Solomon to succeed him and to build the temple, ver. 1- 7. Exhorts the people and Solomon, to cleave to God, ver. 8-10. Delivers to him the model and materials for the temple, ver. 11- 19. Encourages him to begin and finish the work, ver. 20, 21.
And David assembled, &c. - A great deal of business David had done in his day. And the nearer he comes to his end, the more busy he is, still endeavouring to do his work with all his might. He is now recovered from the weakness mentioned 1 Kings i, 1. He therefore improves his recovery, as giving him an opportunity of doing God and his country a little more service.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21 David assembles the princes of Israel, and informs them…
CHAPTER XXVIII
David assembles the princes of Israel, and informs them that
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the temple was to be built by Solomon; to whom God had given
the most gracious promises, 1-7.
He exhorts them and him to be obedient to God, that they might
continue to prosper, 8-10.
He gives Solomon a pattern of the work, 11, 12;
directs him concerning the courses of the priests and Levites,
13;
gives also gold, by weight, for the different utensils of the
temple, as God had directed him, 14-19;
encourages Solomon to undertake the work, 20, 21.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVIII
Verse 1. David assembled] This refers to the persons whose names and offices we have seen in the preceding chapter.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19, 20 1Ch 28:1. David assembled all the princes, &c. —…
1Ch 28:1. David assembled all the princes, &c. — A great deal of business David had done in his day, and had served his generation according to the will of God. But now the time draws nigh that he must die, and the nearer he comes to his end, the more busy he is, and does his work with all his might. He is now recovered from the weakness, mentioned 1Ki 1:1. He therefore improves his recovery, as giving him an opportunity of doing God and his country a little more service.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 18 Officer - literally, as in the margin. This is…
Officer - literally, as in the margin. This is the only occasion in which eunuchs are mentioned in connection with David’s reign; and it is to be remarked that they occupy, during the earlier period of the Jewish kingdom, a very subordinate position.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 Israel. These are more particularly described as princes of…
Israel. These are more particularly described as princes of the tribes, (Haydock) twelve captains, &c., chap. xxvii. 1. --- And his. Hebrew, "and of his sons." (Calmet) --- We may also understand this of the preceptors of the royal family, chap. xxvii. 32. --- Officers. Literally, "eunuchs." (Haydock) --- Bravest; particularly those specified [in] chap. xi.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 δ. The Last Directions of David concerning the building…
δ. The Last Directions of David concerning the building of the Temple and the Succession of Solomon, and his own Death: 1 Chronicles 28, 29
1. Directions to Solomon concerning the building of the Temple: 1 Chronicles 28
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1Ch_28:1 And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the divisions, that served the king, and the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, with the courtiers and the heroes, 2and all the valiant men in Jerusalem. And David the king stood up on his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God; and I made ready for the building. 3But God said to me, Thou shalt not build a house for my name, because thou hast been a 4man of war, and hast shed blood. And the Lord God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel for ever: for He hath chosen Judah to be the ruler, and in 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. 5And 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. 6And 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. 7And I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be strong to do my 8commandments and my judgments as at this day. And now in the eyes of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, and in the ears of our God, keep and seek all the commandments of the Lord your God, that ye may possess the good land, and bequeath it to your sons after you for ever. 9And thou, Solomon my son, know the God of thy father, and serve Him with a whole heart, and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imagination of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; and if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for e1 Chronicles 1Ch_28:10 Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.
11And David gave Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of its buildings and its treasuries, and its upper rooms, and its inner parlours, and the house of the mercy-seat. 12And the pattern of all that his spirit had in thought for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the chambers around for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the 13holy things. And 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 14the service of the house of the Lord. For gold by weight, for gold for all instruments of every service; and for all instruments of silver by weight, for 15all instruments of every service. And the weight for the golden candlesticks, and their lamps of gold; by the weight of every candlestick and its lamps; and for the silver candlesticks, by weight for the candlestick and its lamps, 16according1 to the use of each candlestick. And the gold by weight for the 17tables of shew-bread for every table; and silver for the tables of silver. And the forks, and the sprinkling bowls, and the cans of pure gold; and for the golden tankards by weight for every tankard, and for the silver tankards by weight for every tankard. 18And for the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and for the pattern of the chariot; the cherubim of gold that spread out (their wings) and cover2 the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19“All this has He taught me in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me, even all the works of the pattern.”
20And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and active, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with thee, He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, till all the work of the service of the house of the Lord is completed. 21And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with thee is in every work every willing man of wisdom for all service; and the princes and all the people for all thy matters.
2. Contributions of the assembled Princes for building the Temple: 1Ch_29:1-9
1Ch_29:1 And David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great; 2for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God. And with all my might I have prepared for the house of my God, gold for golden things, and silver for silver, and brass for brazen, and iron for iron, and wood for wooden; onyx-stones and set stones, rubies and mottled stones, and all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. And, 3moreover, because I delight in the house of God, I have a treasure of gold and silver which I have given to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for 4the holy house. Three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses. 5The gold for golden, and the silver for silver, and for all work by the hand of artificers; and who is willing to fill his hand this day unto the Lord?
6And the princes of the houses, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, 7showed themselves willing. And gave, for the service of the house of God, of gold, five thousand talents and ten thousand darics; and of silver, ten thousand talents; and of brass, eighteen thousand talents; and of iron, a hundred thousand talents. 8And they with whom stones were found gave them for the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the 9Gershonite. And the people were glad, because they were willing, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord; and David the king also was exceedingly glad.
3. David’s Thanksgiving: 1Ch_29:10-19
10And David blessed the Lord in the eyes of all the congregation; and David said, Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and 11ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the beauty, and the lustre, and the majesty; for all in the heaven and in the earth is Thine: 12Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and Thou art exalted as head over all. And the riches and the glory come of Thee, and Thou rulest over all; and in Thy hand is might and power; and in Thy hand it is to make all great and strong. 13, 14And now, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name. For who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly in this way? for all comes of Thee, and of Thy hand have we given Thee. 15For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers: our days on 16the earth are as a shadow‚ and there is no hope. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build Thee a house for Thy holy name, it3 17cometh of Thy hand, and is all Thine own. And I know‚ O my God, that Thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness: I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things: and now Thy people who 18are present I have seen with gladness to offer willingly unto Thee. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and stablish their 19heart unto Thee. And give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep Thy commandments, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do all, and to build the palace which I have prepared.
4. Close of the Public Assembly; Solomon’s Elevation to the Throne: 1Ch_29:20-25
20And David said to all the congregation, Bless now the Lord your God: and all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers; and they 21bent and bowed down to the Lord, and to the king. And they killed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings unto the Lord, on the morrow of that day, a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with 22their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness, and the second time made Solomon the son of David king, and anointed him unto 23the Lord to be ruler, and Zadok to be priest. And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king, instead of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24And all the princes, and the heroes, and also all 25the sons of King David, submitted to Solomon the king. And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the eyes of all Israel, and bestowed on him the majesty of the kingdom, which had not been on any king over Israel before him.
5. Close of the History of David: 1Ch_29:26-30
26And David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27And the time that he reigned over all Israel was forty years; in Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three. 28And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and glory; and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. 29“And the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the words of Samuel the seer, and in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the words of Gad the seer. 30With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.
EXEGETICAL
1. Directions to Solomon concerning the building of the Temple: 1Ch_28:1-21.—These directions for building the temple David announces in a solemn assembly of the states or representatives of the people, or as they are designated in general: “all the princes of Israel” (שָׂרִים) The several classes of these representatives of the kingdom are there specified:—1. “the princes of the tribes” (see their enumeration in 1Ch_27:16-22); 2. “the captains of the divisions that served the king;” see 1Ch_27:1-15; 1 Chronicles 3. “the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,” the officers of the army, and those captains of divisions, the commanders and chiefs of the twelve corps of the army (1Ch_27:1); 4. “the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons,” the officers of the royal domains (1Ch_27:25-31), who are here extended by the addition (misunderstood by the Vulg.) וּלְבָנָיו to the royal princes and their possessions; 5. “the courtiers,” סָרִיסִים, properly, eunuchs (so the Sept. and Vulg. in our passage), but here obviously in a wider sense, of officers of the royal court, or chamberlains in general; comp. 1Sa_8:15; 1Ki_22:19; 1 Kings 6. the “heroes,” that is, the distinguished champions enumerated in 1Ch_11:10 ff., so far as they not merely (as captains of the divisions or over the thousands, etc.) belonged to the active service, but perhaps as occasional counsellors of the king, or otherwise influential persons, were entitled to a prominent position in the kingdom (hence the Sept. not unsuitably: τοὺς δυνάστας); 7. all “the valiant men” (וּלְכָל־גִּבּוֹר חַיִל with לְ as nota acc), every other person of note or importance,—a wide phrase reverting to the general notion of the “princes of Israel.”
1Ch_28:2. And David the king stood up on his feet, in order to speak; for before he was sitting from the weakness of age (not reclining, as the Rabbinical expositors would infer from 1 Kings 1). For the kindly humble address, “my brethren,” in the king’s mouth, comp. 1Sa_30:23; 2Sa_19:13.—I had it in my heart to build, literally, “I, in my heart it was to build;” comp. 1Ch_22:7.—A house of rest, a house where the ark might abide at rest. Along with the ark, on account of its special holiness, is mentioned the mercy-seat (1Ch_28:11), and, indeed, described in a figurative way as “the footstool of our God,” as Jehovah is regarded as sitting on the cherubim of the capporeth.—And I made ready for the building, I prepared workmen and materials for it; comp. 22:2 ff., 14 ff.; as for the following verse 1Ch_22:8, and for 1Ch_28:4, 1Ch_11:2; 1Ch_5:2.
1Ch_28:5.To sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel, the theocratic kingdom; comp. the equivalent briefer phrase: “to sit on Jehovah’s throne,” 1Ch_29:23 and Psa_45:7, where the correctly interpreted כִּסְאֲךָ אֱלֹהִים “thy God’s throne,” yields practically the same notion (see Moll, Der Psalter, p. 237). God is the proper king of Israel; but David, Solomon, etc., are only the earthly representatives of His royalty.
1Ch_28:7. And I will establish His kingdom. Comp. in general 1Ch_22:10 and 1Ch_17:11 f., and for the condition: “if he be strong,” etc., the quite similar conditions which God, 1Ki_3:14; 1Ki_9:4, imposes on Solomon; also 1Ki_8:61 (where also the כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה).
1Ch_28:8. Keep and seek all the commandments, keep them earnestly, seek to keep them with zeal.—That ye may possess the good land. Comp. Deu_4:21; Lev_25:46; Jer_3:18.
1Ch_28:9. And thou, Solomon my son, know the God of thy father, the God who so truly helped me, thy father, in all troubles; comp. the emphatic “my God,” 1Ch_28:20 and Psa_18:3, and similar passages.—And serve Him with a whole heart, with an undivided mind, without διψυχία; comp. 1Ch_29:9; also 1Ch_29:19 and 1Ki_8:61.—Understandeth all the imagination of the thoughts. The phrase: “imagination of the thoughts,” as in Gen_6:5; the reference to the omniscience of God, as in 1 Samuel 16, 7; Psa_7:10; Psa_139:1 ff.—If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; comp. Deu_4:29; Isa_4:6; Jer_29:13 f. On the following strong expression: “He will cast thee off” (יזניחךָ), comp. 2Ch_6:14; 2Ch_29:19, and Lam_3:17.
1Ch_28:10. Be strong, and do it. In essentially the same words, 1Ch_28:20, David again addresses Solomon, after the interruption, 1Ch_28:11-19, occasioned by delivering the draft and plan of the holy buildings.
1Ch_28:11-19. The Details of the Outline and Plan for the Temple, as David laid it before his Son in the public Assembly. We may imagine the architects and other craftsmen, by whose help he had this outline and plan drawn out, present in the assembly, and explaining it at the king’s order.—And David gave . . . the pattern of the court. תַּבְנִית, pattern, model, as Exo_25:40; הָאוּלָם, the porch before the sanctuary, 2Ch_3:4; 1Ki_6:3.—And of its buildings, those of the temple. The suffix must refer, not to the אוּלָם, but only to הבית, “the temple, the house,” to be supplied from the context. The buildings of the house are the holy place and the most holy.—And its treasuries (גַּנְזַכִּין, cognate with גְּנָזִין, Ezr_7:20, Est_3:9; Est_4:7, occurs only here), and its upper rooms (above the most holy place, 2Ch_3:9), and its inner parlours, namely, the porch and the holy place; for only to these can the phrase refer, as immediately after follows the special mention of the most holy place, designated as the “house of the mercy-seat” or “abode of the capporeth.”
1Ch_28:12. And the pattern of all that his spirit had in thought (or what was before his mind) for the courts . . . and all the chambers around, the cells or rooms on the four sides of the court, that served to keep “the treasures of the house of God,” that is, the treasure of the temple and the “treasures of holy things,” the stores of dedicated things collected from the spoils of war (the same distinction as in 1Ch_26:20).
1Ch_28:13 continues the statement of that for which the chambers or cells of the court were designed.—And for the courses of the priests and the Levites, for their sojourn during their service, likewise for the works belonging to this service (cooking of flesh, preparing of shew-bread, etc.), and for the keeping of the requisite utensils, which last are enumerated in detail from 1Ch_28:14 on.
1Ch_28:14. For gold. The לְ in לַזָּהָב corresponds to that in לְכָל־הַלְּשָׁכוֹת, 1Ch_28:12; the sentence begun in 1Ch_28:11 thus extends to the close of this verse. A new construction begins first in 1Ch_28:15, which may be regarded as a continuation of that begun in 1Ch_28:11. As to the object וּמִשְׁקָל, a וַיִּתֵּן must be supplied from 1Ch_28:11, but not certainly in the same sense of giving, but in that of stating or defining. Thus: “And (he stated) the weight for the golden candlesticks and their lamps of gold;” זהב is freely subordinated to וְנֵרוֹתֵיהֶם (comp. 2Ch_4:15). For the golden candlesticks of the sanctuary, comp. Exo_25:31 f.; 2Ch_4:7.—According to the use of each candlestick, according to its set service, its import for the holy service. for the var.: “for the service of every one” (כַּֽעֲבוֹדַת) see Crit. Note.
