The Daily Audio Bible

David's Instructions for the Temple

28 King David commanded all the officials of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. So all the officials of the tribes, the officials who administered the work of the kingdom, the leaders of the clans, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and his sons—indeed all the palace officials, leading soldiers, and important men—gathered in Jerusalem.

^2 (A)David stood before them and addressed them: “My friends, listen to me. I wanted to build a permanent home for the Covenant Box, the footstool of the Lord our God. I have made preparations for building a temple to honor him, ³ but he has forbidden me to do it, because I am a soldier and have shed too much blood. ⁴ The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me and my descendants to rule Israel forever. He chose the tribe of Judah to provide leadership, and out of Judah he chose my father's family. From all that family it was his pleasure to take me and make me king over all Israel. ⁵ He gave me many sons, and out of them all he chose Solomon to rule over Israel, the Lord's kingdom.

⁶ “The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my Temple. I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ I will make his kingdom last forever if he continues to obey carefully all my laws and commands as he does now.’

⁸ “So now, my people, in the presence of our God and of this assembly of all Israel, the Lord's people, I charge you to obey carefully everything that the Lord our God has commanded us, so that you may continue to possess this good land and so that you may hand it on to succeeding generations forever.”

⁹ And to Solomon he said, “My son, I charge you to acknowledge your father's God and to serve him with an undivided heart and a willing mind. He knows all our thoughts and desires. If you go to him, he will accept you; but if you turn away from him, he will abandon you forever. ¹⁰ You must realize that the Lord has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Now do it—and do it with determination.”

¹¹ David gave Solomon the plans for all the Temple buildings, for the storerooms and all the other rooms, and for the Most Holy Place, where sins are forgiven. ¹² He also gave him the plans for all he had in mind for the courtyards and the rooms around them, and for the storerooms for the Temple equipment and the gifts dedicated to the Lord. ¹³ David also gave him the plans for organizing the priests and Levites to perform their duties, to do the work of the Temple, and to take care of all the Temple utensils. ¹⁴ He gave instructions as to how much silver and gold was to be used for making the utensils, ¹⁵ for each lamp and lampstand, ¹⁶ for the silver tables, and for each gold table on which were placed the loaves of bread offered to God. ¹⁷ He also gave instructions as to how much pure gold was to be used in making forks, bowls, and jars, how much silver and gold in making dishes, ¹⁸ and how much pure gold in making the altar on which incense was burned and in making the chariot for the winged creatures that spread their wings over the Lord's Covenant Box. ¹⁹ King David said, “All this is contained in the plan written according to the instructions which the Lord himself gave me to carry out.”

²⁰ King David said to his son Solomon, “Be confident and determined. Start the work and don't let anything stop you. The Lord God, whom I serve, will be with you. He will not abandon you, but he will stay with you until you finish the work to be done on his Temple. ²¹ The priests and the Levites have been assigned duties to perform in the Temple. Workers with every kind of skill are eager to help you, and all the people and their leaders are at your command.”

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 ^(B)King David announced to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the Lord God. ² I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple—gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble. ³ Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple. ⁴ I have given 115 tons of the finest gold and 265 tons of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple ⁵ and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the Lord?”

⁶ Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give ⁷ the following for the work on the Temple: 190 tons of gold, 380 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. ⁸ Those who had precious stones gave them to the Temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon. ⁹ The people had given willingly to the Lord, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.

David Praises God

¹⁰ There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the Lord. He said, “Lord God of our ancestor Jacob, may you be praised forever and ever! ^11 (C)You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all. ¹² All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong. ¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already. ¹⁵ You know, O Lord, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death. ¹⁶ O Lord, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you. ¹⁸ Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep such devotion forever strong in your people's hearts and keep them always faithful to you. ¹⁹ Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations.”

²⁰ Then David commanded the people, “Praise the Lord your God!” And the whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honor to the Lord and also to the king.

²¹ The following day they killed animals as sacrifices, dedicating them to the Lord, and then gave them to the people to eat. In addition, they sacrificed a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, which they burned whole on the altar. They also brought the offerings of wine. ²² So that day they were very happy as they ate and drank in the presence of the Lord.

For a second time they proclaimed Solomon king. In the name of the Lord they anointed him as their ruler and Zadok as priest. ^23 (D)So Solomon succeeded his father David on the throne which the Lord had established. He was a successful king, and the whole nation of Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the officials and soldiers, and even all of David's other sons, promised to be loyal to Solomon as king. ²⁵ The Lord made the whole nation stand in awe of Solomon, and he made him more glorious than any other king that had ruled Israel.

Summary of David's Reign

²⁶ David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel ^27 (E)for forty years. He ruled in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three. ²⁸ He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king. ²⁹ The history of King David from beginning to end is recorded in the records of the three prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. ³⁰ The records tell how he ruled, how powerful he was, and all the things that happened to him, to Israel, and to the surrounding kingdoms.

⁶ For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose. ⁷ It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. ⁸ But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! ⁹ By his blood^[a] we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God's anger! ¹⁰ We were God's enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God's friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ's life! ¹¹ But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God's friends.

Adam and Christ

^12 (A)Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned. ¹³ There was sin in the world before the Law was given; but where there is no law, no account is kept of sins. ¹⁴ But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, death ruled over all human beings, even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam did when he disobeyed God's command.

Adam was a figure of the one who was to come. ¹⁵ But the two are not the same, because God's free gift is not like Adam's sin. It is true that many people died because of the sin of that one man. But God's grace is much greater, and so is his free gift to so many people through the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. ¹⁶ And there is a difference between God's gift and the sin of one man. After the one sin, came the judgment of “Guilty”; but after so many sins, comes the undeserved gift of “Not guilty!” ¹⁷ It is true that through the sin of one man death began to rule because of that one man. But how much greater is the result of what was done by the one man, Jesus Christ! All who receive God's abundant grace and are freely put right with him will rule in life through Christ.

^18 (B)So then, as the one sin condemned all people, in the same way the one righteous act sets all people free and gives them life. ¹⁹ And just as all people were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way they will all be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man.

²⁰ Law was introduced in order to increase wrongdoing; but where sin increased, God's grace increased much more. ²¹ So then, just as sin ruled by means of death, so also God's grace rules by means of righteousness, leading us to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What God Requires^[a]

¹⁸ Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don't, you are helping them destroy themselves.^[a]

¹⁹ If someone has a hot temper, let him take the consequences. If you get him out of trouble once, you will have to do it again.^[b]