Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 28:19
All [this, said David], the LORD made me understand in writing by [his] hand upon me, [even] all the works of this pattern.
19. All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern ] The “writing” here mentioned probably means not a book, but a plan or series of patterns shewn to him in a vision. Cp. Exo 25:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1Ch 28:19
The Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me.
The liberty of prophesying
David not only made preparation for the building of the temple by collecting material, but he gave to Solomon definite directions for completing the erection and constructing the sacred vessels, and in doing this he is careful to say that he did not follow his own ideas or adopt arbitrary plans, but that he was guided by Divine revelation. Is not this the essential thing with us in this ministry–that we should be authorised, led, energised by the self-same Spirit? Does not the Church demand that the preacher shall be an inspired man?
I. The nature of this inspiration. All this the Lord made me to understand by His hand upon me. Now, I am sure you will not at this moment expect from me any exact definition of the term inspiration. There are some words you cannot define. You cannot define such words as love, or life, or beauty. Neither will you expect me to distinguish between the inspiration of Isaiah and that of Shakespeare, or between the inspiration of David building the temple and that of Michael Angelo building St. Peters; the singularity of the prophet and preacher is that they have to do not with the intellectual and material worlds, but with the spiritual universe, with the relation of man to the living God, and to that eternal universe of which He is the centre.
1. The true preacher is a man of faith. God revealed to David the patterns of the temple building and furniture. In vision he beheld the forms that he was to body forth in silver and gold and cedar. He did not follow his own vagrant fancy, but he made all the sacred things according to the patterns seen in his exalted mood. There is a faculty of sight which is more profound and penetrating than any power of sense. This is manifest in the intellectual world. The poet, the painter, and the musician possess a faculty that beggars sense; they look upon a world that is unseen by the natural eye. Now, just as these rare spirits of the intellectual realm possess an imaginative faculty that transcends the tangible and technical world, a faculty that beggars sense, so the true preacher has a faculty that beggars imagination, a faculty of faith that penetrates depths beyond space and worlds beyond reason. The true preacher possesses spiritual imagination by which he discerns everywhere the spiritual fact. In man he finds the image of God; behind this world he discerns the eternal world; within history he traces the working of a Divine plan and purpose; in the Church he is conscious of Gods presence and love; and he feels the power of that immortal life of which this life iii the germ, and for which this life is the preparation. This is the grand gift of the true preacher: in an eminent degree he possesses that faith which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2. Again, the true preacher is a man of experience. David did not proceed by simply reduplicating the forms and arrangements of the tabernacle. God granted him an inward revelation, he had a vision that was inwrought into his very soul. The Lord made me understand by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. This means something more than a superficial knowledge, than a mere spectacle; it implies a vivid, profound, personal acquaintance with the things he was called upon to fashion and arrange. It means something more than a passing dream; the objective became the subjective; David realised Gods purpose as an inward and joyful experience. His soul entered into the vision, the vision entered into his soul. And if the preacher is to be effective, the subjects of his preaching must be living facts to his own mind and heart. There is a whole world of difference between the mere intellectual perception of a doctrine and the realisation of that doctrine in our own conscience and feeling. Just think of the dweller in a city who knows the seasons only as they appear in the almanac! Spring quarter begins; bits of information and hints about summer gardening; stray allusions to harvest; and then the record closes with prognostications of winters storms and snows. The almanac gives much information–varied, exact, useful information; you seem, indeed, to know all about the thing. Do you? Ah! it is a very different matter to know the seasons as they actually unfold in nature. And so it is one thing to know religion formally in a theological treatise, and another thing to know its power and sweetness and hope in your own soul. Notice–
