1Ch 22:6-19<\/span><\/p>\n Then he called for Solomon his son.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Davids charge to Solomon<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>To cherish a lofty ideal for his son. This does not require that the father should undertake to decide the particulars of his sons career. This would involve the danger of weakening his will, of lessening his power of independent judgment and free choice. I have seen an apricot tree trained to a wall, trunk and branch fastened to it by nails and bands. It made a vine of what was meant to be a tree. If it had been taken from the wall it would have lain limp on the ground.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>To make the example of his own daily living one which will help and stimulate his son. A wise father will recognise the fact that he commends to his boy, not that which he praises, but that which he pursues. It is not by telling our children what we wish them to become that we mould them most effectually; it is by the evidence which they get from our daily living, as to bur main desire and hope for them. The unintended influence of the home is that which will move them most. The atmospheric influence is more pervasive than that which comes from medicine.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>He may provide means by which his son may carry out his purpose and friends to help him in it.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>By the law of heredity.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>By this harmonious environment a wise father can largely shape the influences under which his son grows up.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>By the improved opportunity which comes to him as his fathers son and heir. Solomon has but to keep with care what David has acquired with hard work. The son stands naturally upon the platform to reach which the father has come by climbing the steep ladder. Many a son to-day has grand opportunity for noble living which has been gained for him by the toils of those who have gone before him. But only opportunity. There is a sermon in the word opportunity. It is that which is ob portus, over against the harbour; but there your fleet may rot at anchor as readily as it may be submerged at sea. The skilful master must raise the anchor, set the sail, take advantage of the favouring breeze, steer his craft to port, or all the shipbuilders skill has been for naught. All the advantages of the most favoured son will amount to nothing unless he will himself arise and build. Honour is not in what is inherited, but in what is accomplished. (Monday Club Sermons.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Davids charge to Solomon:–<\/strong><\/p>\n Learn<\/strong><\/p>\n But the word of the Lord came to me, saying<\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong>—<\/strong><\/p>\n Gods word to David<\/strong><\/p>\n How the word of the Lord came to David we do not know. In what way soever the communication was made to David, the communication itself is of singular moral value.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Say that the Lord delivered the message immediately in audible words, we have then the doctrine that God will not permit men of blood to end their career as if they had been guiltless of blood-shedding.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Say that David uttered these words out of the depths of his own consciousness, then we have the doctrine that there is a moral fitness of things that hands stained with blood should not be put forth in the erection of a house of prayer. The house of God is to be a house of peace, the sanctuary of rest, a Sabbatic building, calm with the tranquillity of heaven, unstained by the vices and attachments of earth. (J. Parker,<\/em> D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Behold, a son shall be born to thee. A son predicted<\/strong><\/p>\n The prediction of Solomons birth<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a forecast which is full of moral instruction; it shows how God knows every man who is coming into the world, what his character will be, what function he will have to discharge, and what will be the effect of his ministry upon his day and generation. The Christian believes that every event is ordered from above, that every man is born at the right time, is permitted to live for a proper period if he be obedient to providence, and that the mission of every man is assigned, limited, and accentuated: all we <\/strong>have to do is to say, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? and to obey what we honestly believe to be the voice from heaven. (J. Parker,<\/em> D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Verse 6<\/span>. Solomon <\/B><\/I>– is <\/B>young and tender<\/B><\/I>] He is as yet without complete knowledge and due experience; and it is necessary that I should make as much preparation for the work as I possibly can; especially as the house is to be exceedingly magnificent.<\/P> <\/p>\n 6. Then he called for Solomon . . .and charged him<\/B>The earnestness and solemnity of this addresscreates an impression that it was given a little before the oldking’s decease. He unfolded his great and long cherished plan,enjoined the building of God’s house as a sacred duty on him as hisson and successor, and described the resources that were at commandfor carrying on the work. The vast amount of personal property he hadaccumulated in the precious metals [1Ch22:14<\/span>] must have been spoil taken from the people he hadconquered, and the cities he had sacked.