I Chronicles
28
The contents of this chapter may be said to form one scene
with those of the next up
to
v.25. They represent David in the presence of a magnificent company of
witnesses,
the
flower of the Church, the military and the civil elements of his kingdom,
devolving
upon his son both the building of the temple and the throne itself.
1 “And
David assembled all the princes of
tribes, and the captains of the companies that
ministered to the
king by course, and the captains over the
thousands, and captains
over the hundreds, and the stewards over all
the substance and
possession of the king, and of his sons, with the
officers, and with
the mighty men, and with all the valiant men,
unto
times), and stewards (once) of this verse. The
classification of the verse
speaks for itself. There
are the princes of
(ch.27:16, 22). Otherwise The former
of these expressions may be of an
entirely generic kind, and apply to all that succeeds.
of the months (Ibid. vs.1-15).
I Samuel 8:12; 17:18;
18:13; ch.12:14; v.1 here).
and
(as seems to be added here) of his sons. There can be
no doubt that the
Hebrew text does say this,
and does not merely register the fact of the
attendance and presence of the sons of the king, as also it does not
specialize
the attendance of Solomon himself, though it is certain that
he was present.
Otherwise it may be
doubtful, considering the facts of the occasion, and
comparing ch.29:24, whether the
original document is not misrepresented here.
Which word generally means
“eunuch,” and such use of it must have become
much more familiar during and after the Captivity, and,
therefore, of
course, at the time of the compilation of this work; but it does
not
necessarily mean it. Eunuchs are never mentioned elsewhere in David’s
reign. There is no reason to suppose the word means “eunuch,”
for
instance, in Genesis 37:36; 39:1; I Samuel 8:15; I Kings 22:9;
II Kings 24:12; 25:19; Jeremiah
34:19. Under any circumstances, it
would seem unnecessary that such officers of a royal
establishment as
eunuchs should be under summoned that description to an assembly
of this
kind.
(ch.11:26-40), who belonged to
other places, or who were at this time
more especially in
2 “Then
David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my
brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine
heart to build an
house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the
LORD, and for the
footstool of our God, and had made ready for the
building:” The
expression,
David the king stood up upon his feet, probably means to emphasize the fact
that hitherto, having been in a sitting
or recumbent position, owing to his age and
infirmity, he now with effort forced
himself to stand in the presence of the unusual
congregation and in consideration
of what he felt was due to the occasion. He had
not
lost the man and the brother in his
official and exalted rank, and, he
addresses the congregation as my brethren, and my people. David
says
he
had it in his heart to build a house of rest, i.e. an abiding house
(Psalm 132:8,14) for the ark
of the covenant, instead of the moving
one,
and for the footstool of our God. By this he means the mercy-seat, to
which especial allusion is made v.11 (tr,poK"h"
tBe). God is often
spoken
of
as “dwelling
between the cherubim,’’ and sometimes
(Psalm 99:1) as
“sitting between the cherubim,” which were over the lid of the ark, called
the
mercy-seat.
Old Men’s Testimony (v.2)
The emphatic sentence, “Then
David the king stood up upon his feet,”
brings before us a vivid picture of the aged and infirm king
making a great
effort, gathering up all his strength, and once again standing up
that he
might render a last testimony for Jehovah. Towards the end of David’s
life, he was obliged to keep to his chamber, and almost to his bed. In those
later and quiet days he seems to have reviewed his long and
checkered
career, and his last song embodies the thoughts with which he
regarded it.
That last song (II Samuel 23:1-7) is full of mingled regret and hope;
over the scenes of his shame he lingers for a moment sadly, but from them
he turns to look up to THE
FAITHFUL GOD whom he had ever desired
to
serve, and assured his heart of the permanence of that everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and sure. In those closing words the old
prophet power
came back to him, and we wish that such sentiments of humility,
trust, and joy in God were the only dying utterances of his that
had been
preserved for us.” The occasion of the effort recorded in our text
was a
public one: the solemn commendation of Solomon to the people, and
closing public instructions for Solomon himself. The subject
suggested is
the
moral
influence exerted by the aged godly man,
who has behind him
the varied
experiences of a long and checkered life. The importance of the
witness of such a man’s life, and of such a man’s own expression
of the
results of his life, and of his moods of mind on coming to its
close, need to
be
pointed out, as these may bear on the men of his own age, and as they
may
bear on the young generation that is growing up to take the place of
those who are “passing away.” As the treatment of these divisions must
directly depend on the feeling and experience of the preacher, we
prefer to
give only the barest outline, at most suggesting lines along which the
development and illustration of each point may run. As far as possible
the
treatment should be made cheerful and hopeful, the experience of
those
who
see more good than evil in life being preferred.
that he has found it other — but, on the whole, better
— than he expected.
Contrast the sunny anticipations
of the youth with the serious reviews of
the aged. A thousand anticipations have never been realized,
but more than
a thousand good things, of which youth could not have
dreamed, have
crowned the passing days with beauty and joy. Many an old man
speaks
brightly of the “good way
wherein the Lord his God has led him.”
back, he can to some extent know himself and judge his fellows.