1Ch_28:16. And the gold by weight;מִשְׁקָל, accus. of free subordination.—For the tables of shew-bread for every table; and silver for the tables of silver. Whereas elsewhere (Exo_25:23 ff.; 1Ki_7:48; and 2Ch_29:18) only one table of shew-bread is spoken of, here several tables of this kind are mentioned. As also, 2Ch_4:8, a greater number of golden tables, namely, ten, destined as it appears for the ten golden candlesticks, is spoken of, so in our passage (as in 2Ch_4:19) a synecdoche appears to be used, and the one golden table of shew-bread to be included with the tables for the golden candlesticks. Silver tables (as silver candlesticks, 1Ch_28:15) are only here expressly mentioned: such may be understood as included among the silver articles mentioned on the occasion of the repair of the temple by Joash (2Ch_24:14; comp. also 2Ki_25:15). The statements of the Rabbis, that the silver tables stood in the court, and the silver candlesticks in the chambers of the priests, may rest on an old tradition.
1Ch_28:17. And (gave him in pattern: the same supplement as in 1Ch_28:15) the forks, namely, the flesh-forks used in cooking the pieces of the sacrifices; comp. Exo_27:3; 1Ki_7:50. for the sprinkling-bowls (מִזְרָקוֹת) comp. also 2Ch_4:11; 2Ch_4:22; for the “cans” or “cups” (קְשָׂוֹת, σπονδεῖα) that were used in libations, Exo_25:29; Exo_37:16; Num_4:7—Of pure gold; accus. of free subordination, as in 1Ch_28:15-16.—And for the golden tankards.כְּפוֹרִים, from כָּפַר cover, are covered vessels, and so tankards (not cups); comp. Ezr_1:10; Ezr_8:27, the only other passages in which it occurs.
1Ch_28:18. The pattern of the chariot, the cherubim of gold, The term pattern, תַּבְנִית, recurs here, near the close of the whole enumeration, from 1Ch_28:11-12, but with לְas nota accusat. The mercy-seat with its cherubim appears here symbolized as the chariot on which Jehovah sits or moves (comp. Exo_25:22; Psa_18:11; Psa_99:1),—a very important passage for the, right understanding of Eze_1:15 ff. The cherubim themselves, though only two in number, according to the present description, which represents the older and simpler, idea, exhibit as it were a chariot (observe that הַכְּרוּבִים is not subordinate to מֶרְכָּבָה as a genitive, but co-ordinate with it, as in apposition); of a wheel-work connected with it, an external exhibition of the chariot idea, as Ezekiel depicts it, nothing is indicated in the passage; the Sept. and Vulg. only, by taking הַכְּרוּבִים as a genitive (ἅρμα τῶν Χερουβίμ: quadriga cherubim), have introduced this foreign element.—That spread out (their wings) and cover the ark of the covenant of the Lord, literally, “for spreading and covering,” that is, they are represented spreading and covering with their wings. Comp. for this use of לְ in the sense of becoming something, or appearing as somewhat, 22:33 לְמֶלֶךְ, “as king”), also Gen_9:5, Job_39:16, and other passages, in Ew. § 217, d (p. 553). The change of לְפֹרְשִׂים וְסֹכְכִים, into הַפֹּרְשִׂים וְהַסֹּכְכִים (Sept., Vulg., and recent expositors, as Berth., Kamph., etc.) is therefore unnecessary. J. H. Mich, correctly: ut essent expandentes, etc To לְפֹרְשִׂים it is easy to supply הַכְּנָפַיִם, “the wings,” as object; comp. Exo_25:20, and 1Ki_8:7; 2Ch_5:8.
1Ch_28:19 contains again words of David, as the עָלַי “upon me,” and the whole sense and contents teach.—All this has He taught me in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me. So it seems the difficult and perhaps corrupt words הַכֹּל בִּכְתָב מִיַּד יְהוָֹה עָלַי הִשְׂכִּיל must be taken. To הִשְׂכִּיל we are to understand יהוה as subject, and “me”(or perhaps “us”) as object. Possibly also עָלַי might be connected with הִשְׂכִּיל (comp. Pro_22:11); but it is easier, on account of the collocation, to connect it either with מיד יהוה or with בּכתב. Now, as the grammatically (Psa_40:8 : כָּתוּב עָלַי) admissible connection of the words בִּכְתָב—עָלַי into one notion, “by a writing from the hand of Jehovah given me as a rule” (Berth.), yields a very harsh and obscure sense, and as, moreover, the position of מיד יהוה between בכתב and עלי renders this connection extremely difficult, nothing remains but the connection of מִיַּד יְהוָֹה עָלַי “a writing from the hand of Jehovah being or coming upon me,” by which is designated a writing springing from divine revelation, an immediate effect of divine inspiration (comp. the known phrase: “the hand of Jehovah came upon me,” 2Ki_3:15; Eze_1:3; Eze_3:14, etc.). This naturally refers, not to the law of Moses, as the Rabbinical expositors think, but to the proposed building plan, draft, etc., which David refers to divine teaching, in so far as he did not conceive it arbitrarily, but designed it under the influence of the Divine Spirit (which, however, must have been effected in this case not directly by vision, as with Moses on Sinai). Comp. moreover, on the transition into the address without an introductory formula, 1Ch_22:18 f., 1Ch_23:4 f.
1Ch_28:20-21. Closing Admonition and Promise to Solomon.—Be strong and active; comp. 1Ch_28:10 and 1Ch_22:13.—For the Lord God, my God, is with thee; comp. on 1Ch_28:9. For the following promise: “He will not fail thee (properly, ’ withdraw from thee,’ namely, His hand) nor forsake thee,” comp. Deu_31:6; Deu_31:8; Psa_138:8; Jos_1:5; Heb_13:5.—And behold the courses of the priests. Personal attendance of the priests and Levites, or only of a majority of representatives of their order in the public assembly, can scarcely be inferred from this וְהִנֵּה וגו׳, just as the וְעִמְּךָ “and with thee,” does not necessitate the assumption that the willing craftsmen stood by Solomon, or were assembled around him.—Every willing man of wisdom for all service, properly, “with regard to every willing man.” The לְ here is not nota accus. (as 1Ch_28:1; 1Ch_26:26; 1Ch_24:6), but yet serves to give emphasis to כָּל־נָדִיב (Ew. § 310, a), which, though it cannot be translated, is yet not to be erased (against Berth.). For the notion of free-will (נְדִיב לֵב = נָדִיב, 2Ch_29:31), to designate the higher wisdom and skill of a craftsman, comp. Exo_35:5; Exo_35:22, and Latin phrases, as artes ingenuœ, liberates. “We are to think, moreover, of the same craftsmen as those named, 1Ch_22:15; 2Ch_2:6.—For all thy matters: לְכָל־דְּבָרֶיךָ to be explained according to 1Ch_26:32 (concerns, matters), scarcely: “for all thy words or commands” (as J. H. Mich., Starke, Keil, etc., think).
2. Contributions of the assembled Princes for building the Temple: 1Ch_29:1-9.—Unto all the congregation, which consisted, 1Ch_28:1, merely of the “princes” or more eminent representatives (notables) of the people.—Solomon, my son, whom alone God hath chosen, properly a parenthesis: “as the one (אֶחָד) hath God chosen him.” For “young and tender,” comp. 1Ch_22:5.—For the palace is not for man. Only here and 1Ch_29:19 stands the later word הַבִּירָה, to denote the temple (with regard to its fort-like size and strength); elsewhere either of the Persian royal castle (Est_1:2; Est_1:5; Est_2:3; Neh_1:1) or of the castle in the temple at Jerusalem.
1Ch_29:2. On a, comp. 1Ch_23:15.—Onyx-stones and set stones. For שֹׁהָם onyx (sardonyx, etc.), or perhaps beryl, comp. Gen_2:12; Exo_28:9; Exo_28:20; Job_28:16; on אַבְנֵי מִלּוּאִים, “stones of settings,” Exo_25:7; Exo_35:9, where also onyx-stones, designed for the high priest’s ephod and hoshen, are mentioned.—Rubies and mottled stones, and all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.אַבְנֵי־פוּךְ, properly stones of paint or lead-glance (comp. 2Ki_9:35; Isa_54:11), perhaps precious stones of very dark glancing colour, of dark purple, as carbuncle or ruby (נֹפֶךְ, perhaps radically connected with פּוּךְ). The אַבְנֵי רִקְמָה, stones of various colours, striped with veins (agate?), as אֶבֶן יְקָדָה “precious costly stones,” in general, א׳ שַׁיִשׁ, white marble (the Sept. and Vulg. explain it by an anachronism of Parian marble); comp. the contracted form שֵׁשׁ, Son_5:15; Est_1:6.
1Ch_29:3. Over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, literally, “upwards of all, out above all.” On הֲכִינוֹתִי, without a relative particle connecting it with the foregoing כָּל, comp. 1Ch_15:12.
1Ch_29:4. Three thousand talents of gold of the gold of Ophir, of the finest and. best gold; comp. the excursus after 2 Chronicles 9. Three thousand talents of gold, reckoned after the holy or Mosaic shekel, would amount to ninety million thalers (about £13,500,000), reckoned after the royal shekel to half as much; and the 7000 talents of silver would amount in the first case to fifteen million thalers (about £2,250,000), in the second case to half that sum. The greatness of this sum shows, at all events, that this includes the whole of David’s private property; comp. on 1Ch_22:14 f.—To overlay the walls of the houses, the proper temple buildings (בָּתִּים as in 1Ch_28:11), the holy place and the most holy, with the court and the upper chambers, the inner walls of which, 2Ch_3:4-9, were all hung with gold.
1Ch_29:5. The gold for golden, or literally, “for the gold, for the gold,” etc.; comp. 1Ch_29:2.—And for all work by the hand of artificers, for all works to be made by the hand of craftsmen.—And who is willing (הִתְנַדֵּב show oneself willing, as 1Ch_29:6; Ezr_2:68) to fill his hand this day unto the Lord, to provide himself with free-will offerings for Him ; comp. Exo_28:41; Exo_32:29, and 2Ch_13:9.The infinitive מַלְּאוֹת (along with מַלֵּא, 2Ch_13:9), also Dan_9:2; Exo_31:5.
1Ch_29:6. The princes of the houses, properly, “of the fathers;” הָאָבוֹת for בֵּית הָאָבוֹת; comp. 1Ch_24:31, 1Ch_27:1, etc.—With the rulers of the king’s work, literally, “and with regard to the rulers;” before שָׂרֵי מְלֶאכֶת המ׳ the same superfluous untranslatable לְ as in 1Ch_28:21. These are “the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king,” 1Ch_28:1, the officers of the royal domains.
1Ch_29:7. And gave, for the service of the house of God, of gold five thousand talents. We must suppose a partial “signing” or guaranteeing of the sums named, not an immediate bare paying down, especially as the bulky contributions in the baser metals, the 18,000 talents of brass and the 100,000 talents of iron, could not possibly be present in natura. Even David’s gifts of 3000 talents of gold of Ophir and 7000 talents of silver may be regarded as not a proper direct delivery of these large quantities of metals. Moreover, what the princes, according to our passage, contributed was about a half more than that given by David from his private means, namely—1.5000 talents of gold = 150 million thalers (about £22,500,000), or by the other mode of reckoning, half that sum; 2.10,000 darics=75,000 thalers (about £11,250); 3.10,000 talents of silver = twenty -four million thalers (about £3,600,000); 4:18,000 talents of brass (copper), and 100,000 talents of iron; 5. Precious stones amounting to an indefinite sum. אַדַרְכּוֹן, with א prosthetic here and Ezr_8:27, along with דַּרְכְּמוֹןEzr_2:69, Neh_7:70 ff., is not a Hebrew designation of the drachma (as Ew. Gesch. i. 254 still thinks), but of the daric, a Persian coin, containing 1½ ducats, or 7½ thalers (about 22s. 6d.); comp. Eckhell, Doctr. numm. i. Vol. 3. p. 551; J. Brandis, Das Münz-, Maass-, and Gewichtssystem in Vorderasien (1866), p. 244; see also Introd. § 3, a. In darics, the gold coin most current in his time (it is not meant by our author that it existed in David’s time), the Chronist states a smaller part of the sum contributed by the princes, and indeed that part which they gave in coined pieces, while he expresses the amount of uncoined gold that was offered in talents.
1Ch_29:8. With whom stones were found, the present possessors of precious stones. Against Bertheau’s rendering: “and what was found therewith in precious stones,” is the fact that the sing. אִתּוֹ, that is certainly to be taken distributively (comp. Ew. § 319, a), cannot possibly refer to the sums or quantities in 1Ch_29:6-7. For the Gershonite Jehiel, comp. 1Ch_26:21 f., where the name is Jehieli.
1Ch_29:9. Was exceedingly glad, literally, “was glad with a great gladness;” comp. Zec_1:14.
3. David’s Thanksgiving; 1Ch_29:10-19.—Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel our father. Among the partriarchs, as whose well-tried tutelary God and heavenly fountain of blessing Jehovah had now again proved Himself to David (by the operation of so highly joyful an act of faith as the free-will offering of the princes of the people), Israel is here specially set forth, because his life most resembled that of David, especially in this, that the cry, “Lord, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,” etc. (Gen_32:10), might and must for him also (see 1Ch_29:14) be the fundamental note of his prayer at the close of his fight of faith. At the end of his confession, where the expression is still more solemn, the address is more full: “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers.”—For ever and ever; comp. Psa_103:17.
1Ch_29:11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness; comp. Psa_144:8; and on “power” (here and 1Ch_29:12), Ps. 21:14; on “beauty” (here and 1Ch_29:13), Psa_94:6; on “lustre” (נֵצַח, less suitably rendered “victory” by Luther), 1Sa_15:29; on “majesty” (הוֹד by Luther, against the text: “thanks”), 1sa 16:27, Psa_21:6. The whole doxology belongs to the apocalyptic in its main figures, as Rev_4:11; Rev_5:12; Rev_7:12, etc.—Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and Thou art exalted as head over all.מַמְלָכָה, “kingdom, sovereignty,” as Psa_47:8 f.; comp. Mat_6:13. מִתְנַשֵּׂה is not the participle, before which אַתָּה, “Thou art,” should be supplied (Berth.), but an infinitive noun, “the being exalted;” comp. 2Ki_2:21; Ew. § 160, e. On “head over all,” comp. κεφαλὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα, Eph_1:22.
1Ch_29:12. And the riches and the glory; the same connection, Pro_3:16; comp. also 1Ch_29:28; 2Ch_17:5; 1Ki_3:13.
