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1 Chronicles 28:18 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

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18 And the best gold for the altar of perfumes; and gold for the design of the carriage, for the winged ones whose wings were outstretched covering the ark of the Lord's agreement.

Cross Reference

Exodus 25:18-22 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

And at the two ends of the cover you are to make two winged ones of hammered gold, One at one end and one at the other; the winged ones are to be part of the cover. And their wings are to be outstretched over the cover, and the winged ones are to be opposite one another, facing the cover. And put the cover over the ark, and in the ark the record which I will give you. And there, between the two winged ones on the cover of the ark, I will come to you, face to face, and make clear to you all the orders I have to give you for the children of Israel.

Exodus 30:1-10 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

And you are to make an altar for the burning of perfume; of hard wood let it be made. The altar is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high, and its horns are to be made of the same. It is to be plated with the best gold, the top of it and the sides and the horns, with an edging of gold all round it. Under the edge on the two opposite sides, you are to make two gold rings, to take the rods for lifting it. And make these rods of the same wood, plating them with gold. And let it be placed in front of the veil before the ark of the law, before the cover which is over the law, where I will come face to face with you. And on this altar sweet spices are to be burned by Aaron every morning when he sees to the lights. And every evening, when he puts the lights up in their places, the spices are to be burned, a sweet-smelling smoke going up before the Lord from generation to generation for ever. No strange perfume, no burned offering or meal offering, and no drink offering is to be offered on it. And once every year Aaron is to make its horns clean: with the blood of the sin-offering he is to make it clean once every year from generation to generation: it is most holy to the Lord.

1 Kings 6:23-30 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

In the inmost room he made two winged beings of olive-wood, ten cubits high; With outstretched wings five cubits wide; the distance from the edge of one wing to the edge of the other was ten cubits. The two winged ones were ten cubits high, of the same size and form. The two of them were ten cubits high. These were placed inside the inner house, their outstretched wings touching the walls of the house, one touching one wall and one the other, while their other wings were touching in the middle. These winged ones were plated over with gold. And all the walls of the house inside and out were ornamented with forms of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers. And the floor of the house was covered with gold, inside and out.

Ezekiel 1:15-24 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

Now while I was looking at the four living beings, I saw one wheel on the earth, by the side of the living beings, for the four of them. The form of the wheels and their work was like a beryl; the four of them had the same form and design, and they were like a wheel inside a wheel. The four of them went straight forward without turning to one side. And I saw that they had edges, and their edges, even of the four, were full of eyes round about. And when the living beings went on, the wheels went by their side; and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Wherever the spirit was to go they went; and the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. When these went on, the others went; and when these came to rest, the others came to rest; and when these were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. And over the heads of the living beings there was the form of an arch, looking like ice, stretched out over their heads on high. Under the arch their wings were straight, one stretched out to another: every one had two wings covering their bodies on this side and two covering their bodies on that side. And when they went, the sound of their wings was like the sound of great waters to my ears, like the voice of the Ruler of all, a sound like the rushing of an army: when they came to rest they let down their wings.

Ezekiel 10:2-22 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

And he said to the man clothed in linen, Go in between the wheels, under the winged ones, and get your two hands full of burning coals from between the winged ones and send them in a shower over the town. And he went in before my eyes. Now the winged ones were stationed on the right side of the house when the man went in; and the inner square was full of the cloud. And the glory of the Lord went up from the winged ones and came to rest over the doorstep of the house; and the house was full of the cloud and the open square was full of the shining of the Lord's glory. And the sound of the wings of the winged ones was clear even in the outer square, like the voice of the Ruler of all. And when he gave orders to the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the winged ones, then he went in and took his place at the side of a wheel. And stretching out his hand to the fire which was between the winged ones, he took some of it and went out. And I saw the form of a man's hands among the winged ones under their wings. And looking, I saw four wheels by the side of the winged ones, one wheel by the side of a winged one and another wheel by the side of another: and the wheels were like the colour of a beryl stone to the eye. In form the four of them were all the same, they seemed like a wheel inside a wheel. When they were moving, they went on their four sides without turning; they went after the head in the direction in which it was looking; they went without turning. And the edges of the four wheels were full of eyes round about. As for the wheels, they were named in my hearing, the circling wheels. And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a winged one, and the second was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. And the winged ones went up on high: this is the living being which I saw by the river Chebar. And when the winged ones went, the wheels went by their side: and when their wings were lifted to take them up from the earth, the wheels were not turned from their side. When they were at rest in their place, these were at rest; when they were lifted up, these went up with them: for the spirit of life was in them. Then the glory of the Lord went out from the doorstep of the house, and came to rest over the winged ones. And the winged ones, lifting up their wings, went up from the earth before my eyes, with the wheels by their side: and they came to rest at the east doorway of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them on high. This is the living being which I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and it was clear to me that they were the winged ones. Every one had four faces and every one had four wings; and hands like a man's hands were under their wings. As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose form I saw by the river Chebar; when they went, every one of them went straight forward.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 28

