I Chronicles 29

The Word Made Fresh

1Then David said to the whole gathering, “My son Solomon, the one God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and he has a huge task before him because the temple will not be for human beings, but for the LORD God. 2I have made preparations for the temple of my God as much as I was able. I have set aside gold, silver, and bronze, iron and wood, and great amounts of onyx and other precious stones for the settings, plus antimony, colored stone and other precious stones, and marble. 3In addition to that I will give my personal treasure of gold and silver to God’s temple because I am devoted to my God. 4It consists of one hundred ten tons of gold, including gold of Ophir; and two hundred sixty tons of silver to cover the temple walls. 5It is enough for all the gold and silver items the artisans shall fashion. So, who among you will also give willingly and thus set yourselves aside today for the LORD?”

6Then the leaders of the families made their personal gifts as did the tribal leaders, the commanders of brigades and battalions and the officials in charge of the king’s work. 7They contributed for the temple of God more than one hundred ninety tons of gold, three hundred seventy-five tons of silver, six hundred seventy-five tons of bronze and three thousand seven hundred fifty tons of iron. 8Those who had precious stones gave them to Jehiel the Gershonite, who was in charge of the treasury of the LORD’s temple. 9Then all the people rejoiced because of the willingness to give. With a single mind they had given freely to the LORD. King David was exceedingly happy.

10Then David acknowledged the LORD before the assembly, saying, “Blessed are you forever, O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel. 11Yours is the greatness and the might and the glory and the victory and the majesty; for everything in the heavens and on the earth is yours. The kingdom is yours, O LORD, and you are lifted up as the ruler of all. 12Riches and honor belong to you, for you reign over everything. You possess the strength and power, and it is within your discretion to strengthen and raise all of us up. 13So we give thanks to you, our God, and celebrate your glorious name!

14But who am I? And who are we, that we should be able to freely give these offerings? All things belong to you, and we have given you what already is yours. 15We are foreigners and travelers in your sight just like our ancestors. Our days on earth are no more than a shadow, and we are helpless. 16But all this wealth, LORD God, that we have given for building a temple dedicated to your holy name comes from your own hand and belongs to you. 17I know, my God, that you know our hearts, and you are pleased with honesty, and in the honesty of my heart I have freely made these offerings, and I have seen your people gathered here freely and happily making offerings to you. 18LORD God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Israel, hold forever this loyalty and good will in the hearts of your people, and draw their hearts to you. 19Give to my son Solomon the single-mindedness to follow your commandments and laws and rules, all of them, so that he may build your fortress for which I have provided.”

20Then David addressed the gathering of the people, saying, “Acknowledge the LORD your God.” All the people bowed their heads and bowed face down before the LORD and the king and acknowledged the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

21The next day they brought sacrifices and offerings to the LORD: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs. They also brought their drink offerings and a large number of sacrifices. 22They ate and drank before the LORD all day long in a great celebration.

Then they acknowledged David’s son Solomon as their king a second time and anointed him as the LORD’s own prince. They also officially gave Zadok the position of high priest. 23Then Solomon sat on the LORD’s throne, succeeding his father David as king. He ruled successfully, and all Israel followed him. 24The leaders of the people, and of the army, and David’s sons, promised their allegiance to king Solomon, 25and the LORD raised Solomon up in the eyes of all the people and gave him such an aura of royal majesty such as had not been seen before.

26So, the reign of David son of Jesse came to an end. 27He ruled for forty years; seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28He died at an old age, having lived for many days filled with riches and honor, and he was succeeded by his son Solomon.

29All the accomplishments of king David from first to last are written in the records of the prophet Samuel and in the records of the prophet Nathan and in the records of the prophet Gad; 30they include all that happened during his reign, his strength, the events that took place during his reign in Israel and all the kingdoms of the earth.

Commentary

1-5: David announces that since Solomon is young and inexperienced, he has provided an offering and directions for building a house for the LORD. He lists all the things he has collected for the project. Then he tells them what his own contribution will be, and it is impressive.

6-9: Now the elders and leaders of the nation chip in and give to the work of building the temple an amount that, in sum, is even greater than David’s gift. When the total is announced the people rejoice, as does King David.

10-13: David praises God before the assembly, ascribing to the LORD riches and honor and power.

14-19: The second half of verse 14 is still spoken in churches today as an offertory prayer: “All things come from thee, O LORD, and of thine own have we given to thee.” David acknowledges that it all belongs to God, and prays for the continued “uprightness of heart” that will result in the people always being as faithful.

20-22: The people bow in worship. The next day they bring sacrifices, and thousands of animals are offered on the altar, presumably the one David has erected on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (21:26) where the temple will be built by Solomon.

22-25: Solomon is made king a second time, although the first time is not reported unless this reference is to David’s speech (28:5), or perhaps even the episode in 1 Kings in which David has Solomon anointed when the report of Adonijah’s treason reaches Jerusalem (1 Kings 1:32-35). All the leaders pledge their allegiance to Solomon, and the chronicler lauds his reign as being the most prosperous of all the kings of Israel.

26-30: David dies and is succeeded by Solomon. He has ruled for 40 years altogether, counting the 7 years he was in Hebron before moving the capital to Jerusalem. Ishbaal, son of Saul, had reigned in Jerusalem after Saul died (2 Samuel 2:8-11), but the chronicler makes no mention of any of this. He does mention, however, that there are other accounts of David’s reign. He says that Samuel left records. We have, of course, the two books of Samuel, and many have supposed that they were composed from the records of the prophet of that name. Nathan and Gad are given credit also with having kept records, and perhaps that explains some of the differences we have seen between the accounts in 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles.

Takeaway

David’s reign ends with him still completely in charge of his faculties, quite different from the stories in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings of his aging frailties. Here, he names Solomon as his successor, and Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, gets not even a footnote.  It will be interesting to see how Solomon and his successors are treated in 2 Chronicles. You have completed thirteen books of the Bible! You are nearly a third of the way through. Reward yourself!