1 Chronicles 28 shows that no matter how mighty a man might be, at the end there are things left undone. The chapter begins, “David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem“. The chapter gives us an insight into the years of preparation, but the task was passed onto his son to complete. “I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord… I made plans to build it. But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood’.” I read once that Neil Armstrong was selected to be the first man to walk on the moon primarily because he was a civilian at the time, symbolizing humanity, not the U.S. military. Likewise, the Temple was to be a symbol of hope to anyone seeking repentance. Isaiah 56 makes it clear; the Temple was for the salvation of all. “Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely exclude me from his people’… and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations“. Please note; prayer first requires a sacrifice. We cannot come before God in our own righteousness.
Next, David himself publicly passed the responsibility of leadership to Solomon. “Of all my sons and the Lord has given me many he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel“. And true to form David noted the single most important thing he had learned to avoid the temptations that come with power, “Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever“. David added a profound truth to his son, and anyone that desires intimacy with God, “acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you“. God desires every single man, woman and child to receive His peace. Jesus told all that would listen, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
“Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement“. But we are also told that every detail was inspired by God to point all people to the Messiah that would follow. “He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms… for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service… lampstands… for each table… for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers… for each gold dish… for each silver dish… the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the Lord“. And David was faithful to follow God’s direction, “from the hand of the Lord upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan“. The chapter ends with an exhortation for each of us today. First call on God’s Holy Spirit, then “Do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you“.