37 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
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title = "1 Chronicles 29:1–30"
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date = "2024-07-24"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1Chronicles29.1-30)
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As Moses asked the Israelites for contributions to the construction of the tabernacle, so David does the same in preparing for the construction of the temple.
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In addition, however, he models for the people the generosity he asks of them by contributing a vast amount of his own wealth to the building fund.
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A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms, so even 1 talent of something was a large amount.
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David gave _thousands_ of talents of gold and silver towards the construction and decoration of the temple.
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The rest of the leaders of Israel, even together, were able to give more than David, but not twice as much as he did.
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Notice that everyone gave freely what they decided they ought to give.
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The people loved the Lord and gave abundantly so that He would have a house in their midst to dwell in.
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There was much rejoicing as they gave their offerings and sacrifices that day.
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David leads the people to worship God with his prayer.
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He acknowledges that everything the people have given has come from the Lord in the first place.
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He asks that such spirits of generosity and holiness would be found in himself and his people for all their days, short though they are compared to the Lord.
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There is an odd phrase here, saying they made Solomon the king "the second time". (_v. 22_)
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It seems that some manuscripts don't have these words, and it's difficult to figure out what they refer to.
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One possibility is that Solomon was anointed as king in private, and this was the public coronation.
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Another is that Solomon was declared king by David before the people, and then this refers to another ceremony after David died.
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Yet another is that there are things left out of this history, especially concerning the usurpation of David's son Adonijah, and there were actually two coronations.
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Or it was a mistake on some scribe's part.
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It's very hard to tell.
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While God's Word is preserved for us, some of the details like this are a bit fuzzy around the edges.
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But God is faithful to keep His message to us clear, and this difficulty does not really matter to us, if it ever did.
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Finally, the Chronicler reports the death of King David and cites his sources for this book.
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The Chronicles he mentions are what we refer to as 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings, and possibly other works that are harder to identify as they may not be preserved.
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* * *
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Your Word shall endure forever and ever.
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