1David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, the captains of the companies who served the king by division, the captains of thousands, the captains of hundreds, and the rulers over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officers and the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor, to Jerusalem.
2Then David the king stood up on his feet, and said, “Hear me, my brothers, and my people! As for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and for the footstool of our God; and I had prepared for the building.
3But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for my name, because you are a man of war, and have shed blood.’
4However Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen Judah to be prince; and in the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel.
5Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of Yahweh’s kingdom over Israel.
6He said to me, ‘Solomon, your son, shall build my house and my courts; for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
7I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues to do my commandments and my ordinances, as it is today.’
8Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, Yahweh’s assembly, and in the audience of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of Yahweh your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.
9You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
10Take heed now; for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”
11Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its inner rooms, for the place of the mercy seat;
12and the plans of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of Yahweh’s house, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of God’s house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things;
13also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of Yahweh’s house, and for all the vessels of service in Yahweh’s house;
14of gold by weight for the gold, for all vessels of every kind of service; for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service;
15by weight also for the lamp stands of gold, and for its lamps, of gold, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps; and for the lamp stands of silver, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps, according to the use of every lamp stand;
16and the gold by weight for the tables of show bread, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver;
17and the forks, the basins, and the cups, of pure gold; and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl;
18and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the plans for the chariot, and the cherubim that spread out and cover the ark of Yahweh’s covenant.
19“All this”, David said, “I have been made to understand in writing from Yahweh’s hand, even all the works of this pattern.”
20David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed; for Yahweh God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of Yahweh’s house is finished.
21Behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the service of God’s house. Every willing man who has skill, for any kind of service, shall be with you in all kinds of work. Also the captains and all the people will be entirely at your command.”
Drawn from the public-domain commentaries and Spurgeon sermons that cover this exact passage · ~939 words.
Matthew Henry. Solomon was one of the youngest sons of David, and yet God chose him to sit upon the throne, because he was the likeliest of them all to build the temple, the wisest and best inclined. Here is, (2.) One argument peculiar to Solomon (Ch1 28:10): "Thou art to build a house for the sanctuary; therefore seek and serve God, that that work may be done from a good principle, in a right manner, and may be accepted." 3. The arguments to enforce this charge. (1.) Two arguments of general inducement: - [1.] That the secrets of our souls are open before God; he searches all hearts, even the hearts of kings, which to men are unsearchable, Pro 25:3. This must have its accomplishment in the kingdom of the Messiah, which shall continue in his hands through all the ages of time (Isa 9:7; Luk 1:33) and shall then be delivered up to God, even the Father, yet perhaps to be delivered back to the Redeemer for ever. David was the youngest son of Jesse, yet God liked him to make him king; so it seemed good unto him. He opened to them God's gracious purposes concerning Solomon (Ch1 28:6, Ch1 28:7): I have chosen him to be my son. As an evidence of the sincerity of his purpose to build the temple, he tells them that he had made ready for it, but that God would not suffer him to proceed because he had appointed other work for him to do, which was enough for one man, namely, the managing of the wars of Israel. Thus he declares the decree, that the Lord had said to Solomon, as a type of Christ, Thou art my son (Psa 2:7), the son of my love; for he was called Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him, and Christ is his beloved Son. As for the general charge that David gave his son to seek God and serve him, the book of the law was, in that, his only rule, and there needed no other; but, in building the temple, David was now to give him three things: - 1. And, lastly, "The princes and the people will be so far from opposing or retarding the work that they will be wholly at thy command, every one in his place ready to further it." Then good work is likely to go on when all parties concerned are hearty in it, and none secretly clog it, but all drive on heartily in it.