1Ch_29:13. And now, our God, we thank Thee, properly, “now are we thanking and praising Thy name:” the participles express the constancy of the work; comp. 1Ch_23:5.—Thy glorious name, literally, “the name of Thy glory,” as Luther here renders, while he has, 1Ch_29:3, put “holy house” for “house of holiness.”
1Ch_29:14. For (literally, “and for;” וְכִי, as Jdg_10:10) who am, I, and what is my people, that we should be able?עָצַר כֹּחַ, properly, “to hold or retain strength,” then valere, be able; comp, 2Ch_13:20; Dan_10:8; Dan_10:16; Dan_11:6.—In this way, as our just completed collection of free will offerings for the temple (1Ch_29:3-8) has proved. On כַּזּאֹת, comp. 2Ch_32:15.
1Ch_29:15. For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners; comp. Psa_39:13; Heb_11:13; Heb_13:14. Even in this strong assertion of the vanity and uncertainty of earthly life (on b, comp. Job_8:9; Psa_90:9 f., Psa_102:12; and Jer_14:8) appears, as in the foregoing verse, which recalls Gen_32:10, an allusion to that which Jacob confessed at the end of his earthly career; comp. Gen_47:9.
1Ch_29:16. All this store,הָמוֹן heap of money, wealth, as Ecc_5:9. For the var. “it” (referring to “the heap”) for “her,” see Crit. Note.
1Ch_29:17. In the integrity of my heart.ישֶׁר לֵבָב as Deu_9:5; comp. the foregoing מֵישָׁרִים, “uprightness,” Psa_17:2.—Thy people who are present, “have found themselves here.” On הַ for אֲשֶׁר, comp. 1Ch_26:28 and 1Ch_29:8; on finding oneself=being present, comp. 1Ch_28:1; 2Ch_5:11.
1Ch_29:18. Keep this, the spirit of willingness, which expresses itself in these gifts.—Imagination of the thoughts, as 1Ch_28:9.—Stablish their heart (or “prepare”), as 1Sa_7:3.
1Ch_29:19. On a, comp. 1Ch_29:9; on b (הַבִּירָה), 1Ch_29:1.
4. Close of the public Assembly. Solomon’s Elevation to the Throne: 1Ch_29:20-25.—And all the congregation blessed; ברךְ with לְ, as 1Ch_29:13 : הדה, and הלל with לְ. And they …bowed down to the Lord, they did obeisance before God and the king as His earthly type and representative. For the combination of קדד and השׁתחוה, denoting now divine, now human, respect, comp. Gen_24:26, Exo_12:27; Exo_34:8; 1Ki_1:16; 1Ki_1:31; and Psa_95:6, etc.
1Ch_29:21. And they killed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings. The same phrases are united, only in inverse order, 1Sa_6:15. זְבָחִים denotes here animal sacrifices in general, but in b it signifies, in contrast with the before-mentioned burnt-offerings, peace-offerings (שְׁלָמִים, Exo_25:5) in connection with the proper joyful feasts.—On the morrow of that day; comp. Lev_23:11; Jon_4:7.
1Ch_29:22. And they ate and drank. This describes the joyful feast, as 1Ch_12:39; 1Ki_4:20; Deu_12:7; Deu_26:10.—And the second time made . . . king. שֵׁנִית, distinct from 1Ch_23:1, where a first solemn elevation (proclamation) of Solomon to be the successor of his father was reported, with which, however, the ceremony of anointing was not connected. To the present second elevation corresponds that reported 1Ki_1:32 ff., as the mention there of Zadok as taking part in this solemn act of anointing shows.—Anointed him unto the Lord (according to the will of the Lord) to be ruler, לְנָגִיד; this is here for the sharper contrast with the following לְכֹהֵן; comp. moreover, 1Ch_28:4; 1Ki_1:35.—And Zadok to be priest. “With this notice, peculiar to the Chronist, began the degradation of the other high priest, Abiathar, of the line of Ithamar, as Solomon formally completed it after his father’s death (1Ki_2:26 ff.), already in the lifetime of David: it was prepared by Zadok alone being anointed in the presence of the states along with the young king.
1Ch_29:23. And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king. For the anticipatory nature of this notice, comp. on 1Ch_23:1; for “the throne of the Lord,” on 1Ch_28:5.—And he prospered; and all Israel obeyed him, according to the hope of David expressed before, 1Ch_22:13, regarding him. For שָׁמַע אֶל = obeyed, comp. Deu_34:9.
1Ch_29:24. Also all the sons of King David submitted to Solomon the king, literally, “gave hand under” (comp. 2Ch_30:8; Lam_5:6). We may observe the slight allusion to the soon suppressed attempt of Adonijah (1Ki_1:5 ff.) which is contained in this statement, quite after the manner of the Chronist (see Principles of History and Ethics, No. 1).
1Ch_29:25. Magnified . . . exceedingly; comp. 1Ch_22:5.—And bestowed upon him the majesty of the kingdom. נָתַן עַל, as Psa_8:2; הוֹר, as 1Ch_29:11.—Which had not been on any king over Israel before him. The construction is as partly in Ecc_1:16, partly in 1Ki_3:12. The phrase is somewhat hyperbolical, as there were only two kings of Israel before him (Ishbosheth our author is wont to ignore, as 1Ch_29:27 shows).
5. Close of the History of David: 1Ch_29:26-30.—And the time that he reigned over all Israel, inclusive of the seven years of his residence in Hebron (which is more exactly fixed, 2Sa_5:5, at seven and a half years).
1Ch_29:28. In a good old age; comp. Gen_15:15; Gen_25:8.—Full (“satisfied”; comp. Job_42:17) of days, riches, and glory. For the combination עשֶׁר וְכָבוֹד, see on 1Ch_29:12.
1Ch_29:29. And the acts . . . first and last. The author here indicates the simple order which he laid down for his now finished representation of the life of David; see Evangelical and Ethical Reflections, No. 2.—Behold, they are written in, properly “on”; comp. 1Ch_9:1. For the sources now named, see Introd. § 5, II.
1Ch_29:30. With all his reign and his might;גְּבוּרָתוֹ, here his “display of might,” the power shown by him, his brave deeds; comp. 1Ki_16:5.—And the times that went over him, the events that befell him. הָעִתִּים, as Job_24:1; Psa_31:16.—And over all the kingdoms of the countries, with which David came into friendly or hostile contact, as Phœnicia, Philistia, Edom, Moab, etc. For the phrase, comp. 2Ch_12:8; 2Ch_17:10; 2Ch_20:29.
evangelical and ethical reflections, apologetic and homiletic notes on. 1 Chronicles 10-29
1. On the historical and practical point of view under which the Chronist regards the brief account of the downfall of Saul and his house, with which he opens his full description of the history of David, he explains himself very clearly in the two closing verses of 1 Chronicles 10 : Saul’s kingdom must, after a brief existence, make way for that of David, on the simple ground that it was not erected on the foundation of right faith in Jehovah the God of the covenant, and willing submission to Him; that its possessor had not once only, but constantly, cast to the winds that earnest warning voice of the prophet, “Obedience is better than sacrifice,” 1Sa_25:22, and neglected even in the last hour to return to such a course, which was alone pleasing to God. Comp. Bengel’s appropriate note on those two verses (p. 16 of the “Beiträge zu J. A. Bengel’s Schrifterklärung, aus handschriftl. Aufzeichnun gen mitgetheilt von Dr. Osk. Wächter,” Leipz. 1865): “It is worthy of remark that Saul is not expressly charged, when he died in his sin, with his long hate of David, but rather with the unbelief in which he kept not the word of God, and sought counsel at Endor. David indeed is out of the country a considerable time before Saul’s death.… Even at the last Saul might have obtained pardon, if he had earnestly returned to God, and entreated Him. But he lost all.”—Comp. also Schlier, “König Saul” (Bibelstunden, Nördlingen 1867), towards the end, and the homiletic notes of Erdmann on 1 Samuel 31 (Bibelwerk, vi. 337).
2. That our author aimed at no exhaustive treatment of the history of David in its external and internal course—that he rather laboured as partly an excerptor, partly a supplementer, of earlier writers, and so wished to furnish something regarding the history of David contained in the present books of Samuel and Kings, similar in many respects to that which John the Evangelist did for the evangelical history presented by the synoptics,—this he himself indicates in the closing words just considered, when, 1Ch_29:29-30, he points for that which he may have omitted to the historical works of the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad as his chief sources. But even before he repeatedly indicates his acquaintance with essential elements of the history of David, which, according to his plan, he does not report. Thus, in the notice prefixed as preface or introduction, concerning the downfall of Saul and his house, where he certainly alludes to the incident of the necromancer of Endor, but does not report it (1Ch_10:13 f.), and 1Ch_20:5, where he names Goliath, but presumes the history of the slaughter by the youthful shepherd David as known; likewise 1Ch_12:1, where he mentions the times of the exile and proscription of David under Saul, without entering into the particulars at least of its well-known catastrophes and vicissitudes; 1Ch_11:1 and 1Ch_12:23, where he likewise points to the rival kingdom of Saul and Abner during the residence of David at Hebron; 1Ch_20:1, where the proceedings at Jerusalem during the siege of Rabbath Ammon by Joab are slightly indicated; 1Ch_27:23-24, where, by the mention of Ahithophel and Hushai, a similar reference is made to the rebellion of Absalom; and 1Ch_29:24, where the attempt of Adonijah is in like manner touched upon. The omitted parts are, as must have been often manifest, almost always of such a nature as would have served, if brought into the field, to disturb and in some points obscure the lustre of the picture, and throw many a shadow on the otherwise almost uniform light. It is the first growing and youthful but arduously soaring aloft, further, the suffering and persecuted David, not less the despised and derided by all bystanders far and near (but comp. 1Ch_15:29); lastly, the deeply guilty and penitent one, whose picture the Chronist avoids to draw, while all the more earnestly he collects all that appears fitted to represent the hero king in his greatness, and the activity of his reign as an uninterrupted chain of splendid theocratic events. To finish a picture that presents David in the meridian height of his glory and mighty achievements is the obvious aim of all that our author adds in the way of supplement on the ground of his sources to the life-picture of the great king as given in the books of Samuel. Such are the whole contents of 1 Chronicles 17 : (the brave men who stood by David even during the reign of Saul, and the number of the warriors out of all the tribes who made him king in Hebron); those of 1 Chronicles 15, 16 (the full delineation of the preparatory, accompanying, and concluding solemnities in the introduction of the ark into its new abode on Zion); finally, those of the closing 1 Chronicles 22-29, on the internal history of the kingdom and the preparations for the building of the temple, which coincide only in subordinate points with the much more summary parallel sections of Samuel and 1 Kings, but on the whole exhibit the peculiarity and special tendency of our author in full force, and in so far, notwithstanding their dry statistical character and tedious lists of names and numbers, are of special interest (comp. No. 2). The preference of our author for the exhibition of all the brilliant traits of the history of David, or, if you will, his panegyristic idealizing tendency and method, is shown also in the short remarks of a reflective kind at the close of the several sections, which almost always issue in the exhibition of some brilliant aspect of the reign of David, or of the state of the people and the theocracy under him; for example, passages such as these: “And David became greater and greater, and Jehovah Zebaoth was with him,” 1Ch_9:9; “Day by day they came to David to help him, until the camp was great, like a camp of God,” 1Ch_12:22; “His kingdom was lift up on high, because of His people Israel,” 1Ch_14:2; “And David’s fame went out into all lands; and the Lord brought his fear upon all nations,” 1Ch_14:17; “And David reigned over all Israel,: and executed judgment and justice for all his people,” 1Ch_18:14; “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 my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and His people,” 1Ch_22:18; But David took not . . . because the Lord had promised to increase as the stars of heaven,” 1Ch_27:23; “And he died in a good old age,; full of days, riches, and glory,” 1Ch_29:28; And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the eyes of all Israel, and bestowed on him the majesty of the kingdom, which had not been on any king over Israel before him,” 1Ch_29:25. And the enumerations and arrangements of the names of David’s heroes, servants, spiritual and temporal officers (princes), counsellors, etc., subserve the same optimistic and idealizing tendency as presented by the author; and the ever-recurring preference in these enumerations for symbolic numbers, especially for three and thirty (see 1 Chronicles 12 :), seven (the supreme officers of the kingdom and the crown, 1Ch_19:14 ff., and the counsellors of the king, 1Ch_27:32 ff.), and twelve or twenty-four, which latter numbers appear as the principle regulating the whole spiritual (Levitical-priestly) and temporal hierarchy of officers in the kingdom of David (see especially 1 Chronicles 23-27).
3. Next to the selection of material, the arrangement of it, the order followed in the history of David, is characteristic for the author’s conception of this brilliant period of the history of salvation before the exile. This order, however, is, as the same closing remark, 1Ch_29:29, to which we owe the above explanation of the choice of material by the author indicates, an extremely simple and elementary one. The author distinguishes “the first and last acts of David;” he divides his material between the two great heads of the earlier and later events of the reign of David (or of the entrance and exit of David). But among the first acts he does not understand David’s youth, with his persecutions by Saul, etc. (so that the last acts would embrace the period of his reign, as in the present division of the books of Samuel, the second of which treats of his reign), but the course of events till shortly before the end of his life, that is, until he took measures for the building of the temple, and the regular transference of the kingdom to his successor, which latter the author regards as the last acts. The point of division separating the last acts from the first is to be sought neither in 1Ch_10:13 f., for the narrative of the downfall of Saul closing with these verses is merely the preface or introduction to the acts of David; nor in 1Ch_12:40 or 1Ch_13:1, for here, where the accounts of the elevation of David to the throne of all Israel, and the close of the seven years’ reign at Hebron, come to an end, the author clearly intends no deeper section (against Kamph.). In truth, the transition from the first to the last acts takes place in 1Ch_22:1, where, after representing the glorious external (military and political) course of the forty years’ reign of the king, his provisions for transferring as well the sovereignty as the still unsolved problem of the building of the temple to his son Solomon begins to be described—where, accordingly, as it is said in the further course of the narrative, 1Ch_23:1 : “David was old and full of days; and he made his son Solomon king over Israel” (comp. the remarks made, p. 142, on the generalizing import of those words). It is a peculiar trait of the Chronist, distinguishing in a characteristic way his view and method of history from that of the author of the books of Samuel, that he draws a sharp line between the evening of David’s life as his ἔσχατα, and the mid-day as his πρῶτα (or between the completion and continuance of his reign), and weaves into the representation of the evening of his life a full retrospect of the whole internal aspect of the royal household under David. The picture thus drawn of the Levitical and priestly, and of the military and civil, government and official hierarchy of the king (1Ch_23:27), forms, together with its frame of reports concerning the collections and preparations of David, and the chiefs of the people for the temple to be built by Solomon (22 and 28, 29), as it were, the legacy of David to his son, the testament of one glorious king to his no less glorious (according to the peculiar Levitical and hierarchical conception of our author indeed, 1Ch_29:25, still more glorious) heir and successor. It is on account of Solomon, the temple-builder, that the author dwells so long on this legacy of his father preparing and stipulating for the building, and that this part of his work rises to the importance of a second half of the history of his father, to an episode in the life of David, comparable with the so-called report of travels by Luke in the third Gospel, or the farewell addresses of our Lord in John 13-14, bearing in a still higher degree the character of a retrospect and legacy. Beside this very minute representation of the close of David’s life, that under the hands of our author, notwithstanding its comparatively brief duration, has assumed the form of an autumn almost equal in length with the preceding summer of life, the spring with its vicissitude of clear sunshine and rough storm is quite cast into the shade; it appears, indeed, by the merely occasional allusions to its incidents which are contained in 1 Chronicles 10-12, intentionally reduced to a vanishing point in the development of the whole. Yet, in the section relating to the catastrophe of Saul, 1 Chronicles 10, the author has furnished an independent preface or introduction to the chief object of his representation, and so has given to the whole a threefold arrangement, in which, however, by far the greatest importance belongs extensively and intensively to the second and third parts.