Commentary on 1 Chronicles 28 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill   Keil & Delitzsch   Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible  

Chapter 28

The account we have of David's exit, in the beginning of the first book of Kings, does not make his sun nearly so bright as that given in this and the following chapter, where we have his solemn farewell both to his son and his subjects, and must own that he finished well. In this chapter we have,

  • I. A general convention of the states summoned to meet (v. 1).
  • II. A solemn declaration of the divine entail both of the crown and of the honour of building the temple upon Solomon (v. 2-7).
  • III. An exhortation both to the people and to Solomon to make religion their business (v. 8-10).
  • IV. The model and materials delivered to Solomon for the building of the temple (v. 11-19).
  • V. Encouragement given him to undertake it and proceed in it (v. 20, 21).

1Ch 28:1-10

A great deal of service David had done in his day, had served his generation according to the will of God, Acts 13:36. But now the time draws night that he must die, and, as a type of the Son of David, the nearer he comes to his end the more busy he is, and does his work with all his might. He is now a little recovered from the indisposition mentioned 1 Ki. 1:1, when they covered him with clothes, and he got no heat: but what cure is there for old age? He therefore improves his recovery, as giving him an opportunity of doing God and his country a little more service.

  • I. He summoned all the great men to attend him, that he might take leave of them all together, v. 1. Thus Moses did (Deu. 31:28), and Joshua, ch. 23:2; 24:1. David would not declare the settlement of the crown but in the presence, and to the satisfaction, of those that were the representatives of the people.
  • II. He addressed them with a great deal of respect and tenderness. He not only exerted himself to rise from his bed, to give them the meeting (the occasion putting new spirits into him), but he rose out of his chair, and stood up upon his feet (v. 2), in reverence to God whose will he was to declare, and in reverence to this solemn assembly of the Israel of God, as if he looked upon himself, though major singulis-greater than any individual among them, yet minor universis-less than the whole of them together. His age and infirmities, as well as his dignity, might well have allowed him to keep his seat; but he would show that he was indeed humbled for the pride of his heart both in the numbers of his people and his dominion over them. It had been too much his pleasure that they were all his servants (ch. 21:3), but now he calls them his brethren, whom he loved, his people, whom he took care of, not his servants, whom he had command of: Hear me, my brethren, and my people. It becomes superiors thus to speak with affection and condescension even to their inferiors; they will not be the less honoured for it, but the more beloved. Thus he engages their attention to what he was about to say.
  • III. He declared the purpose he had formed to build a temple for God, and God's disallowing that purpose, v. 2, 3. This he had signified to Solomon before, ch. 22:7, 8. A house of rest for the ark is here said to be a house of rest for the footstool of our God; for heaven is his throne of glory; the earth, and the most magnificent temples that can be built upon it, are but his footstool: so much difference is there between the manifestations of the divine glory in the upper and lower world. Angels surround his throne, Isa. 6:1. We poor worms do but worship at his footstool Ps. 99:5; 132:7. As an evidence of the sincerity of his purpose to build the temple, he tells them that he had made ready for it, but that God would not suffer him to proceed because he had appointed other work for him to do, which was enough for one man, namely, the managing of the wars of Israel. He must serve the public with the sword; another must do it with the line and plummet. Times of rest are building times, Acts 9:31.
  • IV. He produced his own title first, and then Solomon's, to the crown; both were undoubtedly jure divino-divine. They could make out such a title as no monarch on earth can; the Lord God of Israel chose them both immediately, by prophecy, not providence, v. 4, 5. No right of primogeniture is pretended. Detur digniori, non seniori-It went by worth, not by age.
    • 1. Judah was not the eldest son of Jacob, yet God chose that tribe to be the ruling tribe; Jacob entailed the sceptre upon it, Gen. 49:10.
    • 2. It does not appear that the family of Jesse was the senior house of that tribe; from Judah it is certain that it was not, for Shelah was before Pharez; whether from Nahshon and Salmon is not certain. Ram, the father of Nahshon, had a elder brother, 1 Chr. 2:9. Perhaps so had Boaz, Obed, and Jesse. Yet "God chose the house of my father.'
    • 3. David was the youngest son of Jesse, yet God liked him to make him king; so it seemed good unto him. God takes whom he likes, and likes whom he makes like himself, as he did David, a man after his own heart.
    • 4. Solomon was one of the youngest sons of David, and yet God chose him to sit upon the throne, because he was the likeliest of them all to build the temple, the wisest and best inclined.