Jamieson–Fausset–Brown. I had in mine heart--I proposed, or designed. to build an house of rest--a solid and permanent temple. for the footstool of our God--God seated between the cherubim, at the two extremities of the ark, might be said to be enthroned in His glory, and the coverlet of the ark to be His footstool. and had made ready for the building--The immense treasures which David had amassed and the elaborate preparations he had made, would have been amply sufficient for the erection of the temple of which he presented the model to Solomon. thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood--The church or spiritual state of the world, of which the temple at Jerusalem was to be a type, would be presided over by One who was to be pre-eminently the Prince of Peace, and therefore would be represented not so fitly by David, whose mission had been a preparatory one of battle and conquest, as by his son, who should reign in unbroken peace. he hath chosen Solomon--The spirit of David's statement is this:--It was not my ambition, my valor, or my merit that led to the enthronement of myself and family; it was the grace of God which chose the tribe, the family, the person--myself in the first instance, and now Solomon, to whom, as the Lord's anointed, you are all bound to submit. I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments--The same condition is set before Solomon by God (Kg1 3:14; Kg1 9:4). Now . . . in the sight of all Israel, . . . keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord, &c.--This solemn and earnest exhortation to those present, and to all Israel through their representatives, to continue faithful in observing the divine law as essential to their national prosperity and permanence, is similar to that of Moses (Deu 30:15-20). HE ENCOURAGES SOLOMON TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (Ch1 28:9-20) And thou, Solomon my son--The royal speaker now turns to Solomon, and in a most impressive manner presses upon him the importance of sincere and practical piety. know thou--He did not mean head knowledge, for Solomon possessed that already, but that experimental acquaintance with God which is only to be obtained by loving and serving Him. Then David gave to Solomon . . . the pattern--He now put into the hands of his son and successor the plan or model of the temple, with the elevations, measurements, apartments, and chief articles of furniture, all of which were designed according to the pattern given him by divine revelation (Ch1 28:19). the candlesticks of silver--Solomon made them all of gold--in this and a few minor particulars departing from the letter of his father's instructions, where he had the means of executing them in a more splendid style. behold, the courses of the priests and Levites--They were, most probably, represented in this assembly though they are not named. also the princes and all the people--that is, as well the skilful, expert, and zealous artisan, as the workman who needs to be directed in all his labors.
Matthew Henry
chapter
The account we have of David's exit, in the beginning of the first book of Kings, does not make his sun nearly so bright as that given in this and the following chapter, where we have his solemn farewell both to his son and his subjects, and must own that he finished well. In this chapter we have, I. A general convention of the states summoned to meet (Ch1 28:1). II. A solemn declaration of the divine entail both of the crown and of the honour of building the temple upon Solomon (Ch1 28:2-7). III. An exhortation both to the people and to Solomon to make religion their business (Ch1 28:8-10). IV. The model and materials delivered to Solomon for the building of the temple (Ch1 28:11-19). V. Encouragement given him to undertake it and proceed in it (Ch1 28:20, Ch1 28:21).
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1–10
A great deal of service David had done in his day, had served his generation according to the will of God, Act 13:36. But now the time draws night that he must die, and, as a type of the Son of David, the nearer he comes to his end the more busy he is, and does his work with all his might. He is now a little recovered from the indisposition mentioned Kg1 1:1, when they covered him with clothes, and he got no heat: but was cure is there for old age? He therefore improves his recovery, as giving him an opportunity of doing God and his country a little more service.
I. He summoned all the great men to attend him, that he might take leave of them all together, Ch1 28:1. Thus Moses did (Deu 31:28), and Joshua, Jos 23:2; Jos 24:1. David would not declare the settlement of the crown but in the presence, and to the satisfaction, of those that were the representatives of the people.
II. He addressed them with a great deal of respect and tenderness. He not only exerted himself to rise from his bed, to give them the meeting (the occasion putting new spirits into him), but he rose out of his chair, and stood up upon his feet (Ch1 28:2), in reverence to God whose will he was to declare, and in reverence to this solemn assembly of the Israel of God, as if he looked upon himself, though major singulis - greater than any individual among them, yet minor universis - less than the whole of them together. His age and infirmities, as well as his dignity, might well have allowed him to keep his seat; but he would show that he was indeed humbled for the pride of his heart both in the numbers of his people and his dominion over them. It had been too much his pleasure that they were all his servants (Ch1 21:3), but now he calls them his brethren, whom he loved, his people, whom he took care of, not his servants, whom he had command of: Hear me, my brethren, and my people. It becomes superiors thus to speak with affection and condescension even to their inferiors; they will not be the less honoured for it, but the more beloved. Thus he engages their attention to what he was about to say.