4. The statement of the Chronist has suffered nothing in credibility by this peculiar arrangement and distribution, especially by his dwelling so long on the preparations for building the temple, and the measures taken for transferring the kingdom to Solomon, which are so briefly handled in the introduction to the books of Kings. The solid walls of the old sources appear through the cover corresponding to his individual view and bent, which he has imparted to the building he has erected. This holds as well of the sections on the external government, peculiar to his statement, as of the closing accounts of the king setting his house in order and handing it over to his successor.1 It appears particularly fitted to awaken confidence in his statement, that no special preference for the wonderful is to be remarked in the sections peculiar to him; that, in fact, some of these sections—for example, 12, 23 ff., and 27 ff.—report only that which corresponds to the occurrences of every-day life, which might arise in the profane history of any kingdom or people. And even there, where his statement runs parallel with that of the older historical books, scarcely anywhere does any stronger preference appear for the wonderful or extraordinary than in those documents, except, perhaps, his account of the census and the plague, which has certainly a trace of the miraculous more than the older parallel text (1Ch_21:26). At the most, the suspicion of unhistorical exaggeration might rest on some of the surprisingly high numbers, as they appear in the present text, 1Ch_12:23-40; 1Ch_12:22, and 1Ch_29:4 ff., unless partly the obvious possibility of occasional corruption, partly the almost inevitable necessity of the assumption that smaller values than those usually assumed are to be admitted, served very much to diminish the ground which these passages present for critical assaults. Comp. that which is remarked on them in detail (1Ch_12:23 ff., p. 106 f, and 1Ch_22:14, p. 137 f.), and see, moreover, the Apologetic Remarks on 1Ch_15:16, p. 119 ff.
5. Homiletic hints for the history of David in rich selection are to be found in Erdmann’s elaboration of the books of Samuel (vol. 6 of the Bibelw.), “With respect to the sections peculiar to the Chronist, a small gleaning may here be presented of some noteworthy practical hints from older expositors:—
On 1Ch_12:38-40, Starke, after Burmann, remarks: “What is here said of David is a fine figure (type) of the Messiah. . . . He also at first had only a small following; but after He came to His glory, the kingdom of God burst forth mightily, and subjects to Him were collected in all the world. ... To David come even those of the tribe of Benjamin, the brethren of Saul, the bitter enemy of David; so had Christ disciples from the Jews, even from the Pharisees, His deadly foes; and as we by nature are all His foes, He yet converts us to His love and to faith in Him.... At David’s anointing was great joy; on all sides was provided store of eating and drinking; even so believers rejoiced at and after Christ’s ascension, and because they had all things common. ” On 1Ch_16:27, comp. the remark (suitable also to the contents of 23–26) of Bengel, p. 1 Chronicles 17 : “This is so fine in David; he has gone as nigh to the Levites as it was possible for him to do, as if he were one of them; and yet he has invaded no right. How finely devotion and valour are combined! Something quite peculiar has taken place in David’s heart.” On 1Ch_29:30 he remarks: “How earnest is the dear David become in his old age! How he has come as nigh as possible to the building of the temple!”
Comp., with regard to the credibility of the statement concerning David’s last directions to Solomon especially the giving of the instructions for the building of the temple, the remark of Bertheau on 1Ch_28:11-19 : “The whole section thus shows that David not only made preparations for building the temple by providing materials, but also gave definite orders for the execution of the work and the making of the vessels to Solomon, and that he proceeded not according to his own invention and design, but was directed by divine revelation.… In the books of Kings, nothing of this occurs; but if we must gather from the accounts of Chronicles, that David not only thought of the temple, but made preparations for it, which could not have consisted in an uncertain collection of materials, we shall not be able to avoid assuming that a communication was made according to which, even in David’s time, the plan of the temple was fixed. To execute the buildings itself was not permitted to David; but he had completed the preparations so far, that Solomon in the fourth year of his reign was able to proceed with the building, and to finish it in the eleventh (1 Kings 6). The report of David’s preparation, which extended to the fixing of the plan for the building, is the historical foundation for the statement in our verses, in which the free handling of the historical material, according to modern views, is as obvious as in the remaining sections of the last two chapters of the first book of Chronicles.”
Footnotes:
[1]For כַּֽעֲבוֹדַת a number of mss. and old editions read בַּעֲבוֹדַת (“for the service”).
[2]For לְפֹרְשִׁים וְסֹכְכִים the Sept. and Vulg. read הַפֹּרְשִׁים וְהַסֹּכְכִים; comp. Exeg. Expl
[3]So the Kethib (הִיא); the Keri has הוּא, referring to הֶהָמוֹן.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 18, 20, 21 Hear me, my brethren, and my people--This was the…
Hear me, my brethren, and my people--This was the style of address becoming a constitutional king of Israel (Deu 17:20; Sa1 30:23; Sa2 5:1).
I had in mine heart--I proposed, or designed.
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to build an house of rest--a solid and permanent temple.
for the footstool of our God--God seated between the cherubim, at the two extremities of the ark, might be said to be enthroned in His glory, and the coverlet of the ark to be His footstool.
and had made ready for the building--The immense treasures which David had amassed and the elaborate preparations he had made, would have been amply sufficient for the erection of the temple of which he presented the model to Solomon.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 15, 18, 19 11. The pattern — Jehovah had somehow revealed to…
11. The pattern — Jehovah had somehow revealed to David the pattern of the temple, as he revealed to Moses that of the tabernacle. Exo_26:30.
The porch — See on 1Ki_6:3.
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The houses thereof — The two main rooms, the holy place and the holy of holies, called in 1Ki_6:17; 1Ki_6:27, respectively “the house” and “the inner house.”
The treasuries — These were probably located in some of the side chambers.
The upper chambers — These are mentioned again in 2Ch_3:9, and are probably to be understood of the upper tier or story of the side chambers, mentioned in 1Ki_6:5. Bertheau thinks they were over the most holy place, which, being twenty cubits every way, left a vacant space above of twenty cubits square and ten cubits high. But the place above the oracle would have been most likely left in darkness, and the plan of the temple as given in 1 Kings 6, shows no way of access to it.
The inner parlours thereof — These were probably the more private apartments of the middle and lower stories of the side chambers.
The place of the mercy seat — Hebrew, house of the capporeth; that is, the oracle, or holy of holies. See on 1Ki_6:20.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–21 Ch. 1Ch_28:1-8 (cp. 1Ch_22:17-19). David’s charge to the chief…
Ch. 1Ch_28:1-8 (cp. 1Ch_22:17-19). David’s charge to the chief men of Israel concerning the building of the Temple
1. the princes of the tribes] Cp. 1Ch_27:16-22.
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the captains of the companies] See 1Ch_27:1-5.
that ministered to] R.V. that served (as in 1Ch_27:1).
the stewards] R.V. the rulers (as 1Ch_27:31). The A.V. has translated the same Hebrew word (sârîm) in this verse by three different English words, viz., princes, captains, and stewards. See 1Ch_27:25-31.
possession.] R.V. possessions, mg. cattle.
officers] R.V. mg. eunuchs; the earlier authorities however for David’s reign (in the books of Samuel) do not mention such officials; and they were perhaps introduced into the Israelite court at a later time. Yet cp. 1Sa_8:15.
and with all the valiant men] R.V. even all the mighty men of valour.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 (1) And David assembled all the princes of Israel.—As…
(1) And David assembled all the princes of Israel.—As he had called the National Assembly before removing the Ark (1Ch_13:1; 1Ch_15:3). Who the princes (sârîm) were is defined in the following clauses.
The princes of the tribes.—See the list of them in 1Ch_27:16-22.
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Captains of the companies.—Rather, princes of the courses, who served the king: viz., those enumerated in 1Ch_27:1-15.
Stewards.—See 1Ch_27:25-31. Both “captains” and “stewards” are sârîm in the Hebrew.
Possession (miqnèh).—A word generally used, like the Greek κτῆμα (κτῆνος), of possessions in cattle—live stock.
And of his sons.—Perhaps considered as his heirs, or rather, from the old tribal view of property, as sharing the royal domains with him.
With the officers.—Heb., sarîsîm, eunuchs. The word appears to be used in a generalised sense, and to denote simply courtiers or palace officials. (Comp. Gen_37:36; 1Sa_8:15; 1Ki_22:9; Jer_38:7; Jer_41:16.)
The mighty men.—“The heroes” (ha-gibbórîm) or “warriors” of 1Ch_11:31-47; 1Ch_11:12. But the LXX. and Vulg. interpret men of rank and wealth, magnates (τοὺς δυνάστας, Luk_1:52).
And with all the valiant men.—Literally, and every mighty man (“gibbôr”) of valour, a phrase meant to include all other persons of importance. It is noticeable that in this meeting of the estates of the realm all the dignitaries of 1 Chronicles 27 are present (contrast 1Ch_15:25; 1Ch_23:2; 1Ch_13:1), except the priests and Levites. (But comp. 1Ch_28:21.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 The contents of this chapter may be said to…
The contents of this chapter may be said to form one scene with those of the next up to ver. 25. They represent David in the presence of a magnificent company of witnesses, the flower of the Church, the military and the civil elements of his kingdom, devolving upon his son both the building of the temple and the throne itself.
One Hebrew word (yrec) stands for the princes (twice), captains (three times), and stewards (once) of this verse. The classification of the verso speaks for itself. There are the princes of Israel; i.q. the princes of the tribes. (1Ch_27:16, 1Ch_27:22) Otherwise the former of these expressions may be of an entirely generic kind, and apply to all that succeeds. There are, secondly, the princes of the twelve military companies by course of the months. (1Ch_27:1-15) Thirdly, there are the princes of thousands and hundreds (Deu_1:15; 1Sa_8:12 1Sa_17:18 1Sa_18:13 1Sa_23:7; 1Ch_12:14 1Ch_27:1) There follow, fourthly, the princes of all the substance and cattle of the king, and (as seems to be added here) of his sons. There can be no doubt that the Hebrew text does say this, and does not merely register the fact of the attendance and presence of the sons of the king, as also it does not specialize the attendance of Solomon himself, though it is certain that he was present. Otherwise it may be doubtful, considering the facts of the occasion, and comparing, 1Ch_29:24, whether the original document is not misrepresented here. Next, fifthly, mention is made of the officers ( the Hebrew for which word generally means "eunuch," and such use of it must have become much more familiar during and after the Captivity, and, therefore, of course, at the time of the compilation of this work; but it does not necessarily mean it. Eunuchs are never mentioned elsewhere in David"s reign. There is no reason to suppose the word means "eunuch," for instance, in Gen_37:36 Gen_39:1; 1Sa_8:15; 1Ki_22:9; 2Ki_24:12 2Ki_25:19; Jer_34:19. Under any circumstances, it would seem unnecessary that such officers of a royal establishment as eunuchs should be under summoned that description to an assembly of this kind. Sixthly, the mighty men (1Ch_11:10-25) were called to the assembly. And perhaps a seventh division may be made of all the valiant men, (1Ch_11:26-40) who belonged to other places, or who were at this time more especially in Jerusalem, as residents.
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HOMILETICS.
Vers. 1-10.
The Assembly
Well worth reproduction by the annalist of centuries afterwards was the solemn and inspiring scene pourtrayed in this and following sections. For the same reason that particulars, however gloriously interesting or terribly interesting, yet of merely individual concernment, are absent from the Chronicles, those of the highest national significance are sketched afresh, and engraved with deeper-cut lines. Much of the sorrow and misfortune of David, much of wherein he sinned, or was sinned against, would be inexplicably denied to the reader but for the steady observance on the part of the annalist we doubt not under inspiration"s guidance of the principle that the nation"s religious history is to be his grand subject, its lessons his theme. Well, too, might the religious teacher of a nation that had passed through a strange stretch of apostasy, a stranger severity of punishment on account of it, and had now, strangest of all, another offer of opportunity priceless in prospect, be supremely anxious to give all legitimate prominence to such a scene. History enabled them once more with fidelity to produce it. They rested in it themselves with delight. They longed to imbue the people with its spirit and its ancient original fascination. All things considered, the sun had scarcely risen, through the reign and whole life of David, on a day of more real grandeur, more essential honour to himself certainly not among the number of those that were inevitably declining days, and their brightest, warmest suns, those of mellow light and temperature, subdued. Age was now a crown of glory to him. The experience of a life moderately long, of a reign remarkably long, of vicissitudes and events strangely varied, was dignity higher than anything artificial, than anything outward. And weakness of bodily force and limb brought out in greater relief the moral deference he had made all his own, while a nation attend his voice, and receive in a young son of his their future shepherd and king. Nor was David himself at all insensible to what was most peculiar, most characteristic in the scene. A word or two, an action or two, an attitude, betray his nervous appreciation of it. That day, that hour, that scene what three ways met there and then! The past way of his people, and their undiscovered future path, and not least momentous that by which his own departure must forthwith be made. In a scene of an exceptional character, with much of just importance in it, and of essential impressiveness, let us pause to note the main features.
