1
Chronicles 29 marks the end of King David’s life with abundant
praise. I believe the reason for David’s joy is simply because he
recognized his entire life was a gift from God. The chapter begins
with David’s address to the leaders of the nation. Wisely, David
set the reasonable expectations, “My
son Solomon… is young and inexperienced… The task is great“.
And he added the Temple that was to be built was “not
for man but for the Lord God“.
There is an implication that anything done in the Lord’s name
should be done with excellence. Colossians 2:23 says it this way,
“whatever
you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men“.
David continued, “With
all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God… I now
give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my
God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple“.
As we will see, this is not done for political reasons; instead it
was an outward expression of what was happening inside the man.
David’s sincerity inspired the entire nation to give. “Then
the leaders… the commanders… and the officials… gave willingly…
The people rejoiced… for they had given freely and wholeheartedly
to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly“.
David
responded with a beautiful prayer that begins and ends with
thanksgiving, “Praise
be to you, O Lord…we give you thanks… for everything in heaven
and earth is yours… Wealth and honor come from you… we give you
thanks, and praise your glorious name“.
The surest rout to joy is recognizing the blessings in our life.
David continued expressing this sentiment before the people.
“Everything
comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand
… keep this desire in the hearts of Your people forever“.
After counting their blessings, notice the reaction, “So
they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed low
and fell prostrate before the Lord“.
Do you need a lift today? Begin to thank God for all of the
blessings in your life!
This
time of praise apparently went on all night because it wasn’t until
the next day that they “acknowledged
Solomon son of David as king… anointing him before the Lord“.
In the midst of this joy and praise, we barely notice the passing of
the ‘Man after God’s own heart’. David made the end of his
life a celebration of the accomplishments of God. We read, “Solomon
sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David.
The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and
bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had
before“.
Finally, 1 Chronicles ends with the fitting tribute to David, “David
son of Jesse was king over all Israel… forty years… He died at a
good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son
Solomon succeeded him as king“.
1 Corinthians 1:6-8 reminds us of the source of our joy, “the
testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in
no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who will also confirm you to the end, that
you may be
blameless in the day“.
God is faithful!