This at
least the old man has learned. Man imagines and even purposes
more than
he can ever accomplish,
and he lives, works, and dies with scaffoldings all
about which were but beginnings of buildings that were never
built. He has
to shelter in the great hope that God will accept his
purposes. And so God
will, if the unwrought schemes were no mere sentimental dreams,
but
resolves as serious as David’s, to build a temple for the Lord his
God.
is the Wonder-worker who always gets His will over man’s. And
He is the
faithful One, who keeps covenant and fulfils promise, and may be
wholly
trusted. He says, “I have been
young, and now am old, yet have I never
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).
The light of the old men’s
experience may well brighten and cheer the young
men’s toil, and make easier the yoke of those who bear the
burden and heat
of the day. (What
greater testimony could be given at the end of life, than
Joshua? “And, behold,
this day I am going the way of all the earth:
and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that
not one
good thing hath failed of all good things which the Lord your
God spake concerning you; and not one thing hath failed
thereof.” –
Joshua 23:13 – CY – 2012)
3 “But God
said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my
name,
because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed
blood.” The
contents
of
this verse are stated, as already seen, even more forcibly in ch.22:8; while far
less forcibly in II Samuel 7:5-13; I Kings 5:5.
4 “Howbeit
the LORD God of
my father to be king over
to be the ruler; and of the house of
and among the sons of my father he liked me to
make me king over
all
He hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon
the throne of the kingdom
of the LORD over
shall build my house and my courts: for I have
chosen him to be my son,
and I will be his father. 7 Moreover I
will establish his kingdom for ever,
if he be constant to do my commandments and
my judgments, as at this
day.” David
mentions himself as the elect of God among all the members of his
father’s family, and from thence is led to trace the call from the first,
by the following
steps:
The exact time and method of David’s receiving the identification of
Solomon as
the
son to succeed him, is nowhere given. The throne of the kingdom of the
Lord over
emphatic statement
here of the true theocracy, which should have ever prevailed
among the people of
the
Lord in His own Church (ch.17:14; 29:23). The solemn and most distinct
proviso, If he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments,
as at this day, reminds us of Psalm
132:12. This proviso
is emphatically
presented again to the attention of Solomon, when the time comes for
the
direct appeal of God to him (I Kings 3:14; 8:61; 9:4).
8 “Now
therefore in the sight of all
LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep
and seek for all the
commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess
this
good land, and leave it for an inheritance for
your children after
you for ever.
9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou
the God of thy
father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and
with a willing mind: for the
LORD searcheth
all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations
of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be
found of thee; but if
thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for
ever. 10
Take heed now;
for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an
house for the sanctuary:
be strong, and do it.” The double
charge of these verses, first to the people and
then to Solomon, is full of force and majesty. Translate, Now therefore in
the sight of all
hearing of our God (“Hear me,” v. 2), keep ye and study to do all the
commandments of the Lord your
God (Deuteronomy
4:21, 26; 30:19;
Leviticus 25:46; Jeremiah 3:18). The expression, Know thou the God of
thy father, for a practical
knowledge and fear of God, is analogous with
the
expression, “Hear thou,” for the matter of practical obedience; e.g.
“If they hear not Moses and the prophets” (Luke 16:31). Although
there
are
not very many instances of this use of the word “know,” its antiquity and
classical character may be considered guaranteed by such passages as Job 18:21;
I Samuel 2:12; Proverbs 3:6; Psalm
36:10; Jeremiah 9:2; Hosea 5:4; 6:3. The
expression, “the God of thy
father,” evidently intended to be touching,
is more
fully given in v. 20, “God, even my
God, will be with thee,” which in its
turn
reminds us of Paul’s language, “But
my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians
4:19).
The urgent entreaty on the part of David breathes in every sentence
of it,
thought, and a mode of presentation of it, feeling, and depth of
conviction,
with which we are familiar in his psalms. He speaks from his own
varied,
remarkable, and rich experience of the
Divine care and jealous love,
and from
much personal experience of the deceitfulness
of the heart,
to
Solomon, into whom, were it possible, he would pour the advantage of all
he
had learned, and from whom he would hide nothing of his intense and anxious
solicitude. To the same strain he returns in v.20, but there with
more exclusive
reference to the undertaking of the building of “the house of the Lord,” or the
house for the
sanctuary. One thing only fails,
perhaps, to be made quite apparent
from the language of David, viz. why he deemed it necessary to urge so strenuously
on
Solomon the enterprise
of building the temple and of carrying it to completion.
With abundance of means and preparations so large already made,
one might
have supposed a young king and a young man would have needed little
pressure and little exhortation. Nevertheless, in the manifest
presence of
David’s words, it is very far from impossible to suppose the dangers and
temptations of Solomon’s position as constituting A SERIOUS RISK!
David’s Address to the Princes of His
Kingdom (vs. 1-8)
In the last two chapters we have David’s final words to the
princes of the
people and to his son Solomon. In order to pass the kingdom over
to his
son
and to secure the succession, he summoned the princes, and solemnly,
in
the presence of them all, appointed Solomon his successor. These
princes included the princes of the tribes enumerated in
ch.27:16-22; the princes
of
the divisions which served the king (Ibid. vs.1-15); the princes of thousands
and
hundreds; the chiefs and captains of the twelve army corps (Ibid.
v.1); the princes
of
the domains and possessions of the king (Ibid. vs. 25-31). The king “stood up
upon his feet” to address this assembly. Previously, on account of age
and feebleness,
he
had sat in bed. The first part of David’s address we have had previously (ch. 22:7-13).
