First Chronicles 21:16

The Bible says in First Chronicles 21:16-30, “And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.[17] And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.[18] Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.[19] And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORD.[20] And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.[21] And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.[22] Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.[23] And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all.[24] And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.[25] So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.[26] And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.[27] And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.[28] At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.[29] For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.[30] But David could not go before it to inquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.” In verse sixteen it says that David “saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem.” That is a good picture of life on this earth because God has everyone’s life in His hand, and each person is just one heartbeat away from eternity. In David’s case, a lot of the citizens were going to be killed at one time, and so he asked God for mercy for the people. David knew that he was the guilty one. David confessed his sins. David admitted that he had done wrong. Far too many people run from that truth, and so they never get right with Jesus.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 22:1-6, “Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.[2] And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.[3] And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;[4] Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.[5] And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded 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.[6] Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel.” Even though God did not allow David to build the temple, David was still able to collect supplies so that Solomon would eventually be able to build it. God has a will for everyone. Most of us are not called to build a great temple so to speak, but there are things we can do. We can still spread the Gospel. We can still lead a few to Christ. We can teach sound doctrine from the Bible to a few. We can pray and ask for God’s will to be done. Maybe we will lead someone to Christ who will have a bigger impact than we did. The Lord knows. We also see here that David did not give up. One door was closed to him, but he found another one. Jesus said, “Seek and ye shall find.”

The Bible says in First Chronicles 22:7-13, “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:[8] 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 in my sight.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee.[12] Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.[13] Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.” We see in verse eight that David was very honest and very humble. He admitted that he had made mistakes. He understood that there are consequences to actions. Solomon should have learned from that example, but he did not. Solomon would eventually fail with women and false religion. We see in verse eleven that David was a good father and continued to be a very spiritual person even in his old age. David said to Solomon in verse twelve, “Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.” No one can succeed without wisdom from God. And we know that God gave a lot of wisdom to Solomon. David reminded Solomon of his responsibility over Israel, and David said, “that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.” We must keep God’s Word. He gave us His Word to obey it and to follow it. There will always be temptations to depart from it. It happened to Solomon. David warned him. And David encouraged Solomon at the end of verse thirteen, “be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.” We have some control over how strong we are, and if we are to be guided by fear or guided by faith. Be brave. With the Lord we can do anything. He loves us. He will protect us, according to His will, that is.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 22:14-19, “Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.[15] 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.[16] Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.[17] David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,[18] Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people.[19] 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.” David did not get to build the temple, but he did a lot of thew preparations for it. Hopefully, every Christian would like to lead thousands of people to Christ, and teach tens of thousands the Word of God so they can grow in faith in Christ. But many of us are called to plant the seed and maybe not so much to reap the harvest of souls. We must be like David and do whatever we can to further the noble goal according to the calling that God has given to each of us.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 23:1-13, “So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.[2] And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.[3] Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.[4] Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges:[5] Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.[6] And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.[7] Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei.[8] The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.[9] The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.[10] And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.[11] And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father's house.[12] The sons of Kohath; Amram, Ishar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.[13] The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.” Verse one is an important verse to notice. It says, “So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.” This refers to what David did just before he died. David did not retire. He kept doing what God called him to do all the way to the end. For a Christian retirement should not be viewed as ceasing to do something, but rather as finding the next thing that God wants you to do. Once you are settled financially in life, it gives you more opportunities to serve the Lord. As a matter of fact in some ways, you have a greater opportunity than many others because you do not have to view Christian service as a means to obtain a salary.

David turned his ministry over to Solomon. In his case, that was God’s will because God wanted David’s lineage to continue all the way to the Messiah. But some have made a mistake by giving their ministry to a son or other relative. That may not be God’s choice. Only prayer and seeking God’s will can make this clear for you.

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