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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Chronicles 22:6 - 22:19
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David's Instructions to Solomon
v. 6. Then he called for Solomon, his son, while he was still in possession of all his faculties, and charged him, with all earnestness and solemnity, to build an house for the Lord God of Israel.
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; he emphasizes this point as one of the supreme desires of his life, the one great unfulfilled wish of his career;
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. Cf 1Ch_28:3; 1Ki_5:3.
v. 9. Behold, a son shall be born to thee who shall be a man of rest, 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 ("peaceful"), and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
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. Here the prophecy of 2Sa_7:12-14 is taken in its narrower sense, although the Messianic element is not wanting.
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. It was a sacred duty which was hereby laid upon Solomon as David's heir and successor.
v. 12. Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, 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, as the leader of the people also in this respect.
v. 13. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel, 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. 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.
v. 14. Now, behold, in my trouble, 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, the total sum being estimated between two and four billions of dollars, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance, 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.
v. 15. Moreover, there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, 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.
v. 16. of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron there is no number; 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! Solomon was even now to make his plans and to estimate the costs of the entire building with all its equipment.
v. 17. David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon, his son, saying,
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, and therefore the remembrance of all God's former grace was the chief reason for this urgent invitation.
v. 19. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord, your God, 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. 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.