Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
1 Chronicles 29:4

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Solomon presented to the people (28:1-29:30)

David had been forced to appoint Solomon as king hastily when he learnt that another son, Adonijah, was plotting to seize the throne for himself (see notes on 1 Kings 1:5-53). That very unceremonious anointing of Solomon was followed soon after by a second anointing, this time with full religious and regal ceremony (see 29:22). This second occasion is the one that the Chronicler refers to here. David presented Solomon to the people as the one who, by God’s choice, would succeed him as king and build the temple (28:1-10). David gave Solomon the plans he had prepared for the temple and its service. He encouraged Solomon to persist in the work till the temple was finished and in use according to the plans he had set out (11-21).

In addition to the money and materials he had already given for the project (see 22:14), David gave a lavish offering from his own personal funds. His example prompted the people to make similarly generous offerings (29:1-9). The joyful response from the people brought from David an outburst of magnificent praise to God. He gladly acknowledged that everything that people possess comes from God; therefore, in making offerings to him, the Israelites had only given back what he had already given them. They had done this joyfully and willingly, and David prayed that they would maintain such devotion to God always (10-20).
Next day the people joined in a great festival and swore allegiance to Solomon as their new king (21-25). The writer will now continue with the story of Solomon, but before doing so he gives a brief summary of the reign of David (26-30).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

CONCLUSION OF THE REIGN OF DAVID;
DAVID GIVES HIS GREAT WEALTH FOR THE TEMPLE

"And David the king said unto all the assembly, Solomon my son whom God alone hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Jehovah God. Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the brass for the things of brass, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover also, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of mine own of gold and silver, I give it unto the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, wherewith to overlay the walls of the house; of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto Jehovah ?"

Due to the uncertainty that prevails with respect to the numbers given here, and to our equal uncertainty as to the exact value of the talent used in these calculations, we are not able to assign any exact value to the amount in dollars of David's magnificent gift; but there is no doubt that many millions of dollars should be assigned as the value of his gift. He gave it publicly in order to inspire others to do likewise.

The big point here is not the actual cash value of David's gift, but the principle propounded here in the last sentence.

"Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto Jehovah" This is indeed a profound proposition. What David gave and urged others to give to the house of the worship of God was, in the last analysis, unto Jehovah. How much more is it true that what men freely give to the holy Church of Jesus Christ is actually the consecration of the giver unto God in Christ.

Honestly mistaken as David certainly was about some things, his sincere love of God was the central passion of his life; and, in that light, there can be no wonder that God accepted his loving gift of the temple and continued to use it throughout Israel's history.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The numbers here have also suffered to some extent from the carelessness of copyists (compare the 1 Chronicles 22:14 note). The amount of silver is not indeed improbable, since its value would not exceed three millions of our money; but as the gold would probably exceed in value thirty millions, we may suspect an error in the words “three thousand.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 29

Furthermore David the king said unto the congregation, Solomon my son, whom God had chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God. Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of many colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper wealth, placed the gold and the silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that which I have prepared for the holy house, even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and the seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses: the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD? ( 1 Chronicles 29:1-5 )

So David is, has told of his own commitment and now he's challenging them for a commitment of giving to God. "This is what I have done. This is what I propose to do. Now who of you are willing to offer your service unto the Lord?"

And the chief of the fathers, the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly, and they gave for the service of the house of God, of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. And they all with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. And the people rejoiced, for they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also received with great joy ( 1 Chronicles 29:6-9 ).

So how are we to give to God? Just this way. We are to give with a willing heart, with a complete heart. And we are to give with rejoicing. Give what you can. Give with a free rejoicing heart. Now God doesn't want you to give to Him out of pressure. God doesn't want you to give to Him because you're being forced or constrained to do it. Because God never wants you to gripe over what you gave to Him. What an insult to God for a person to turn around and gripe over what they gave. Complain over what they gave. That would be horrible. God never wants that to happen. Therefore, He always wants your gift to come from your own heart. That which you purposed in your own heart to give to God willingly. That which you can give cheerfully, give. That which you can't give cheerfully, don't give. If you can't do it with a cheerful, willing heart, then don't do it at all. It's of no value. God isn't interested in it.

And so these men gave complete heart willingly unto the Lord. And there was great rejoicing. There's real joy in giving to God.

Wherefore David blessed the LORD before the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all ( 1 Chronicles 29:10-11 ).

Now verse eleven here sounds much like the final phrase of the Lord's prayer. "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever" ( Matthew 6:13 ). Look at it again. "Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all." David was so great with words and so able to praise the Lord. I love the way David is just able to express himself to the Lord so freely, so. And really with such great expression. "Lord, Yours is the kingdom. The whole earth is Yours and the whole universe."

Both riches and honor come of thee, you reign over all; and in your hand is power and might; and in your hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come from thee, and of thine own we have given to thee ( 1 Chronicles 29:12-14 ).

Now David said, "Hey, Lord, it's all yours. You're the One that's given riches. You're the One that gives power. You're the One that gives abilities and everything else. It all belongs to You. And so actually all we've done is give You that which is really Yours anyhow."