<\/P><\/p>\n Then he called for Solomon his son<\/strong>,…. To be brought before him:<\/p>\n and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel<\/strong>; which charge was given a little before his death, after he had made great preparations for this work, as appears from 1Ch 22:5<\/span>.<\/p>\n Solomon commissioned to build the temple<\/em>. – 1Ch 22:6<\/span>. Before his death (1Ch 22:5<\/span>) David called his son Solomon, in order to commit to him the building of the temple, and to press it strongly upon him, 1Ch 22:7-10<\/span>. With this design, he informs him that it had been his intention to build a temple to the Lord, but the Lord had not permitted him to carry out this resolve, but had committed it to his son. The Keri<\/em> (1Ch 22:7<\/span>) is, notwithstanding the general worthlessness of the corrections in the Keri<\/em>, probably to be preferred here to the Keth. , for might have easily arisen by the copyist’s eye having wandered to , 1Ch 22:6<\/span>. David’s addressing him as is very fitting, nay, even necessary, and not contrary to the following . , it was with my heart, i.e., I had intended, occurs indeed very often in the Chronicle, e.g., 1Ch 28:2<\/span>; 2Ch 1:11<\/span>; 2Ch 6:7<\/span>., 1Ch 9:1<\/span>; 1Ch 24:4<\/span>; 1Ch 29:10<\/span>, but is also found in other books where the sense demands it, e.g., Jos 14:7<\/span>; 1Ki 8:17<\/span>., 1Ch 10:2<\/span>. In , There came to me the word of Jahve (1Ch 22:8<\/span>), it is implied that the divine word was given to him as a command. The reason which David gives why the Lord did not allow him to build the temple is not stated in 1 Chron 17 (2 Sam 7), to which David here refers; instead of the reason, only the promise is there communicated, that the Lord would first build him a house, and enduringly establish his throne. This promise does not exclude the reason stated here and in 1Ch 28:3<\/span>, but rather implies it. As the temple was only to be built when God had enduringly established the throne of David, David could not execute this work, for he still had to conduct wars – wars, too, of the Lord – for the establishment of his kingdom, as Solomon also states it in his embassy to Hiram. Wars and bloodshed, however, are unavoidable and necessary in this earth for the establishment of the kingdom of God in opposition to its enemies, but are not consonant with its nature, as it was to receive a visible embodiment and expression in the temple. For the kingdom of God is in its essence a kingdom of peace; and battle, or war, or struggle, are only means for the restoration of peace, the reconciliation of mankind with God after the conquest of sin and all that is hostile to God in this world. See on 2Sa 7:11<\/span>. David, therefore, the man of war, is not to build the temple, but (1Ch 22:9<\/span>.) his son; and to him the Lord will give peace from all his enemies, so that he shall be , a man of rest, and shall rightly bear the name Shelomo (Solomon), i.e., Friederich (rich in peace, Eng. Frederick), for God would give to Israel in his days, i.e., in his reign, peace and rest ( ). The participle after has the signification of the future, shall be born; cf. 1Ki 13:2<\/span>. , not a man who procures peace (Jer 51:59<\/span>), but one who enjoys peace, as the following shows. As to the name , see on 2Sa 12:24<\/span>. Into 1Ch 22:10<\/span> David compresses the promise contained in 1Ch 17:12<\/span> and 1Ch 17:13<\/span>.<\/p>\n The Charge to Solomon.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 1015.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for the LORD<\/B> God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the LORD<\/B> my God: 8 But the word of the LORD<\/B> came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be<\/I> his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. 11 Now, my son, the LORD<\/B> be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD<\/B> thy God, as he hath said of thee. 12 Only the LORD<\/B> give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD<\/B> thy God. 13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD<\/B> charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed. 14 Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD<\/B> a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. 15 Moreover there are<\/I> workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. 16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is<\/I> no number. Arise therefore,<\/I> and be doing, and the LORD<\/B> be with thee.<\/P> Though Solomon was young and tender, he was capable of receiving instructions, which his father accordingly gave him, concerning the work for which he was designed. When David came to the throne he had many things to do, for the foundations were all out of course; but Solomon had only one thing in charge, and that was to build a house for the Lord God of Israel,<\/I> v.<\/span> 6<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Now,<\/P> I. David tells him why he did not do it himself. It was in his mind to do it (v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>), but God forbade him, because he had shed much blood,<\/I> v.