I THE ASSEMBLY ITSELF WAS ONE OF A DIGNIFIED CHARACTER. And the dignity of it was a true dignity. The assembly represented a nation. It represented the worth and the substance of a nation. It was not its idle wealth, its idle fashion, its idle glitter, its sinecurism, but the strong head and strong purpose and strong arm of the nation. There was position in abundance there, but it was that healthy position that comes of high office worthily filled, of doing a nation"s work and of adjudged competence to do it. This assembly represented, therefore, the diligence of a united, happy, active people. And when we consider the purpose for which the assembly was gathered together, it undoubtedly bespeaks its highest honour as representative of the order and obedience of a divinely governed nation. There is no nation that is governed fit to be so named, that is not divinely governed, if only that be taken into account which is transpiring a very small depth below the surface. And this fact postulates order, a listening ear, and obedience. The government, the legislature, the nation that go on with but just a moderate workable amount of these, know a certain unsatisfactoriness, but they little know the wreck and absolute misery of ruin where the indispensable minimum is absent. On the other hand, the nation then most nearly touches the point of perfection when its order, attention, and obedience, as perfect as that of an army, are at the same time moral in their character and voluntary in their forthcoming.
II SPECIAL ELEMENTS OF DIGNITY GATHER ROUND THE PERSON WHO CONVENES THIS ASSEMBLY. David is the centre of it; the chief, not to say the only speaker in it. Yet even he is not acting in his own name and right alone. He is the visible deputy of one far higher, and who is invisible. He is an aged man, and furthermore older than his years. Great is the contrast, wonderfully effective the contrast, between what he now is, putting off the armour, and what he once was, when he "assayed to go" in the improved armour of Saul, and "put it off" also. (1Sa_17:39) The juvenility, the simplicity, the unexpectingness, the inexperience of that day are at the extreme antipodes of what he now is and feels. Then so ruddy and robust, of rude physical health, and of abounding energy of limb, but now with sunken eye and sallow cheek, only with difficulty able to rise from his royal chair, and "beside those things that are without", (2Co_11:28) more weighted still with the responsibilities of office and the accumulations of experience, and "the care of all the" nation. The figure of that "old man eloquent," but yet "more eloquent" in deeds through his whole life than in words even, must stand a sculpture of most defined and enduring outline against the Bible sky while the Bible lasts. But the life that was bounded by these two extremes had played a great part, and the tides had risen full and high and tumultuous, times without number, in it. Yet through all the conflicts, work, perils, and sins, and virtues of the life, a certain thread of continuity had been preserved, and indeed had preserved it. As the truest image often comes out clearest and best in death, so was it now. There had been a thing long in the heart of David. The decline of life speaks it out with extraordinary emphasis. And does he not then touch the highest point of his fame when, with the grand company in front of him, he rises with some effort, addresses those who listen to their father and their king, as "my brethren and my people," and shares with them the deepest wish and the most real ambition to which his life owned? How different this from the close of many careers! Nay, how very few are those who have the faith, the calm determination (or even the merciful opportunity given them), to put into the hand of another the secret of a brilliant future that had been thought of by themselves, longed for by themselves, but denied to themselves! When Paul wrote to Timothy he was a yet higher illustration of this, yet it must be taken into account that Paul was not disappointed as David was.
III STATEMENTS OF EMINENTLY MORAL SIGNIFICANCE IN THE ADDRESS, IN WHICH DAVID NOW ADMITS ALL TO BE SHARERS OF HIS BOSOM"S DEAREST SECRET.
1. After a courteous appeal to all, addressing them under kindly titles tohear him, who might, from his office and age, have commanded, David credits the sovereignty of all the kingdom to God. The throne is "the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel" (ver. 5).
He credits all that he was himself, all which had been given him, all to which he had been raised, to the sovereignty of God. These David traces through four stages. The Divine sovereign choice of the tribe of Judah, of the house of his father, of himself out of all the rest of his father"s family, and he carries it down to the designation of his favourite son Solomon, as successor to his throne. "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" (vers. 4 6).
2. With the frankness of truth and the unmistakable singleness of aim of an aged man "ready to depart," David speaks out what had been his own pious design, his cherished resolve, and the actual preparation he had made for it. "I had in my heart to build a 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" (ver. 2). It is to be noted that no matter of personal advantage, or of family advantage, or even of a noble ambition, but yet a mere ambition, is here concerned. It is the calm, correct, intelligent prompting of religion. No doubt the desire of David"s heart carried to completion must redound to the honour and fame of himself and his family to all generations, and must be calculated to secure great practical benefit to a whole nation. Nevertheless it were a gratuitous maligning of a good heart to mistake these, or any of them, as the motives of David. He is learning and is illustrating the great though alphabetic principles that rule the man who distinctly believes in the invisible, and worships the invisible One. It is his right and due, it is justice, that a settled house, a permanent place of abiding, a worthy temple, be raised to him, and that nothing take real precedence of it.
1. With a different frankness, a frankness of perhaps even rarer sort, he withholds nothing of all that had passed between God and himself. He gives the reasons, correct and exact, on account of which his heart"s desire is denied to him. It cannot be denied that there was something about them which a man less brave and strong might have inclined to suppress. There are things in life which, far from criminal, and far more misfortune than fault, nevertheless ask for a veil of kindly forgetfulness, and beg not to be thrust into prominence. But David tells all without disguise. It comes to this, that in the strongest of his days he had been very busy in work not of the most savoury, not of the most spiritual, not even of the most humane, and the stain of it cleaved to him that stain the stain of blood. A very busy life in some directions often makes good works impossible at the time. But this is not necessarily the worst of it. The more significant and sad thing is that it does one or both of two other things. It either finally takes away all taste and disposition to do the work of higher goodness; or if, as with David now, it does not do this, yet it clothes the man against his will with a character of unsuitableness to it. In this neither is man censorious nor God unjust. But nature is vindicating its reality and strength, and another illustration is added of the truth, that "whatsoever a
2. man soweth, that shall he also reap." This, then, is David"s frank confession: "God said unto me, Thou shalt not build a house for my Name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood" (ver. 3).
3. With grateful memory David records the promise that God had made insubstitution for granting the exact desire of his heart. This promise of what should be done in and by Solomon was the word on which God had caused David to hope." And reflection upon it was very food to him, commemoration of it was a welcomed and sacred duty. The promise had been given in close connection with a detailed reminder of how God had selected David, and called him, and made such a changed career for him, upon all that had naturally loomed before him. (2Sa_7:8-16) The whole scene and purport of that report that Nathan made to David in his interview with him, had stamped one clear, effective impression on his mind. And it is evident that his own address to the people and to Solomon now answers feature for feature to it. But in the centre of it was this promise about Solomon; all the rest clustered round it, and the grateful promise holds the central place now in David"s memory and heart.
1. The dosing charge of David a double charge, one to the people, one to their future king, one to the Church, the other to the minister, "the leader and shepherd of Israel.
(1). The charge to the laity. The very essence of impressiveness lies sometimes in the directness of personal appeal. There may be personal appeal without individual appeal.
Each in a large number shall sometimes sufficiently feel that the address is to himself. In the brief language of David much is contained. Its sententiousness is telling and emphatic. The great throng of human witnesses is instanced. The supreme omniscient Witnesser is pointed to, is well held up to view. "In the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God;" these are the imposing sanctions which precede the solemn burden itself of command or earnest exhorting. Then follows such exhortation it is entreaty itself: "Keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God." The rule for nation, leaders, ay, and for individual, if they are to be safe and sure, is thus constituted. Obedience, inquiring obedience, and impartial, uniform obedience, are the triple essentials of that wise and holy law. And the scriptural reward of obedience is set forth, and in that finer form to which Scripture gives, in one way or another, so unique a prominence, viz. the reward not to self and present time alone, but to the future and to generations yet unborn.
This tendency to suggest the future, to point to it, and to urge the taking it into account, is one of the noteworthiest marks of the diviner methods of monition and impression. Where the subject-matter may make it impossible in one way, it will, if possible, insist on appearing in another way. "That ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
(2) The charge to his own loved son. Now all the father"s heart and soul are moved. Every short clause, in its full, majestic Hebrew vocabulary, thrilled with the deep conviction and earnest persuasion that the abounding experience of an aged and holy father would bring to bear upon his son. What influences they are that offer themselves to produce an ever-remaining impression on the young man! At a moment when all the eyes of a vast and august assembly are bended on the young Hebrew prince, a solemn individual appeal is made to him. Again the beaming of the height of paternal love and pride is shining on him. Again the familiarly known earthly father"s name is raised into union with the Name of the one Being above all: "Know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind.", Then are brought rote" prominence the grand characteristics of that Being, as One who searches all hearts, and perfectly understands all the imaginations of them." His gracious approachableness, if sought, and his deep offence and sure punishment, if neglected, are declared, till the close of all is reached. This consists
(a) of the distinct admonition to watch; of the
(b) suggestion of strong comfort and support that lie in the thought of the Lord"s choice and decree; and
(c) of the challenge, in the name of all which had gone before, to be strong and do it.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1-8.
Lessons from the end.
As the slain warrior in battle, finding his strength fast ebbing away, gathers up his remaining powers and deals one last mighty blow against some prominent enemy, so David, the soldier of the Lord, perceiving that his end was near, summoned all the force that was left to him to strike one more good stroke in the cause of the God he had served and of the people whom he loved. From this scene at the end we learn many lessons.
I THAT A NOBLE LIFE IS CROWNED BY ONE SUPREME EFFORT AT THE LAST. Thus did Moses crown his illustrious career (Deuteronomy 31-33.). Thus did Joshua worthily close his honourable course. (Jos 23 Jos 24) So, indeed, we may speak of our Lord himself; for by his passion and his death he wrought for the human race a far greater work than even he had accomplished by all the words and works of his life-ministry. It may well be our ambition to act in this spirit, if we do not adopt this particular method. "So much the more as ye see the day approaching". (Heb_10:25)
II THAT A TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS MAN WILL EARNESTLY CONCERN HIMSELF AS TO THAT WHICH COMES AFTER HIM. David was most solicitous to leave nothing undone that he could do to secure the happiness and well-being of Israel after his death; therefore he convened this great assembly and gave this solemn charge. In the same spirit he adjured them to do the one right thing, in order that, in their turn, they might "leave the good land for an inheritance for their children," etc. (ver. 8). The spirit of indifference respecting the days that will succeed our own is one which the disciples of Jesus Christ should be ashamed to cherish. It is profoundly unchristian; it is as far as it can be from the spirit of him who died that, after and through his death, there might be righteousness, joy, life, upon the earth.
III THAT AUTHORITY AND AFFECTION GO WELL TOGETHER. "Hear me, my brethren and my people" (ver. 2). The king addresses his people as his brethren; it is in the fulness of his heart that he thus speaks. His soul is filled with an earnest and loving regard for them, and for the nation they represent; hence the affectionate term which he employs. It is well for all who are in authority to assure those whom they direct that they "have them in their heart" as well as in their hand; that they love them as "brethren" while they rule over them as their "people.
IV THAT IT IS A GREAT THING TO BE WILLING TO SERVE THE LORD, "I had it in my heart to build a house of rest," etc. (ver. 2). "And the Lord said unto David thou didst well that it was in thine heart". (1Ki_8:18) When a man purposes, with pure and complete integrity of soul, to do anything for the cause of Christ to give largely, or to go far afield, or to work devotedly at home, or to spare some loved one, and when the providence of God interposes to prevent, is it not written in the record which is on high, "Thou didst well that it was in thine heart"?
V THAT IT IS A GREAT THING TO DO WHAT WE CAN WHEN OUR STRONGEST WISHES ARE DENIED. Perhaps it spoke most for the genuine piety of David that, when God said to him, "Thou shalt not build a house for my Name," etc. (ver. 3), he did not cease to "make ready for the building" (ver. 2), but continued to the end to store up all manner of precious things, that his son might have his labour lightened and might do his work with more completeness. So far from sulkily retiring because he could not have the very thing which he desired, David did the thing that he was permitted to do the laborious but comparatively unhonoured work of preparation cheer-fully leaving the glory of building to one that should succeed him. How many are there who live in this later and brighter dispensation who might learn a lesson of cheerful continuance in well-doing from this Hebrew king!
VI THAT MUCH IN HUMAN LIFE IS DECIDED BY THE ELECTING GRACE OF GOD. (Vers. 4-7.) He who chose the tribe, the family, the individual man, for the sovereignty of Israel, now chooses individual souls to be kings among men. By the mental and spiritual endowments he is pleased to bestow, by the teaching and training he is pleased to grant, by the privileges and openings he is pleased to afford, he marks out one rather than another for office, influence, power. He still "chooses our inheritance for us". (Psa_47:4) Let the fact that he does so condemn pride, ingratitude, and envy.
VII THAT MUCH IN HUMAN LIFE IS LEFT TO OUR DECISION. If he be constant," etc. (Ver. 7.) "Now therefore keep and seek for all the commandments that ye may possess," etc. (ver. 8). God proposes and arranges, but not without regard to our response to his invitation, our obedience to his commandments. Nothing in his ordering interferes with the conditions he has imposed. We reap that which we sow. C.
HOMILIES BY F. WHITFIELD Vers. 1-8.
David"s address to the princes of his kingdom.
