Chapter Twenty-Eight

1–21. Final instructions and exhortations of David to Solomon concerning the building of the temple.

1 Chronicles 28:1. And David assembled in Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel, the chiefs of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, and the administrators of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, with the officers and the mighty men, and all the brave men. Since the exhortations addressed to Solomon regarding the construction of the temple were to be accompanied, in David’s view, by an invitation to the people’s representatives to make donations to the temple (1 Chr 29:5 and following) and the enthroning of Solomon in their presence (1 Chr 29:22), they were given at a gathering of “all the leaders of Israel.” Among them were named the “chiefs of the tribes” (1 Chr 27:16-22), the “commanders of divisions,” that is, of the 12 army corps that served David (1 Chr 27:1-15), the subordinate commanders of thousands and hundreds, those “who administered all the property and livestock of the king” (1 Chr 27:25-31), eunuchs (1 Sam 8:15), and all the mighty men.

1 Chronicles 28:2. And King David rose to his feet and said: Listen to me, my brothers and my people! It was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and as a footstool for the feet of our God, and I had made preparations for building. 1 Chronicles 28:3. But God said to me, “You shall not build a house for my name, because you are a man of war and have shed blood. 1 Chronicles 28:4. Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, because he chose Judah as prince, and in the house of Judah my father’s house, and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel; 1 Chronicles 28:5. And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 1 Chronicles 28:6. He said to me, “Solomon your son shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father; 1 Chronicles 28:7. and I will establish his kingdom forever, if he continues steadfast in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is this day. 1 Chronicles 28:8. Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever; 1 Chronicles 28:9. And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you forever. 1 Chronicles 28:10. Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it. Weak from old age, the king rises to address the gathering with a speech. In the first half of it, indicating the unfulfillability of the king’s desire to build a temple to the Lord, in which the ark of the covenant would always dwell, explaining the reasons for this (verse 3), the general and principal idea is developed that the main role in David’s life was played not by his intention and strength, but by the will and determination of God. The prosperity of all Israel depends equally on Him. Therefore, Israel, now represented by its leaders, must be faithful to God. Faithfulness to Him is the only condition for eternal possession of the land of Canaan (v. 8). Likewise, Solomon’s fate depends entirely on God (v. 9). Faithful to him in all things, Solomon, in particular, must fulfill the obligation laid upon him by God himself to build the temple (v. 10, 16). The strength necessary for this Solomon should draw, as is explained in the second part of the speech, from the thought that at present the work of building the temple is made easier by his father David, who has prepared and is now transmitting to his son the plans of the temple and its annexes, descriptions of its furnishings and the materials needed for their preparation (vv. 11–18), and in the future will be eased by the help of God himself (v. 20) and the assistance of skilled builders, as well as all the people, ready to obey the commands of their king (v. 21).