In the fourth verse he states how his election to be king
was of God who had chosen
among his sons to be heir to the kingdom, and had committed to
him the
building of the temple, and concludes it by exhorting the whole
assembly to
continue faithful to God. Observe, the blessings of the throne and
kingdom
are
linked to an inseparable condition (v. 7) — that Solomon be
“constant to do my commandments
and my judgments.” Thus temporal
prosperity is INSEPERATELY
connected with FAITHFULNESS
TO GOD’S TRUTH. Without this neither king nor kingdom, man
nor
his work, can prosper in the true sense of the word. In this consists
real “establishment.” What the foundation is to a house God’s
truth is to a
king’s throne (Parliament or Congress – CY – 2012), and to a man’s
soul and all his ways.
David goes into particulars as to how this is to be
done. “Keep and seek for all the commandments of
the Lord your God.”
The soul must hold fast to the truth, must treasure it up
within the inmost
recesses of its being. This is to keep the truth. And it must “seek
for” it —
looking out for it in everything as for special treasure, setting
the heart on
it
and gathering it up for use. The degree and earnestness with which we
seek for it will depend
upon the way in which we “keep” what we have
gathered. “To him that hath shall more be given,” is God’s universal
law in
nature and in grace.
Keeping is digestion, by which the appetite is
stimulated to “seek.” Mark, also, it is not seeking some truths or some
favorite truths; it is “ALL THE COMMANDMENTS!” It is whole-heartedness
to
the whole truth. Pet doctrines
and pet passages make us half-Christians —
narrow, one-sided, harsh, and sectarian. It is the
heart’s preparedness for
EVERY MESSAGE
FROM GOD that makes a whole Christian — such
a
one as God would have us all to be. Mark the two results:
·
“That ye may
possess this good land.” It was one
thing for an
Israelite to be in the
land; it was quite
another to possess it. It is one
thing to be in Christ; it is quite another to possess so
as to make our
very own all the treasures
of grace and truth that are IN CHRIST!
Some
Christians, like some Israelites, are all their lives in the land without
possessing a foot. Have you life in
Christ? “Lay hold on eternal life”
(I Timothy 6:12). Are you one of God’s elect? “Make your calling
and election sure.” Have you that Divine faith that will carry you into
the kingdom? “Add to your faith,” so that you may have an “abundant
entrance into the kingdom” (II Peter 1:5-11). This is to “possess
the
land.” It was Joshua’s
continued exhortation
to
ours too. Look at the second result:
·
“And leave it
for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.”
Note, it is only those who possess
the good land who shall “leave it for an
inheritance.” It is your half-Christians, your narrow-souled, crooked,
unwise Christians, who leave no spiritual influences behind. Their
children get soured by the caricature of religion they see in their
parents.
When parental restraint is over,
there are no deep spiritual principles laid
in the soul in early life, and they cast off what they feel has
been a yoke.
As a rule, most parents have to blame themselves for
what they mourn over in
their children.
Early Piety (v. 9)
A father’s
solicitude for his son is too often confined to his temporal
prosperity. It was not so
with David. The aged monarch was indeed
anxious for Solomon’s stability on the throne, for his fitness to
discharge
all
regal duties, for the magnificence of his public works, and for the
splendor of his reign. But he was well enough acquainted with human
nature to know that character is the key to life. His supreme desire was
that his son should be right at heart, that his principles should be sound,
that he should honor, trust, and serve his God. Hence the beautiful
language of the text.
outward associations or in outward observances.
Ø
The basis of such
piety is knowledge. “Know thou the
God of thy
father.” Hence the importance of early instruction in religious truth.
Ø
The substance of such
piety is a cheerful service of God. The practical
energies of youth need to be employed in doing the Lord’s will.
(“Remember
now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while
the evil
days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou
shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” - Ecclesiastes 12:1)
Willingness and
cheerfulness should characterize all work done for
God. It is well that the young should be trained to find their
delight
in the practical service of their
GOD and SAVIOUR.
Ø
The obligation of
duty. It is right to “remember thy
Creator in
the days of thy youth.”
Ø
The assurance of
the Lord’s perfect knowledge: “For the Lord
Searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all
the imaginations of
the thoughts.”
Ø
The encouragement
of promise: “If thou seek him, he will be
found of thee.” There are
many similar assurances in Scripture
fitted to encourage the young to seek the God of salvation.
Ø
The fearful
alternative: “If thou forsake him, he will cast
thee off for ever.
