Bible Commentaries
1 Chronicles 28

Verses 1-8

David Admonishes the People Concerning the Temple

v. 1. And David assembled all the princes of Israel, all the representatives of the nation in positions of authority, the princes of the tribes, the hereditary chieftains, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, the twelve generals of Israel's legions, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, those mentioned at the end of the preceding chapter, and of his sons, counselors and tutors, with the officers, the eunuchs, or attendants at court, inside the palace, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem, for a last great assembly.

v. 2. Then David the king stood up upon his feet, having sat before on account of the infirmities of old age, and said, Hear me, my brethren, an address showing both humility and sincere friendliness, 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, where it might permanently be located and no longer be disturbed, and for the footstool of our God, the cover of the ark, the mercy-seat, where God was enthroned between the cherubim, and had made ready for the building;

v. 3. but God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for My name, 1 Chronicles 17:4, because thou hast been a man of war and hast shed blood, in his various campaigns against the surrounding heathen nations.

v. 4. Howbeit, the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, although he was the youngest son of the family, 1 Samuel 16:7-13; for He hath chosen Judah to be the ruler, in the last blessing of Jacob, Genesis 49:8-10, and of the house of Judah the house of my father, 1 Samuel 16:1, and among the sons of my father He liked me, to make me king over all Israel;

v. 5. and of all my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons, 1 Chronicles 3:1; 1 Chronicles 23:1) He hath chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel, 1 Chronicles 22:9.

v. 6. And He said unto me, Solomon, thy son, he shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father, the relationship thus being typical of that obtaining with Christ, to whom the entire prophecy, 2 Samuel 7:12 ff. pointed forward.

v. 7. Moreover, I will establish his kingdom forever if he be constant, full of determination and strength, to do My commandments and My judgments, both those pertaining to all mankind in general and those intended for Israel in particular, as at this day.

v. 8. Now, therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, all members of which would naturally look up to the leaders of the people for guidance, and in the audience of our God, who, as they all knew, was present in this assembly, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord, your God, with great earnestness and zeal, that ye may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever. Earthly blessings are still given by the Lord in return for civil righteousness, and to believers their works of faith in this respect are counted as good works. Note: Like David, Christ also, whose type David was, was selected from among His brethren, but anointed with the Holy Ghost above His brethren, the members of the human family.

Verses 9-21

Special Encouragement Addressed to Solomon

v. 9. And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, who had so often helped David out of his troubles, and serve Him with a perfect heart, with undivided allegiance, and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts, wherefore a mere hand and lip service cannot deceive Him. If thou seek Him, desiring His inner acquaintance in true love and service, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever, this being the manner employed by the Lord to this day; He wants heart-service, not mere head-knowledge.

v. 10. Take heed, now, watch closely, mark well; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the Sanctuary, to serve as a place dedicated to the Lord; be strong and do it.

v. 11. Then David gave to Solomon, his son, the pattern, the model, or sketch, of the porch, that immediately before the Sanctuary, or Temple proper, and of the houses thereof, all the buildings of the Temple, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, those flanking the Sanctuary, used as storerooms for the vestments of the priests and other precious things, and of the inner parlors thereof, the portico before the Sanctuary and the Holy Place, and of the place of the mercy-seat, the Most Holy Place,

v. 12. and the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of all that his spirit had in thought, of everything that was in his mind, which he had caused the architects and draftsmen to sketch and to model, of the courts of the house of the Lord, that of the priests and that of the people, and of all the chambers round about, also those used for the assembling of the ministers in charge and for living quarters, of the treasuries of the house of God, where the regular income of the Temple was placed, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things, where special freewill gifts, especially of precious metals, were placed:

v. 13. also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, as David had determined them, 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. Cf 1 Chronicles 23:26.

v. 14. He gave, or rather, stated, of gold by weight for things of gold, giving the weight or amount of the precious metal to be used in making the various vessels and appointments, 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;

v. 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, these being intended for use in the Sanctuary, 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, these silver candlesticks probably being used in the courts and chambers. The lamps of the candlesticks are mentioned separately because they were daily filled with oil and placed in the cup or blossom-shaped containers on the arms of the candlesticks.

v. 16. And by weight he gave, or stated, gold for the tables of showbread, the one table for this bread here being included with the stands for the candlesticks, for every table, and likewise silver for the tables of silver, for the stands which held the silver candlesticks;

v. 17. also pure gold for the flesh-hooks, the forks used in cooking the pieces of the sacrifices, and the bowls, the sprinkling-bowls used so much in sacrificial worship, and the cups, the covered cans, or tankards, used in drink-offerings; and for the golden basins he gave gold by weight for every basin, stating how much should be used in each instance; and likewise silver by weight for every basin of silver;

v. 18. and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight, to cover the entire frame-work of acacia-wood; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubim, the mercy seat being called so on account of the fact that the cherubim were represented with their wings extended as if moving rapidly, that spread out their wings, and covered the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.

v. 19. All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. It is probable that David, in a vision, saw the entire edifice, with all its separate buildings and appointments, so clearly that he was enabled to have the sketches and the models made exactly as they had appeared to him at that time.

v. 20. And David said to Solomon, his son, taking up his admonition once more where he stopped when showing the models, Be strong and of good courage and do it; fear not nor be dismayed, the entire trend of the address showing unflinching confidence and steadfast determination; for the Lord God, even my God, the one whom David had served so faithfully all his life, 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.

v. 21. And. Behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, who were surely also represented in the assembly on that day, 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, the skilled artisan as well as the ordinary craftsman or workman; also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment; of this David was convinced from his acquaintance with them all and from the cheerful loyalty they had shown him for more than thirty years, except in the matter of the rebellion of Absalom. It is well-pleasing to God and serves as a great encouragement to His servants if all men, great and small, stand together for the purpose of building His kingdom on earth, no matter what special business may be at hand.