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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Chronicles 29:1 - 29:9
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The offering of the Princes and of the People
v. 1. Furthermore, David the king said unto all the congregation, assembled before him in its representatives, Solomon, my son, whom alone God hath chosen, and not one of the other sons who had attempted to gain the crown for themselves, is yet young and tender, still a young and inexperienced man, for this was before the Lord had endowed him with extraordinary wisdom, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God, and therefore it must be decidedly out of the ordinary in every respect.
v. 2. Now, I have prepared with all my might, with all the effort he could summon, for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, either sardonyx or beryl, and stones to be set, glistering stones, of a very dark glancing color, such as carbuncles or rubies, and of divers colors, mottled like agates, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
v. 3. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, because his whole heart and mind was set on the fulfillment of this desire of his life, I have of mine own proper good, of his own private fortune, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, in addition to the precious metals set aside from the spoils of the various wars,
v. 4. even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, celebrated for its purity, and seven thousand talents of refined silver to over lay the walls of the houses withal, this amount being estimated at $40,000,000:
v. 5. the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers, the craftsmen and silversmiths. And who, then, is willing to consecrate his service, literally, "to fill his hand," this day unto the Lord? The meaning is that everyone following the king in his voluntary offering would be making a free-will sacrifice to Jehovah. Each believer, a priest to the Lord, would thus worship by presenting his sacrifice in person.
v. 6. Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, inspired by the appeal of the king, offered willingly, they executed their priestly privilege in offering liberally,
v. 7. and gave for the service of the house of God, as their contribution for its erection and equipment, of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, rather, darics, the author here using the name of a Persian coin with which he had become familiar during the exile to designate a smaller amount in weight, and of silver ten thousand talents, the total amount in precious metals being over $60,000,000, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.
v. 8. And they with whom precious stones were found gave them, literally, "whatever was found along with it of precious stones they gave," to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite, who had charge of the treasuries of the Temple, 1Ch_26:21.
v. 9. Then the people rejoiced for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart, a heart which did not secretly begrudge the gift, they offered willingly to the Lord; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. That is invariably the experience of believers: The more they give and the more willingly they give for the kingdom of the Lord, for its spread at home and abroad, the more pleasure they themselves have of their action. A congregation in which this spirit prevails is happy above others and usually will show much more spiritual life than one in which the work of the Lord is carried on with an unwilling heart, even if the quota is reached.