In the last two chapters we have David"s final words to the princes of the people and to his son Solomon. In order to pass the kingdom over to his son and to secure the succession, he summoned the princes, and solemnly, in the presence of them all, appointed Solomon his successor. These princes included the princes of the tribes enumerated in 1Ch_27:16-22; the princes of the divisions which served the king; (1Ch_27:1-15) the princes of thousands and hundreds; the chiefs and captains of the twelve army corps; (1Ch_27:1) the princes of the domains and possessions of the king. (1Ch_27:25-31) The king "stood up upon his feet" to address this assembly. Previously, on account of age and feebleness, he had sat in bed. The first part of David"s address we have had previously. (1Ch_22:7-13) In the fourth verse he states how his election to be king was of God who had chosen Judah to be ruler, and that in the same way God had chosen Solomon from among his sons to be heir to the kingdom, and had committed to him the building of the temple, and concludes it by exhorting the whole assembly to continue faithful to God. Observe, the blessings of the throne and kingdom are linked to an inseparable condition (ver. 7) that Solomon be "constant to do my commandments and my judgments." Thus temporal prosperity is inseparably connected with faithfulness to God"s truth. Without this neither king nor kingdom, man nor his work, can prosper in the true sense of the word. In this consists real "establishment." What the foundation is to a house God"s truth is to a king"s throne, and to a man"s soul and all his ways. David goes into particulars as to how this is to be done. "Keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God." The soul must hold fast to the truth, must treasure it up within the inmost recesses of its being. This is to keep the truth. And it must seek for" it looking out for it in everything as for special treasure, setting the heart on it and gathering it up for use. The degree and earnestness with which we seek for it will depend upon the way in which we keep" what we have gathered. "To him that hath shall more be given," is God"s universal law in nature and in grace. Keeping is digestion, by which the appetite is stimulated to "seek." Mark, also, it is not seeking some truths or some favourite truths; it is all the commandments." It is whole-heartedness to the whole truth. Pet doctrines and pet passages make us half-Christians narrow, one-sided, harsh, and sectarian. It is the heart"s preparedness for every message from God that makes a whole Christian such a one as God would have us all to be. Mark the two results. "That ye may possess this good land." It was one thing for an Israelite to be in the land; it was quite another to possess it. It is one thing to be in Christ; it is quite another to possess so as to make our very own all the treasures of grace and truth that are in Christ. Some Christians, like some Israelites, are all their lives in the land without possessing a foot. Have you life in Christ? Lay hold on eternal life." Are you one of God"s elect? "Make your calling and election sure. " Have you that Divine faith that will carry you into the kingdom? "Add to your faith," so that you may have an "abundant entrance into the kingdom." This is to possess the land." It was Joshua"s continued exhortation to Israel; it has need to be ours too. Look at the second result: "And leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever." Mark, it. is only those who possess the good land who shall "leave it for an inheritance. " It is your half-Christians, your narrow-souled, crooked, unwise Christians, who leave no spiritual influences behind. Their children get soured by the caricature of religion they see in their parents. When parental restraint is over, there are no deep spiritual principles laid in the soul in early life, and they cast off what they feel has been a yoke. As a rule, most parents have to blame themselves for what they mourn over in their children. W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 9, 11, 19, 21 And David assembled all the princes of Israel.
1Ch_28:1-8
And David assembled all the princes of Israel.
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Davids address to the princes
I. The attitude which David assumed.
II. The Spirit which David manifested.
III. The ambition which David cherished.
IV. The confession which David makes. (J. Wolfendale.)
The testimony of a noble life
I. In his choice to the throne God displays His sovereignty.
II. In his acquisition of the kingdom God manifests His providence.
III. In his sons succession to the throne God fulfils His promise. (J. Wolfendale.)
He shall build My house.--
The material and the spiritual temple
I. The jewish dispensation mainly external.
1. Sacrifices.
2. Types.
3. Observances.
4. Priestly caste.
5. Sacred buildings.
II. Reasons for this.
1. Early age of the world, revelation, and human thought.
2. Necessity of strong stamps to impress the nation in its youth, and keep it separate from heathendom.
3. Consequent necessity of indulging it in manifold visible symbols.
4. The repetition and induration of signs prepared the way for the purely mental reign of the Messiah.
III. Hence the function of the tabernacle and the temple.
1. As the place where God had demonstrably set His name.
2. Where the visible glory had been and could be seen at a due crisis.
3. Where the embodied signs of the covenant were stored.
4. As the house of sacrifice (2Ch_7:12).
5. As the house of prayer (Isa_56:7).
6. As the symbol of unity in worship (2Ch_32:12).
7. As Gods own dwelling-place (1Ki_6:12; 1Ki_6:18).
IV. After its pollution and pillage.
1. By Shishak (1Ki_14:25-26).
2. Under Jehoash (2Ki_12:17).
3. Under Ahaz (2Ki_16:14).
4. Under Hezekiah (2Ki_18:13).
Its sanctity had been impaired through the defections of the people. Spiritual religion began afterwards to grow, so that Isaiah was able to proclaim before the captivity (Isa_66:1-2). Heaven is My throne . . . what house will ye build Me? saith the Lord; Malachi was able decisively to prophesy (Mal_1:11), In every place incense shall be offered to My name. The old worship was gradually ceasing to fulfil its function; the new dispensation of the law of the Spirit and of liberty was coming in; and at last the Messiah declared irrevocably that old things were passed away, and that the hour was coming when neither in Gerizim nor in Jerusalem the Father should be worshipped, no more for ever, locally or visibly, but only truly with the inner worship of spirit and of truth. This was a great point with St. Stephen (Act_7:48) and St. Paul (Act_17:24).
V. What is the spiritual temple by which Christ replaced the old honoured visible sign?
1. The whole invisible company of those who are righteous through faith (1Pe_2:4; Isa_57:15; 1Co_3:16).
2. The body of every true son of God (1Co_6:19; Joh_14:13).
3. In heaven, the special pervading presence of the Almighty (Rev_21:22; Act_17:28).
VI. What, then, are Christian places of worship?
1. Not representatives of the temple, but of the synagogue.
2. In all places where Christians meet for meditation and prayer Christ is equally present (Mat_18:20).
3. Venerable and solemn merely from association, intention, and consent.
4. All adornment of them a question of edification for the congregation.
5. No one part of them more holy than another except by association.
VII. Moral reasons of this in the Christian economy.
1. Danger of putting trust in anything short of God Himself in His own immediate moral relations to the soul.
2. Temptation to set our affection on things below instead of things above, and making our worship one of act instead of disposition and the intelligence.
3. Tendency of all religious bodies to idolatrise their symbols.
VIII. Lesson: to avoid superstition. (W M. Sinclair, M. A.)
And leave it for an inheritance.
The Christian inheritance
Good and great men have always been jealous for the cause of God in the world, and when about to die, that feeling has sometimes been intensified. Moses, Eli, etc.
I. The estate of Christs Church is an inheritance. It consists of the knowledge of the triune God, our relations to Him and our obligations as revealed to us in His Word.
II. This inheritance is yours.
III. The forces which would bring wreck and ruin to this inheritance. Sacerdotalism on the one hand, rationalism on the other. (Bp. Baker.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL NOTES.] This chapter and following comprise last words…
CRITICAL NOTES.] This chapter and following comprise last words of David, special directions to Solomon in building the temple and succeeding to the throne.
1Ch_28:1-4.—The assembly of princes. All various officials, of whom account formerly given; really the whole court. Princes, the term one under which all persons of importance might be included not comprised in any other of the six classes [Speak. Com.]. 1Ch_28:2. Stood. An effort in his age and weakness. Brethren, modest and affectionate. House of rest. Contrast with movable tabernacle. Ready. Gathered materials. 1Ch_28:3. War (2Sa_7:5-13; 1Ki_5:5). 1Ch_28:4. Judah (Gen_49:8-10). Like me (cf. 1 Samuel 16).
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1Ch_28:5-8.—Solomon declared successor. Succession indefinite at first through Nathan, then a distinct revelation that Solomon was chosen. 1Ch_28:6. Courts—i.e., temple courts (2Ch_4:9). Constant (1Ki_3:14; 1Ki_9:4). 1Ch_28:8. Now. Appeal to congregation first, then to Solomon in their presence. Keep and seek. Exhortation similar to that of Moses (Deu_30:15-20).
1Ch_28:9-10.—Charge to Solomon. Know, experimentally. Search. Least failure observed (cf. Psa_139:1-3). Seek him (cf. Psa_9:10). Strong (ch. 1Ch_22:13; cf. Psa_27:14; Psa_31:24). 1Ch_28:10. Special duty urged.
1Ch_28:11-21.—The plan of the temple. Pattern, working plan, as Exo_25:10. Set of directions in writing. Porch before the sanctuary (2Ch_3:4). Houses. Holy and most holy places. Treas. Chambers built round the wall (1Ki_6:5). Upper chambers. Over most holy place (2Ch_3:9). Inner parlours. Lower rooms of side buildings of holy place, and perhaps also of porch. 1Ch_28:12. By the spirit. Literally the pattern of all that was with him in the spirit or the form of all that floated before his mind. David’s spirit, not God’s spirit spoken of [Speak. Com.]. 1Ch_28:13. Courses. Explained chaps. 23–25. 1Ch_28:14. Weight. Fixing proportionate weights in things of gold. Candlesticks in temple were ten (2Ch_4:7); silver ones for uses not specified. Tables. Ten connected with shewbread (1Ki_7:48); silver tables for minor purposes. Bowls for sprinkling (2Ch_4:11). Cups for libations (Exo_25:29). Basons, covered vessels, tankards. Chariot. Two cherubs on mercy-seat constituted the chariot on which Jehovah rides (cf. Psa_18:10; Psa_99:1). 1Ch_28:19. Hand. Pattern given by one of the prophets in writing; or by divine revelation, for which hand of Jehovah is equivalent (2Ch_29:15). 1Ch_28:20-21. Resume address broken off in 1Ch_28:10. For former part, cf. chap. 1Ch_22:13. Command. Literally, for all thy words.
HOMILETICS
DAVID’S ADDRESS TO THE PRINCES.—1Ch_28:1-8
An assembly convened, consisting of princes of tribes, captains, and subordinate officers of the army, stewards of the royal household, and nobles of the land. The nation represented. The occasion solemn and important. David the centre and chief actor of the scene, about to abdicate in a different way from Charles V., before his grand audience, after a life spent in military pursuits and ambitious projects. The scene portrayed worth attention. Notice—
I. The attitude which David assumed. “The king stood up upon his feet.” Probably had been sitting before; very likely recovered from sickness mentioned (1Ki_1:1). He receives strength in age and infirmity to stand up to improve the opportunity, and to inspire his audience with his own earnestness and enthusiasm. A reverent, dignified attitude that he felt due to the occasion, indicative of the influence of a great thought over the mind of man, and the power of that influence even in old age to rouse to duty. “Forsake me not, O God, in mine old age, when I am grey-headed, until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to all them that are yet for to come” (Psa_71:16).
II. The spirit which David manifested. “My brethren and my people.”
1. A humble spirit. “My people” whom I rule, with whom I rank myself in this great work. He is their superior, but does not forget the command “that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren.”
2. An affectionate spirit. “My brethren” whom I love, not servants whom I command. Affection and condescension to inferiors becoming in monarchs. Not less honoured, but more beloved. “Love levels all,” said Cervantes.
3. A spirit of authority. “Hear me.” The king’s circumstances, history, and experience gave weight to his authority. His message solemn, required attention, and must be obeyed, if the nation prospered. “Where the word of a king is there is power.” Court and people are bound in faithfulness to their sovereign, and to the interests of their country. Hence “Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing” (Ecc_8:4-5).
III. The ambition which David cherished. “I had it in mine heart to build, &c.” (1Ch_28:2). His cherished resolve not to be great, to build a family and extend a kingdom, &c., but “to build an house” for God, a purpose which filled his heart, occupied his time, and to accomplish which he gave his gold and gathered his materials. A noble purpose of immense value in life in giving strength and direction. To have one great aim, constantly present and made the habit of mind, to make every thought and every pursuit to centre upon this aim, will secure the happiness and improvement of life.
IV. The confession which David makes. God denied him the pleasure of building. In his heart, not executed by his hand, “because thou hast been a man of war,” a confession candid and unreserved. Many things veiled in forgetfulness, passed by in silence, and never made prominent and public. This a warning to all, that sins stain character, hinder from noblest work, and give unsuitableness to its accomplishment. “The Lord hath purposed; who shall disannul it?”
“A greater power than we can contradict
Hath thwarted our intents” [Shaks.]
THE TESTIMONY OF A NOBLE LIFE.—1Ch_28:4-6
David here reviews his life, and at its close testifies to the goodness and grace of God.
I. In his choice to the throne God displays his sovereignty. The different steps mentioned. The tribe of Judah, then his father’s house, and among the sons of his father he alone chosen. Tribe, family, individual. The choice not according to man’s judgment. One after another set aside. “The Lord hath not chosen these;” right one found at length. “This is he.”
II. In his acquisition of the kingdom God manifests his providence. “To be king over Israel for ever.” Trained in shepherd life under a sense of duty, dependence upon God and self-control, disciplined by Divine providence to wait and prepare for the throne, gifted by God’s grace with special characteristics of prudence, wisdom, generosity, and courage, he was elevated to be king. The recollection of this sudden exaltation from humble station deeply impressed him through life. His last words a declaration of God’s providence and mercy.
III. In his son’s succession to the throne God fulfils his promise. “He said unto me, Solomon, thy son shall build, &c.” God seen through his own life down to succession of his son—who should build the temple, be established on the throne, and be taken into special covenant with God (cf. 2Sa_7:12-16). Blessings entailed upon family and posterity—“the promise to you and your children.” What we do, or sincerely design to do for God, though prevented, we shall in no wise lose reward. Satisfaction to parents while they live, to have signs and assurance through Divine promise of family piety and prosperity when they are dead.
THE CHOICE OF SOLOMON.—1Ch_28:5-8
David addressing the assembly traces his election to the sovereignty of God. Solomon presented in the same set speech as successor; chosen on the same principle as himself, therefore worthy of reception and obedience. Notice—
I. The method by which Solomon came to reign. “He hath chosen Solomon to sit upon the throne of the kingdom.” Divine selection all through history of father and son. Human events to David not fortuitous occurrences, but Divine acts. Hence design, goodness, power, and providence in individual life.
II. The conditions on which his government will be established. Not by his policy, armies, and fleets; but by loyal obedience to God. This the rule for nations, leaders, and king. God purposes and arranges not in disregard to our response to his commands.
1. The constant obedience of the sovereign. “I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments.” The security and perpetuity of Solomon’s reign depended upon this condition.
2. The intelligent obedience of the people. “Keep and seek for all the commandments” (1Ch_28:8). Seek, inquire to know; then keep, practise what you know; all commandments. Obedience intelligent, obedience impartial, and obedience uniform, the triple conditions of temporal prosperity, of real establishment of families and nations—the only way to enjoy our inheritance and to transmit it safely to our successors. “That ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
1Ch_28:1. David assembled.
1. In a critical time of national history—the king’s departure, and choice of successor.
2. To hear parting counsel of the dying monarch. Advice to Solomon, princes, and all; advice concerning present and future.
