Old Testament Commentary - 1 Chronicles 22

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 22 David prepares gold, silver, brass, iron, stone, and cedar wood for the temple—He charges Solomon to do the work of building it.
1 THEN David said, This is the ^ahouse of the LORD God, and this is the ^baltar of the burnt offering for Israel. 2 And David commanded to gather together the ^astrangers that were in the ^bland of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; 4 Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much ^acedar wood to David. 5 And David said, Solomon my son is ^ayoung and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
6 ¶ Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an ^ahouse for the LORD God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my ^amind to build an ^bhouse unto the name of the LORD my God: 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. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him ^arest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be ^bSolomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
10 He shall ^abuild 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 ^bkingdom over Israel for ever. 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. 12 Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. 13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good ^acourage; dread not, nor be dismayed.
14 Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand ^atalents 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 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 no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.
17 ¶ David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 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^a; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people. 19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ^aark 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.	18^a he [the LORD God] hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand Now herein lies the proper perspective, that is the LORD is over all things and all things are in the control of his hands. This is the proper order and way of things for this is the great commandment, 'Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.' And our love and devotion is unto him first and foremost in all things. This is what David was about to forget when for Satan's purpose David did number Israel and not unto the LORD first. That is why it is good to be learned if the way, the voice and commandments of the LORD are placed first and are a guide in that learning. And so it is in all things that God is over all and we ought not forget it nor seek to twart that positioning. For when man forgets his God, all else is lost and of no eternal worth or value. And only is such a position of humility before our Maker are we justified as was the story of the Pharisee and the Publican, the Publican being justified before God while the Pharisee was not, for the Pharsiee relied upon his own self and self righteousness and not on the arm of God. The sooner we come to the realization and position before our Lord, the sooner we will find ourselves in His Kingdom. For a man is not greater than his God and this was the fatal mistake which Lucifer did make in his pride and attempt to place himself before the Lord. This was the error in Cain's thinking, he placing the things of the world before and above the things of God. And so on and so forth and etc., etc.