Study Desk

Then David said, "This will be the location for the Temple of the Lord God and the place of the altar for Israel's burnt offerings!"

So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel, and he assigned them the task of preparing finished stone for building the Temple of God.

David provided large amounts of iron for the nails that would be needed for the doors in the gates and for the clamps, and he gave more bronze than could be weighed.

He also provided innumerable cedar logs, for the men of Tyre and Sidon had brought vast amounts of cedar to David.

David said, "My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now." So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death.

Then David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a Temple for the Lord , the God of Israel.

For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!

"I have worked hard to provide materials for building the Temple of the Lord —nearly 4,000 tons of gold, 40,000 tons of silver, and so much iron and bronze that it cannot be weighed. I have also gathered timber and stone for the walls, though you may need to add more.

As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi.

These were the descendants of Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to qualify for service in the house of the Lord .

For David said, "The Lord , the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem.

In accordance with David's final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service.

They were in charge of the sacred bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check all the weights and measures.

This is how Aaron's descendants, the priests, were divided into groups for service. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Eleazar's descendants were divided into sixteen groups and Ithamar's into eight, for there were more family leaders among the descendants of Eleazar.

All tasks were assigned to the various groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

All these were the sons of Heman, the king's seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters.

All of these descendants of Obed-edom, including their sons and grandsons—sixty-two of them in all—were very capable men, well qualified for their work.

These divisions of the gatekeepers were named for their family leaders, and like the other Levites, they served at the house of the Lord .

They were assigned by families for guard duty at the various gates, without regard to age or training, for it was all decided by means of sacred lots.