<\/span> 8<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Some think this refers to the blood of Uriah, which fastened such a reproach upon him as rendered him unworthy the honour of building the temple: but that honour was forbidden him before he had shed that blood; therefore it must be meant, as it is here explained, of the blood he shed in his wars (for he had been a man of war from his youth), which, though shed very justly and honourably in the service of God and Israel, yet made him unfit to be employed in this service, or rather less fit than another that had never been called to such bloody work. God, by assigning this as the reason of laying David aside from this work, showed how precious human life is to him, and intended a type of him who should build the gospel temple, not by destroying men’s lives,<\/I> but by saving them,<\/I> Luke ix. 56<\/I><\/span>.<\/P> II. He gives him the reason why he imposed this task upon him. 1. Because God had designed him for it, nominated him as the man that should do it: A son shall be born to thee,<\/I> that shall be called Solomon,<\/I> and he shall build a house for my name,<\/I>1Ch 22:9<\/span>; 1Ch 22:10<\/span>. Nothing is more powerful to engage us to any service for God, and encourage us in it, than to know that hereunto we are appointed. 2. Because he would have leisure and opportunity to do it. He should be a man of rest, and therefore should not have his time, or thoughts, or wealth, diverted from this business. He should have rest from his enemies abroad (none of them should invade or threaten him, or give him provocation), and he should have peace and quietness at home; and therefore let him build the house. Note, Where God gives rest he expects work. 3. Because God had promised to establish his kingdom. Let this encourage him to honour God, that God had honour in store for him; let him build up God’s house, and God will build up his throne. Note, God’s gracious promises should quicken and invigorate our religious service.<\/P> III. He delivers him an account of the vast preparations he had made for this building (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>), not in a way of pride and vain glory (he speaks of it as a poor thing–I have, in my poverty, prepared,<\/I> margin), but as an encouragement to Solomon to engage cheerfully in the work, for which so solid a foundation was laid. The treasure here mentioned of the 100,000 talents of gold, and 1,000,000 talents of silver, amounts to such an incredible sum that most interpreters either allow an error in the copy or think the talent here signifies no more than a plate or piece: ingots<\/I> we call them. I am inclined to suppose that a certain number is here put for an uncertain, because it is said (v.<\/I><\/span> 16<\/span>) that of the gold and silver, as well as of the brass and iron, there was no number, and that David here includes all the dedicated things (ch.<\/I><\/span> xviii. 11<\/span>) which he designed for the house of the Lord,<\/I> that is, not only for the building of it, but for the treasure of it; and putting all together, it might come pretty near what is here spoken of. Hundreds and thousands are numbers which we often use to express that which is very much, when yet we would not be understood strictly.<\/P> IV. He charges them to keep God’s commandments and to take heed to his duty in every thing, v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>. He must not think by building the temple to purchase a dispensation to sin; no, on the contrary, his doing that would not be accepted, nor accounted of, if he did not take heed to fulfil the statutes which the Lord charged Moses with,<\/I> v.<\/span> 13<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Though he was to be king of Israel, he must always remember that he was a subject to the God of Israel.<\/P> V. He encourages him to go about this great work, and to go on in it (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>): “Be strong, and of good courage,<\/I> Though it is a vast undertaking, thou needest not fear coming under the reproach of the foolish builder, who began to build and was not able to finish it; it is God’s work, and it shall come to perfection. Dread not, nor be dismayed.<\/I>” In our spiritual work, as well as in our spiritual warfare, we have need of courage and resolution.<\/P> VI. He quickens him not to rest in the preparations he had made, but to add thereto, v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>. Those that enter into the labours of others, and build upon their advantages, must still be improving.<\/P> VII. He prays for him: The Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel,<\/I> v.<\/span> 12<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Whatever charge we have, if we see God giving us the charge and calling us to it, we may hope he will give us wisdom for the discharge of it. Perhaps Solomon had an eye to this prayer of his father for him, in the prayer he offered for himself: Lord, give me a wise and understanding heart.<\/I> He concludes (v.<\/I><\/span> 16<\/span>), Up, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.<\/I> Hope of God’s presence must not slacken our endeavours. Though the Lord be with us, we must rise and be doing,<\/I> and, if we do this, we have reason to believe he is and will be with us. Work out your salvation, and God will work in you.<\/P> <\/p>\n (6) Then he called.