1 Chronicles 29 - 4.8.25

SCRIPTURE:  1 CHRONICLES 29:1 – 5

Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,[a] stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents[b] of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents[c] of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?

6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents[d] and ten thousand darics[e] of gold, ten thousand talents[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents[h] of iron. 8 Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

OBSERVATION

King David is addressing the assembly with a heartfelt message. He is not only preparing a way for his son, Solomon, to build the temple for God, but is providing a wonderful image of what it means to put action to your love for God. David details that he provided a lot of special items for the temple through his resources. He tells the assembly about what he’s provided – which is a long list of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, and many types of stones and marble for the temple. You would think after listing all these things, that would be more than enough to build a wonderful temple… but it wasn’t enough for David. Because of his love for God, he wanted to give more out of his personal treasures. He gave “over and above” out his devotion to God and the temple. He not only gave a few more things but thousands more. He was showing his love for God by giving in great measure.

David was also a good father – supporting his son Solomon in God’s design for him to be ruler of Israel and for building the temple. David could have easily been jealous or sad that God didn’t choose him to building the temple for God. Instead, David took God’s decision for his son, Solomon, and exceeded God’s commands.

David set the example of what it meant to give everything to God. He then rallied the leaders and challenged them by saying in verse 5 “Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?” He set the example and asked others to rise up and commit themselves to God in the same way he did - by exceedingly giving to the temple church - out of his deep love for God.

APPLICATION

Throughout David’s writings, you find someone who loved God with all his heart and showed his love to God often. Before David became King, Saul was rebuked by Samuel and foretold David’s appointment to be king by saying in verse 14 “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” No other person in all the Bible has earned the title of “after his (God’s) heart” than David.

When I look at David’s actions in this scripture (and many others), he set many examples for us. He used his resources, possessions, finances and his entire life as a way to praise and worship God for all that God had done in his life. He also showed the full circle of giving in the prayer in verse 16, that it comes from God and it all belongs to God:

16 Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

David’s method of praise and worship to God is the perfect example for our own lives. Think about all that God has done for you, his saving grace, provisions, and deep love – and then decide how much you can give in response. Is giving to God’s church nothing at all, the bare minimum or above and beyond? Just like David said to the assembly “Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?” The word “consecrate” here means “to set apart or dedicate oneself fully to God’s service” in the building of the temple. We can take inspiration from David, his passion and love for God and the building of the temple, to consecrate ourselves to God’s church at Desert Streams Church. Can you use David’s method of giving, with a full heart of love towards God, and commit to give fully – even above your normal -  to God’s church at Desert Streams?

Wouldn’t it be great to have the same results at Desert Streams like the people responded in verse 6 – 8  to what David asked? They saw David’s example and gave fully to God in order to build the temple. If we apply David’s example to how we give, we could all rejoice like the people and David did in verse 9, because of the willing response of all who gave “freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord” at Desert Streams Church. Let’s plan on rejoicing together, in praise to God, for the blessings of giving back to God.

PRAYER

Lord, thank you for David and all that he did in praise and worship to you. He knew how to show his love towards you in many ways - in praise and worship to you. He set a wonderful example for me and all who read your scriptures. Thank you for all you’ve done in my life. Not only saving me but blessing my life. I owe everything to you! Please let my service and giving be a blessing to your church at Desert Streams. Help me to always give based on my love for you and nothing else. It’s not about the amount given but being a cheerful giver as 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that “God loves a cheerful giver.” Thank you for the opportunity to give to your church. Giving is a blessing. Thank you for that blessing and the gift of giving. I give you all the praise! In Jesus name. Amen

- Mary Oberg