Tag: David and Solomon

Courage and Community

1 Chronicles 28-29

Psalm 76

Philippians 1

-Devotion by Kyle Shull (MN)

Since June just ended, the grad party season is starting to wind down for everyone. As a recent graduate from high school, it has been fun to host my own grad party and invite my family and friends to join the celebration. Beyond all the gifts, great food, and endless photos, one question always comes up. “What’s next?” For some, it’s college at a university, trade school, starting/joining a business, or even taking time to reflect on one’s next steps. Regardless, the level of responsibility increases substantially for many young people across America.

In 1 Chronicles 28-29, we see a young Solomon having his responsibilities skyrocket, as he officially takes his father’s place as King. His task from the Lord: build a house worthy of God through the plans that David possessed. This wasn’t a simple task, as v. 11-18 describe exactly everything that he had in mind for the Lord’s house. These verses describe divisions of the priests, the chambers, the treasuries, and detail the exact weight of every lampstand, table, gold dish, silver bowl, and many more items! I can’t imagine the feelings that Solomon would have as his father put his trust in him for one of the most sacred structures in the Bible.

However, David says to Solomon in verse 20-21, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He won’t leave you or abandon you until all the work for the service of the LORD’S house is finished. Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of God’s house. Every willing person of any skill will be at your disposal for the work, and the leaders and all the people are at your every command (CSB).” Later, in chapter 29, David also prays for Solomon to give him an undivided heart for the work ahead.

David knew the task God had granted to Solomon was challenging. However, David’s words echo the need to trust in the LORD and to rely on one’s community. Today, we aren’t the kings of nations, but we are faced with increasing responsibilities and freedoms each day we live. My relevant example was for graduates, but that isn’t the only limitation. Maybe it’s something that we want to do, like take an extraordinary trip with our family. Our responsibilities might be difficult to fulfill, such as taking care of someone in your neighborhood who is experiencing a long-term illness. 

Whatever your next task is, I pray you will ask God for guidance as you navigate the path you must follow. He might not answer everything instantly, but still trust our Father up above, even when your path is narrow. God can also reveal guidance through the people we interact with. David gave all his leaders to Solomon to help with any task that needed to be accomplished. For many of us, that group of people is our church community. Whatever your next step in life is, ask your pastors, teachers, and people inside the church body. The Holy Spirit can work in mysterious ways through people we don’t even expect. 

We can see this sense of community also in Philippians 1. Here, Paul gives gratitude to the Philippian church for their support in spreading the gospel (especially during his imprisonment in Acts 16). Even the Bible’s greatest evangelicals needed support from fellow believers. This emphasizes the need to reinforce our fellow community members on the right steps or the right people to seek help.

Paul ends Chapter One with a wish to the church: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel (v. 27 ESV).” Whatever the next chapter is for you, do it while still living with Christ as the center of action.

Reflection Questions:

  1.  The ideas of strength and courage are found in many Biblical leaders in power. Who are some of the people who stand out to you? In what ways can we live with the same biblical courage that these leaders had in our everyday tasks?
  1. In both passages, we see leaders, citizens, and early church members supporting people doing hard tasks through prayer, giving, and service. How can we support our church leaders, missionaries, and young people through our own experience and skills?
  1. How do you put Christ first in a new world where life is changing on all sides? What sustainable disciplines could you add to make the good news at the center of your heart?

Prayer:

Great and Mighty God, 

Thank you for being our Father and for always letting us put our trust in you when we do difficult things. Please keep our hearts aligned with Christ in the center, wherever our next step is. Help us to be strong and courageous with you and our community supporting us.

In Jesus’ Name, 

Amen.

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A House for God

*Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 28 & 29

Poetry: Psalm 149

New Testament: 1 Thessalonians 4

     First Chronicles 28 and 29 relates the end of David’s time as king. Mostly it discusses an assembly where David laid out responsibilities his son Solomon would have for building God a temple and encouraged the people to join in that work with him. By gathering that assembly David was also making it clear that Solomon was the chosen heir – chosen by God. The line of succession had been contested before, and David called on all present to commit their loyalty to both God and Solomon (28:5; 29:24).

     David had desired to build God a dwelling place but was denied that role because he had shed blood. Joyfully for David, the time when he learned of his rejection was paired with learning about the promise of a special covenant with God. In the years that followed David stockpiled resources in preparation for the Temple to be constructed by his promised son. In 22:14 we read of huge amounts of gold and silver David stored up. In 29:4 we are told of additional sums he provided near the end of his reign. That was followed by him encouraging the people to offer their own commitments (6-9). They gave tons of gold and silver and brass and iron, along with precious stones. And “the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and king David also rejoiced greatly.” (9). As David had said, this was not a temple “for man, but for the Lord God” and they were able to rejoice in the idea of giving to the project (1).

     I read some years ago about a study in which people of varying incomes were asked what they considered would be enough money for them to be content. There was a remarkable similarity in the answers given to the researchers, from those who made fairly little, on through those who made far more. People tended to want 15% more income than they currently had. Knowing this, of course, we can guess that very few people whose income increases become content – instead they adjust to their new circumstances and change their target for “contentment.” Of course we are not to view the world in that way, though we can all too easily become caught up in the distractions of worldly thinking. If we are seeking to store up for ourselves treasure in heaven, rather than on earth, we are less susceptible to such errors.

