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Chronicles 22 contrasts being an imperfect earthly Dad to
our Heavenly Father. The chapter begins with King David declaring
“The
house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt
offering for Israel.“
It
is clear that David decided, since he could not build the temple, he
would make every preparation possible for his son to complete the
job. Solomon is widely regarded as the wisest man that ever lived,
yet, his daddy says, “Solomon
my son is
young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must
be
exceedingly magnificent… I will now make preparation for it“.
I suppose it is true, no matter how successful we are in life, our
parents will always view us as mere kids. “So
David made abundant preparations before his death…
appointed
masons to cut hewn stones to build the house of God. David prepared
iron in abundance… and bronze in abundance… and cedar trees in
abundance.”
It is hard to watch your own children struggle. We never want them
to deal with the difficulties that we encountered. With that in
mind, it interesting to consider Solomon’s biggest challenge was an
overabundance of everything.
David
said to Solomon, “My
son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the
Lord my God; but the word of the Lord came to me, saying… ‘You
shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood
on the earth in My sight’.”
This is the first mention of God’s reason for disqualifying David.
David had built an intimacy with God over his lifetime and God spoke
directly to his heart. I seems God allowed David to have the
Temple built, but it was not God’s desire.
He
continued,
“Behold,
a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will
give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be
Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days“.
It is important to point out that rest from your enemies is not the
same as peace with God. David was quick to add, “Keep
the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper, if you take care
to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord charged
Moses“.
David’s closeness to God was not based on keeping the statutes,
but on trusting in God’s mercy. As a parent, it is hard to know
where your child’s heart is, so we erroneously focus on keeping the
rules. Why do we have such difficulty trusting God to work out His
will in the heart of our own children? Perhaps the greatest heritage
a parent can give a child is the example of unrestrained prayer.
The
chapter ends with David listing all the resources in place to build
the Temple. To make sure the task was completed, “David
also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son“.
Then, finally at the end, David stressed the most important thing,
“Now
devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God“.
The temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt and destroyed
again, but the Word of God endures. Jesus told His disciples, “Let
not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it
were
not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to
Myself; that where I am, there
you may be also“.
Will you trust in the promise of your Heavenly Father?