Verses 11-19 give hints respecting the parts of the
building that was to
be,
and respecting the furniture of it, and
will come in for fuller consideration in
the
fuller treatment of them, found in the narration of the actual construction of
the
building in II Chronicles compared with I Kings 6., etc. It is
evident that David
desired to make a solemn and set business of handing over even the
patterns and
plans. Nor is this under any circumstances wonderful, but least
of all considering
their Divine origin. The
Divine original of the tabernacle and all its belongings
(Exodus 25.-30.; Hebrews 8:5) was not to be a neglected
precedent as regards the
greater temple. It is said that “David gave” these “patterns
to Solomon his
son” (v. 11), and the form in which he gave them is explained
in v. 19. There we read,
“The whole in writing from the hand of Jehovah upon me, He
made me to
understand
— all the works of this pattern.”
Whatever we generally
accept
respecting the writing of the tables of the Law by the finger of God
(Exodus 24:12;
31:18; 32:15-16; Deuteronomy 4:13; 5:5, 22; 9:10),
is at all events open for
acceptance here. At the same time, the phraseology of v.19 is certainly not so
uncompromising as that of the references just instanced from the Books of
Exodus and Deuteronomy. The words of v. 19 may be satisfied by the
meaning that David was in such manner and degree “in the Spirit”
(Revelation 1:10), that in the writing and the drawing of
patterns his
hand was entirely under the guidance of that Spirit. In either alternative,
to
hand over such documents and such “patterns”
must have been felt by
David and all present an act of which much should be made.
11 “Then
David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and
of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries
thereof, and of the upper
chambers thereof, and of the inner parlors thereof,
and of the place of
the mercy seat,” The patterns
of six parts of the future building are here
delivered over to Solomon.
II Chronicles 3:4, where we
read that the length was twenty cubits, and
the height one hundred and twenty cubits; 8:12; 15:8; 29:7,
17); Septuagint, -
to<
aijla<m tou~ naou~ -
to ailam tou naou – the
porch of the temple –
generally, but in
this verse tou~ naou~
is all that appears. This porch was
built on the east of the temple.
wyT;B;; Septuagint, tw~n oi]kwn aujtou~ - ton oikon autou. The word
“houses” in this place designates the “greater
house,” or “temple,”
or holy place of II Chronicles 3:5; I Kings 6:5, 17; and the “inner house,”
or “oracle,” or “most holy
house,” or “holy
of holies,’” of II Chronicles
3:8; I Kings 6:19-27.
with a Chaldee termination in ËA"; Septuagint, tw~n zakcw~n aujtou~ -
ton zakchon auton. The treasuries
were chambers for receiving gifts,
and storing the treasures new or old of the temple. Which of
the rooms
that were built against the sides of the temple were set apart
as these
treasure-chambers is not known.
Perhaps they were the three-storied
wings of the temple (I Kings 6:5).
- ton huperoon - (for fuller
treatment of these, see II Chronicles 3:9).
We may only with confidence
say of these chambers that they were upper
chambers, but whether over the “oracle”
as Keil and Bertheau think, or
over the “porch,” or
the higher of those, that leaned against the sides of
the main building, it is impossible to determine from such data
as we at
present have.
ajpoqhkw~n tw~n ejswte>rwn – ton apothaekon ton esoteron.
There can
be little doubt that these designate the lower rooms of the
side buildings of the holy place, and perhaps also of the
porch.
tou~
oi]kou tou~
ejxilasmou~ -
tou oikon tou exilasmou.
David’s Charge to Solomon (vs. 9-10, 20-21)
From the princes of the congregation David turns to Solomon
his son.
Every line is full of instruction. “Know thou the God of thy father.” We
may
conclude Solomon already knew something, and perhaps much, of
God. But this refers to a further and deeper knowledge of Him, as his
father David had
experienced. It is this deeper knowledge of God that is
spoken of in the New Testament. Paul, though he knew Christ well,
still
says, “That I may know Him” (Philippians 3:10).
However much we
know there is always more to be known. It is this knowledge of Him that our
Lord refers to when He says (John 7:17), “If any man will do His will,
he shall know of the doctrine.” There is a knowledge of
Christ as the
Saviour from sin; there is a still further knowledge which
springs from
Obedience in all things to His will. But David continues, “And serve
Him
with a perfect heart and a willing mind.” Mark here, service
and the character of
it DEPEND ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
and
this knowledge a deepening one. This is ever the Divine order. All the
graces of the Christian character act and react on each other. True
knowledge
ever begets service, and faithful service deepens real knowledge. But there are
always two conditions attached to real knowledge and true service, viz. “A perfect
heart and a willing mind.” A perfect, or as the word means, an “undivided”
heart, is one that is wholehearted. Not
“a heart within a heart” which God hates.
Not a heart that will follow and serve the Lord when it is convenient but not
when it is inconvenient.
Not “in
season” only, but also “out of season”
II Timothy 4:2).
Next to this is a “willing mind,” or a mind that desires only
that which will please God. A mind that will say always and in everything,
“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6) A heart
devoted and
a
will given up — this is what David means, and this is what God asks for.