II. The limits of this inspiration. The Lord made me understand in writing. The question arises as to what is precisely to be understood by this writing. Some think it teaches that David simply followed the law of Moses. Moses, as we learn in the book of Exodus, received the measures and plans of the tabernacle from God Himself, and all that David did, these commentators think, was to follow severely these ancient specifications in the instructions which he gave to Solomon. David follows the writing from Jehovahs hand given to Moses. Other students think that this explanation of the passage is wholly mistaken. They hold that David affirms that he received an altogether special revelation. Just as the Lord had formerly shown to Moses the pattern of the tabernacle, so did the Lord also make known by revelation to David the pattern of the temple and its furniture. It seems to me that neither interpretation expresses the real situation–a middle view seems the juster. The description given in Exodus of the sacred utensils evidently furnished the groundwork for the workmanship of David, but what he teaches here is that it was under the guidance of the Divine Spirit that he varied the sacred architecture and furniture to suit the changed conditions of the new temple. He did not work either independently or arbitrarily, but modified the structure and the vessels by the authority of the Spirit who first instituted them. The grand teaching of the whole situation being this, that in the entire work of the temple we must be governed by Divine revelation, but that at the same time we must be sensitive to the action of the Spirit of God, so that we may interpret the Scriptures and modify ecclesiastical organisations according to the changing needs of successive generations. Does not the preacher of to-day need to learn the lesson taught here? One of our great dangers is a literalism which denies all further revelation or inspiration. We must beware lest we doom ourselves to a barren literalism. But, on the other hand, there are others who assume entire independence of revelation. They affirm that men are still as fully inspired as Moses was, or Isaiah, or John, or Paul, and that it is an injustice to ourselves to yield exclusive reverence to the sacred oracles. What, then, is the true path here? We answer, the path followed by the King of Israel in our text. We must reverentially accept the fully-accredited revelation that God has secured to us, and under the influence of the Holy Spirit give that revelation new and fuller expression as the evolution of the race may require. We must be true to the Scriptures, and true also to the Spirit that gives to the written word concurrent adaptation. Only as we follow this delicate line shall we be truly orthodox and yet remain full of reality, power, and effectiveness. A great artist does not attempt to get rid of nature; if he were to yield to such licentiousness his images would become bizarre, his poetry unintelligible, and his music degenerate into a monstrous melody; the sincere artist is therefore profoundly true to the forms, the colours, and the sequences of nature, he gives place to no arbitrary ideas. But, at the same time, he is not literal, topographical, prosaic; he seizes the essential truth of the physical universe, and gives it free rendering and bold representation. It is much the same with the preacher. He is profoundly loyal to Gods Word, but in the light and liberty of the Spirit he freely handles the eternal truth, and makes it speak to the heart of the congregation. It is Gods message to this generation that is expected from you. Be able to say, The Lord made me understand this by His hand upon me, and your word shall be in power and blessing.
III. The conditions of this inspiration.
1. We must watch against the temper of unbelief. We discern a thing only when we are in the mood to see it, to hear it, to know it. And it is entirely true that we apprehend the things of the higher world and the higher life just as we have a certain affinity with them. I deny altogether that the mood of doubt is the becoming mood of a theologian. The mood of the artist is the receptive mood. We are sometimes told how some grand melody, picture, or poem originated in a most trivial incident, but this only shows how exceedingly delicate was the susceptibility of the artist; he must have possessed a peculiar alertness and responsiveness of soul. A cold, critical temper would mean a poor artist. Did not Columbus expect to see America? Is America, therefore, a baseless fabric? Columbus saw America because he was prepared to see it, and the true attitude to unknown worlds is the expectant attitude of the astronomer looking for a star mathematically inferred, but not hitherto seen, of the chemist searching for an element indicated, but not yet demonstrated. We lose much by cherishing the spirit of doubt. Preachers are men who ought to live in the mood of meditation and susceptibility–waiting, listening, looking, hoping; and so does God whisper into their wakened ear great and gracious truths.
2. We must be on our guard against the spirit of worldliness. It has been noticed that the greatest naturalists, poets, and philosophers are singularly unworldly men. It seems as if they can see the rarer beauty of the world, hear the music of the spheres, catch the subtler suggestions of phenomena only as they are free from all secularity of spirit. The best and the highest of the things that are seen are discerned and appreciated only by men cleansed from the spirit of greed, and pride, and self. And this in a very high degree is true of the preacher. It is only when the eye is single that the whole body is full of light.