1Ch_28:5-8. Solomon, my son. Scarce any of the Roman emperors had a son to succeed him; all, or most of them, till Constantine, died unnatural deaths [Trapp]. Shall build a material temple; Christ, a mystical, that is the Church, which is the house of God (1Ti_3:15). For this and the following promises are, some peculiar to Solomon, some to Christ, and some to both as the types and antitypes [Ibid.]. I will be his father (1Ch_28:6). Solomon’s by adoption and regeneration. See 2Co_6:18. Christ’s, by eternal generation and personal union. God saith the same to all Christian princes, but then they must make it their case to build him a spiritual temple [Ibid.]. Be constant (1Ch_28:7). Hebrew, strong; for he will be hard put to it. God’s promises are conditional. See 2 Samuel 7. As at this day. Solomon had been well instructed in the ways of God, both by father (Pro_4:4) and mother (Pro_31:1), and while young he did God’s commandments and judgments, as hinted in these words, but he was not so constant. 1Ch_28:8. Keep and seek. Keep what you know already, and seek to be yet further instructed. By this latter word “seek” tollit ignorantiam illam crassam, saith Vatablus, he striketh at affected ignorance [Ibid.].
1Ch_28:8, grounded on this promise is a double charge; first, to the people, and then to Solomon. Keeping and seeking the commandments of the Lord, is at once the test and the security of his people [Murphy].
A religious training. I. Given with great affection. Many sons. Solomon chosen, &c. (1Ch_28:5). II. Practical in its tendency. “Keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord.” A training that deadens; this quickening intellectually and morally. III. Solemn in its sanctions. “In the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord. and in the audience of our God.” IV. Benevolent in its design. To be established in our position, and to preserve and hand down our trust to others. “That ye may possess this good land, &c.”
HOMILETICS
DAVID’S CHARGE TO SOLOMON.—1Ch_28:9-10; 1Ch_28:20-21
Very touching and important is this charge; everything to give solemnity and perpetual interest to the scene. Solomon urged to—
I. A personal acquaintance with God. “Know thou the God of thy father”—not theoretic knowledge, Solomon plenty of that; but practical and experimental. David concerned that his son should be religious; not great, popular, and wise. Knowledge of God the foundation of all religion and usefulness. This knowledge includes—
1. An intelligent view of his nature. Impossible to know God perfectly, but belief in his existence, holiness, omniscience, and truth. The science of God, the central, the vital science—that which gives life, unity, and beauty to every branch of knowledge.
2. This knowledge obtained by obedience. Loving and serving God the way to know him. “If any man will do his will, he shall know.”
II. A practical regard to God’s service. Knowledge that is life first, and then service. Much excitement, effort, and service without personal acquaintance with God.
1. A willing service. “With a willing mind.” The hand may act without the will. Service mechanical, drudgery, unless willingly given. God requires consent—does not force nor constrain. Taskmasters force (Pharaoh). God’s service free and voluntary. “Who is willing to consecrate his service?”
2. A stedfast service. “Serve him with a perfect heart”—with an undivided mind; with the whole heart. Not “a double heart” (Heb., a heart and a heart), Psa_12:2. No duplicity nor deception; no wavering, halting between two opinions, nor compromise (Mat_6:24). “Ungodly professors have two hearts, two lords, two ends, two ways” (Cocceius). “Come not unto the Lord with a double heart” (Ecc_1:18).
III. The importance of the work bequeathed him to finish. “Thou art to build a house for the sanctuary.” Solomon’s whole life should be active and holy service. The temple special and inherited work.
1. Undertake cautiously. “Take heed now.” Work difficult, requiring prudence and care. Solomon young and inexperienced, and possibly might meet with indifference, if not opposition.
2. Finish it courageously. “Be strong and do it.” Do it without delay and reluctance. “Blessed is the man that findeth his work,” says Carlyle. Many find, but neglect it. The blessedness in doing it. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
IV. The powerful inducements to the performance of this work. Solomon’s circumstances most eventful and inspiriting. Ever surrounded by influences and motives to performance of duty.
1. He is chosen to the work. “The Lord hath chosen thee to build.” Not every man is a builder. Some gather materials, and others plan and lay the foundation. God chooses and qualifies his architects in Church and State. “I have raised him up … he shall build my city” (Isa_45:13).
2. The people are ready to co-operate with him in the work. “The courses of the priests and the Levites shall be with thee” (1Ch_28:21). Advice and help—workmen “willing and skilful” of great service. When none oppose, when “the princes and all the people are wholly at command,” then work is likely to succeed, and we should be eager to carry it on.
3. God will help him. “The Lord God, even my God, will be with thee” (1Ch_28:20). God, who strengthens and prospers the father, will “not fail nor forsake the son.” These motives fit to stir up, animate true-hearted workers, and admonish to action. Avoid fear; “fear not, nor be dismayed. Cherish courage;” be strong and of good courage. Begin thy work at once, “do it.” “Arise, therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.”
“Do what thou dost, as if the earth were heaven,
And that thy last day were the judgment day:
When all’s done, nothing’s done” [Kingsley].
GOD’S RELATION TO HUMAN LIFE.—1Ch_28:9
This description of God introduced as an argument for sincerity of life. He sees, knows; our hearts and actions; therefore serve him perfectly, &c. Learn—
I. That our life is exposed to God’s inspection. “The Lord searcheth all hearts.” This implies that all our deportment is open to God’s inspection. Some imagine that God is too great to regard such a creature as man. But what he created is not beneath him to notice. To Him great and small are equal. He is cognisant of an atom as of a globe; of an insect as an angel. From Him nothing hid. “Hell is naked before Him, and destruction hath no covering.” “He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven.”
II. That our service to God should spring from sincere motives. “And understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.” God’s attention not limited to actions and words—his province and prerogative to read and understand “imaginations” (phantases, imaged deeds) “of the thoughts.” Hence no deceiving Him by falsehood and form. He desires “truth in the inward parts,” as opposed to hypocrisy and self-deceit (Psa_51:6). Hearts must be sincere and thoughts of God pure. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked” with heartless, outward service. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts,” &c.
III. That our welfare depends upon our conduct towards God. He is to be known and served. Our interest to obey.
1. True service will be rewarded. “If thou seek him he will be found of thee.” The smallest service no trifle to God. David’s desire to build well-pleasing to God. “Thou didst well that it was in thine heart.” The will accepted for the deed. “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath.”
2. Opportunity neglected will be disastrous. “If thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” Forsake, after knowing, obeying, and working for him. Cast off, as worthless and lost. Solomon’s interest, duty, and danger are put before him in true and impressive light by a pious and dying father. If youth give no heed to parental requests and heavenly calls, they forsake their highest interests; enter a path of folly, which leads to failure; to death without recovery; to a future without hope.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE.—1Ch_28:11-20
Evidently David wished to make a solemn and formal business, in giving instructions and handing over the plans for the Temple with elevations, measurements, apartments, and chief articles of furniture.
I. The plan of the Temple. “David gave to Solomon the pattern.”
1. Divine in its origin. He claims the divine sanction and inspiration which Moses claimed for the tabernacle of old (Exo_25:40). From porch at one end to sanctuary at the other, nothing left to arbitrary choice, to man’s act and invention; all given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Models given in Christian life and Christian character; the Spirit will help to carry them out and guide in every detail.
2. Written in form. “The Lord made me understand in writing” (1Ch_28:19). Visions and dreams pass away. Written instructions abide; often consulted and meet our necessities. The word of God is “written for our instruction” in building up Christian life and the spiritual temple. But “the hand” must be upon us to make the word effectual and the work successful.
II. The materials of the Temple. Gold and silver, “wrought stones and brass in abundance without weight.” Gathered, as we have seen, from all quarters and in different times. David’s work was difficult and thorough; lasting and worthy of imitation. He gave time and trouble, his substance, and his heart to accomplish it.
III. The furniture of the Temple. Vessels of gold and silver, candlesticks and lamps, tables and altars, &c. The porch, the holy and most holy place to be appropriately furnished. In these directions David guided by Divine will, not by his own taste. God only knows what is fit for his own house. Put nothing into it that ought not to be there; take nothing out which ought to be there. “Look that thou make them after the pattern which was shewed thee in the mount.”
DAVID’S ADDRESS TO SOLOMON
Observe—
1. It was an address of a dying father to a son. May all our children read it with a feeling heart!
2. It embraces the sum total of real religion. This has two distinct parts—
(1) The first includes a knowledge of God: “Know thou the God of thy fathers.” 1st. Know him as a sin-pardoning God (Jer_24:7). 2nd. Know him so as to be at peace with him (Job_22:21). 3rd. Know him so as to love and live to him. 4th. This true saving knowledge of God may be known by its peculiar properties. It is, first, experimental (Psa_34:8; 1Pe_2:3); second, soul-abasing (Job_42:5-6; Eph_3:8); third, growing (Job_1:10; 2Pe_3:18); fourth, pure (Jas_3:17; 1Jn_3:6); fifth, practical (1Jn_2:3; Joh_10:4).
(2) True piety includes the serving of God “with a perfect heart, a willing mind.” 1st. God must be served; that is, worshipped and obeyed. 2nd. He must be served “with a perfect heart;” that is, with an entire and undivided heart; with a heart inflamed with love and burning with zeal for God’s glory. 3rd. “With a willing mind;” that is, with alacrity, delight, and joy.
(3) David urged this exhortation upon the attention of his son by a threefold consideration:
1. By the consideration that God is the searcher of hearts: “The Lord searcheth all hearts.” The heathens had no such exalted ideas of any of their gods.
2. That he is the rewarder of piety: “If thou seek him,” in the way he hath appointed, “he will be found of thee;” will make himself known to thee as thy Friend, and Father and God in covenant.
3. That he is the punisher of apostasy: “If thou forsake him,” desert his love and service and turn from following him, “he will cast thee off;” will withdraw his gracious and powerful presence from thee, and change his countenance and course towards thee [Rev. J. Wilson].
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
1Ch_28:9. The God of thy father.
1. The rich experience behind these words.
2. The force of parental affection in giving that experience.
3. The susceptibility of youth to profit by the teaching. Home instruction needed, may be repeated from one generation to another. Home influence never lost.
“The fond attachment to the well-known place,
Whence first we started into life’s long race,
Retains its hold with such unfailing away,
We feel it e’en in age, and at our latest day” [Cowper].
If thou seek God, &c.
1. The object of search. God lost through sin; must be sought; worthy of seeking. His friendship and favour, the best of all blessings.
2. The promise of success. “He will be found of thee.” This proved from Scripture and experience. A declaration of David’s experience.
3. The threatened displeasure. “If thou forsake him, &c.” This caution to guard and stimulate. Forsaking God to be alienated in thought and affection. The unregenerate turn their backs and wander like the prodigal. Unconverted world without God, in dark region of atheism. Those who remain in this state will be cast away. But “God,” says one, “never cast man off until they first cast Him off.”
1Ch_28:9-10. Fathers and Children. In this earnest and affectionate charge we see one generation—
1. Transmitting the knowledge of God to its successor.
2. Enjoining the service of God upon its successor.
3. Indicating God’s method of dealing with its successor.
4. Bequeathing its unfulfilled intentions to its successor [Mt. Braithwaite].
1Ch_28:10. For the sanctuary or for sanctification—i.e., where God may sanctify his people in holy ordinances, and be sanctified by them in holy duties [Trapp].
1Ch_28:11. Place of the mercy seat, lit. the house of the mercy seat. Seat of mercy in Holy of Holies, Jesus Christ, the Christian Church and the human heart.
1Ch_28:14. Gold by weight. The vessels for the holy place were of gold, as those for the priests’ court were of silver. Now, like as in the temple there were some vessels of gold, and some of silver, and all had their weight and their use; so in the Church of Christ there are diversity of vessels, and of gifts (2 Timothy 2) [Trapp].
1Ch_28:18. Chariot a fit comparison, because God is said to sit and to dwell within them. Because a chariot is made to carry a person from place to place, an intimation that God was not fixed to them by the building of the temple, but that he would remove from them if they forsook him [Benson].
1Ch_28:20-21. Learn—
1. The dignity and lustre of David’s dying hour.
2. The usefulness of David’s death, as well as life.
3. The great privilege of those interested and blessed with the dying counsels and prayers of the godly [J. Burns, D.D.].
ILLUSTRATION TO CHAPTER 28
1Ch_28:2. Hear me. The death-bed of a saint ofttimes resembles the setting sun, whose rays are the brightest when it is nearest the horizon. “The tongues of dying men enforce attention, like deep harmony” [Shaks.].
“The chamber where the good man meets his fate.
Is privileged beyond the common walk
Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven” [Young].
1Ch_28:10. Take heed. The substance of a child’s duty and the foundation of his happiness lie in these two rules laid down in Pro_1:7-9, namely, to fear God and to honour his parents [Nicholls].
1Ch_28:20. My God. How few like David have God and gold together [G. Villiers]. “There is much religion in the possessive pronouns” [Luther].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 1Ch 28:9
1Ch 28:9
In these words we have beautifully exemplified to us the anxiety of a truly religious parent for his children’s everlasting good. Consider:
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I. That without sincerity and seriousness our religion can be of no value in the sight of the omniscient God, of Him who is described by Himself as "searching all hearts and understanding all the imaginations of the thoughts."
II. Real seriousness is altogether of a practical nature. It does not depend on the state of a person’s feelings, but on his general course of life and behaviour. It is so much more easy to keep up religious feelings, or what are called so, than really religious practices that the outside show of seriousness is much more often to be met with than the reality. The heavenly advice to us is now, as it has always been, "My son, know thou the God of thy fathers."
III. It is not enough that young persons should be taught merely to "know the God of their fathers;" they must be warned also of the necessity which is laid upon them, as on all Christians, to "serve Him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind." To "serve God with a perfect heart" is the sum and substance of all practical religion. It means that we should love Him more than any or all of the things of this world; that we should be ever seeking what will please Him, and avoiding what will grieve Him; that we should live as in His constant presence, and be thoroughly resigned and satisfied with what He orders for us. By the expression "serving God with a willing mind" seems to be meant that religion should be not only the business, but also the delight, of our lives.
IV. "If thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever." To forsake God is to leave, to forget Him, to neglect Him, to prefer other things before Him. In proportion as we are tempted to forsake God and His righteous will, we must of course provoke Him to forsake us and leave us to ourselves, or, in the words of the text, "to cast us off for ever."
Plain Sermons by Contributors to "Tracts for the Times" vol. x., p. 285.