Now we need to see ourselves as just stewards over God's things. God set man upon the earth to sort of tend the garden. Man sought to rule over the garden. Man sought to rule over the earth. God just placed us here to take care of it. We've done a very poor job. Greed got in the way. I want more than what I need. I don't need more than that, but I want more than that. And so I'm always striving to get more than I really need myself. And thus, we get deeper into the resources of the earth. And rather than just keeping them and preserving them, we use them up for our own greed. And thus, we have destroyed so many of the ecological balances in nature because of our greed.

"Lord, it all belongs to You. We were just taking care of it. We have done a bad job. We're only giving You back, Lord, that which is really Yours to begin with." You'd never really give God anything. "Who am I that I'm able to do this for You, Lord? Who am I, Lord, that I could give to You?" To me, giving is one of the most tremendous privileges that God has allowed us. That I could give to God. Really, God doesn't need anything I have. But He allows me to give to Him anyhow. And He blesses me for giving to Him. Not because He needs it, but because I need the blessings. So He allows me the privilege of giving to Him. And then He pays me dividends. God is so good.

For we are strangers before thee, sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none that is abiding ( 1 Chronicles 29:15 ).

"None that is abiding." There are some today who are so much into positive confession they're beginning to claim now they're not going to die. David said, "There are none that are abiding." We're all sojourners. Our life is like a shadow.

O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name comes from Your hand, it is all Your own. I know also, my God, that You try the heart, and You have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now I have seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee ( 1 Chronicles 29:16-17 ).

"Lord, You know that what I gave. You know my heart. You know, Lord, I gave it to You out of the uprightness of my heart willingly: and now I have the joy of seeing all these people do the same thing."

O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: and give unto Solomon my son a complete heart, to keep thy commandments, and thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision. And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king with them. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD, they offered burnt offerings unto the LORD, and on the morrow the day after, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all of Israel: they did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest ( 1 Chronicles 29:18-22 ).

So great celebration and worship of God and the feasting that was associated with the worship. Now these sacrifices, thousand rams, thousand lambs, thousand oxen and so forth, they all were barbecued really and eaten by the people. They had a giant barbecue, and you just go around and grab the meat that you desire and just an abundance. Everybody just before the Lord worshipping God. You see, only the sin offering couldn't be eaten. But these were peace offerings and unto the Lord which were offerings of fellowship. And so the great feast that they had company it. And the days, they were called the feasts, the times of their national holidays, the Passover and Pentecost and Trumpets. They were the feasts of the Passover. The feast of Pentecost. The feast of Trumpets because they would always be times of great feasting together. And the idea was eating together with the Lord. "Lord, we offer this as a sacrifice unto You, and You're going to have this portion of it and we'll eat the rest, as we worship You and thank You for all of Your blessings and all of Your goodness and all."

And so the times of worshipping God were great times of fellowship and rejoicing and eating. So your potlucks and everything are all in order, really. God enjoys you just eating and enjoying it and fellowshipping with Him. As you are feasting together, and it should be a time of just thanksgiving and worship unto God.

And so Solomon sat on the throne as the king instead of David his father, and he prospered; and all of Israel obeyed him. And all the princes, and the mighty men, likewise the sons of David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years in Hebron, thirty-three in Jerusalem. And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel, the book of Nathan, the book of Gad ( 1 Chronicles 29:23-29 ),

These three men were prophets. They each wrote books, and of course, we have the books of Samuel, First and Second Samuel, the seer. But we do not have, and of course, even Samuel, Second Samuel wasn't written by him completely. We have the books. We do not have the book of Nathan and the book of Gad. They are lost books.

All of his reign, his might, the times that he went over, and over Israel, the time of his reigning over all of the kingdoms of the countries ( 1 Chronicles 29:30 ).

So we come to the end of a good friend, David.

May the Lord be with you and bless you and watch over you during the week. May your love and commitment to God grow day by day. And may we each one consider what we are giving to God and how we give it. That we might render unto God that which is pleasing and acceptable in His sight, of our time, of our service, of our abilities, of our substance. God bless you. In Jesus' name. "

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Even three thousand talents of gold,.... Which, according to Scheuchzer c, amount to 36,660,000 ducats of gold; and, according to Brerewood d, to 13,500,000 pounds of our money:

of the gold of Ophir; which was reckoned the best gold; not Ophir in India, which was not known till Solomon's time, but in Arabia, as Bochart e has shown; so Eupolemus f, an Heathen writer, says, that David having built ships at Achan, a city of Arabia, sent miners to Urphe (supposed to be the same with Ophir) in the island of the Red sea, abounding with gold, and from thence fetched it, See Gill on 1Ki 9:28, and that he was able to give so great a sum out of his own substance, Dr. Prideaux g thinks, can only be accounted for by his great returns from this traffic; since these 3000 talents, according to him, amounted to 21,600,000 pounds sterling:

and seven thousand talents of refined silver; amounting, according to Scheuchzer h, to 31,500,000 imperials, or rix dollars; and, according to Brerewood i, to 2,625,000 pounds of our money:

to overlay the walls of the houses withal; the gold was to overlay the walls of the holy and most holy place, the silver to overlay the walls of the chambers built around the temple.

c Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631. d De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5. e Phaleg. l. 2. c. 27. col. 140. f Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 30. p. 447. g Connection, par. 1. p. 5, 6. h Ut supra. (Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.) i Ut supra. (De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5.)