David enforces this by the statement of God’s omniscience. Solomon might
deceive men by having the outer life fair, while inwardly the other might be lacking,
but
he could not deceive God; and to Him Solomon and every man will have
eventually to render account (II Corinthians 5:10). David further enforces these
words by a solemn warning: “If
thou seek Him, He will be found of thee;
but if thou
forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever. TAKE HEED
NOW.” It reminds us of Paul’s solemn words to
Timothy: “Take
heed to thyself,
and to the doctrine;
continue in them: for in so doing thou shalt both
save
thyself, and them
that hear thee” (I Timothy 4:16). The soul must
be watched
and
kept, and then the doctrine will be sound. If we seek the
Lord He will ever be
found; but if we turn
our backs on Him, then we shall experience
that SPIRITUAL
DARKNESS AND MISERY WITHIN that will be practically, though to one
saved in the Lord may never be judicially, a casting off from God. Though a true
believer may never fall from God, he may fall from the grace of God; and this,
though not judicial, is yet practical and experimental exclusion from God.
David enjoins Solomon to “take
heed” because he is “chosen.” It is the dignity
conferred that demands the responsibility
and gives the power to rule. Is it not
so
with men put into high places over our land? Before men get into
office, what
do
they not say? and how do they not act? But when they
are in office the
dignity controls and directs, and gives wisdom and judgment. So is
it in the
Divine life. God’s grace chooses a man, makes him one of His children,
puts upon him the highest dignity, and thus he possesses a motive power
for
holiness which nothing else can give him. David’s final words to
Solomon at the close of this chapter are
equally solemn and suggestive.
“Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be
dismayed”
(vs. 20-21). What a string of holy exhortations! On what
are they built? On God’s
presence with His people; “for the Lord God, even
my God, will be with
thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou
hast finished all the
work for the service of the house of the Lord.” God’s presence is the
believer’s joy; it is also His strength and power for work. The
expression
“my God” reminds
us again of Paul: “My God shall
supply all your need”
(Philippians 4:19).
It was the personal and experimental
acquaintance with
God’s unchanging love and faithfulness, and that alone, which gave to
David and Paul such confidence, and made them speak thus.
But Solomon
might have said, as many others often say, “These are
precious promises and
encouragements, and I am but ‘young
and tender’ (ch. 22:5, v.1), and the work
is
so great; how shall I get the means, and who will help me, and how shall I know
they will be ready and willing?” These and a thousand other questions rise
up in the
soul when God sets a clear path before us, or a plain duty. How often we stand,
we
hesitate! We are already taking one step back. God comes in again to
strengthen our faltering faith. “The
priests and Levites shall be with thee,…
and there shall be with thee every willing and skilful man,…
the princes
and all the
people will be wholly at thy
commandment.” (v.21). What a
promise! “All
things are yours”! (I
Corinthians 3:22) So it is
always. Having
the Lord with us, we shall have EVERYTHING ELSE! - “life and death,
things present and things to come,” yea, “all things are
ours!” How
completely EVERY QUESTION OF THE SOUL IS MET by THE
UNCHANGING FAITHFULNESS AND LOVE OF OUR GOD!
12 ‘And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the
courts of the
house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round
about, of the
treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries
of the
dedicated things:”
Bertheau, Keil, and some others regard
the spirit here spoken
of
as referring to the spirit and mind of David, and Bertheau
goes so far as
to
translate, or paraphrase, “the pattern of all that floated before his mind.”
Such manifest stress has been laid upon the two facts —
that the patterns
were of God’s giving, and that they were now in such form that they could
be
given over into the hands of Solomon — that such an interpretation
seems inadmissible. Rather translate, And the
pattern of all which was
by the spirit with
him. For the courts of the house of the Lord, see
I Kings 6:36 ; II Chronicles 4:9.
The chambers round about; bybis;
twOkv;L]h" (ch. 23:28). There seems no
necessity to suppose that these
chambers were separate from the building. For the treasuries, the
correct
translation is the treasures (ch.26:20).
The Pattern of the Spirit (v.
12)
We make a great mistake in neglecting to remark the
presence and operation of
God in the ordinary and secular affairs
of life. The Hebrews
were in this respect
in
advance of us; they justly attributed all wise and good works to THAT SPIRIT
from whom all wisdom and goodness proceed. Thus the workers in the
construction of the tabernacle are expressly said to have received from the
Spirit of God the knowledge and skill they needed to
fulfill their undertaking,
and
in the passage before us David is represented as having received by inspiration
from Heaven the plans upon which his son was to erect the
GOD. That is,
so far as it is good and great. There is human ignorance and
human folly discernible in many noble enterprises; but the
impulse of piety
or benevolence to which they owe their being is from above.
This is so
either, as probably in the case before us, from a direct
inspiration, or, as is
usually the case, in a more ordinary manner. The inspiration of the
Almighty giveth man understanding; and every high and holy purpose,
every inspiriting truth and influence, should be traced up to
the Giver
of every good gift and every perfect gift. (James 1:17)
AND WITH PRAYER. If we would have the Spirit’s guidance, we must
ourselves be “filled with the
Spirit;” we must seek His teaching in
humility
and docility of heart.
AND WITH A LOWLY DEPENDENCE UPON THE GRACE AND
AID OF GOD. In these respects the kings of
in the erection of the temple, stand before us as a bright
example. It is only
as all our works are BEGUN,
CONTINUED AND ENDED IN GOD
that we can justly hope for
blessing and prosperity.
