Preached Sunday, December 28, 2008
from
1 Chronicles 28:9
Theme: David’s closing ‘charge’ to Solomon gives us some worthy ‘resolves’ to build into our Christian lives in the coming year.
(New Year’s Message delivered Sunday, December 28, 2008 at Bethany Bible Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
We’ve come to the last week of December—the time when all of the Christmas decorations begin to come down, and when people often begin to make their “new year’s resolutions”.
There are lots of new years’ resolutions people make-up for themselves at this time—and many of them may be very good ones to adopt. (I heard on the news the other day that, statistically, most of them involve weight-loss.) But I believe that, if we are going to make “resolutions” for the coming year, it’s far better for us to seek our resolves from God’s infallible word. And so, in that spirit, I ask you to turn to the twenty-eighth chapter of the Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles.
I believe that, if we look there, we’ll find a couple of resolves that the people of this world would never have thought to create for themselves—but ones that are far more worthy and beneficial for us as the people of God.
* * * * * * * * * *
The setting for this passage is the final stage of the life of King David. And it describes an important ‘charge’ that he gave to his son Solomon.
Many years prior, the intention had come into David’s heart to build a temple for God. Up to that point of time, the ark of the covenant—that divinely appointed representation of the presence of God with His people—had not rested in a permanent building, but had been kept in the tent-like tabernacle that had traveled with the people of God throughout their wanderings. And now that the people of Israel were established in their land, and now that they had been given a king who dwelt in a royal palace, David felt that it was wrong for the ark to be sitting in a temporary shelter of ‘tent curtains’ (see 1 Chronicles 17:1ff).
David had expressed to the prophet Nathan his desire to build a temple for the Lord. But it was through Nathan that God revealed that David was prohibited from building that temple. David had been a godly man; but he had also been a warrior-king who had shed much blood in combat in order to establish and secure the kingdom for his people. It was not wrong that he had done so, of course; because it was by God’s hand that he had waged war. But it was God’s intention that David’s son Solomon—a man of peace—would be the one who would build His holy temple rather than David.
David was completely submitted to the pleasure of the Lord. He gladly accepted the fact that God had given the task of building the temple to Solomon. But though he himself would be prohibited from actually building the temple, David had set himself to provide for as much of the building of it as he was able—so that, when the time finally came to build, there would be nothing left for Solomon to do but to rise up and build from the provision that his father David had already made (see 1 Chronicles 22:1-19).
Much of the later chapters of 1 Chronicles details the tremendous lengths David went to in order provide all that was needed for his son to build. And that brings us to chapter twenty-eight; were we read of the solemn ceremony in which David officially turned the task—along with all the provisions—over to his son in the sight of all of the leaders of Israel.
We’re told;
Now David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all the mighty men of valor (1 Chronicles 28:1).
There was great seriousness to this moment. David had spent years of sacrificial devotion to God in preparing for it. And with all the eyes of the leaders and the people of Israel upon him, we read;
Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’ However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever” (vv. 2-8).
And then, after having given this important charge to his people, David now turns to Solomon. We can imagine Solomon humbly bowing at the feet of his father David, recognizing the great honor that was about to be passed on to him—and the overwhelming task was that was about to be entrusted to him.
And it’s then that David utters this ‘charge’ to his royal son—a charge that was designed to equip him for the magnificent task ahead. And to our surprise, we find that it doesn’t begin with a command to build God’s great temple. Rather; it begins with a command to care for his own soul before God. David says;
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it” (vv. 9-10).
Most of the rest of the chapter is taken up with a description of all the provision that David officially passed on to Solomon for the building of the temple. These provisions even included the plans for the temple that God had given to David. It was an awesome task; but once all of it had all been officially passed on to Solomon, we read of how David assured Solomon of God’s own provision and promise of success:
And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command” (vv. 20-21).
In other words, Solomon didn’t need to fear the greatness of the task, or do anything to prepare for the building of the temple itself. All the material preparation had already been made. Instead, all Solomon need to do was to properly prepare his own heart for the task before God, and then rise up in faith in Him and build.
And as we read on in the Scriptures, we find that God did give Solomon great success; and Solomon went on in the strength God provided to fulfill this charge from his father, and to build a truly marvelous temple for the worship of the Lord.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; that’s a thrilling story. But you may be wondering what it has to do with you and me.
Well; the fact is that, as believers in Christ by God’s grace, we are brought in to a ‘building project’—an even more significant building-project than the one that Solomon built. Do you realize, dear brothers and sisters, that you and I together are being built by God into an eternal ‘temple’ for His glory through His Son Jesus Christ?
The apostle Peter speaks of Jesus Christ to his believing Jewish friends, and says;
Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-5).
Similarly, the apostle Paul speaks to believing Gentiles and tells them;
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).