  • V. He opened to them God's gracious purposes concerning Solomon (v. 6, 7): I have chosen him to be my son. Thus he declares the decree, that the Lord had said to Solomon, as a type of Christ, Thou art my son (Ps. 2:7), the son of my love; for he was called Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him, and Christ is his beloved Son. Of him God said, as a figure of him that was to come,
    • 1. He shall build my house. Christ is both the founder and the foundation of the gospel temple.
    • 2. I will establish his kingdom for ever. This must have its accomplishment in the kingdom of the Messiah, which shall continue in his hands through all the ages of time (Isa. 9:7; Lu. 1:33) and shall then be delivered up to God, even the Father, yet perhaps to be delivered back to the Redeemer for ever. As to Solomon, this promise of the establishment of his kingdom is here made conditional: If he be constant to do my commandments, as at this day. Solomon was now very towardly and good: "If he continue so, his kingdom shall continue, otherwise not.' Note, If we be constant to our duty, then, and not otherwise, we may expect the continuance of God's favour. Let those that are well taught, and begin well, take notice of this-if they be constant, they are happy; perseverance wears the crown, though it wins it not.
  • VI. He charged them to adhere stedfastly to God and their duty, v. 8. Observe,
    • 1. The matter for this charge: Keep, and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God. The Lord was their God; his commandments must be their rule; they must have respect to them all, must make conscience of keeping them, and, in order thereunto, must seek for them, that is, must be inquisitive concerning their duty, search the scriptures, take advice, seek the law at the mouth of those whose lips were to keep this knowledge, and pray to God to teach and direct them. God's commandments will not be kept without great care.
    • 2. The solemnity of it. He charged them in the sight of all Israel, who would all have notice of this public charge, and in the audience of their God. "God is witness, and this congregation is witness, that they have good counsel given them, and fair warning; if they do not take it, it is their fault, and God and man will be witnesses against them.' See 1 Tim. 5:21; 2 Tim. 4:1. Those that profess religion, as they tender the favour of God and their reputation with men, must be faithful to their profession.
    • 3. The motive to observe this charge. It was the way to be happy, to have the peaceable possession of this good land themselves and to preserve the entail of it upon their children.
  • VII. He concluded with a charge to Solomon himself, v. 9, 10. He was much concerned that Solomon should be religious. He was to be a great man, but he must not think religion below him-a wise man, and this would be his wisdom. Observe,
    • 1. The charge he gives him. He must look upon God and the God of his father, his good father, who had devoted him to God and educated him for God. He was born in God's house and therefore bound in duty to be his, brought up in his house and therefore bound in gratitude. Thy own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not. He must know God and serve him. We cannot serve God aright if we do not know him; and in vain do we know him if we do not serve him, serve him with heart and mind. We make nothing of religion if we do not mind it, and make heart-work of it. Serve him with a perfect, that is, an upright heart (for sincerity is our gospel perfection), and with a willing mind, from a principle of love, and as a willing people, cheerfully and with pleasure.
    • 2. The arguments to enforce this charge.
      • (1.) Two arguments of general inducement:-
        • [1.] That the secrets of our souls are open before God; he searches all hearts, even the hearts of kings, which to men are unsearchable, Prov. 25:3. We must therefore be sincere, because, if we deal deceitfully, God sees it, and cannot be imposed upon; we must therefore employ our thoughts, and engage them in God's service, because he fully understands all the imaginations of them, both good and bad.
        • [2.] That we are happy or miserable here, and for ever, according as we do, or do not, serve God. If we seek him diligently, he will be found of us, and that is enough to make us happy, Heb. 11:6. If we forsake him, desert his service and turn from following him, he will cast us off for ever, and that is enough to make us miserable. Note, God never casts any off till they have first cast him off. Here is,
      • (2.) One argument peculiar to Solomon (v. 10): "Thou art to build a house for the sanctuary; therefore seek and serve God, that that work may be done from a good principle, in a right manner, and may be accepted.'
    • 3. The means prescribed in order hereunto, and they are prescribed to us all.
      • (1.) Caution: Take heed; beware of every thing that looks like, or leads to, that which is evil.
      • (2.) Courage: Be strong, and do it. We cannot do our work as we should unless we put on resolution, and fetch in strength from divine grace.