13 “Also
for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the
work of the service of the house of the LORD,
and for all the
vessels of service in the house of the LORD.” This verse either continues
the
subject of the giving of the patterns, which will read rather harshly, as preceding
the courses of the priests and the Levites, and could only mean directions or
instructions for their
interchange, etc.; or it may continue the subject of the
“chambers round about” “for
the treasures of the house of God,” etc.,
also for the convenience
“of the courses of the priests,”
etc., and “for all
the
work,” etc., and for keeping “all the vessels of service,” etc. Bertheau
and
Keil somewhat
scout the former supposition, and adhere to the latter.
14 “He
gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of
all manner of service; silver also for all
instruments of silver by
weight, for all instruments of every kind of
service: 15 Even the weight
for the candlesticks of gold, and for their
lamps of gold, by weight for
every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof:
and for the candlesticks
of silver by weight, both for the
candlestick, and also for the lamps
thereof, according to the use of every
candlestick.” The general meaning
of
these verses is that, if the question were one of gold, or one of silver, David
assigned for each vessel
and each part of the candlesticks, the
proportionate
weight of gold that was to be
employed.
16 “And by
weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for
every
table; and likewise silver for the tables of
silver:” So
too , as regards
the
tables of shewbread,
whether in sort of gold or of silver, he assigned the
due
weight of metal for either sort. We should have been at a loss to understand
the
plural here employed, showing more than one table (Exodus 25:23; I Kings 7:48;
II Chronicles 29:18), but for II Chronicles 4:8,19; in the former of which verses we
read of “ten tables” being made and placed on “the right side
and on the left, in the
temple,” and in the latter verse, yet more distinctly, of “tables,
whereon the
shewbread was set.”
17 “Also
pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the
cups: and
for the golden basins he gave gold by weight
for every basin; and
likewise silver by weight for every basin of
silver:” It is to be observed
that the term basins (μyriwOp]), which appear to have been covered goblets, is
only found here and in Ezra 1:10; 8:27.
18 “And
for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for
the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their
wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of
the LORD.” By
the
chariot of the cherubims, is of course not
meant that the cherubim had a
chariot, but that they constituted the chariot of Jehovah (Psalm
18:11).
19 “All
this, said David, the LORD made me understand in
writing by
His hand upon me, even all
the works of this pattern.” This abrupt
bringing
in
of David as the speaker himself has
already had one illustration in ch. 23:5.
(See on the matter of this verse, note on v.11; and compare II
Kings 3:15 for the
parallel of an expression which evidently intends to assert an HAND OF THE
LORD!
These last two verses, as above seen, continue and close
David’s urgent and last
exhortation to Solomon. He has now done with admonition and urgent
appeal,
but
he offers prayer for him (ch.29:19).
David’s Transfer of the Patterns to Solomon
(vs. 11-19)
After the solemn charge to the congregation and to Solomon,
David
handed over to Solomon the patterns of the temple, the
enumeration
beginning from outside to inside, and from thence to the courts and
buildings and the vessels, and they include the minutest details of
all
pertaining to it. Let us mark the spiritual truths connected with
this portion
of
God’s Word, and they are many. We refer only to a few:
came from “the Lord” (see v. 19).
These are all important points in the narrative. This great
temple of old was a type
of
the great spiritual temple now — the
sense it may be taken as the believer himself: “Ye are the temple of the living God”
(I Corinthians 6:19; II Corinthians
6:16).
Mark, then, first, everything of a Divine
character comes from the Lord Himself. The
Lord Himself is the Architect of His
own house, whether it be in a man’s soul or the
Divine pattern of everything spiritual comes through the “writing,”
the Word of God
written. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit is the Divine Communicator of
this Word. He speaks
through that Word, which is the breath of God. And, lastly,
it is through the “hand”
of
the Lord laid upon us that the Word becomes effectual and operative. As
David handed the patterns to Solomon, so should these be
the patterns
handed down now, through the Word and the Spirit, and applied
with
power by the “hand” of the
Lord. Solomon could not lay a single
stone,
nor
make a single beam, nor deviate one hair’s breadth from this pattern
thus handed to him. No more may we. There is one truth more in this
narrative. It is a very precious one. It is brought before us in the
fourteenth
verse, and again in ch.29:2-5. “Gold for things of gold, and
silver for things to be
made of silver, brass for things of brass, iron for
things of iron, and wood
for things of wood.” In other words,
whatever
golden things were needed, David had the gold provided for them;
or
whatever things of silver, brass, iron, or wood, David had the
silver, brass,
iron, and wood ready for them. It is so still in the
as
in the individual Christian’s own history. What is our need? Do we
occupy a golden position, or one of iron or wood?
In Christ, the true
David, there is the fullness to meet it. There is all we
need for every
position, every duty, every want, every hour of need. These needs
may be
great or small, lofty or lowly, corresponding to the “gold” or
the “wood;”
but
he has exactly what is suited to meet the emergency or the need,
whatever it may be: “My God shall
supply all your need out of his riches in
glory by Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 4:19). How truly the
teaching of the New
Testament is contained in the Old!
