Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹² Praise him, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! ¹³ For he has fortified your gates against all enemies and blessed your children. ¹⁴ He sends peace across your nation and fills your barns with plenty of the finest wheat. ¹⁵ He sends his orders to the world. How swiftly his word flies. ¹⁶ He sends the snow in all its lovely whiteness, scatters the frost upon the ground, ¹⁷ and hurls the hail upon the earth. Who can stand before his freezing cold? ¹⁸ But then he calls for warmer weather, and the spring winds blow and all the river ice is broken. ¹⁹ He has made known his laws and ceremonies of worship to Israel— ²⁰ something he has not done with any other nation; they have not known his commands.

Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!

28 David now summoned all of his officials to Jerusalem—the political leaders, the commanders of the twelve army divisions, the other army officers, those in charge of his property and livestock, and all the other men of authority in his kingdom. ² He rose and stood before them and addressed them as follows:

“My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a temple in which the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord could rest—a place for our God to live in.^[a] I have now collected everything that is necessary for the building, ³ but God has told me, ‘You are not to build my temple, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood.’

⁴ “Nevertheless, the Lord God of Israel has chosen me from among all my father’s family to begin a dynasty that will rule Israel forever; he has chosen the tribe of Judah, and from among the families of Judah, my father’s family; and from among his sons, the Lord took pleasure in me and has made me king over all Israel. ⁵ And from among my sons—the Lord has given me many children—he has chosen Solomon to succeed me on the throne of his kingdom of Israel. ⁶ He has told me, ‘Your son Solomon shall build my Temple; for I have chosen him as my son and I will be his father. ⁷ And if he continues to obey my commandments and instructions as he has until now, I will make his kingdom last forever.’”

⁸ Then David turned to Solomon and said:^[b]

“Here before the leaders of Israel, the people of God, and in the sight of our God, I am instructing you to search out every commandment of the Lord so that you may continue to rule this good land and leave it to your children to rule forever. ⁹ Solomon, my son, get to know the God of your fathers. Worship and serve him with a clean heart and a willing mind, for the Lord sees every heart and understands and knows every thought. If you seek him, you will find him; but if you forsake him, he will permanently throw you aside. ¹⁰ So be very careful, for the Lord has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Be strong and do as he commands.”

¹⁰ God, in his kindness, has taught me how to be an expert builder. I have laid the foundation and Apollos has built on it. But he who builds on the foundation must be very careful. ¹¹ And no one can ever lay any other real foundation than that one we already have—Jesus Christ. ¹² But there are various kinds of materials that can be used to build on that foundation. Some use gold and silver and jewels; and some build with sticks and hay or even straw! ¹³ There is going to come a time of testing at Christ’s Judgment Day to see what kind of material each builder has used. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire so that all can see whether or not it keeps its value, and what was really accomplished. ¹⁴ Then every workman who has built on the foundation with the right materials, and whose work still stands, will get his pay. ¹⁵ But if the house he has built burns up, he will have a great loss. He himself will be saved, but like a man escaping through a wall of flames.

¹⁶ Don’t you realize that all of you together are the house of God, and that the Spirit of God lives among you in his house? ¹⁷ If anyone defiles and spoils God’s home, God will destroy him. For God’s home is holy and clean, and you are that home.