3. We must watch against sensuality. Sensual, not having the Spirit, writes the apostle. Now sensual indulgence clouds the genius of the artist and the scholar. Hugh Miller tells us that when he was a young man he one day drank some liquor, and on turning to read Milton found himself incapable of appreciating the great master. So any form of sensuality renders the spiritual man incapable of influentially realising the great discoveries of revelation. Sensual thought makes the higher perceptions impossible, the gross film blinds the eye of the soul. Purity of thought and feeling are essential to a really great preacher. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see the best of everything, and they possess a wonderful faculty for making other people feel the power and charm of truth and goodness. We have spoken this morning of the patterns God showed to Moses and to David, but we must remember that He has shown to us another order of patterns, sublimer far than archetypes of architecture and upholstery. God who in times past spake unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these latter days spoken unto us by His Son. Our Lord Jesus Christ has taken us into the Mount and shown us patterns of things in the heavens. Study the New Testament and you will find set forth with clearness the ultimate moral ideals after which the ages have blindly striven. At Nazareth and Bethany you see the ideal home. You have seen the ideal Church when you have seen Christ dwelling with His disciples. And, more than all, comprehending all, you behold the supreme ideal of character, We see Jesus. All the great ideals are in this writing by His hand, not the shadow of heavenly things, but the very substance of the things. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Gods handwriting upon David
The temple was to be a type, an eminent type of Christ, and also a type of His Church. No man knew what God meant to teach by that temple; and consequently if it had been left to human judgment, it would not have been a true type; for who can make a type if he knows not what it is to typify? God alone knew what He intended to teach by this building, and so that it might convey Divine teaching, it must be arranged according to Divine command. I call your attention–
I. To the singular instructions given to David.
1. David did not receive them by consultation with others.
2. David did not slavishly follow the former model.
3. God gave David instructions about the details of the work.
4. The directions given were extremely minute.
5. The innermost things were laid bare to David.
6. David not only knew the details; but he understood them.
7. The writing was written on Davids own mind by God Himself.
II. The spiritual tuition of the saints in the truth of God.
1. God still writes upon the hearts of men.
2. Let me show you a little in detail how God writes the great truths of His Word on our hearts.
III. The duty of the transmission to others of anything that god writes on your hearts.
1. David told Solomon about it.
2. We ought to talk about Christ to chosen companions.
3. David gathered all the people together and told them about the temple. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 19. Understand in writing] In some vision of ecstasy he had seen a regularly sketched out plan, which had made so deep an impression on his mind that he could readily describe it to his son.
“That the architecture of the temple,” says Dr. Delaney, “was of Divine origin, I, for my part, am fully satisfied from this passage, and am confirmed in this opinion by finding from Vilalpandas that the Roman, at least the Greek, architecture is derived from this, as from its fountain; and in my humble opinion even an infidel may easily believe these to be of Divine original, inasmuch as they are, at least the latter is, found perfect in the earliest models; nor hath the utmost reach of human wisdom, invention, and industry, been ever able to improve it, or alter it but to disadvantage, through the course of so many ages.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The meaning is either,
1. That God revealed this to Samuel, (see 1Ch 9:22) or Gad, or Nathan, or some other man of God, who put it into writing, and by them to David. Or,
2. That God did, as it were, by his own hand and finger, (wherewith he wrote the ten commandments, Exo 31:18) write these things upon the table of my mind, which now I deliver to thee.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me,…. Either by an impulse of his Spirit on him, whereby it was as it were written on his mind, and as clearly represented to him, as if he had it in writing before him; though the Jews think that all was first made known to Samuel, or some other prophet, who delivered it to David in writing, as from the Lord: but I see not why it may not be understood that David had the pattern of the temple, and all things relative to it, by an handwriting from the Lord himself, through the ministry of angels, as Moses received the two tables, the handwriting of the Lord, from himself; for the words, as they lie in order in the Hebrew text, are, the whole of this “in writing from the hand of the Lord, unto me, he made me to understand: even all the works of this pattern”; the particulars of which are given before.