Reference: 1Ch 28:9.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 315, and vol. vi., p. 25; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 127.
1Ch 28:10
I. Look, first, at the words "Be strong"—that is, for service. None can tell how strong for service they may ultimately become. All the strong men and all the great men become so by degrees. We find in the context four secrets of strength for service. (1) If you are to be strong in service, there must be a clear conviction that you are called of God to the work. (2) Along with a conviction of our call to the work, there must be an intimate knowledge of God. (3) A third element of strength is sincerity of purpose and willinghood. (4) Lastly, we must remember the Divine presence and fidelity. When we are strong in this remembrance, we can triumph and say, "If all men should leave us, yet we are strong, for Thou, Lord, wilt not fail nor forsake us."
II. Notice, next, the command "Do it." Having strengthened thy heart by the remembrance of these things, do it, not only intend to. We are to do whatever God has called us to do. That which is the work of one is not the work of another. Let our ears be open to hear what the Lord says, and then let us be strong and do it.
A. G. Brown, Penny Pulpit, No. 1061.
Reference: 1Ch 28:20.—Parker, vol. i., p. 44.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v1 1 Chronicles
1 Chronicles
DAVID’S CHARGE TO SOLOMON
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1Ch 28:1 - 1Ch 28:10.
David had established an elaborate organisation of royal officials, details of which occupy the preceding chapters and interrupt the course of the narrative. The passage picks up again the thread dropped at 1Ch 23:1. The list of the members of the assembly called in 1Ch 28:1 is interesting as showing how he tried to amalgamate the old with the new. The princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, represented the primitive tribal organisation, and they receive precedence in virtue of the antiquity of their office. Then come successively David’s immediate attendants, the military officials, the stewards of the royal estates, the ‘officers’ or eunuchs attached to the palace, and the faithful ‘mighty men’ who had fought by the king’s side in the old days. It was an assembly of officials and soldiers whose adherence to Solomon it was all-important to secure, especially in regard to the project for building the Temple, which could not be carried through without their active support. The passage comprises only the beginning of the proceedings of this assembly of notables. The end is told in the next chapter; namely, that the Temple-building scheme was unanimously and enthusiastically adopted, and large donations given for it, and that Solomon’s succession was accepted, and loyal submission offered by the assembly to him.
David’s address to this gathering is directed to secure these two points. He begins by recalling his own intention to build the Temple and God’s prohibition of it. The reason for that prohibition differs from that alleged by Nathan, but there is no contradiction between the two narratives, and the chronicler has already reported Nathan’s words {1Ch 17:3, etc.}, so that the motive which is ascribed to many of the variations in this book, a priestly desire to exalt Temple and ritual, cannot have been at work here. Why should there not have been a divine communication to David as well as Nathan’s message? That hands reddened with blood, even though it had been shed in justifiable war, were not fitted to build the Temple, was a thought so far in advance of David’s time, and flowing from so spiritual a conception of God, that it may well have been breathed into David’s spirit by a divine voice. Sword in one hand and trowel in the other are incongruous, notwithstanding Nehemiah’s example. The Temple of the God of peace cannot be built except by men of peace. That is true in the widest and highest application. Jesus builds the true Temple. Controversy and strife do not. And, on a lower level, the prohibition is for ever valid. Men do not atone for a doubtful past by building churches, founding colleges, endowing religious or charitable institutions.
The speech next declares emphatically that the throne belongs to David and his descendants by real ‘divine right,’ and that God’s choice is Solomon, who is to inherit both the promises and obligations of the office, and, among the latter, that of building the Temple. The unspoken inference is that loyalty to Solomon would be obedience to Jehovah. The connection between the true heavenly King and His earthly representative is strongly expressed in the remarkable phrase: ‘He hath chosen Solomon . . . to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of Jehovah,’ which both consecrates and limits the rule of Solomon, making him but the viceroy of the true king of Israel. When Israel’s kings remembered that, they flourished; when they forgot it, they destroyed their kingdom and themselves. The principle is as true to-day, and it applies to all forms of influence, authority, and gifts. They are God’ s, and we are but stewards.
The address to the assembly ends with the exhortation to these leaders to ‘observe,’ and not merely to observe, but also to ‘seek out’ God’s commandments, and so to secure to the nation, whom they could guide, peaceful and prosperous days. It is not enough to do God’s will as far as we know it; we must ever be endeavouring after clearer, deeper insight into it. Would that these words were written over the doors of all Senate and Parliament houses! What a different England we should see!
But Solomon was present as well as the notables, and it was well that, in their hearing, he should be reminded of his duties. David had previously in private taught him these, but this public ‘charge’ before the chief men of the kingdom bound them more solemnly upon him, and summoned a cloud of witnesses against him if he fell below the high ideal. It is pitched on a lofty key of spiritual religion, for it lays ‘Know thou the God of thy fathers’ as the foundation of everything. That knowledge is no mere intellectual apprehension, but, as always in Scripture, personal acquaintanceship with a Person, which involves communion with Him and love towards Him. For us, too, it is the seed of all strenuous discharge of our life’s tasks, whether we are rulers or nobodies, and it means a much deeper experience than understanding or giving assent to a set of truths about God. We know one another when we summer and winter with each other, and not unless we love one another, and we know God on no other terms.
After such knowledge comes an outward life of service. Active obedience is the expression of inward communion, love, and trust. The spring that moves the hands on the dial is love, and, if the hands do not move, there is something wrong with the spring. Morality is the garment of religion; religion is the animating principle of morality. Faith without works is dead, and works without faith are dead too.
But even when we ‘know God’ we have to make efforts to have our service correspond with our knowledge, for we have wayward hearts and obstinate wills, which need to be stimulated, sometimes to be coerced and forcibly diverted from unworthy objects. Therefore the exhortation to serve God ‘with a perfect heart and with a willing mind’ is always needful and often hard. Entire surrender and glad obedience are the Christian ideal, and continual effort to approximate to it will be ours in the degree in which we ‘know God.’ There is no worse slavery than that of the half-hearted Christian whose yoke is not padded with love. Reluctant obedience is disobedience in God’s sight.
David solemnly reminds Solomon of those ‘pure eyes and perfect judgment,’ not to frighten, but to enforce the thought of the need for whole-hearted and glad service, and of the worthlessness of external acts of apparent worship which have not such behind them. What a deal of seeming wheat would turn out to be chaff if that winnowing fan which is in Christ’s hand were applied to it! How small our biggest heaps would become!
The solemn conditions of the continuance of God’s favour and of the fulfilment of His promises are next plainly stated. God responds to our state of heart and mind. We determine His bearing to us. The seeker finds. If we move away from Him, He moves away from us. That is not, thank God! all the truth, or what would become of any of us? But it is true, and in a very solemn sense God is to us what we make Him. ‘With the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure; and with the perverse Thou wilt show Thyself froward.’
The charge ends with recalling the high honour and office to which Jehovah had designated Solomon, and with exhortations to ‘take heed’ and to ‘be strong, and do it.’ It is well for a young man to begin life with a high ideal of what he is called to be and do. But many of us have that, and miserably fail to realise it, for want of these two characteristics, which the sight of such an ideal ought to stamp on us. If we are to fulfil God’s purposes with us, and to be such tools as He can use for building His true Temple, we must exercise self-control and ‘take heed to our ways,’ and we must brace ourselves against opposition and crush down our own timidity. It seems to be commanding an impossibility to say to a weak creature like any one of us, ‘Be strong,’ but the impossible becomes a possibility when the exhortation takes the full Christian form: ‘Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 David's last Directions
David's last Directions
2. The footstool of our God] i.e. the Mercy Seat: 2Sa_6:2; Psa_132:7.
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5. The throne of the kingdom of the Lord] cp. 1Ch_17:14; 1Ch_29:23. Israel's kings were the Lord's vicegerents and representatives: He was their true ruler.
7. If he be constant] The continuance of God's favour was conditional upon continued obedience, and the writer, living after the exile, knew how the condition had been violated.
11. The pattern] The pattern of the Tabernacle is similarly stated to have been communicated to Moses by God: Exo_25:9, Exo_25:40. The houses] the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place: see 1 Kings 6. Treasuries.. upper chambers] probably the side-chambers, described in 1Ki_6:5, of which there were three storeys.
Inner parlours] perhaps the lowest of the side-chambers.
12. By the spirit] i.e. by revelation. The chambers round about] perhaps detached buildings constructed round the courts that enclosed the Temple.
15. Candlesticks] better 'lampstands,' and so elsewhere. Ten are mentioned in 1Ki_7:49, but only one in 2Ch_13:11.
16. The tables] Ten are alluded to again in 2Ch_4:8, but only a single table is mentioned in 1Ki_7:48; 2Ch_13:11; 2Ch_29:18.
18. The chariot of the cherubims] RV 'the chariot, even the cherubim': cp. Psa_18:10; Ezekiel 1, Eze_10:8.
20. He will not fail thee] A similar assurance of God's constant aid was given to Jacob and Joshua: Gen_28:15; Jos_1:5.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v16 (See Scofield "Exo 25:30").
shewbread
(See Scofield "Exo 25:30").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 7. The Last Acts of David and His Death
7. The Last Acts of David and His Death
CHAPTER 28 The Great Assembly
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1. The Address of David to the assembly (1Ch 28:1-10)
2. The patterns, the gold and the silver delivered to Solomon (1Ch 28:11-19)
3. His encouraging words to Solomon (1Ch 28:20-21)
The events in this chapter connect with 1Ch 23:1. There we find the brief statement that David was old and full of years and that Solomon his son was made king over Israel. Then follow the chapters which acquaint us with the preparations David had made for the building of the temple and the arrangements of the Levites, etc., for the temple service. And now the threads of the narrative which were dropped are taken up again. A great and representative audience was called by David when he made Solomon king. All the princes of Israel and the captains and mighty men in Jerusalem came together. As we know from the book of Kings the aged monarch was weak in his body. But when the hour came to address the great assembly he arose and stood upon his feet. The three attitudes of David are suggestive. He was, on his face, a penitent, (2Sa 1:12; 1Ch 21:16); he sat in His presence as a worshipper (1Ch 17:16), and now he stood on his feet as a servant. The words he spoke before the assembly are similar to those he addressed to his son Solomon in private (1 Chron. 22). After he had spoken all these words, in which he once more traced the gracious dealings of the Lord with him, he admonished his son to know the God of his father, to serve Him with a perfect heart and a willing mind. “If thou, seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever.” Then he exhorted him again to build the house. “Be strong and do it.”
After this David handed over the patterns of the porch, the temple houses, the treasuries, the upper chambers and the inner rooms and of the place of the mercy seat. How did the king obtain these patterns? He had them by the Spirit. The authorized version prints Spirit with a small “s.” It was not his own spirit who planned it. A certain commentator says it means that these patterns had been “floating in his mind.” The sentence “the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit” means that the Holy Spirit had revealed it all to him. It was given to him by inspiration as the pattern of the tabernacle and all belonging to it had been given to Moses also by revelation. Then he turned over to Solomon the immense quantities of gold and silver and other materials he had so faithfully collected for the construction of the Temple.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 9 David Admonishes the People Concerning the Temple
David Admonishes the People Concerning the Temple
v. 1. And David assembled all the princes of Israel, all the representatives of the nation in positions of authority, the princes of the tribes, the hereditary chieftains, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, the twelve generals of Israel’s legions, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, those mentioned at the end of the preceding chapter, and of his sons, counselors and tutors, with the officers, the eunuchs, or attendants at court, inside the palace, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem, for a last great assembly.
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v. 2. Then David the king stood up upon his feet, having sat before on account of the infirmities of old age, and said, Hear me, my brethren, an address showing both humility and sincere friendliness, 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, where it might permanently be located and no longer be disturbed, and for the footstool of our God, the cover of the ark, the mercy-seat, where God was enthroned between the cherubim, and had made ready for the building;
v. 3. but God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for My name, 1Ch 17:4, because thou hast been a man of war and hast shed blood, in his various campaigns against the surrounding heathen nations.
v. 4. Howbeit, the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, although he was the youngest son of the family, 1Sa 16:7-13; for He hath chosen Judah to be the ruler, in the last blessing of Jacob, Gen 49:8-10, and of the house of Judah the house of my father, 1Sa 16:1, and among the sons of my father He liked me, to make me king over all Israel;
v. 5. and of all my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons, 1Ch 3:1; 1Ch 23:1) He hath chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel, 1Ch 22:9.
v. 6. 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, the relationship thus being typical of that obtaining with Christ, to whom the entire prophecy, 2Sa 7:12 ff. pointed forward.
v. 7. Moreover, I will establish his kingdom forever if he be constant, full of determination and strength, to do My commandments and My judgments, both those pertaining to all mankind in general and those intended for Israel in particular, as at this day.
v. 8. Now, therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, all members of which would naturally look up to the leaders of the people for guidance, and in the audience of our God, who, as they all knew, was present in this assembly, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord, your God, with great earnestness and zeal, that ye may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever. Earthly blessings are still given by the Lord in return for civil righteousness, and to believers their works of faith in this respect are counted as good works. Note: Like David, Christ also, whose type David was, was selected from among His brethren, but anointed with the Holy Ghost above His brethren, the members of the human family.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20 called together
assembled
called together
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scheduled work
Work that needs to be repeated, for example every day or every month.
the commanders of thousands and of hundreds
Possible meanings are 1) these numbers represent the exact amount of soldiers that these commanders led. AT: "the commanders of 1,000 soldiers and the commanders of 100 soldiers" or 2) the words translated as "thousands" and "hundreds" do not represent exact numbers, but are the names of larger and smaller military divisions. AT: "the commanders of large military divisions and the commanders of smaller military divisions" See how you translated this in 1 Chronicles 13:1. (See: Numbers)
the managers over
The word "over" is used here as an idiom. AT: "the managers in charge of" (See: Idiom)
property and possessions
These two words share similar meanings and refer to all of the items and lands that the king owned. (See: Doublet)
translationWords
David
Israel
Jerusalem
tribe
servant
king
commander
manager
possess
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 4, 9, 11, 14, 18 28:1–29:25 Here the account of Solomon’s coronation continues from…
28:1–29:25 Here the account of Solomon’s coronation continues from 23:1-2. David is presented at the pinnacle of his strength as he transfers authority to Solomon (cp. 1 Kgs 1:1–2:9).
28:1 This assembly of all the officials of Israel includes all whose names were mentioned in the preceding chapters.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.