2 And king David stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren and my people! I had in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Jehovah and for the footstool of our God, and I have prepared to build.
Thus saith Jehovah: The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what is the house that ye will build unto me? and what is the place of my rest?
Exalt Jehovah our God, and worship at his footstool. He is holy!
And it came to pass as David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah under curtains. And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.
And behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of Jehovah a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance; and timber and stone have I prepared; and thou shalt add to it.
The heaven [is] my throne and the earth the footstool of my feet: what house will ye build me? saith [the] Lord, or where [is the] place of my rest?
This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it.
I will not come into the tent of my house, I will not go up to the couch of my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, slumber to mine eyelids, Until I find out a place for Jehovah, habitations for the Mighty One of Jacob. ... Behold, we heard of it at Ephratah, we found it in the fields of the wood. Let us go into his habitations, let us worship at his footstool. Arise, Jehovah, into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength.
I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
And one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph is coming to thee. And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
And David commanded to collect the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joists, and brass in abundance without weight; and cedar-trees innumerable; for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought cedar-wood in abundance to David. For David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for Jehovah must be exceeding great in fame and in beauty in all lands: I will therefore make preparation for it. And David prepared abundantly before his death.
And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. And from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, David took very much brass, of which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass. And Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadarezer king of Zobah; and he sent Hadoram his son to king David to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him; for Hadarezer was continually at war with Tou; [he sent] also all manner of vessels of gold and silver and bronze. Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had brought from all the nations: from the Edomites, and from the Moabites, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from the Amalekites.
And all Israel assembled themselves to David to Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Even aforetime, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel; and Jehovah thy God said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over my people Israel. And all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah; and they anointed David king over Israel according to the word of Jehovah through Samuel.
And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart;
And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Thy God make the name of Solomon more excellent than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne! And the king bowed himself on the bed.
that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left; that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his sons, in the midst of Israel.
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Commentary on 1 Chronicles 28 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 28
1Ch 28:1-8. David Exhorts the People to Fear God.
1. David assembled all the princes of Israel—that is, the representatives of the people, the leading men of the kingdom, who are enumerated in this verse according to their respective rank or degree of authority.
princes of the tribes—(1Ch 27:16-22). Those patriarchal chiefs are mentioned first as being the highest in rank—a sort of hereditary noblesse.
the captains of the companies—the twelve generals mentioned (1Ch 27:1-15).
the stewards, &c.—(1Ch 27:25-31).
the officers—Hebrew, "eunuchs," or attendants on the court (1Sa 8:15; 1Ki 22:9; 2Ki 22:18); and besides Joab, the commander-in-chief of the army, the heroes who had no particular office (1Ch 11:10-12:40; 2Sa 23:8-39). This assembly, a very mixed and general one, as appears from the parties invited, was more numerous and entirely different from that mentioned (1Ch 23:2).
2. Hear me, my brethren, and my people—This was the style of address becoming a constitutional king of Israel (De 17:20; 1Sa 30:23; 2Sa 5:1).
I had in mine heart—I proposed, or designed.
to build an house of rest—a solid and permanent temple.
for the footstool of our God—God seated between the cherubim, at the two extremities of the ark, might be said to be enthroned in His glory, and the coverlet of the ark to be His footstool.
and had made ready for the building—The immense treasures which David had amassed and the elaborate preparations he had made, would have been amply sufficient for the erection of the temple of which he presented the model to Solomon.
3. thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood—The church or spiritual state of the world, of which the temple at Jerusalem was to be a type, would be presided over by One who was to be pre-eminently the Prince of Peace, and therefore would be represented not so fitly by David, whose mission had been a preparatory one of battle and conquest, as by his son, who should reign in unbroken peace.
4, 5. he hath chosen Solomon—The spirit of David's statement is this:—It was not my ambition, my valor, or my merit that led to the enthronement of myself and family; it was the grace of God which chose the tribe, the family, the person—myself in the first instance, and now Solomon, to whom, as the Lord's anointed, you are all bound to submit. Like that of Christ, of whom he was a type, the appointment of Solomon to the kingdom above all his brethren was frequently pre-intimated (1Ch 17:12; 22:9; 2Sa 7:12-14; 12:24, 25; 1Ki 1:13).
7. I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments—The same condition is set before Solomon by God (1Ki 3:14; 9:4).
8. Now … in the sight of all Israel, … keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord, &c.—This solemn and earnest exhortation to those present, and to all Israel through their representatives, to continue faithful in observing the divine law as essential to their national prosperity and permanence, is similar to that of Moses (De 30:15-20).
1Ch 28:9-20. He Encourages Solomon to Build the Temple.
9, 10. And thou, Solomon my son—The royal speaker now turns to Solomon, and in a most impressive manner presses upon him the importance of sincere and practical piety.
know thou—He did not mean head knowledge, for Solomon possessed that already, but that experimental acquaintance with God which is only to be obtained by loving and serving Him.
11. Then David gave to Solomon … the pattern—He now put into the hands of his son and successor the plan or model of the temple, with the elevations, measurements, apartments, and chief articles of furniture, all of which were designed according to the pattern given him by divine revelation (1Ch 28:19).
12. the pattern of all that he had by the spirit—rather, "with him in spirit"; that is, was floating in his mind.
15, 16. the candlesticks of silver—Solomon made them all of gold—in this and a few minor particulars departing from the letter of his father's instructions, where he had the means of executing them in a more splendid style. There was only one candlestick and one table in the tabernacle, but ten in the temple.
18, 19. the chariot of the cherubim—The expanded wings of the cherubim formed what was figuratively styled the throne of God, and as they were emblematical of rapid motion, the throne or seat was spoken of as a chariot (Ps 18:10; 99:1). It is quite clear that in all these directions David was not guided by his own taste, or by a desire for taking any existing model of architecture, but solely by a regard to the express revelation of the divine will. In a vision, or trance, the whole edifice, with its appurtenances, had been placed before his eyes so vividly and permanently, that he had been able to take a sketch of them in the models delivered to Solomon.
20. Be strong and of good courage—The address begun in 1Ch 28:9 is resumed and concluded in the same strain.
21. behold, the courses of the priests and Levites—They were, most probably, represented in this assembly though they are not named.
also the princes and all the people—that is, as well the skilful, expert, and zealous artisan, as the workman who needs to be directed in all his labors.