1 Chronicles 28

1 CHRONICLES CHAPTER 28

Accession of Solomon (28:1 – 29:30)

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “Here the account of Solomon’s coronation continues from 23:1-2. David is presented at the pinnacle of his strength as he transfers authority to Solomon (cp 1 Kgs 1:1-2:9).”

David’s Address to the Assembly

        • On this section of verses, vv. 1-21, ESV Study Bible says, “This section resumes in a public setting the charge and exhortation given in private by David in ch. 22. The audience (28:1) consists of the military and tribal leaders and the royal overseers listed in ch. 27, along with David’s leading soldiers (see 11:10-12:40).”

      • David called all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in service of the king, the commanders of units of a thousand and of a hundred, the officials in charge of all the property and livestock that belonged to the king and his sons, the court officials, the mighty men, and all the other brave warriors.

      • King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, God’s footstool. I had made preparations to build, but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ But Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me out of my father’s entire family to be king over Israel forever. Indeed, He chose Judah as leader, and from among the tribe of Judah He chose my father’s family, and from among my father’s sons He took pleasure in me to make me king over all of Israel. And out of all of my sons- for Yahweh has given me many sons- He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of Yahweh’s kingdom over Israel. He told me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build My house and My courts, because I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. If he remains committed to keeping My commandments and My ordinances as is being done at this time, I will establish his kingdom forever.’ So now, in the sight of all of Israel, the assembly of Yahweh, and in the hearing of our God, I say this: Be careful to observe all of the commandments of Yahweh your God so that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.”

        • ESV Study Bible says, “David explains that his failure to build a temple was due to Yahweh’s disqualification of him from that task on account of his preoccupation in warfare (v. 3; see 22:8-9). David’s description of the temple as a house of rest for the ark of the covenant…for the footstool of our God (see Ps 132:7, 8, 14) indicates that the temple will signify not only the land at rest (and thus a fitting project for the ‘man of rest’; 1 Chron 22:9), but also God’s own rest among his people, and thus the completion of his work (cf Gen 2:1-3). The project of temple building is a matter of God’s choice, not David’s. After David, Solomon is the only king in the OT said to be chosen by God (another factor that unifies the reign of these two kings in the Chronicler’s presentation). Solomon is chosen to sit on Yahweh’s throne (v. 5), to be his adopted son (v. 6), and to build God’s temple (v. 10). The establishment of Solomon’s kingdom is dependent on his obedience to Yahweh’s commands. Solomon will prove obedient in the task of temple building, but will fail to serve God with a whole heart throughout his reign (see 1 Kings 11:4).”

David’s Charge to Solomon

      • “And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father and serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, because Yahweh searches every heart and understands every plan and thought. If you seek Him, He will allow you to find Him. But, if you abandon Him, He will reject you forever. Realize now that Yahweh has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do it!”

        • Guzik writes, “David’s exhortation to Solomon begins with the most important aspect – emphasizing a genuine commitment to a real relationship with the living God. David essentially told Solomon, ‘The secret of my success has been my relationship with God. You need to pursue the same relationship.’ David also exhorted Solomon to serve God with both his heart and mind. Some people are all heart and no mind in their service to God; others are all mind and no heart. Both of these are important to truly serve Him…David gave Solomon a reason to commit his heart and mind to God: for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. When we properly understand God and His omniscience we will much more naturally serve Him as we should. Both of these proved true in the life of Solomon. When Solomon sought the LORD at Gibeon, he definitely found Him (1 Kings 3:1-15). When Solomon forsook God, he was in some sense cast… off (1 Kings 11:1-13)…David concluded his exhortation to Solomon with the single most urgent command – to build the temple. All of David’s exhaustive preparations would be for nothing if Solomon did not complete the job that David started.”

      • Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the house, its buildings, its treasuries, its upper areas, its inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat. He gave him the plans for everything that he had in mind for the courts of Yahweh’s house, all the surrounding rooms, the treasuries of God’s house, and the treasuries for the dedicated gifts

      • He gave him the instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all of the assigned responsibilities within Yahweh’s house, and for all the items to be used in the service of Yahweh’s house.

      • He gave him the designated weight of gold for all the gold items to be used in various kinds of service in Yahweh’s house, for all the silver items to be used in various types of service; for the gold lampstands and their gold lamps, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; for the silver lampstands, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps, according to the prescribed use of each lampstand; the weight of gold for each table for the showbread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; for the pure gold used for the forks, bowls, and pitchers; for the small gold bowls, including the weight of each bowl; for the small silver bowls, including the weight of each bowl; and the weight of the refined gold for the incense altar.