<\/strong>And he called Solomon.<\/em> When? After completing his preparations, and shortly before his death (1Ch. 22:5<\/span>). (Comp. 1Ki. 2:1-9<\/span>, especially 1Ch. 22:3-4<\/span>, of which we seem to hear echoes in the present speech.) Upon grounds of internal evidence we may pronounce this dying address of David to be an ideal composition, put into the kings mouth by the unknown author whose work the chronicler follows: or rather, perhaps, by the chronicler himself, whose style is evident throughout. (Comp. the addresses attributed to David in 1 Chronicles 28<\/span>)<\/p>\n For the Lord God of Israel.<\/strong>There ought to be a comma after Lord. Literally the phrase would run, For Jehovah, the God of Israel.<\/em> Thus the stress lies on the national aspect of the Deity, for whom Solomon was to undertake this national work.<\/p>\n (6-16) David gives formal charge to Solomon to build the Temple.<\/p>\n 6-16<\/strong>. <\/strong> David’s charge to Solomon, here recorded, belongs to the same period as that of 1Ki 2:1-10<\/span>. One passage supplements the other, and the contrast between them is very noticeable. The writer of Kings was concerned more particularly with the political history of David, and records the aged king’s counsel to his son in reference to dangerous political enemies; the chronicler omits all that, and records only the charge of David respecting the building of the temple.<\/p>\n David’s Instructions to Solomon<\/p>\n v. 6. Then he called for Solomon, his son,<\/strong> while he was still in possession of all his faculties, and charged him,<\/strong> with all earnestness and solemnity, to build an house for the Lord God of Israel. <\/p>\n v. 7. And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord, my God;<\/strong> he emphasizes this point as one of the supreme desires of his life, the one great unfulfilled wish of his career; <\/p>\n v. 8. but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly and hast made great wars; thou shalt not build an house unto My name because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in My sight. <\/strong> Cf 1Ch 28:3<\/span>; 1Ki 5:3<\/span>. <\/p>\n v. 9. Behold, a son shall be born to thee who shall be a man of rest,<\/strong> not chiefly a warrior, as David had been; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon<\/strong> (“peaceful”), and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. <\/p>\n v. 10. He shall build an house for My name; and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever. <\/strong> Here the prophecy of 2Sa 7:12-14<\/span> is taken in its narrower sense, although the Messianic element is not wanting. <\/p>\n v. 11. Now, my son, the Lord be with thee, and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord, thy God, as He hath said of thee. <\/strong> It was a sacred duty which was hereby laid upon Solomon as David’s heir and successor. <\/p>\n v. 12. Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding,<\/strong> both the right knowledge and the faculty to apply it properly, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the Law of the Lord, thy God,<\/strong> as the leader of the people also in this respect. <\/p>\n v. 13. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel,<\/strong> not only the special precepts of the covenant, but also those pertaining to the general duties toward all mankind. Be strong and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed. <\/strong> Since the undertaking was to be made to the glory of God alone, therefore the trust of Solomon was to be placed in Him with steadfast faith, and he was to be confident of success. <\/p>\n v. 14. Now, behold, in my trouble,<\/strong> in spite of the fact that the wars in which he was engaged often interfered with his pet hope and desire, I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold and a thousand thousand talents of silver,<\/strong> the total sum being estimated between two and four billions of dollars, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance,<\/strong> largely taken from people whom he had conquered and from cities which he had sacked. Timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. <\/p>\n v. 15. Moreover, there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber,<\/strong> both masons and carpenters, all selected chiefly from the conquered people living in the midst of Israel, v. 2, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. <\/p>\n v. 16. of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron there is no number;<\/strong> the amounts were so incredibly large that ordinary methods of keeping track of the mass were inadequate. Arise, therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee!<\/strong> Solomon was even now to make his plans and to estimate the costs of the entire building with all its equipment. <\/p>\n v. 17. David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon, his son, saying, <\/p>\n v. 18. 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 mine hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people,<\/strong> and therefore the remembrance of all God’s former grace was the chief reason for this urgent invitation. <\/p>\n v. 19. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord, your God,<\/strong> that being the basis of a Christian life in all true believers. Arise, therefore, and build ye the Sanctuary of the Lord God to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord. <\/strong> With this same zeal to inspire them, the believers of the New Testament will make it the object of their lives to build the Lord’s temple, the Church of Christ, to the glory of God’s holy name. <\/p>\n The time of this address of David to his son, as well as the occasion, being, as we are told, just before his death, gives great weight and energy to it. It is indeed a most interesting address from a father to a son. Like a parent anxious for his son’s welfare, and in that grand point, which of all others is most interesting, David charges Solomon to be very attentive in this business, to which the Lord had called him. There is a beautiful intimation which David gives to Solomon, in that the Lord had reserved this honour to him, and would not suffer David to accomplish it. David had had his hands all his days engaged in the Lord’s battles. But Solomon’s reign was to be a peaceful reign. How sweetly this points to Him whose kingdom was in righteousness and peace, and who alone was competent to build the house, and to bear all the glory. Zec 6:13<\/span> .<\/p>\n 1 Chronicles<\/p>\n DAVID’S PROHIBITED DESIRE AND PERMITTED SERVICE<\/p>\n 1Ch 22:6 – 1Ch 22:16 <\/strong> .<\/p>\n This passage falls into three parts. In 1Ch 22:6 – 1Ch 22:10 the old king tells of the divine prohibition which checked his longing to build the Temple; in 1Ch 22:11 – 1Ch 22:13 he encourages his more fortunate successor, and points him to the only source of strength for his happy task; in 1Ch 22:14 – 1Ch 22:16 he enumerates the preparations which he had made, the possession of which laid stringent obligations on Solomon.<\/p>\n I. <\/strong> There is a tone of wistfulness in David’s voice as he tells how his heart’s desire had been prohibited. The account is substantially the same as we have in 2Sa 7:4 – 2Sa 7:16 , but it adds as the reason for the prohibition David’s warlike career. We may note the earnestness and the motive of the king’s desire to build the Temple. ‘It was in my heart’; that implies earnest longing and fixed purpose. He had brooded over the wish till it filled his mind, and was consolidated into a settled resolve. Many a musing, solitary moment had fed the fire before it burned its way out in the words addressed to Nathan. So should our whole souls be occupied with our parts in God’s service, and so should our desires be strongly set towards carrying out what in solitary meditation we have felt borne in on us as our duty.<\/p>\n The moving spring of David’s design is beautifully suggested in the simple words ‘unto the name of the Lord my God.’ David’s religion was eminently a personal bond between him and God. We may almost say that he was the first to give utterance to that cry of the devout heart, ‘My God,’ and to translate the generalities of the name ‘the God of Israel’ into the individual appropriation expressed by the former designation. It occurs in many of the psalms attributed to him, and may fairly be regarded as a characteristic of his ardent and individualising devotion. The sense of a close, personal relation to God naturally prompted the impulse to build His house. We must claim our own portion in the universal blessings shrined in His name before we are moved to deeds of loving sacrifice. We must feel that Christ ‘loved me, and gave Himself for me,’ before we are melted into answering surrender.<\/p>\n The reason for the frustrating of David’s desire, as here given, is his career as a warrior king. Not only was it incongruous that hands which had been reddened with blood should rear the Temple, but the fact that his reign had been largely occupied with fighting for the existence of the kingdom showed that the time for engaging in such a work, which would task the national resources, had not yet come. We may draw two valuable lessons from the prohibition. One is that it indicates the true character of the kingdom of God as a kingdom of peace, which is to be furthered, not by force, but in peace and gentleness. The other is that various epochs and men have different kinds of duties in relation to Christ’s cause, some being called on to fight, and others to build, and that the one set of tasks may be as sacred and as necessary for the rearing of the Temple as the other. Militant epochs are not usually times for building. The men who have to do destructive work are not usually blessed with the opportunity or the power to carry out constructive work. Controversy has its sphere, but it is mostly preliminary to true ‘edification.’ In the broadest view all the activity of the Church on earth is militant, and we have to wait for the coming of the true ‘Prince of peace’ to build up the true Temple in the land of peace, whence all foes have been cast out for ever. To serve God in God’s way, and to give up our cherished plans, is not easy; but David sets us an example of simple-hearted, cheerful acquiescence in a Providence that thwarted darling designs. There is often much self-will in what looks like enthusiastic perseverance in some form of service.