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.   2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.   3 Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,   4 Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:   5 The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?   6 Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly,   7 And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.   8 And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.   9 Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

      We may here observe,

      I. How handsomely David spoke to the great men of Israel, to engage them to contribute towards the building of the temple. It is our duty to provoke one another to love and to good works, not only to do good ourselves, but to draw in others to do good too as much as we can. There were many very rich men in Israel; they were all to share in the benefit of the temple, and of those peaceable days which were to befriend the building of it; and therefore, though David would not impose on them, as a tax, what they should give towards it, he would recommend the present as a fair occasion for a free-will offering, because what is done in works of piety and charity should be done willingly and not by constraint; for God loves a cheerful giver. 1. He would have them consider that Solomon was young and tender, and needed help; but that he was the person whom God had chosen to do this work, and therefore was well worthy their assistance. It is good service to encourage those in the work of God that are as yet young and tender. 2. That the world was great, and all hands should contribute to the carrying of it on. The palace to be built was not for man, but for the Lord God; and the more was contributed towards the building the more magnificent it would be, and therefore the better would it answer the intention. 3. He tells them what great preparations had been made for this work. He did not intend to throw all the burden upon them, nor that it should be built wholly by contributions, but that they should show their good will, by adding to what was done (1 Chronicles 29:2; 1 Chronicles 29:2): I have prepared with all my might, that is, "I have made it my business." Work for God must be done with all our might, or we shall bring nothing to pass in it. 4. He sets them a good example. Besides what was dedicated to this service out of the spoils and presents of the neighbouring nations, which was for the building of the house (of which before, 1 Chronicles 22:14; 1 Chronicles 22:14), he had, out of his own share, offered largely for the beautifying and enriching of it, 3000 talents of gold and 7000 talents of silver (1 Chronicles 29:4; 1 Chronicles 29:5), and this because he had set his affection on the house of his God. He gave all this, not as Papists build churches, in commutation of penance, or to make atonement for sin, nor as Pharisees give alms, to be seen of men; but purely because he loved the habitation of God's house; so he professed (Psalms 26:8) and here he proved it. Those who set their affection upon the service of God will think no pains nor cost too much to bestow upon it; and then our offerings are pleasing to God when they come from love. Those that set their affection on things above will set their affection on the house of God, through which our way to heaven lies. Now this he gives them an account of, to stir them up to do likewise. Note, Those who would draw others to do that which is good must themselves lead. Those especially who are advanced above others in place and dignity should particularly contrive how to make their light shine before men, because the influence of their example is more powerful and extensive than that of other people. 5. He stirs them up to do as he had done (1 Chronicles 29:5; 1 Chronicles 29:5): And who then is willing to concentrate his service this day unto the Lord? (1.) We must each of us, in our several places, serve the Lord, and consecrate our service to him, separate it from other things that are foreign and interfere with it, and direct and design it for the honour and glory of God. (2.) We must make the service of God our business, must fill our hands to the Lord, so the Hebrew phrase is. Those who engage themselves in the service of God will have their hands full; there is work enough for the whole man in that service. The filling of our hands with the service of God intimates that we must serve him only, serve him liberally, and serve him in the strength of grace derived from him. (3.) We must be free herein, do it willingly and speedily, do it this day, when we are in a good mind. Who is willing? Now let him show it.

      II. How handsomely they all contributed towards the building of the temple when they were thus stirred up to it. Though they were persuaded to it, yet it is said, They offered willingly,1 Chronicles 29:6; 1 Chronicles 29:6. So he said who knew their hearts. Nay, they offered with a perfect heart, from a good principle and with a sincere respect to the glory of God, 1 Chronicles 29:9; 1 Chronicles 29:9. How generous they were appears by the sum total of the contributions, 1 Chronicles 29:7; 1 Chronicles 29:7. They gave like themselves, like princes, like princes of Israel. And a pleasant day's work it was; for, 1. The people rejoiced, which may be meant of the people themselves that offered: they were glad of the opportunity of honouring God thus with their substance, and glad of the prospect of bringing this good work to perfection. Or the common people rejoiced in the generosity of their princes, that they had such rulers over them as were forward to this good work. Every Israelite is glad to see temple work carried on with vigour. 2. David rejoiced with great joy to see the good effects of his psalms and the other helps of devotion he had furnished them with, rejoiced that his son and successor would have those about him that were so well affected to the house of God, and that this work, upon which his heart was so much set, was likely to go on. Note, It is a great reviving to good men, when they are leaving the world, to see those they leave behind zealous for religion and likely to keep it up. Lord, now let thou thy servant depart in peace.