      • He gave him the plans for the chariot, that is the gold cherubim whose wings were spread out over the ark of Yahweh’s covenant.

        • Pulpit Commentary says, “By the chariot of the cherubims, is of course not meant that the cherubim had a chariot, but that they constituted the chariot of Jehovah (Psalm 18:11).”

        • However, NET Bible disagrees, instead viewing the Hebrew word for “chariot” here as an error and corrects it as “seat,” “The Hebrew text reads…(merkavah, ‘chariot’), but the final he…is probably dittographic—note the prefixed he…on the immediately following word. It is preferable to read…(merkav, ‘seat’). The same source notes that, “The Hebrew text does not have ‘their wings,’ but the word …(knafayim, ‘wings’) has probably been accidentally omitted by homoioteleuton. Note that the immediately preceding…(lforsim) also ends in mem…”

      • David said, “I put all of this in writing as Yahweh directed me and instructed me regarding the details of the plan.”

        • ESV Study Bible writes, “David passes on to Solomon the temple plan that he received as a revelation from God (v. 19), just as Moses received the plan (‘pattern,’ Ex 25:9, 40) for the tabernacle from God. The gold and silver temple vessels…which Solomon’s craftsmen fashioned (2 Chron 4:6-22), were removed by the Babylonians at the fall of Jerusalem (2 Chron 36:18) then returned by the Persians at the restoration after the exile (Ezra 1:7-11). They signified the continuity of the Chronicler’s generation with the preexilic temple worship, and God’s covenant faithfulness to his people.”

        • The Hebrew text in this verse is somewhat obscure, resulting in some ambiguity. The same sources continues, “One interpretation is that David is claiming prophetic inspiration for his writing of the temple plans he has just described (cf 2 Chron 29:25, where ‘from the Lord’ is lit., ‘by the hand of the Lord’), and thus divine authorization for the plans. It is possible, however, that David is making a stronger claim, namely, that the temple plans were given to him in written form by God (cf Ex 24:12; 31:18; 32:16).”

      • David told his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you before all the work for the service of Yahweh’s house is finished. Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites who will perform all the service of God’s house. All the willing and skilled men are at your disposal for the work. The officials and the people are ready to follow your commands.”

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible includes this very informative historical context section titled “God’s Promised Kingdom”:

        • “God promised that his kingdom would come through David (1 Chr 17:4-14). During his reign, David himself made preparations for the building of the Temple as the focal point of God’s kingdom (28:11-19). He also appealed to Israel’s leaders to seek the Lord (28:8-10), and he encouraged the community of Israel to ‘be strong and courageous’ in trusting God to provide (28:20-21).”

        • “The Chronicler used these words of David to appeal to the citizens of Judea after the Exile to keep the hope of God’s kingdom alive. The Chronicler wanted the people to know that God’s promise to David, confirmed to Solomon, was equally confirmed for them. After the Exile, Judah no longer existed as an independent kingdom ruled by the dynasty of David. Instead, Judea stood as a small territory with limited independence under a Persian governor. Yet the community of Judea could experience God’s blessing, just as the people had in the days of Hezekiah or Josiah. The Chronicler did not know exactly how God’s promise to David would be realized. Yet he had complete trust in God’s power, sovereignty, and justice; he knew that God would be faithful to his promise, and his kingdom would eventually rule over all.”

        • “Following the time of the Chronicler, it appeared that his hopes were disappointed. The Greeks replaced the Persians as rulers of Israel; their intolerance for the Jewish community of faith reached its zenith in the tyrannical Antiochus IV ‘Epiphanes’ (175-163 BC), who made every effort to destroy Israel’s faith and identity, as Daniel had foreseen (Dan 11:21-39). The priestly family of Maccabees resisted Antiochus, restored the Temple, and preserved Judea’s identity. But then the community disintegrated under the successors to the Maccabees; Israel fractured into sects (Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes) and eventually came under Roman control. When Jesus was born, Roman governors controlled the territory of Israel.”

        • “The fulfillment of God’s promises to David took place in a way the Chronicler did not anticipate. Jesus was the anointed king, the Messiah from the dynasty of David (Matt 16:16-17). He established his Kingdom among his followers. The powers of hell will never prevail against his followers; his Kingdom will be forever.”

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