III. He declared the purpose he had formed to build a temple for God, and God's disallowing that purpose, Ch1 28:2, Ch1 28:3. This he had signified to Solomon before, Ch1 22:7, Ch1 22:8. A house of rest for the ark is here said to be a house of rest for the footstool of our God; for heaven is his throne of glory; the earth, and the most magnificent temples that can be built upon it, are but his footstool: so much difference is there between the manifestations of the divine glory in the upper and lower world. Angels surround his throne, Isa 6:1. We poor worms do but worship at his footstool Psa 99:5; Psa 132:7. As an evidence of the sincerity of his purpose to build the temple, he tells them that he had made ready for it, but that God would not suffer him to proceed because he had appointed other work for him to do, which was enough for one man, namely, the managing of the wars of Israel. He must serve the public with the sword; another must do it with the line and plummet. Times of rest are building times, Act 9:31.
IV. He produced his own title first, and then Solomon's, to the crown; both were undoubtedly jure divino - divine. They could make out such a title as no monarch on earth can; the Lord God of Israel chose them both immediately, by prophecy, not providence, Ch1 28:4, Ch1 28:5. No right of primogeniture is pretended. Detur digniori, non seniori - It went by worth, not by age. 1. Judah was not the eldest son of Jacob, yet God chose that tribe to be the ruling tribe; Jacob entailed the sceptre upon it, Gen 49:10. 2. It does not appear that the family of Jesse was the senior house of that tribe; from Judah it is certain that it was not, for Shelah was before Pharez; whether from Nahshon and Salmon is not certain. Ram, the father of Nahshon, had a elder brother, Ch1 2:9. Perhaps so had Boaz, Obed, and Jesse. Yet "God chose the house of my father." 3. David was t…
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11–21
As for the general charge that David gave his son to seek God and serve him, the book of the law was, in that, his only rule, and there needed no other; but, in building the temple, David was now to give him three things: - 1. A model of the building, because it was to be such a building as neither he nor his architects ever saw. Moses had a pattern of the tabernacle shown him in the mount (Heb 8:5), so had David of the temple, by the immediate hand of God upon him, Ch1 28:19. It was given him in writing, probably by the ministry of an angel, or as clearly and exactly represented to his mind as if it had been in writing. But it is said (Ch1 28:12), He had this pattern by the Spirit. The contrivance either of David's devotion or of Solomon's wisdom must not be trusted to in an affair of this nature. The temple must be a sacred thing and a type of Christ; there must be in it not only convenience and decency, but significancy: it was a kind of sacrament, and therefore it must not be left to man's art or invention to contrive it, but must be framed by divine institution. Christ the true temple, the church the gospel temple, and heaven the everlasting temple, are all framed according to the divine councils, and the plan laid in the divine wisdom, ordained before the world for God's glory and ours. This pattern David gave to Solomon, that he might know what to provide and might go by a certain rule. When Christ left with his disciples a charge to build his gospel church he gave them an exact model of it, ordering them to observe that, and that only, which he commanded. The particular models are here mentioned, of the porch, which was higher than the rest, like a steeple, - then the houses, both the holy place and the most holy, with the rooms adjoining, which were for treasuries, chambers, and parlours, - especially the place of the mercy-seat (Ch1 28:11), - of the courts likewise, and the chambers about them, in which the dedicated things were laid up. Bishop Patrick supposes that, among other things, the tabernacle which Moses reared and all the utensils of it, which there was now no further occasion for, were laid up here, signifying that in the fulness of time all the Mosaic economy, all the rites and ceremonies of that dispensation, should be respectfully laid aside, and something better come in their room. He gave him a table of the courses of the priests, patterns of the vessels of service (Ch1 28:13), and a pattern of the chariot of the cherubim, Ch1 28:18. Besides the two cherubim over the mercy-seat, there were two much larger, whose wings reached from wall to wall (Kg1 6:23, etc.), and of these David here gave Solomon the pattern, called a chariot; for the angels are the chariots of God, Psa 68:17. 