Passing the Baton - 1 Chronicles 28-29:24
Prayer: Lord, sometimes our lives don't go as we had planned, and sometimes that means we live with unfulfilled dreams. Lord keep us from being discouraged when life doesn't go the way we wanted, help us instead to see your hand at work in our circumstances. Lord keep us focused on living out an abundant life in Your Spirit, knowing that our life to come - life in heaven - will be far better than any dreams we may have on earth.
Quickly Form Groups:
1. Think back 5 years, 10 years, or more. How is your life different from what you thought it would be? Did you have any dreams that you had to give up?
By the time I was your ages all the dreams I'd had for who I though I'd be had been dashed to pieces. I had thought I might be a professional classical pianist, but my fingers weren't fast enough & I couldn't memorize, and I went to high school with 3 child prodigies - dream dashed. I had thought I might be a professional singer, I had a powerful voice with a wide range & a very good ear (operatic at times)... but my allergies damaged my voice. I had thought I would be a research scientist, but having a baby in the middle of college meant I had to finish at night school - closest I could get was to be a software engineer. Do I have regrets, you bet I do, but when I look at my life & what God has done with it I am grateful for the many blessings I have.
As for the piano I rarely play, but my playing the piano encouraged my husband Jeff to pick up his horns and begin to play again (he hadn't played since High School). Now he plays with SNLVB & loves it. Perhaps someday I'll play seriously again, if I can ever find the time to devote to it (I used to practice 4 hours a day).
As for voice, it has come back somewhat over the years, it came back as I learned to praise the Lord in song. It's continuing to grow stronger, and I am soon to start voice lessons. I am excited to see if I can regain this skill, if I do I want to use it for the glory of the Lord.
As for science, I was able to pass along my passion for the sciences & encourage my son, and he has thrived. I have no interest in pursuing this again, but my understanding of the sciences has been very beneficial to my walk with God.
Why share this? God gave us imaginations, and God loves it when we dream - especially when we dream big dreams that give Him glory. Does God let us fulfill our dreams? Sometimes... and sometimes He gives that dream to someone else to fulfill, and that's what's happening with David.
1 Chronicles 28:1 - This is a large official assembly, Tribal leaders & Military commanders, Palace officials & Royal Estate officials, Mighty Men & Brave Warriors, the King and all of the King's Sons - all the Officials of Israel. This assembly is believed to have occurred after the hasty anointing of Solomon as Israel's king that we read about last week. David had to quickly make Solomon as king to avoid Adonijah's attempted power grab, now David is going to affirm this succession with a more formal proceeding.
1 Chronicles 28:2-3 - David shares his dream, a dream to give God glory by building a temple. At this point they were still using the tabernacle built during the Exodus, a sizable & ornate but movable structure. David had this in his heart, he had made plans for it, and you sense the deep desire he had to build this, but God said "No" - God did not want His temple to be built by a warrior who had shed blood. Ouch, I feel his heartache.
1 Chronicles 28:4-7 - David reaffirms God's choices for the tribe of Judah as the kingly line, for himself as king, and for Solomon as his successor. God gave a 3-part prophetic message to David that (1) Solomon would be the one to fulfill his dream & build the temple, that (2) Solomon would be Israel's next king, that (3) God would adopt Solomon as his own son & establish Solomon's kingdom forever if Solomon was unswerving in carrying out God's command's and laws. So though David's personal dream had been dashed, God replaced it with something better.
1 Chronicles 28:8 - David gives a charge to the officials of Israel to be obedient to God so that they may remain in God's blessings & in the promised land.
1 Chronicles 28:9-10 - David gives a further charge to Solomon, not just obedience but wholehearted devotion to God. David makes it clear that God knows the heart & mind & motives, and encourages Solomon to never cease in seeking God. David reminds him that the work God has given to Solomon to build the temple is serious, and he must take it seriously.