As believers in Jesus Christ—whether Jewish or Gentile—we are being formed together into one great ‘building’—a “holy temple”—an eternal “dwelling place of God”. It’s not a temple composed of brick and mortar, like the one Solomon built. Rather, it’s one that is being composed of people that God redeems to Himself through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
And what’s more, we’re told in the Scriptures that God Himself has made all the provisions necessary for the construction of this spiritual temple. The Bible tells us that His “divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). In the gracious providence of God, there is absolutely nothing missing of what is needed to build us up together into the people that God calls us to be.
This great work—the forming of God’s redeemed people together as His own holy dwelling place in the Spirit—is ultimately His own doing. But even though we are being built together by the work of the Holy Spirit as a temple for the living God in His Son Jesus Christ, it is nevertheless our charge—as brothers and sisters together in Christ—to rise up and cooperate with God in this great work. We are to participate with Him in the building project. As the apostle Paul tells us;
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).
And God has even given us a guarantee of success, if we will but trust Him. The Bible assures us that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and that He “is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).
What an overwhelming task! It’s a far greater task than even Solomon was given. It is a task that is beyond human capability. But I suggest to you this morning that, in David’s charge to Solomon in one verse—in 1 Chronicles 28:9—we find the sort of personal ‘resolves’ upon which we may be personally strengthened for our unique part in the great building project of the eternal dwelling place of the living God, in His people, through Jesus Christ.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; there is an important structure to what David says to Solomon in this verse. The charge that King David gave to his son could not stand on its own. It was based upon certain truths about the God who commissioned the project in the first place. You see this clearly in the fact that David used the word “for” right in the middle of this verse. “As for you, my son Solomon,” David said, “know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for [or because] the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (emphasis added).
So; we need to begin by looking at what David tells Solomon about God. And the first thing about God that he stresses is that . . .
1. GOD KNOWS OUR HEARTS AND THOUGHTS.
David said that “the LORD searches all hearts”. Literally, He investigates them. Nothing that goes on in the inner-being of any person on the face of this earth is hidden from God’s sight. In fact, David takes it even further and says that God even “understands all the intent of the thoughts”. There isn’t even an ‘intention’ or an ‘imagination’ in our minds that precedes a thought that isn’t already known by God. As King David prayed elsewhere;
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether (Psalm 139:1-4).
Now; this was relevant to point out to Solomon for at least three reasons. For one thing, if Solomon felt fearful or apprehensive about the greatness of the task ahead, he needed to be assured that God knew that. God knew—and even understood—the overwhelmed feelings that Solomon would have felt at that time.
And isn’t that comforting to you and me? We may look upon the great task that God places before us in life—not only the task of growing in our own faith and becoming the man or woman He wants us to be; or the task of putting sin out of our lives, and becoming more sanctified to Him in the way we live; or even the task of seeking out the unique calling He has given us, and rising up in His power to perform the work in ministry He has called us to do; but also of joining with Him in the eternal work of build-up the body of Christ. If we think truthfully about it, it would seem so overwhelming that we would become fearful. But the good news is that God knows and understands that we may feel this way.
For another thing, God also would know when Solomon—in himself—would be imperfect in fulfilling the great task given to him, and would fall far short of what he sincerely intended to do. God Himself would never fail; but Solomon would fail often. But even though he would fall short, God knew what was in His servant’s heart.
And again, isn’t this comforting to you and me? We’re grateful that God has saved us from sins; but we look back with great regret and shame at all the failures of our sinful past. And what’s more, we know that the potential for future failure still abides in us. But the good news is that our omniscient God knows our frame; and remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:14). He knows that we are fallible; and that we make mistakes; and that in spite of our best intentions, we don’t live up to the things we intended to live up to. But we can be encouraged; because “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).
And finally, God’s complete knowledge of Solomon’s heart would also serve as a spur in the task ahead. David wanted Solomon to know that he could not hide a selfish or impure motive in the work from the eyes of God. He could not enter into the task with hidden sin in his heart. He could not despise the task, or resent it, or be half-hearted in it, without God seeing and knowing the truth.
Now, this may not seem very comforting to us at first; but I suggest that it really should be. It encourages us to know that God knows us too well, and loves us too much, to allow us to be lazy or neglectful in the work He gives us. It should sober us to know that we cannot do the work He gives us to do in a sinful and insincere manner, or in a way that neglects Him. His omniscient attention to our hearts means that He is also able to discipline us, and train us, and wean us of the things that hinder us in His great work. And He does so in order that we will gain the full joy and benefit of the privilege of being a part of the body of Christ. “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; with respect to the charge that David gave Solomon, another, very relevant truth about God that he stressed was that . . .
2. HE IS FAITHFUL TO THOSE WHO SEEK HIM.
He reminds Solomon, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.”
David wasn’t telling Solomon that God was going to hide from him, and that he would have to go out and try to ‘hunt’ for God. I think we can understand what it meant for Solomon to ‘seek’ God by thinking of its opposite in this passage—that is, for Solomon to have forsaken God. For Solomon to forsake God would have meant that he no longer depended on God to provide His divine enablement and wisdom in building the temple. It would have meant that He no longer looked to God for help, or submitted to God’s purpose, or acknowledged God’s right to his worship. It would have meant that he forsook God’s plan for Him, and that he turned away from God, and to something else instead.
