Study Desk

David was king over all of Israel, and he did what was fair and right for all his people.

The Ammonites hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah and his army. So they came and set up camp near the town of Medeba. The Ammonites themselves came out of their towns and got ready for battle.

The Ammonites came out and prepared for battle at the city gate. The kings who had come to help were out in the field by themselves.

Joab said to Abishai, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you.

Be strong. We must fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what he thinks is right."

When David heard about this, he gathered all the Israelites, and they crossed over the Jordan River. He prepared them for battle, facing the Arameans. The Arameans fought with him,

So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Choose for yourself

David said to God, "I am the one who sinned and did wrong. I gave the order for the people to be counted. These people only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Lord my God, please punish me and my family, but stop the terrible disease that is killing your people."

David said to him, "Sell me your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord here. Then the terrible disease will stop. Sell it to me for the full price."

Araunah said to David, "Take this threshing floor. My master the king, do anything you want. Look, I will also give you oxen for the whole burnt offerings, the threshing boards for the wood, and wheat for the grain offering. I give everything to you."

But King David answered Araunah, "No, I will pay the full price for the land. I won't take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord . I won't offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing."

So David paid Araunah about fifteen pounds of gold for the place.

David said, "The Temple of the Lord God and the altar for Israel's burnt offerings will be built here."

David supplied a large amount of iron to be used for making nails and hinges for the gate doors. He also supplied more bronze than could be weighed,

David said, "We should build a great Temple for the Lord , which will be famous everywhere for its greatness and beauty. But my son Solomon is young. He hasn't yet learned what he needs to know, so I will prepare for the building of it." So David got many of the materials ready before he died.

Then David called for his son Solomon and told him to build the Temple for the Lord , the God of Israel.

David said to him, "My son, I wanted to build a temple for worshiping the Lord my God.

But the Lord spoke his word to me, ‘David, you have killed many people. You have fought many wars. You cannot build a temple for worship to me, because you have killed many people.

Solomon will build a temple for worship to me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will make his kingdom strong; someone from his family will rule Israel forever.'"

David said, "Now, my son, may the Lord be with you. May you build a temple for the Lord your God, as he said you would.