<\/p>\n II. <\/strong> The charge to Solomon breathes no envy of his privilege, but earnest desire that he may be worthy of the honour which falls to him. Petitions and exhortations are closely blended in it, and, though the work which Solomon is called to do is of an external sort, the qualifications laid down for it are spiritual and moral. However ‘secular’ our work in connection with God’s service may be, it will not be rightly done unless the highest motives are brought to bear on it, and it is performed as worship. The basis of all successful work is God’s presence with us, so David prays for that to be granted to Solomon as the beginning of all his fitness for his task.<\/p>\n Next, David recalls to his son God’s promise concerning him, that it may hearten him to undertake and to carry on the great work. A conviction that our service is appointed for us by God is essential for vigorous and successful Christian work. We must have, in some way or other, heard Him ‘speak concerning us,’ if we are to fling ourselves with energy into it.<\/p>\n The petitions in 1Ch 22:12 seem to stretch beyond the necessities of the case, in so far as building the Temple is concerned. Wisdom and understanding, and a clear consciousness of the duty enjoined on him by God in reference to Israel, were surely more than that work required. But the qualifications for God’s service, however the manner of service may be concerned with ‘the outward business of the house of God,’ are always these which David asked for Solomon. The highest result of true ‘wisdom and understanding’ given by God is keeping God’s law; and keeping it is the one condition on which we shall obtain and retain that presence of God with us which David prayed for Solomon, and without which they labour in vain that build. A life conformed to God’s will is the absolutely indispensable condition of all prosperity in direct Christian effort. The noblest exercise of our wisdom and understanding is to obey every word that we hear proceeding out of the mouth of God.<\/p>\n III. <\/strong> There is something very pathetic in the old king’s enumeration of the treasures which, by the economies of a lifetime, he had amassed. The amount stated is enormous, and probably there is some clerical error in the numbers specified. Be that as it may, the sum was very large. It represented many an act of self-denial, many a resolute shearing off of superfluities and what might seem necessaries. It was the visible token of long years of fixed attention to one object. And that devotion was all the more noble because the result of it was never to be seen by the man who exercised it.<\/p>\n Therein David is but a very conspicuous example of a law which runs through all our work for God. None of us are privileged to perform completed tasks. ‘One soweth and another reapeth.’ We have to be content to do partial work, and to leave its completion to our successors. There is but one Builder of whom it can be said that His hands ‘have laid the foundation of this house; His hands shall also finish it.’ He who is the ‘Alpha and Omega,’ and He alone, begins and completes the work in which He has neither sharers nor predecessors nor successors. The rest of us do our little bit of the great work which lasts on through the ages, and, having inherited unfinished tasks, transmit them to those who come after us. It is privilege enough for any Christian to lay foundations on which coming days may build. We are like the workers on some great cathedral, which was begun long before the present generation of masons were born, and will not be finished until long after they have dropped trowel and mallet from their dead hands. Enough for us if we can lay one course of stones in that great structure. The greater our aims, the less share has each man in their attainment. But the division of labour is the multiplication of joy, and all who have shared in the toil will be united in the final triumph. It would be poor work that was capable of being begun and perfected in a lifetime. The labourer that dug and levelled the track and the engineer that drives the locomotive over it are partners. Solomon could not have built the Temple unless, through long, apparently idle, years, David had been patiently gathering together the wealth which he bequeathed. So, if our work is but preparatory for that of those who come after, let us not think it of slight importance, and let us be sure that all who have had any portion in the toil shall share in the victory, that ‘he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.’<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>A fathers privilege.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>A sons advantage. From all that a good father thus can do a son has no small advantage.<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>That some originate a good work, but are not permitted to execute it.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>That others may be called to execute work which they never originated.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>That when called, they should finish the work given them to do. (J. Wolfendale.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>Son of David; so was Christ.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>A man of rest; so was Christ.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>The giver of peace; so was Christ.<\/p>\n
IV. <\/strong>He had a significant name; so has Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
V. <\/strong>He was a glorious king; so is Christ.<\/p>\n
VI. <\/strong>His great work was the building of the temple; so is the work of Christ. (Biblical Museum.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n