1 Chronicles 29 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

1 Chronicles 29

Offerings for the Temple

29:1 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the LORD God. 2 So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. 3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 4 3,000 talents¹ of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,² 5 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself³ today to the LORD?”

6 Then the leaders of fathers’ houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king’s work. 7 They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics⁴ of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David Prays in the Assembly

10 Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 15 For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.⁵ 16 O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. 18 O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. 19 Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.”

20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless the LORD your God.” And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king. 21 And they offered sacrifices to the LORD, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness.

Solomon Anointed King

And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the LORD, and Zadok as priest.

23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. 25 And the LORD made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The Death of David

26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 Then he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer, 30 with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.

Footnotes

[1] 29:4 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
[2] 29:4 Septuagint; Hebrew houses
[3] 29:5 Or ordaining himself; Hebrew filling his hand
[4] 29:7 A daric was a coin weighing about 1/4 ounce or 8.5 grams
[5] 29:15 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew hope, or prospect

Commentary

v1: A great work and a young man. Solomon needed therefore to depend fully upon the Lord, 1 Kings 3.7-9. The work was for God, and therefore demanded both effort and reverence.

v2-3: David's spiritual attitude and commitment;

with all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God;
in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures.

v4: There were vast amounts of precious metals; 3000 talents (100 tons) of gold; 7000 talents (240 tons) of refined silver.

v5: David had set the example, and asked the people to be willing to serve the Lord. David had worked hard, but he had on intention of doing everything himself; a leader must set an example, and inspire others to follow.

v6-8: The leaders responded willingly, giving generously to the work of the temple. Their giving actually exceeded David's. David's reign had brought great wealth to the people. He had not just gained personal wealth at their expense.

v9: The people rejoiced because the leaders had given to God.

v10-16: David's praise to God; directed totally and exclusively to Him.

v10: Our Father, our God; we belong to Him, and He to us; God's people were chosen by Him to enjoy a relationship with Him. This is a key to Chronicles, as the writers show how the different kings (and others) obeyed God (or didn't). The successes and failures of God's people linked closely to their obedience and devotion to God. David became the standard by which the other kings are measured.

v11-12: The utter greatness of God; the words tumble from David's mouth; all creation, in heaven and earth, is subject to God. All the plans, both for the construction of the temple, and for the future leadership of the people of Israel, are from God.

v13: Our proper response is to praise God, for who He is.

v14-15: Our proper place; the realisation that everything belongs to God, yet He receives from our hands. See also Psalm 50. Our unworthiness and frailty; our days on earth are like a shadow, which soon disappears.

v16: The abundance given to God was simply abundance provided by God.

v17-18: Prayer for continued willingness. David's own relationship with God had been seen in a life of righteousness and integrity. He had sought to set the people a good example. He rejoiced in their willingness to give for the temple.. His prayer was that they would continue to be willing servants of God.

v19: David prayed that Solomon would also be obedient.

v20: David encouraged the people to praise God together; it is no surprise that they did so.

v21-25: The people acknowledged Solomon as king a second time, and recommitted themselves to follow him. The officials and mighty men pledged their submission to Solomon. It was important that he could count on such people. See also Josh 4.14, where the people, previously loyal to Moses, demonstrated their commitment to Joshua.

v26-30: The book ends with the death of David, the greatest of all Israel's kings. Sadly, the nation did not maintain the standard that he had set. The second book of Chronicles describes the downward slide of the nation.

In contrast, when Jesus Christ left the earth, He sent His Holy Spirit, that those who followed might follow the example, and walk in obedience. His promise was that those who believed in Him would do even greater works.