1Ch 28:11-21

As for the general charge that David gave his son to seek God and serve him, the book of the law was, in that, his only rule, and there needed no other; but, in building the temple, David was now to give him three things:-

  • 1. A model of the building, because it was to be such a building as neither he nor his architects ever saw. Moses had a pattern of the tabernacle shown him in the mount (Heb. 8:5), so had David of the temple, by the immediate hand of God upon him, v. 19. It was given him in writing, probably by the ministry of an angel, or as clearly and exactly represented to his mind as if it had been in writing. But it is said (v. 12), He had this pattern by the Spirit. The contrivance either of David's devotion or of Solomon's wisdom must not be trusted to in an affair of this nature. The temple must be a sacred thing and a type of Christ; there must be in it not only convenience and decency, but significancy: it was a kind of sacrament, and therefore it must not be left to man's art or invention to contrive it, but must be framed by divine institution. Christ the true temple, the church the gospel temple, and heaven the everlasting temple, are all framed according to the divine councils, and the plan laid in the divine wisdom, ordained before the world for God's glory and ours. This pattern David gave to Solomon, that he might know what to provide and might go by a certain rule. When Christ left with his disciples a charge to build his gospel church he gave them an exact model of it, ordering them to observe that, and that only, which he commanded. The particular models are here mentioned, of the porch, which was higher than the rest, like a steeple,-then the houses, both the holy place and the most holy, with the rooms adjoining, which were for treasuries, chambers, and parlours,-especially the place of the mercy-seat (v. 11),-of the courts likewise, and the chambers about them, in which the dedicated things were laid up. Bishop Patrick supposes that, among other things, the tabernacle which Moses reared and all the utensils of it, which there was now no further occasion for, were laid up here, signifying that in the fulness of time all the Mosaic economy, all the rites and ceremonies of that dispensation, should be respectfully laid aside, and something better come in their room. He gave him a table of the courses of the priests, patterns of the vessels of service (v. 13), and a pattern of the chariot of the cherubim, v. 18. Besides the two cherubim over the mercy-seat, there were two much larger, whose wings reached from wall to wall (1 Ki. 6:23, etc.), and of these David here gave Solomon the pattern, called a chariot; for the angels are the chariots of God, Ps. 68:17.
  • 2. Materials for the most costly of the utensils of the temple. That they might not be made any less than the patterns, he weighed out the exact quantity for each vessel both of gold and silver, v. 14. In the tabernacle there was but one golden candlestick; in the temple there were ten (1 Ki. 7:49), besides silver ones, which, it is supposed, were hand-candlesticks, v. 15. In the tabernacle there was but one table; but in the temple, besides that on which the show-bread was set, there were ten others for other uses (2 Chr. 4:8), besides silver tables; for, this house being much larger than that, it would look bare if it had not furniture proportionable. The gold for the altar of incense is particularly said to be refined gold (v. 18), purer than any of the rest; for that was typical of the intercession of Christ, than which nothing is more pure and perfect.
  • 3. Directions which way to look for help in this great undertaking. "Fear not opposition; fear not the charge, care, and trouble; fear not miscarrying in it, as in the case of Uzza; fear not the reproach of the foolish builder, that began to build and was not able to finish. Be not dismayed.
    • (1.) God will help thee, and thou must look up to him in the first place (v. 20): The Lord God, even my God, whom I have chosen and served, who has all along been present with me and prospered me, and to whom, from my own experience of his power and goodness, I recommend thee, he will be with thee, to direct, strengthen, and prosper thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.' Note, We may be sure that God, who owned our fathers and carried them through the services of their day, will, in like manner, if we be faithful to him, go along with us in our day, and will never leave us, while he has any work to do in us or by us. The same that was Joshua's encouragement (Jos. 1:5), and Solomon's, is given to all believers, Heb. 13:5. He will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. God never leaves any unless they first leave him.
    • (2.) "Good men will help thee, v. 21. The priests and Levites will advise thee, and thou mayest consult them. Thou hast good workmen, who are both willing and skilful;' and these are two very good properties in a workman, especially in those that work at the temple. And, lastly, "The princes and the people will be so far from opposing or retarding the work that they will be wholly at thy command, every one in his place ready to further it.' Then good work is likely to go on when all parties concerned are hearty in it, and none secretly clog it, but all drive on heartily in it.