4 And Jehovah the God of Israel chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever; for he has chosen Judah to be the prince; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel;
And Jehovah said to Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons.
for Judah prevailed among his brethren, and of him was the prince, but the birthright was Joseph's),
And it came to pass when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah's anointed is before him. But Jehovah said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth; for man looketh upon the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh upon the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one. Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one. And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, Jehovah has not chosen these. And Samuel said to Jesse, Are these all the young men? And he said, There is yet the youngest remaining, and behold, he is feeding the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit at table till he come hither. And he sent and brought him in. And he was ruddy, and besides of a lovely countenance and beautiful appearance. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he. And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
Judah -- [as to] thee, thy brethren will praise thee; Thy hand will be upon the neck of thine enemies; Thy father's children will bow down to thee. Judah is a young lion; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stoopeth, he layeth himself down as a lion, And as a lioness: who will rouse him up? The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh come, And to him will be the obedience of peoples.
And now, Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.
And the Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Does not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, facing the waste?
And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel; and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly, and since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I have given thee rest from all thine enemies; and Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house. When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men; but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before thee. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made firm for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver;
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved; And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever. And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.
In thy name are they joyful all the day, and in thy righteousness are they exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength; and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. For Jehovah is our shield, and the Holy One of Israel, our king. Then thou spakest in vision of thy Holy One, and saidst, I have laid help upon a mighty one; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: With whom my hand shall be established; and mine arm shall strengthen him. No enemy shall exact upon him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him; But I will beat down his adversaries before his face, and will smite them that hate him. And my faithfulness and my loving-kindness shall be with him, and by my name shall his horn be exalted. And I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. *He* shall call unto me, Thou art my father, my ùGod, and the rock of my salvation; And as to me, I will make him firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver;
He delighteth not in the strength of the horse, he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man; Jehovah taketh pleasure in those that fear him, in those that hope in his loving-kindness.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 28
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.