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(19) All this said David.The words with which David delivered the plans of the building and the schedule of its vessels to Solomon. The omission of any introductory formula, such as And David said, is dramatic. (Comp. 1Ch. 16:8; 1Ch. 23:4-5.) Literally rendered, after the Hebrew punctuation, the verse runs:The whole in a writing from the hand of Jehovah, to me he made clear; all the works of the model. With the expression a writing from the hand of Jehovah (comp. Exo. 31:18; Exo. 25:40), David affirms his pattern of the sanctuary and its vessels to have been conceived, and described in writing, under that Divine guidance which he sought and followed in all the great enterprises of his life. Whether the writing was a communication by the hand of one of Davids seers, or merely the description of the Mosaic sanctuary (Exodus 25 seq.), is not clear. The verb he taught (hiskl) requires an object, such as is supplied in the Authorised version: made me understand. It takes a dative (Pro. 21:11), and probably the word rendered upon me is really a later equivalent of the same construction. Else we might compare Neh. 2:8, Eze. 1:3, and render: The whole, in a writing from the hand of Jehovah upon me, he taught, implying that David himself sketched out the whole design under Divine inspiration. Perhaps the text is corrupt.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. The Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me Literally, the whole in a writing from the hand of Jehovah upon me he taught, all the works of the pattern. The meaning of this passage seems to be, that David had committed his plans for the temple to writing, and having modelled them largely after the pattern of the tabernacle, and conscious of the Divine inspiration and approval with which he wrote, he presented his patterns to Solomon as no devices or plans of his own invention, but as truly God-given as that received by Moses in the mount. Exo 25:40. It need not be assumed, however, that David received the revelation of his plans in the same way that Moses did those of the tabernacle.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ch 28:19. All this, said David, the Lord made me understand, &c. All these were delineated, as the Lord gave him understanding, of all the work which the pattern set forth. Houbigant. That the architecture of the temple was of divine original, I, for my part, am fully satisfied from this passage; and I am confirmed in this persuasion by finding from Villalpandus, that the Roman, or at least the Greek architecture, is derived from this, as from its fountain: and, in my humble opinion, even an infidel may easily believe these to be of divine original, inasmuch as they are (at least the latter is) found perfect in the earliest models: nor has the utmost reach of human wisdom, invention, and industry, been ever able (though often endeavouring) to improve or alter it, but to disadvantage, throughout the course of so many ages. See Delaney’s Life of David.
REFLECTIONS.1st, Sinking under age and infirmities, the good old king makes one last effort to address the grand assembly that he had convened for the solemn appointment of his successor.
1. He opens his speech with the most gracious expressions; and while as their king he demands attention, he calls them his brethren, and beloved people, to testify the affection that he bore them, and to engage a more ready concurrence with his intentions. Note; (1.) Christ, the greater king of his Israel, is not ashamed of his endeared relation, Heb 2:11. (2.) Respect and kindness to inferiors will engage their more cheerful service.
2. He lets them know his intentions to have built a temple for the ark, the footstool of God, his presence being visible over it between the cherubims; but God, for the reasons given, chap. 1Ch 22:7-8 prevented him, and reserved it for his son’s reign, who should have leisure for the vast undertaking. However, he had made vast preparations to facilitate the work.
3. He informs them of the divine appointment of Solomon for his successor; nor need it seem strange to them, that a younger son of his family was preferred to this honour. Judah and Jesse were younger branches, and himself the youngest son, yet advanced to the kingdom by the appointment of the Lord. God has a right to chuse who shall rule his people, and Solomon is appointed to that station of eminence, and ordained to build the glorious temple; and if he approved himself faithful to God, as he had begun, the prosperity of his kingdom would be for ever established. Note; (1.) Every son of God, and heir of his kingdom, reigns, not in right of nature, but of grace. (2.) Perseverance in the path of duty is the only way to make our calling and election sure.
4. He solemnly, in the presence of God and the congregation, charges them to search what is the will of God, and diligently and faithfully to obey it, which was not only their bounden duty, but also their highest interest, as what would secure to them and theirs the possession of their glorious inheritance. Note; (1.) If we would follow God faithfully, we must search the scriptures diligently, that we may know what he would have us to do. (2.) The best inheritance we can leave our children, is the example of our piety, and the blessing of God promised thereupon.
Lastly, He concludes with a striking exhortation to his son: [1.] To know his father’s God, to be acquainted with his glorious perfections, and to remember the mercies received from him, as the strongest obligation to love and obey him. [2.] To serve him in sincerity and truth, with delight and readiness. Note; Love to God makes us count none of his commandments grievous. [3.] He urges this exhortation with the consideration of God’s all-searching wisdom, who knows the secrets of all hearts, and who rewards and punishes with unbiassed equity those who faithfully seek him, or those who perfidiously forsake him. Note; It is just, that they who forsake God should be forsaken by him. [4.] As he was peculiarly honoured, as chosen of God to build the temple, he was more especially called upon to take heed to his ways, that he might walk and please God, and not be discouraged at any difficulties, since God, who had appointed him to the work, was able to carry him through. Note; (1.) We can never be sufficiently jealous of ourselves, or confident in God. (2.) When God employs us, we may be sure that he will support us.