Now pay careful attention to this next section, there are many details here that we don't have time to go into. 1 Chronicles 28:11-19 - Now that's a lot of details, and that's just David's oral overview of the plans. What I find most interesting here is that God gave David the plans through the power of the Holy Spirit. Wait a minute!?! God gave David the plans & the understanding? God gave David the dream of his heart? And God said "No, it's not for you"!?! YES! God gave David a dream that was to be fulfilled by another, by his son Solomon. God may give us a dream, perhaps inspire some sort of ministry activity, yet God may not have us be the one that carries out the dream - we may just be the one to get the plans going. Don't be discouraged if your dreams end up being someone else's work, we must remove our "self" from it & remember that it is for God's glory.
1 Chronicles 28:20-29:1 - Solomon was young, it would have been easy for him to be discouraged. David reassures him that not only are the priests & craftsmen ready to accomplish the task, God is going to be with him to ensure the task is brought to full completion.
1 Chronicles 29:2-5 - David again is continuing to address this large official assembly, this time telling of his gifts for the building of the temple, and encouraging the assembly to also give an offering for the temple. Already set aside by David for the temple building & implements are large quantities of: gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, precious stones, fine stone & marble (for structures & decor). David has purchased the land, the land around the threshing floor of Arunah that we learned about a couple weeks ago (2 Samuel 24). David's additional personal offering is for the temple treasury:
- Silver: 7,000 talents, 260 tons, 520,000 pounds, current value: more than $177 Million
- Gold: 3,000 talents, 110 tons, 220,000 pounds, current value: more than $4.8 Billion
A total value in todays market of about 5 Billion dollars. Remember all those wars, ever wonder what David did with the king's portion of the plunder, it appears he was saving it much of it for the building of the temple & the temple treasury.
1 Chronicles 29:6-9 - Ok, David's not the only one giving generously, let's tally up what the official assembly gave to the the treasury of the temple:
- Iron: 100,000 talents, 3,750 tons, over 7.5 million pounds, current value: more than $656 Thousand (scrap pricing)
- Bronze: 18,000 talents, 675 tons, over 1.3 million pounds, current value: $5-7 Million (depending on the particular alloy)
- Silver: 10,000 talents, 375 tons, 752,000 pounds, current value: more than $255 Million
- Gold: 5,000 talents + 10,000 darics (Persian coin), 190 tons + 185 pounds, 380,185 pounds, current value: more than $8.3 Billion
- Precious Stones: an unknown number, value unknown.
Total value in today's market of more than 8.5 Billion dollars.
What did all this generosity do? These generous offerings caused great rejoicing by the people of Israel and by King David.
1 Chronicles 29:10-13 - David sings a song of praise (or at least I want to think he sang it). He praises God as having all power, glory, and splendor. He reminds the people, and us, that everything belongs to God, and that all wealth and honor comes from God. This is a good reminder for us, all we have is a gift from God and belongs to God, this should help us to be more wise in our financial dealings.
1 Chronicles 29:14-20 - David continues in prayer, remembering that though they were chosen by God as His people they are only people - flawed, temporary beings. God's gifts were given because God chose to give. God tests the heart, and this people's hearts have given back to God in a response of joy. David continues by praying for the hearts of the people & Solomon to stay committed to the Lord. He calls out for the people to praise God, and the people respond in praise & humble themselves before the Lord.
1 Chronicles 29:21-24 - The next day they made massive sacrifices & had a huge feast, they continued to celebrate & were filled with joy. A special acknowledgement of Solomon as King is done, he is once again anointed, and Zadok is set to be the priest (implication is High Priest). Every official in the kingdom of Israel, with no exceptions & including the royal family, pledged their loyalty to Solomon.
Closing Prayer: Oh Lord, help us to see our lives through your eyes. Everything we have is yours, even our very lives are a gift from you. When you withhold it is for our good & your glory, and when you give it is for our good & your glory. Help us to have generous hearts so we also may experience the joy that comes from generous living. Amen!
Quickly Form Groups Again:
2. How are you with finances? What is your attitude toward giving to the Lord? (duty or privilege) What is your attitude toward helping others in need?
3. Pray for each other.
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