A king can do anything his heart desires! Right? Wrong! David, the wise old king, wanted to build a temple, a permanent place where God could be worshipped. The construction of the temple was the last thing on his bucket-list.
God said to David, “You are not to build a house for my name because you are a man of war and have shed blood” (1 Chronicles 28:2–3). God had different plans. “Your son Solomon is the one who is to build my house and my courts” (1 Chronicles 28:6). David might have pouted and sulked. He didn’t. In the last years of David’s life, he worked diligently to make plans and set aside the resources, so that under Solomon’s leadership, his dream could become a reality.
First, David shared his vision with his son. “Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. Realize now that the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it” (1 Chronicles 28:9–10).
Next, David gave Solomon the blueprints, God’s blueprints. “David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple and its buildings, treasuries, upstairs rooms, inner rooms, and a room for the mercy seat. The plans contained everything he had in mind for the courts of the Lord’s house, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of God’s house, and the treasuries for what is dedicated” (1 Chronicles 28:11–18).
Lastly, David provided for the project. David said, “I’ve made provision for the house of my God: gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx, stones for mounting, antimony, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and a great quantity of marble. Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the house of my God over and above all that I’ve provided for the holy house: 100 tons of gold and 250 tons of refined silver” (1 Chronicles 29:1–4).
Did you catch that? One hundred tons of gold! At today’s price, that’s more than five and a half trillion dollars of gold! David gave because of his “delight in the house of God.”
Twice in the New Testament, once at the beginning of His earthly ministry (John 2:13-16), and once at the end of his earthly ministry (Matthew 21:12-13), Jesus cleansed Jerusalem’s temple. He had “delight in the house of God” and called the beautiful edifice, His Father’s “house of prayer,” the place where God invited his followers to meet Him in holy communion.
We live in the twenty-first century, long after Jerusalem’s temple was destroyed, and long after Jesus defeated death and cried out, “It is finished!” Today, the temple is not made of brick and mortar. Oh, Jesus “delights in His temple.” He paid a price far greater than the trillions that David once paid. Jesus gave his life on Calvary and paid for this temple with His priceless and precious blood. God’s dwelling place in not made by human hands. “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit!” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You’re special! I assure you; God delights in you!
All Scripture quotations, except as otherwise noted, are from
Holman Bible Publishers’ Christian Standard Bible.
