1 Chronicles 29

Offerings for the Temple

1 Then King David said to the entire assembly, "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, ¹is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for ²the temple is not for man, but for the LORD God.

2 "Now ³with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance.

3 "Moreover, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above * all that I have already provided for the holy temple,

4 namely, ⁴ 3,000 * talents of gold, of ⁵ the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 * talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings;

5 of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate * himself this day to the LORD?"

6 Then ⁶the rulers of the fathers' households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with ⁷the overseers over the king's work, offered willingly;

7 and for the service for the house of God they gave 5,000 * talents and 10,000 * ⁸darics of gold, and 10,000 * talents of silver, and 18,000 * * talents of brass, and 100,000 * talents of iron.

8 Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in care of ⁹Jehiel the Gershonite.

9 Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the LORD ¹⁰with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David's Prayer

10 So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, "Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

11 "¹¹Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

12 "¹²Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and ¹³in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.

13 "Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

14 "But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.

15 "For ¹⁴we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; ¹⁵our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.

16 "O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours.

17 "Since I know, O my God, that ¹⁶You try the heart and ¹⁷delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You.

18 "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions * of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You;

19 and ¹⁸give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and ¹⁹to build the temple, for which I have made provision."

20 Then David said to all the assembly, "Now bless the LORD your God." And ²⁰all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and ²¹bowed low and did homage to the LORD and to the king.

Sacrifices

21 On the next day ²²they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

So they ate and drank that day before the LORD with great gladness.

Solomon Again Made King

22 And they made Solomon the son of David king ²³a second time, and they ²⁴anointed him as ruler for the LORD and Zadok as priest.

23 Then ²⁵Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

24 All the officials, the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David pledged allegiance * to King Solomon.

25 ²⁶The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and ²⁷bestowed on him royal majesty which had not been on any king before him in Israel.

26 Now ²⁸David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

27 ²⁹The period which he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years and in Jerusalem thirty-three * years.

Death of David

28 Then he died in ³⁰a ripe old age, ³¹full of days, riches and honor; and his son Solomon reigned in his place.

29 "Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of ³² Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of ³³ Nathan the prophet and in the chronicles of ³⁴ Gad the seer,

30 with all his reign, his power, and the circumstances which came on him, on Israel, and on all the kingdoms of the lands.

1 Chronicles 29 Commentary

Chapter 29

David induces the princes and people to offer willingly. (1-9) His thanksgiving and prayer. (10-19) Solomon enthroned. (20-25) David's reign and death. (26-30)

Verses 1-9 What is done in works of piety and charity, should be done willingly, not by constraint; for God loves a cheerful giver. David set a good example. This David offered, not from constraint, or for show; but because he had set his affection to the house of God, and thought he could never do enough towards promoting that good work. Those who would draw others to good, must lead the way themselves.

Verses 10-19 We cannot form a right idea of the magnificence of the temple, and the buildings around it, about which such quantities of gold and silver were employed. But the unsearchable riches of Christ exceed the splendour of the temple, infinitely more than that surpassed the meanest cottage on earth. Instead of boasting of these large oblations, David gave solemn thanks to the Lord. All they gave for the Lord's temple was his own; if they attempted to keep it, death would soon have removed them from it. They only use they could make of it to their real advantage, was, to consecrate it to the service of Him who gave it.

Verses 20-25 This great assembly joined with David in adoring God. Whoever is the mouth of the congregation, those only have the benefit who join him, not by bowing down the head, so much as by lifting up the soul. Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord. Solomon's kingdom typified the kingdom of the Messiah, whose throne is the throne of the Lord.

Verses 26-30 When we read the second book of Samuel, we could scarcely have expected to behold David appear so illustrious in his closing scene. But his repentance had been as remarkable as his sin; and his conduct during his afflictions, and towards the end of his life, appears to have had a good effect on his subjects. Blessed be God, even the chief of sinners may hope for a glorious departure, when brought to repent and flee for refuge to the Saviour's atoning blood. Let us mark the difference between the spirit and character of the man after God's own heart, living and dying, and those of worthless professors, who resemble him in nothing but their sins, and who wickedly try to excuse their crimes by his sins. Let us watch and pray, lest we be overcome by temptation, and overtaken by sin, to the dishonour of God, and the wounding of our own consciences. When we feel that we have offended, let us follow David's example of repentance and patience, looking for a glorious resurrection, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Chronicles 22:5
• 2. 1 Chronicles 29:19
• 3. 1 Chronicles 22:3-5
• 4. 1 Chronicles 22:14
• 5. 1 Kings 9:28
• 6. 1 Chronicles 27:1; 1 Chronicles 28:1
• 7. 1 Chronicles 27:25-31
• 8. Ezra 2:69; Nehemiah 7:70
• 9. 1 Chronicles 23:8
• 10. 1 Kings 8:61; 2 Corinthians 9:7
• 11. Matthew 6:13; Revelation 5:13
• 12. 2 Chronicles 1:12
• 13. 2 Chronicles 20:6
• 14. Leviticus 25:23
• 15. Job 14:2, 10-12
• 16. 1 Chronicles 28:9
• 17. Psalms 15:2
• 18. 1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalms 72:1
• 19. 1 Chronicles 29:1, 2
• 20. Joshua 22:33
• 21. Exodus 4:31
• 22. 1 Kings 8:62, 63
• 23. 1 Kings 2:12
• 24. 2 Chronicles 1:1
• 25. 1 Kings 3:13; 2 Chronicles 1:12
• 26. 1 Chronicles 18:14
• 27. 2 Samuel 5:4, 5; 1 Kings 2:11; 1 Chronicles 3:4
• 28. Genesis 15:15; Acts 13:36
• 29. 1 Chronicles 23:1
• 30. 1 Samuel 9:9
• 31. 2 Samuel 7:2-4; 2 Samuel 12:1-7
• 32. 1 Samuel 22:5
• 33. 1 Chronicles 23:1
• 34. 1 Kings 1:33-39

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "palace"
• [b]. Lit "house"
• [c]. Lit "houses"
• [d]. Lit "by the hand of the craftsmen"
• [e]. Lit "to fill his hand"
• [f]. Lit "those with whom were found"
• [g]. Lit "under the hand of"
• [h]. Lit "retain strength"
• [i]. Lit "intent of the thoughts of the heart"
• [j]. Lit "palace"
• [k]. Lit "sacrificed"
• [l]. Lit "put a hand under Solomon"
• [m]. Lit "he reigned in"
• [n]. Lit "good"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 29

This chapter relates how largely and liberally David, besides what he had before done, and his princes, offered towards defraying the expenses of building the temple, 1Ch 29:1-8 and the joy and thankfulness that he and his people expressed on that account, attended with prayers for Solomon, and offering sacrifices unto the Lord, 1Ch 29:9-21 and the chapter is closed, and so the book, with an account of the second unction of Solomon, the placing him on the throne, and the submission of all ranks of men unto him, and of the death of David, 1Ch 29:22-30.