20 “And
David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good
courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for
the LORD God,
even my God, will be with thee; He will not
fail thee, nor forsake
thee, until thou hast finished all the work for
the service of the
house of the LORD.” David in this
verse enlarges upon THE
CERTAINTY OF GOD’S FAITHFUL STEADY PRESENCE
with
Solomon and support of his work to the end.
At the very crisis of invoking, in the great and terrible
and reverend Name
of
“the Lord God,” the very highest possible sanction, David does not forbear
to
link his own name
with it: “The Lord God, my God, will be with thee?”
This is the same David who in many a psalm could sing in the very lowliest
strain
And confession of the demerit of man and his poverty and his
sinful nature and
sinful practice. Yet the two things are not inconsistent, and
David does not
do
wrong. The God of all, of all worlds, the universal God, loves to be
sought, to be clung to, to be appropriated by the individual. The poorer,
the
lowlier, the more solitary, so that his child’s trust corresponds in
thoroughness and tenacity with his condition of want, so much the more
welcome is that child, and not a word shall be said to him that he
presumes. Note, then, that in
the happy expression of David to his son,
“My God,” we
have:
only all-sufficient, the inexhaustible and ever-communicating,
the one
strong support of everything within the compass of His dominions.
believe I chiefly love, that thing or that person I
restlessly, ceaselessly long
to call mine, my own. Nor is there a simpler, grander, more just use of this
little word, the consecrate word of affection the world all over,
than when a
creature, sinner, penitent, poor, and dependent, breathes out from
all that is
within him “My God.”
valuable experience in many a direction, but in none so much as in those
relations which subsist direct between man
and his GOD!
There is
nowhere such room for experience to have its way, to grow and to
attain results
of surpassing value. After the experience that David
had accumulated of God,
and of what a God, God had been to him, he rightly desires to
make a point
of this to his Son. It was not simply the sentiment of
the father’s God, one
to be held to by the son; it was no mere dictate of family
pride, or of
hereditary attachment to some lares
et penates. No; the hard but telling
facts of experience enable David to pledge and guarantee “his” God, as the
good God and the wonderful God, and the safe God for his son. So
Paul
said to the Philippians, “My
God shall supply all your need”
(Philippians
4:18), in that he, above any
living Christian of that time, had suffered peril, need,
persecution (II Corinthians 11:23-31), and had found God, the “very
present Help and Refuge in time of trouble” (Psalm 46:1), whom the psalmist
a thousand years before had tested. All distances of time,
differences of
dispensation, contrasts of character and of career, sometimes seem to
meet in one
place, one confession, and one adoration. Each utters, “My God,” and
all are
found to have contributed the proof of A GOD UNCHANGEABLE — “the
same yesterday, to-day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Meantime the
experience and testimony of each helps to influence and instruct and strengthen
the faith and love of some nearest by nature or by friendship. And to many a son
Solomon has come, with equal
truth and effect, the aged father’s confession of
what, through a long, a hard, a tried life, he has found his God
to be. “The Lord
God, my God, will be with
thee.” Happy the fathers who have such
experience, and happy the
children who hear their counsel in time.
And
happy for the long-favored people of
already, if their new young king hear, and for ever heed, the advice of his
aged and richly experienced father, and adopt his God
for his own “even
unto death.” (Psalm 48:14)
21 “And,
behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they
shall be with thee for all the service of the
house of God: and there
shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship
every willing
skilful man, for any manner of service: also the
princes and all the
people will be wholly at thy commandment.” In this verse
David reminds
Solomon what servants and
helpers he has ready to hand on earth,
as well
as his GOD ABOVE — priests and… Levites,…
all manner
of workmen….willing
and skillful,….princes and ……people.
Divine Inspiration the Guide of Human Work
(vs. 12 and 19)
These verses amount to a very real and very interesting
assertion of Divine
inspiration. But beside and in addition to the mind’s ordinary command
of
its
own gifts, in addition to the exercise of reason, to the aids of the
accumulations of experience, and of even some touch of foresight, which
belong by nature to all, and which attach to some in a very high
degree by
training and by purity of mind, THE
DIVINE SPIRIT gives as He lists
special impulses and sure guidance, an unusual discernment and
unerring correctness of deliverance, and truth absolute BETIMES!
The leading instance and type of such inspiration is to be found, no doubt,
in
those impulses and that Divine superintending and Divine informing of
certain men’s minds in the essential matter of spiritual truth, which by many
an
installment and through a very long stretch of ages secured for us at
last the grand total we now call our BIBLE! This
may be called the inspiration
of
word or of truth; while that exercise of inspiration which the present
passage
leads us to notice might rather be designated the inspiration of work.
