1Ch 28:1 And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.
David assembled - This refers to the persons whose names and offices we have seen in the preceding chapter. “All the princes of Israel” is the general designation, which is then specialized. In it are included the princes of the tribes who are enumerated in 1Ch_27:16-22, and the princes of the divisions which served the king, who are enumerated in 1Ch_27:1-15; the princes of thousands and hundreds are the chiefs and captains of the twelve army corps (1Ch_27:1), who are subordinate to the princes of the host: the princes of all the substance and possessions of the king are the managers of the domains enumerated in 1Ch_27:25-31.
1Ch 28:2 Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:
My brethren - David retains the modest phrase of a king not born in the purple, but raised from the ranks of the people. No later Jewish monarch thus addressed his subjects. He calls them his brethren, being of the same nation and religion, and to show his modesty and humility; in which he was a type of Christ, the King of kings, Heb_2:11 For both He who sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers,
My brethren - So he calls the princes and chief rulers, both because they had a share with him, though under him in the government; and in compliance with the Divine command, that the king should not be lifted up above his brethren; Deu_17:15 you shall surely set a king over you, whom the LORD your God shall choose. You shall set a king over you from among your brothers. You may not set a stranger over you, who is not your brother. Deu_17:20 so that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he does not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he may make his days longer in his kingdom, he and his sons, in the midst of Israel.
The footstool of our God - Psa_99:5 Praise the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy. God seated between the cherubim, at the two extremities of the ark, might be said to be enthroned in His glory, and the coverlet of the ark to be His footstool. For as the Lord sat between the cherubim over the mercy seat, the lid of the ark, it was, speaking after the manner of men, a footstool to him: Heaven is His throne: the earth and the most magnificent temples thereon are but His foot - stool.
David stood up upon his feet - He was now very old, and chiefly confined to his bed, (1Ki_1:47); and while he was addressing his son Solomon, he continued on the bed; but when all the principal nobles of his kingdom came before him he received strength to arise and address them, standing on his feet.
1Ch 28:3 But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.
But God said unto me - This he said by Nathan the prophet, 2Sa_7:5.
thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood — The church or spiritual state of the world, of which the temple at Jerusalem was to be a type, would be presided over by One who was to be pre-eminently the Prince of Peace, and therefore would be represented not so fitly by David, whose mission had been a preparatory one of battle and conquest, as by his son, who should reign in unbroken peace.
1Ch 28:4 Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath 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 liked me to make me king over all Israel:
Over Israel for ever - The government should have no end, provided they continued to walk according to the commandments of God. The government, as referring to Christ, is, and will be, without end.
Over Israel for ever - in his posterity for many years to come, and best of all in his antitype Christ, the son of David, see Luk_1:32 He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.
for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler - the tribe of Judah to be the seat of government, and one out of that tribe to be the chief ruler, 1Ch_5:2 For Judah prevailed among his brothers, and from him came the chief ruler, but the birthright was Joseph's);
he hath chosen Solomon — The spirit of David’s statement is this: It was not my ambition, my valor, or my merit that led to the enthronement of myself and family; it was the grace of God which chose the tribe, the family, the person - myself in the first instance, and now Solomon, to whom, as the Lord’s anointed, you are all bound to submit.
1Ch 28:5 And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
of all my sons, for the Lord hath given me many sons - Whose names, and the order of their birth, may be read in 1Ch_3:1.
1Ch 28:6 And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
And he said unto me - Besides the message sent to David through Nathan, he had a revelation, of which we have only the indirect account given here and in 1Ch_22:8-10. He was told that one of his sons should be raised up to fill his throne after him, and should build the temple. In the second revelation it was distinctly declared to him that the son intended was Solomon.
for I have chosen him to be my son - predestinated him to the adoption of children, Eph_1:5 having predestined us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
1Ch 28:7 Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.
If he be constant - The conditional character of the promise made to David, as to the continuance of his posterity on the Jewish throne, is now clearly declared. This promise is absolute with regard to the Messiah, but conditional, with regard to Solomon.
I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments — The same condition is set before Solomon by God 1Ki_3:14 And if you will walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days. 1Ki_9:4 And if you will walk before Me as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you; and if you will keep My statutes and My judgments,
1Ch 28:8 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord - seek to know them, search for them in the word of God, and endeavor to keep them: This solemn and earnest exhortation to those present, and to all Israel through their representatives, to continue faithful in observing the divine law as essential to their national prosperity and permanence, is similar to that of Moses Deu_30:15-20 Behold! I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, so that you may live and multiply. And the LORD your God shall bless you in the land where you go to possess it. But if you turn away your heart, so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days on the land where you pass over Jordan to go to possess it. I call Heaven and earth to record today against you. I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your seed may live, so that you may love the LORD your God, and that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him. For He is your life and the length of your days, so that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give it to them.
leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever - that so they might not be removed from it, and carried captive into other lands, as they were for their disobedience.
