First Chronicles 29:14

The Bible says in First Chronicles 29:14-17, “ But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.[15] For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.[16] O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.[17] I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.” King David is talking to God. The first thing he says in verse fourteen is, “who am I.” David knows that he has been abundantly blessed by God, and David also knows that he in no way deserved such blessings. In other words, David was humble. It is good to also look at what David says in the rest of verse fourteen, “that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” David knew that God blessed him by giving him a heart willing to give. And David knew that he was only giving to God what already belonged to God anyway.

In verse fifteen David says two great truths about life on earth: we are “sojourners, as were all our fathers,” and life is short: “our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.” Everything in life is temporary. Wherever we live, it is a temporary dwelling. We are just passing through this world. How long does a shadow appear on the earth? Not long: it quickly disappears. Soon our lives will be over. Serve the Lord Jesus while you can. In verse seventeen David said, “I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness.” In order to have the power of God and the power of the Spirit, we must be like King David and desire with all of our heart to do what pleases God. God looks at the heart and He knows what we really want and what we really believe. Is there anyone on the earth who desires to truly serve God and His Son Jesus Christ? This is why God loved David: He knew what was in David’s heart.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 29:18-19, “O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:[19] And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.” In these two verses at the end of his prayer to God, David speaks of the thoughts and the heart, which is the innermost being. David was exactly right: if we have the thoughts that we are supposed to have, everything else will fall into place according to the will of God. It all starts with our thoughts: prayer, faith, love, and even our actions all come from the thoughts and the heart. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.”

The Bible says in First Chronicles 29:20-22, “And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king.[21] And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings unto the LORD, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:[22] And did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest.” David told the people to bless the Lord, and they did it. He was a great leader, and they were an obedient people. To bless the Lord means to praise Him, and to be thankful to Him for all that He is and for all that He has done. Verse twenty-one tells us the number of sacrifices that they made: a thousand rams and a thousand lambs. That is a lot of dead animals and a lot of blood just on that day alone. There was so much blood in the Old Testament with all the sacrifices. Why so much blood? God said to Moses, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” The problem is that the blood of animals was never sufficient to take away all of our sins forever. We need all of our sins taken away, and we need them taken away forever. Only the blood of Christ can do that. Thankfully, Jesus came and shed His blood for us. It says in First John 1:7, “…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

And so Solomon becomes king after David prays to the Lord and talks to the people about serving the Lord. What a great day it was full of God’s blessing. They had the right leader, and power changed hands the way it was supposed to: by seeking and finding God’s will. It does not get any better than that for a nation. But life goes on, and trials are a part of life. How sad that Israel eventually fell. But God does not fail, and God keeps His promises. The Messiah came anyway, and the Messiah will come again. His name is Jesus Christ. And Jesus will repair all the things that man has ruined.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 29:23-30, “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.[24] And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.[25] And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.[26] Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.[27] And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.[28] And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.[29] Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,[30] With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.” This is the point in the history of the nation of Israel where they were at their greatest. God had abundantly blessed King David all the way to the end of David’s life. That is the kind of life of faith that we want to have: a life of faith that lasts all the way through all the sorrows and difficulties and challenges and sins of life. Many people who believe start following the Lord, but then fall away to a life of less zeal and less faith. One of the great statements of the Bible on this subject is from the Apostle Paul who said in Second Timothy 4:7 at the end of his life, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” King David would have been able to make the same statement. David was king for forty years, but eventually his time was over. We only have so much time. Use your time to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

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