     I find it a matter of joy that the people of Israel in David’s time chose to join in setting up the Temple. They could have hesitated to give, and left matters to David and Solomon. They could have suggested that the vast amounts David had already collected would be enough for the task. (To try to put some numbers to this, we are told in 22:14 that David had collected 100,000 talents of gold. One calculation puts a talent at about 75 pounds, which would mean David had collected about 3,000 tons of gold. By a useful coincidence it is estimated that 750,000 pounds of gold were collected during the California Gold Rush, so a tenth of what David had gathered.) But the people still wanted to be involved with honoring God by contributing from their own wealth, which had itself come from God’s blessings (29:14, 16).

     (I find it interesting, as well, how God’s intentions may have been set up across the generations. David being a man of war could tie in with the extent of the nation’s wealth and how he prepared the way for Solomon. David was not accepted to build God a Temple, but he was freed to go forward in fighting against the enemies of God’s people and to help prepare a time of peace for Solomon. At the same time David’s victories brought in wealth that would enable the Temple to be funded to an incredible degree.)

        While David thought of the promises he had received in terms of Solomon, and prepared for his reign, we recognize a greater fulfillment in terms of another son, Jesus. Even in the text of these chapters there are hints at that, statements that “if” Solomon will serve God “with a whole heart” his descendants will continue to possess the land forever (28:8, 9). That kind of obedience was not available from Solomon, or any of the kings in David’s line who lived in Old Testament times. So while Solomon was able to fulfill the prophecy in one sense, building a house for God, it was destroyed after only a few hundred years. Another house waited to be built by a son yet to come.

     Lord, please help me not to be caught up in material concerns to the detriment of spiritual calls. Please let me have my daily bread so that I will not be distracted by wants, but please help me not let desires for more than I actually need get in the way of things that truly matter, like other people, and worshipping you. Help me to recognize how truly kind you are to me, and to give you credit and praise for your blessings to me and my family. Help me be willing to go out of my way for things that are important to you. Thank you for your care, Amen.

-Daniel Smead

Reflection Questions

  1. David and Solomon approached worship very grandly, perhaps more so than anyone today. What lessons might we be meant to take from the stories of the Temple?
  2. It may seem like an absurd amount of gold and silver was collected for use with the Temple construction, and we aren’t sure how all of it was used, but what impression do you think it would give to worship at a Temple where the walls were coated with gold? What if you knew that you, or your ancestor, contributed to building that Temple?
  3. Do you think it is harder to see yourself as receiving blessings from God when your income is from wages instead of through farming or spoils of battle?

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Keep These Desires

1 Chronicles 29

March 20

Our reading today of 1 Chronicles 29 is from a book in the Bible that I realize I have often overlooked and not fully appreciated for its historical significance. Because of where it falls in our Bible, if I am reading through the OT when I run into it, I find myself thinking, “didn’t I just read that?”  because of its retelling of some stories from 1 and 2 Samuel and I and 2 Kings.

Since I like history and context in what I’m reading, I thought I’d dig around for a little information to help me understand more as we jump into this last chapter of 1 Chronicles. While 1 Chronicles falls mid-way in our Old Testaments, in most Hebrew Bibles it forms the conclusion as the last book. 1 Chronicles was originally combined with II Chronicles when written in the 5th century BC , and it was written ~ 600 years after the stories it tells.  Time wise, that would be like me writing about what happened in the Middle Ages today. During that long period of time, some major things had changed in the world. The fall of Israel, the exile of the Jews, the growth of the Roman Empire and emerging development of the Greeks, and the eventual return of Ezra (believed by many to be the author of Chronicles) and some exiled Jews to rebuild the temple centuries later.

As Chapter 29 starts with verse 1, we are reminded that GOD does not choose people to serve Him as the world chooses, and the tasks He calls us to are great because He is worthy.

“Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God.”

As the chapter goes along, we get some of the details of the temple reviewed which are pretty noteworthy. Like umm….100 metric tons of gold! It makes me think a little more about what the kingdom will be like given what His earthly temple included.

Verses 10-19 are such a beautiful prayer of David in his later years, and we hear fatherly wisdom and child-like humility all at once.  In his prayer for his son, he understands what to ask for. Not health, happiness, security, peace, or victories, but what he knows matters most,

v. 19  “And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees. . .”

The chapter ends retelling the stories of Solomon being made king and his unprecedented level of splendor, and ends with David dying, to sleep with his fathers until the return of Jesus.

I am glad these parts were some of the ones chosen to be retold, and I can see why they were worth the reminder for the Israelites at that time. Despite everything else changing around them, God was sovereign. With or without a temple, God was sovereign. With or without a king, God was sovereign and had a plan to continue King David’s line forever through the coming Messiah. Thousands of years later, David’s prayer and hope is still applicable for all of us.

-Jennifer Hall

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. What changes have you seen in your lifetime? What has changed in the past 2000 years? How do you see a sovereign God over all history?
  2. David and the people gave generously a great amount of gold, silver, bronze, iron and precious stones for the building of the temple. David said, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” What has God blessed you with? How will you use it to honor Him?
  3. David prayed, “Keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.” What desires and thoughts was he referring to? Are these desires and thoughts in your heart today? Is your heart loyal to God? Are there areas you want to be more loyal to God? How?
  4. What do you most look forward to in God’s Coming Kingdom?
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