1Ch 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
Know thou the God of thy father - who was his Father and covenant God, and whom he served and worshipped, and who had bestowed upon him many favors, both temporal and spiritual; and having had such an experience of his goodness, he exhorts his son to seek to know more and more of him, and to own and acknowledge him as his God, and to love and fear him: “Knowing God,” in the sense of having a religious trust in Him, is an unusual phrase in the earlier Scriptures. It scarcely occurs elsewhere in the historical books. David, however, uses the phrase in his Psalms Psa_36:10 O continue Your loving-kindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
know thou — He did not mean head knowledge, for Solomon possessed that already, but that experimental acquaintance with God which is only to be obtained by loving and serving Him.
serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind - cordially and sincerely, cheerfully and freely, neither in an hypocritical manner, nor through force and constraint, nor with loathing and weariness:
for the Lord searcheth all hearts - the hearts of all men, even of kings, and knows from what principles and with what views and in what manor they serve him:
understandeth all the imaginations of the thought - not only the thoughts of the heart, when regularly formed and ranged in order, hut even the very beginning of them, the first motions of the mind, and before they are well formed, Gen_6:5 And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
1Ch 28:10 Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.
1Ch 28:11 Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,
David gave to Solomon the pattern - As God had revealed to Moses the pattern of the tabernacle Exo. 26; 27, so He had made known by revelation to David the pattern of the temple and its furniture. This pattern, which consisted of a set of directions in writing, David now handed over to Solomon. The temple must be a sacred thing, and a type of Christ; it must be framed by Divine teaching. Christ is the true temple, the church is the gospel temple, and heaven the everlasting temple; all are framed according to the Divine counsels, and the plan laid in the Divine wisdom, ordained before the world, for God's glory and our good.
David gave to Solomon the pattern - He gave him an ichnograph (a blueprint or ground plan) of the building, with elevations, sections, and specifications of every part; and all this he received by inspiration from God himself, (1Ch_28:12, 1Ch_28:19), just as Moses had received the plan of the tabernacle.
Then David gave to Solomon the pattern — He now put into the hands of his son and successor the plan or model of the temple, with the elevations, measurements, apartments, and chief articles of furniture, all of which were designed according to the pattern given him by divine revelation (1Ch_28:19).
The houses - The “holy place” and the “holy of holies “ - called respectively “the house” and the “inner house” 1Ki_6:17, 1Ki_6:27, and 2Ch_3:5, 2Ch_3:8 “the greater house” and “the most holy house.”
1Ch 28:12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:
By the spirit - All the particulars of the tabernacle built by Moses were suggested to him by God's spirit. The temple was to be a sacred thing, a type of Christ, of his church, and of heaven. Therefore it was not to be contrived by man's invention, but to be framed by divine institution. So Christ, the true temple, the church, the gospel - temple, and heaven, the everlasting temple, are all framed according to the divine counsels, and the plan laid before the world began. It is supposed, the tabernacle of Moses, with all its utensils, being wanted no more, was laid up here.
1Ch 28:13 Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD.
And also for the courses of the priests and Levites - Where they should serve, of which, as fixed and ordered by David, 1Ch_24:1.
1Ch 28:14 He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service:
Of gold (or silver) by weight - The quantity of gold (or silver) which was to be put in each article. David was directed by the Spirit of God what weights or quantities of gold and silver should be used.
1Ch 28:15 Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick.
For the candlesticks - There was but one in the tabernacle; there were ten in the temple. These candlesticks were ten, and each had seven lamps, and were placed five on one side the Mosaic candlestick, and five on the other 1Ki_7:49 and the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right and five on the left, in front of the Holy of Holies, with the flowers and the lamps and the tongs of gold,
1Ch 28:16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver:
for the tables of shewbread - For though there were but one table for the shewbread in the tabernacle of Moses, there were ten in the temple of Solomon, 2Ch_4:8
1Ch 28:17 Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver:
1Ch 28:18 And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
the chariot of the cherubim — The expanded wings of the cherubim formed what was figuratively styled the throne of God, and as they were emblematical of rapid motion, the throne or seat was spoken of as a chariot Psa_18:10; Psa_99:1
The chariot of the cherubims - The cherubim are themselves the chariot upon which the Lord rides Psa_18:10 And He rode on a cherub, and flew; yea, He soared on the wings of the wind. Psa_99:1 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble. He sits between the cherubs; let the earth quake.
gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubim - which were two large ones, besides those which Moses made; and these were not made of gold, as they were, but overlaid with it, 1Ki_6:23 And inside the Holy of Holies he made two cherubs of olive wood, ten cubits high. 1Ki_6:27-28 And he set the cherubs inside the inner house. And they stretched forth the wings of the cherubs so that the wing of the one touched the one wall and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
28 And he overlaid the cherubs with gold. This made four; and to which the four living creatures in Ezekiel's vision allude, and make the "mercavah", or chariot.
that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord - not that spread their wings over the ark, and covered it, that the Mosaic cherubim did; but these spread their wings before it from wall to wall, so that it could not be seen by any that turned aside the vail, and even by the high priest when he entered into the holy of holies.
1Ch 28:19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.
1Ch 28:20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee - a promise made to Joshua, and is applicable to every good man in whatsoever good work he is concerned, Jos_1:5, In conclusion, David encourages his son to go forward to the work with good courage, for his God would not forsake him; and the priests and Levites, cunning workmen, and the princes, together with the whole people, would willingly support him.
1Ch 28:21 And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.
Behold, the courses of the priests - The priests and the Levites, the cunning artificers, and the princes of the people, will be at thy command. Thus David, having assigned him his work, and described the manner in which it was to be done, shows him who were to be his assistants in it, and encourages him in the great undertaking.