There is, of
course, nothing manifest to distinguish these in their nature,
for THE SAME
GRACIOUS SPIRIT, the same mighty and heavenly Force, is in
either
case at work. But
there are important and grateful thoughts suggested to us in the
fact that the quickening, informing, revealing Spirit comes to our aid not
only in the deepest and highest things that can touch soul, but in the
literal
works of our hands. Let us notice:
IN SUGGESTING, SHAPING, AND COMPLETING THAT WHICH
IS TO BE MADE BY THEIR HANDS, AND TO AFFECT THEM
THOUGH THE MINISTRY OF THE SENSES. Though the inevitable
and just inference in our own minds herein is of the
condescension of the
Spirit, yet we need not pass over
the consideration, that this is in keeping
with an analogy that we might expect would be observed. As Paul
teaches us forcibly, in the first chapter of his Epistle to the
Romans, that
they are to be adjudged worthy of the severest condemnation who
refuse
to learn the invisible things of God Himself from His works
visible in
creation (Romans 1:19-20), so the Spirit would nourish in our outer
works right methods of approaching the Being who must all the
while
be “worshipped in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)
PART OF MAN OF HIS WORSHIP AND SERVICE OF GOD, EVEN
IN THE OUTER REQUISITES OF THEM. That which has cost nothing
of money, of skill, of thought, of care, is not what is to be
offered to God
(II Samuel 24:24). It would not be offered to those we loved or
respected
among our fellow creatures, and yet less should it be offered to
Him.
AND PERFECTION IN ITS KIND OF WHAT IS GIVEN TO GOD.
The sacrifice must be the
young and the pure and without blemish. And a
similar principle must be observed throughout our service of God.
But how
often, how grossly, how notoriously, how self-deceivingly, is
this plain principle
disregarded by multitudes of professing Christians! To God is given last; to
God the least;
to God that which is too poor to keep or to give elsewhere.
(Deuteronomy 15:21; Malachi 1:8,13-14)
PATTERNS. The Lord’s
Prayer was one kind of pattern; the sermon on
the mount was another kind of pattern; the sacred cross was
another
illustrious pattern; the directions given to the twelve disciples and
again to
the seventy, on their first missionary journeys, were a pattern;
the Israelites
were a pattern; John, Peter, and Paul were each respectively a
pattern. And
for the first solid temple that informed and intelligent
worship of God ever
reared, the Spirit gave the pattern, and pattern after pattern
for details.
(God means for you and me to be
a pattern! “In all things shewing
thyself a pattern of good works” – Titus 2:7 – CY – 2012)
supersede our active exertions, our best exertions, nor permits us
to reckon
on even His proxy. But He does wait to lead, offer to show and to teach,
and above all in this particular way — the way of imparting principles of
right action, of holy action, of beautiful action.
DEED SPOKE PRINCIPLE IN EVERYTHING THAT MIGHT SOUND
MOST LIKE DETAIL, BECAUSE THAT
TYPE OF GOD’S
to it. It and its lineal successors were to lie level with
the ground. But its
seed was to be as the stars of heaven, or as the sand upon the
shore.
“Neither in this mountain, nor yet at
no curse, no disparagement of the temple. Those words of
Jesus spoke the
charter of God’s Church, as a growing,
an ever-growing, and a prevailing
REALITY IN THE
WORLD. Literally
innumerable have been already the
copies after that type. And they have yet to be manifold more.
The building itself
was emphatically not an ordinary building, nor a mere
building. The thought of
it in David’s heart was not indigenous to that heart,
nor was the execution
of it to be liable to be dangerously ascribed either to his
architecture, or his
sons, or to that of the combined professional talent of the
nation, or of all
nations. No, it is unique. It has virtue in it. It, in the person
of its successor,
justifies Jesus’ admiration, and a share of his tears. It breathes
and moves
ubiquitously, and has life in it. And it was because it
was necessary that it
should have these endowments, that though David
thought and gave and
prepared, and a nation now banded as one man
consented and gave and
wrought enthusiastically, yet the
Architect was GOD THE SPIRIT!
Personal Relations with God (v.20)
“The Lord God, even my God.” It is possible for us to have thoughts of
God that keep Him wholly external to us,
and altogether unrelated to us.
And it may be feared that such are the thoughts of God
usually cherished
by
men, Though they may have a certain influence on us, the full and
saving power of God cannot be known until we have appropriated Him,
and come into direct and personal relations with Him. A man finds God a
living force upon thought, heart, life, and conduct when he calls
Him MY
GOD!
The work of Christ is, in great part, the bringing about of
this relation, and the
persuasion of the man to recognize it fully. Man lost says, “I heard thy voice in
the garden, and I was afraid, and hid myself.” Man redeemed,
and standing
right with God, says, “I
flee unto thee to hide me.” “For thou art my God.”
Ø
By accepting the
revelation of His fatherhood which He makes in Christ
the Son, and entering into the privilege and duty which it
involves.
Ø
By winning the
trustful, thankful love of those who know they are
forgiven and redeemed.
Ø
By maintaining those
close and intimate communions with God which
bring freshly to us the joy of His care.
Ø
On God’s part. Just what God loves,
and what He is sure to meet
with the
fullest bestowments of His grace, is man’s love and trust
expressed in the words “my God.”
Ø
On man’s part. The relation becomes
the most hallowing force
Exerted on
the whole life. The man wants to be
worthy of, wants
to be like, his God.
BEEN APPREHENDED?
This may be treated in detail, or in the general
principle. To say, “my God,”
involves maintaining the trustfulness of full
and obedient submission; and, therefore, the peril lies in
some returning
form of willfullness. This
separates us at once, in feeling, from God, so that
the words “my God” will not rise to our lips
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