2nd, We have here,
1. An exact copy given to Solomon of the temple, vessels, and manner of service in it, either by divine inspiration communicated to David, or written by the finger of God, as the tables of the law were.
2. That the vessels might be exact, David weighed the gold and silver for each; vast and immense they were in number and size, amounting, according to a Jewish author, to no less than 810,000. Beside the original golden table and candlestick which were in the tabernacle, ten others of the same sort were placed in the temple opposite each other. The silver candlesticks seem to have been for the priests’ apartments, and the silver tables probably for the use of the court where the sacrifices were prepared and offered. Note; When Jesus, the true temple, appeared among them, his outward form seemed not to correspond to this glorious type; but they who by faith discovered the incarnate God, beheld his glory infinitely surpassing.
3. David repeats his encouragement. No expence, danger, or difficulty, must deter him. God being his helper, he might be assured of success, as David could testify by experience; and he might expect ready assistance from priests, princes, and people, whom God would incline to further the work to the utmost of their power. Note; (1.) If we have God’s promises on our side, it becomes us to renounce every unbelieving fear. (2.) When ministers and people are truly influenced by the spirit of God, they become hearty in the work, and the spiritual building rises gloriously.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
“Handfuls of Purpose,”
For All Gleaners
“All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing, by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.” 1Ch 28:19 .
Thus David would not be a plagiarist. Instead of saying that his own genius had invented the pattern, he distinctly, as in the 12th verse, said, “The pattern of all that he had by the spirit,” and again, in the 19th verse, “The Lord made me understand.” In reality there is but one Architect. The Lord is the builder of all things. He supplies the material, he inspires the genius, he directs the skill; in short, they labour in vain that build the temple if the Lord be not with them and within them. Of every man it may be inquired, What hast thou that thou hast not received? We should look beyond the vessel to the treasure, beyond the instrument to the user of it. The organ did not build itself; the organ cannot play itself; it must be an instrument used mightily and wisely, yea, with cunning skill, and not a little tender sympathy, by a living soul. Have we correctly read the plans of God, so far as he has outlined them? Have we not worked much under them, rather than fully up to all their possibility of meaning and use? Have we not been afraid to mention all the ideas which God has communicated to us? We may have feared the people, we may have feared our equals, we may have feared some loss of reputation or remuneration, by going out of the common way and declaring that God has made a narration to us respecting the enlargement of his purpose or the variation of his providence. In this way we are to read the Bible. David would say the same about his Psalms that is said about the patterns of the temple and its contents. At the end of each psalm he would have written, This is what the Lord made me understand; or, This is the pattern that I have had by the spirit. The same may be said of the whole Bible: it is God’s book, it is God’s plan of his earthly sphere, it is God’s outline of providence and redemption. We have to carry out many details, we have to readjust elements and materials to suit the image and aspect of the times passing over us; but we must never alter the plan, the essential thought, the ruling purpose of God. We must not regard the Bible as of human origin; in every line of it we must see the movement of the Eternal Spirit.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
1Ch 28:19 All [this, said David], the LORD made me understand in writing by [his] hand upon me, [even] all the works of this pattern.
Ver. 19. To understand in writing. ] Either of his own setting down, by divine direction; or else of God’s setting down, and sent him by an angel, or by some prophet.
By his hand upon me.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the Lord: 1Ch 28:11, 1Ch 28:12, Exo 25:40, Exo 26:30
by his hand upon me: Eze 1:3, Eze 3:14, Eze 3:22
Reciprocal: Exo 27:8 – as it was showed Exo 39:32 – according 2Ki 16:10 – the pattern 2Ch 4:7 – according to 2Ch 8:14 – so had David the man of God commanded 2Ch 29:25 – according Pro 8:12 – knowledge Eze 40:2 – frame Eze 43:10 – show Act 7:44 – that he Heb 8:5 – See
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ch 28:19. The Lord made me understated in writing The meaning is, either, 1st, That God revealed this to Samuel, or Gad, or Nathan or some other man of God, to be by them put in writing, and communicated to David: or, 2d, That God did, as it were, by his own hand and finger, (wherewith he wrote the ten commandments,) write these things upon the table of his mind.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
28:19 All [this, said David], the LORD made me understand in writing {k} by [his] hand upon me, [even] all the works of this pattern.
(k) For all this was left in writing in the book of the Law, Exo 25:40 , which the king was bound to put in execution, De 17:19.