David's Plans for the Temple

An old king pushes himself up from his seat and stands on his feet. In his hands are plans: drawings of rooms, lists of gold and silver. Plans for a building he has dreamed of for years. And he is about to give them away.

King David is near the end of his life. He has fought many battles and united the tribes of Israel. He has brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. But the ark still sits in a tent. For years David has longed to build God a proper house, a temple. Now he calls together everyone who matters in the kingdom. The leaders of the tribes. The commanders of the army. The officials who look after the royal lands and herds. His sons. His mightiest warriors. They all gather in Jerusalem. And the old king rises to his feet to speak.

Listen to me, my brothers and my people, David says. It was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, a footstool for our God. I had made everything ready. 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. Think how hard that must have been to say in front of everyone. His great dream, and God said no. But David does not sulk. He goes on. The LORD chose me to be king, he says, out of all my father's family. And out of all my sons, he has chosen Solomon to sit on the throne. God said to me: Solomon your son will build my house and my courts.

Then David turns to his son. And you, Solomon my son, he says. Know the God of your father, and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD searches every heart, and understands every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you. But if you abandon him, he will reject you for ever. So take care. The LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it. These are not the words of a king giving orders to a servant. They are a father's words to his son, spoken in front of the whole nation. Know God for yourself. Not just as your father's God. Yours.

And then David hands over the plans. The plans for the porch and the buildings, the storerooms, the upper rooms and the inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat. The plans for the courts and the chambers around them. The divisions of the priests and Levites, and their duties. The exact weight of gold for each golden lampstand, and silver for each silver one. Gold for the tables, the forks, the bowls and the cups. Refined gold for the altar of incense, and for the golden cherubim whose wings would spread over the ark. All of this, David says, the LORD made me understand in writing, by his hand on me. Then he says it again. Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work is finished. And look, the priests and the Levites are ready, and every willing, skilled worker. The whole people are at your command.

The temple Solomon later built was not enormous by modern standards. The book of Kings gives its main building as sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high. A cubit was a measure based on the forearm, from elbow to fingertip, roughly forty-five centimetres. That makes the main house about twenty-seven metres long, nine wide and thirteen high. Its glory was not its size, but the God it was built for.

David's plans for the temple. You'll find this story in First Chronicles chapter twenty-eight. An old king accepted God's no, prepared everything for someone else, and blessed his son to finish the work. So here is a question to carry with you. What good work could you prepare or encourage, even if someone else gets to finish it?