2. Materials for the most costly of the utensils of the temple. That they might not be made any less than the patterns, he weighed out the exact quantity for each vessel both of gold and silver, Ch1 28:14. In the tabernacle there was but one golden candlestick; in the temple there were ten (Kg1 7:49), besides silver ones, which, it is supposed, were hand-candlesticks, Ch1 28:15. In the tabernacle there was but one table; but in the temple, besides that on which the show-bread was set, there were ten others for other uses (Ch2 4:8), besides silver tables; for, this house being much larger than that, it would look bare if it had not furniture proportionable. The gold for the altar of incense is particularly said to be refined gold (Ch1 28:18), purer than any of the rest; for that was typical of the intercession of Christ, than which nothing is more pure and perfect. 3. Directions which way to look for help in this great undertaking. "Fear not opposition; fear not the charge, care, and trouble; fear not miscarrying in it, as in the case of Uzza; fear not the reproach of the foolish builder, that began to build and was not able to finish. Be not dismayed. (1.) God will help thee, and thou must look up to him in the first place (Ch1…
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Jamieson–Fausset–Brown
2
Hear me, my brethren, and my people--This was the style of address becoming a constitutional king of Israel (Deu 17:20; Sa1 30:23; Sa2 5:1).
I had in mine heart--I proposed, or designed.
to build an house of rest--a solid and permanent temple.
for the footstool of our God--God seated between the cherubim, at the two extremities of the ark, might be said to be enthroned in His glory, and the coverlet of the ark to be His footstool.
and had made ready for the building--The immense treasures which David had amassed and the elaborate preparations he had made, would have been amply sufficient for the erection of the temple of which he presented the model to Solomon.
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3
thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood--The church or spiritual state of the world, of which the temple at Jerusalem was to be a type, would be presided over by One who was to be pre-eminently the Prince of Peace, and therefore would be represented not so fitly by David, whose mission had been a preparatory one of battle and conquest, as by his son, who should reign in unbroken peace.
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4
he hath chosen Solomon--The spirit of David's statement is this:--It was not my ambition, my valor, or my merit that led to the enthronement of myself and family; it was the grace of God which chose the tribe, the family, the person--myself in the first instance, and now Solomon, to whom, as the Lord's anointed, you are all bound to submit. Like that of Christ, of whom he was a type, the appointment of Solomon to the kingdom above all his brethren was frequently pre-intimated (Ch1 17:12; Ch1 22:9; Sa2 7:12-14; Sa2 12:24-25; Kg1 1:13).
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7
I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments--The same condition is set before Solomon by God (Kg1 3:14; Kg1 9:4).
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8
Now . . . in the sight of all Israel, . . . keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord, &c.--This solemn and earnest exhortation to those present, and to all Israel through their representatives, to continue faithful in observing the divine law as essential to their national prosperity and permanence, is similar to that of Moses (Deu 30:15-20).
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9
HE ENCOURAGES SOLOMON TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (Ch1 28:9-20)
And thou, Solomon my son--The royal speaker now turns to Solomon, and in a most impressive manner presses upon him the importance of sincere and practical piety.
know thou--He did not mean head knowledge, for Solomon possessed that already, but that experimental acquaintance with God which is only to be obtained by loving and serving Him.
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11
Then David gave to Solomon . . . the pattern--He now put into the hands of his son and successor the plan or model of the temple, with the elevations, measurements, apartments, and chief articles of furniture, all of which were designed according to the pattern given him by divine revelation (Ch1 28:19).
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12
the pattern of all that he had by the spirit--rather, "with him in spirit"; that is, was floating in his mind.
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4 more notes on this passage are in the library.