In giving Solomon this great charge, David assures him that if he consistently sought God by depending on Him to provide all the help he needs in life; if he looked to God for wisdom and strength; if he submitted himself to God’s divine plan and purpose for him; if he acknowledged God with his thanks and worship every step of the way—if he sought God in these ways, he would always ‘find’ Him. But he also warns him that if he forsook God, God would also forsake him—even “forever” or “perpetually”.
Now; there’s a sobering sound to those closing word “forever”. But I believe that the word “forever” needs to be kept in balance with what God also reveals about His pardoning mercy and restoring grace. Jesus told us the parable of the prodigal son (John 15:11-32) to teach us that God welcomes back those who wander away and yet return in repentence. I praise God that His “forsaking” doesn’t have to mean something permanent. There have been many times, in my foolishness, that I have forsaken a pure trust in God. He lets me go in my foolishness as long as I will run in it; but when I come back to Him—all bloody and bruised and repentant—He always welcomes me back, washes me off, and sets me on my feet again. I take it that He won’t cast someone off forever, unless they cast Him off forever. But I do believe that there’s a practical principle to be seen in this. God never forsakes someone but that they first forsake Him. He never leaves anyone but that they first left Him. He never lets go of anyone but that they first let go of Him. And this teaches us that, as His people, we—to some degree—determine how He will be toward us.
I believe that the Lord Jesus taught us this principle in these words:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:1-5).
God gives us the great privilege of joining Him in the task of expanding His kingdom and building His church—His eternal dwelling place. But we need to understand that He has no other great agenda for us. If we forsake Him in His agenda, He certainly will not change His plan and take up our agenda in its place! How important, then, that we make sure to seek Him and His purpose for our lives always!
* * * * * * * * * *
And now; that leaves us with the two commands that David solemnly passed on to his son Solomon. Because God knows our hearts and our thoughts so thoroughly, and because He always proves faithful to those who seek Him . . .
3. THEREFORE, WE SHOULD MAKE IT OUR RESOLVE TO KNOW HIM DEEPLY AND SERVE HIM WHOLE-HEARTEDLY.
David said, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father . . .” And the word that David uses doesn’t simply refer to an intellectual apprehension of God. It refers to a deep, personal acquaintance with God that grows through personal fellowship with Him.
Such a relational knowledge of God can only be ours through a relationship by faith with His Son Jesus Christ. We can only know the Father through the Son. Jesus once told the unbelieving Pharisees, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also” (John 8:19). He told His disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 16:9). And so, if you have entered into a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ by faith, you can now begin to grow in a deeper and more intimate knowledge of Him.
I suggest to you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that each of us make it our resolve this year to grow to know this glorious, mighty God better. David urged Solomon to “know the God of your father”; which suggests a connection to the saints that have gone on before us, who also knew Him and trusted Him and found Him faithful. We should learn from their experiences with Him. We read what the saints of the past wrote about Him. But most of all, we should grow to know Him personally and experientially. We should talk to Him often. We should study His word daily.
Dear brothers and sisters; what will this coming year be like if we pray something like this at the very beginning of it, “Dear Father in heaven; You have shown great grace to me in that You have called me to Yourself, and made me to be a part of Your holy dwelling place in Christ. I pray that, this year, you would help me to grow to know you better than I have ever known you before. Teach me to know you better, as a redeemed member of Your household”?
And secondly, note that David also told Solomon, “. . . and serve Him with a loyal heart and a willing mind.” Solomon was to build God’s temple. But he wasn’t to build the temple in a dispassionate manner. He was to do it as “service” to God. And that service was to be with a “loyal heart”—that is, with an undivided and completely faithful attitude in his inner man. He was not to build the temple of God for his father. Nor was he to build the temple of God for his people. He was to build it as a loyal act of service to God with a perfect, undivided devotion in his inner-most being.
And he was also to perform this act of service “with a willing mind”. It wasn’t to be done with a grudging or resentful attitude. It wasn’t to be done with an attitude of being stuck with a overwhelming task. It was to be done with genuine delight—with a sense of privilege and pleasure in doing the thing that God has given him to do.
And again, I suggest to you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that we also each make this a part of our resolve. What would this coming year be like if we each said to God, “Dear Father; as I grow to know You better this year, help me also to know what part You have called me to play in the work of spreading Your kingdom. Help me to see the place of service You have set before me; and help me—by the strength that You give—to take up that place of service with a willing spirit and an attitude of delight”?
* * * * * * * * * *
Because God thoroughly knows our thoughts and our hearts; and because He is always faithful to those who are faithful to Him; I suggest that we each personally and steadfastly resolve this year to (1) grow to know the living God better and more intimately; and (2) serve Him more whole-heartedly and willingly.
If these resolves are truly in place in our hearts, then we can also confidently embrace David’s words to Solomon as our own—“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 28:20).