1 Chronicles 22

TThen David said Partly by his Observation of this gracious and glorious Appearance of God, and his Command to erect an Altar and his Acceptance of a Sacrifice offered in this place: and partly by the Instinct and Direction of Gods Spirit, by which as he is said to have had the pattern of the house, porch, altar, &c. 1 Chron. 28. 11, 12, 19. so doubtless he was also instructed as to the place where the House should be built., This is the house of the LORD God This is the place appointed by God for the building of his Temple and Altar., and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel.

And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel The same persons whom Solomon afterwards employed in the same Work: of which see 1 King. 5. 15. compared with 1 King. 9. 20, 21., and he set masons to hew wrought stones Wherein he could not do much being prevented by death: but Solomon carried on and perfected what David had begun. to build the house of God.

And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joynings To be used together with melted Lead for the joyning of th... se great and square Stones together.; and brass in abundance without weight.

Also cedar-trees in abundance: for the Zidonians, and they of Tyre, brought much cedar-wood to David.

And David said Within himself, or in his own thoughts., Solomon my son is young and tender And therefore through youthful Vanity, and Folly, and Unsettledness, may not use that Care, and Consideration, and Diligence in making such Provisions as this great Work requires. Of Solomons... ge, see 1 King. 3. 7., and the house that is to be built for the LORD, must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel.

And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God.

But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth Not that Wars either now are or then were simply Unlawful, or that David sinned in shedding the Blood of War, for it is manifest that Davids Wars were undertaken by Gods Command or with his Leave, and were attended with his Blessing; but partly because Davids Military Employments did for a good while fill his Head and Hands, and gave him no leisure for Temple Work: and principally for mystical Sgnification, to teach us that the Church (whereof the Temple was a manifest and illustrious Type) should be built by Christ, the Prince of Peace, Isa. 9. 6. and that it should be gathered and built up not by might or power, or by force of Arms, but by Gods Spirit, Zech. 4. 6. and by the preaching of the Gospel of Peace. in my sight Which I have taken particular notice of. And this expression may possibly be added in reference to Uriah and the rest of the Israelites who were slain at the Siege of Rabbah by Davids contrivance: which peradventure David had in his Eye, Psal. 51. 4. where David confessing this Sin useth this very Expression, I have done this evil in thy sight.,

Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.

He shall build an house for my name, and he shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever Of this see my Notes on 2 Sam. 7. 13..

Now my son, the LORD be with thee, and prosper thou Go on prosperously in carrying on this Work. Or, the Lord give thee that Rest and Prosperity which is necessary for it. and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he has said of thee.

Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding; and give thee charge concerning Israel i. e Give thee Instructions or Direction rightly to manage and rule his People Israel. Or, and set thee over Israel, as the Syriack renders it, whom the Arabick follows: Or, when (as the Hebrew va... is oft used) he shall set thee over Israel, i. e. when thou shalt be King; for then Solomon would need this Wisdom, for which therefore he prayeth, 1 King. 3. 9., that thou mayest keep the Law of the LORD thy God.

Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel. Be strong, and of good courage, dread not, nor be dismayed.

Now behold, in my trouble This he alledgeth as a Reason why he could do no more because of the many Troubles and Wars both Foraign and Civil, whereby much of his Treasures was exhausted. I have prepared for the house of the LORD, an hundred thousand talents of gold A Talent of Gold in the first constitution was 3000 Shekels, as may be gathered from Exod. 38. 24, 25, 26. and so this amounts to a very vast Sum, yet not Impossible for David to get, considering how many and great Conquests he made, and what vast Spoils and Presents he got; and that he endeavoured by all just and honourable ways to get as much as he could, not out of Covetousness or for his own Ends, merely out of Zeal for Gods House. And whereas some object that this quantity of Gold and Silver was sufficient though the whole Fabrick of the Temple had consisted of Massy Gold and Silver, it is to be considered that all this Treasure was not spent upon the Materials of the Temple, but a very great part of it upon the Workmen, which were nigh 200000, whereof a great number were Officers, which being employed for so long time together, would exhaust a considerable part of it; and what was not employed in the building of the Temple was laid up in the Sacred Treasures for future Occasions, there being mention of the great treasures left by David even in other Authors. But some Learned Men make these Talents far less than those in Moses his Time; and they conceive that as there were two sorts of Shekels both of Gold and Silver, the common and the sacred Shekel, whereof the latter is commonly thought to be double to the former, so also there were Talents of divers kinds and values. For the Hebrew word, kikkar, which is rendred a Talent, properly signifies only a Mass or a Piece, as it is used, Exod. 29. 23. 1 Sam. 2. 36. Zech. 5. 7. So it may indifferently denote either a greater or a lesser Piece. And this is certain, and observed by two Ancient and most Learned Writers, and Pollux, and by others, that a Talent among the Greeks and Romans sometimes notes but a small quantity; and that a Talent of Gold contains only six Drams. And Homer in his Ileads, amongst other things of no great value, which are propounded as Rewards to the Conqueror at a solemn and publick Exercise, a Bondwoman, an Horse, and a Pot, mentions two Talents of Gold; which plainly shows that in his Time (which was after the building of this Temple) Talents of Gold were very far Inferiour in quantity and price to what they had been in former Ages. And Iosephus, a Iew, and therefore the more Competent Judge of these things, speaking of this very thing for 100000 Talents of Gold here mentioned, he puts 10000, and for 1000000 Talents of Silver he puts 100000; either because the Talents in Moses his time were of ten times more Bulk and Price than in Davids and Solomons time, and therefore these Talents reduced to them amounted to no greater Sum; or because he read so in his Copy of the Hebrew Bible. And certainly it is infinitely more tolerable and reasonable to suppose that there is a mistake here in the generality of the present Copies of the Hebrew Bible, through the Errour of the Scribe, (which being only in a numeral and historical Passage, might happen without Impeachment to the Care of Gods Providence, which has so miraculously preserved all the most Important and Substantial parts of Scripture, as has been formerly said) than upon such Pretences to deny the Truth and Divine Original and Authority of the Holy Scriptures. Add to this that all the Gold then used was not of equal worth and purity; as appears both by the special Commendation given to some sorts of Gold in divers parts of Scripture, and particularly by the Difference observed in this very History between the Gold and Gold which David gave for this use; whereof one little part being distinctively called pure Gold and refined Gold, 1 Chron. 28. 17, 18. it is sufficiently implied that all the rest of the Gold was not refined nor pure, which might greatly diminish the Worth of it; for in what degree it was impure or allayed with other things in those Times and Places we cannot know at this Distance: And therefore we cannot make a true Estimate what those Talents of Gold did amount to in our Value., and a thousand thousand talents of silver Just as much in Silver as in Gold; for this is known and agreed that the Proportion of Gold to Silver is Ten to One.; and of brass, and iron, without weight (for it is in abundance) timber also and stone have I prepared, and thou mayest add thereto.

Moreover, there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers, and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.

Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing To wit, when thou shalt come to the Throne in my stead., and the LORD be with thee.

David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,

Is not the LORD your God with you? and has he not given you rest on every side? for he has given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people Either 1. It is brought under the Command of God and of you his People, all the Enemies of God and of Israel in it or near it being now perfectly subdued. Or, 2. It is really subdued, whereof both God and your own Eyes are Witnesses..

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God: arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.