4.21 1 Chronicles 28-29

Stephen VanBueren

4.21.2020

1 Chronicles 28-29

These chapters chronicle the end of King David’s life. David addresses the nation of Israel as a whole, reminding them of God’s anointing of him to rule and lead His people. David shared with Israel that his heart’s intent was to build a house for the Lord, but God had chosen his son, Solomon to do that work. He concludes his address to Israel by reminding them to both seek and observe all of God’s commandments, that they may continue to possess their inherited land.

David then turns his attention to his son Solomon, charging him to: 1. Know God (which is very different than just knowing of God), 2. Serve God with his whole heart and willing mind, because 3. God searches all hearts and 4. Understands every plan and thought, 5. To seek God that you may find Him, but 5. Forsake him and you will be forsaken. David finishes addressing his son by reminding Solomon to not be afraid because God would be with him.

These chapters, and David’s life, conclude by reminding Israel of all that he had done to provide for the house of the Lord. He prays in the presence of of Israel, honoring God and giving thanks for all of His provision, concluding with a prayer to the Lord on behalf of his son Solomon, who is then anointed as King and then passes on “at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor.”

The key verse that really stood out to me was

1 Chronicles 29:3 “Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it the house of my God.”

To be honest, this passage totally rocked me. What do most American’s spend their professional careers attempting to do? For many, it is the pursuit to save up as much for retirement as possible and then to be able to pass along some sort of savings or life insurance to our children after us. 

But what did King David do?

He said that in addition to all that he had spent his life providing for the house of God, David tells of his own fortune that he personally had amassed. What’s remarkable, and revealing as to the heart that David had for God, is that instead of passing it on to his many children, to make sure that they were taken care of after his passing – because of his love and devotion to God, David takes everything that he had in the bank, and gives it all to the house of God!

What if we all had that same heart and devotion to God’s church? What if, at the end of our lives, we took our inheritance (however great or small) and devoted it to continuing to build up God’s church? What if we worked hard during our professional years, not to amass more stuff, not to be able to safely retire or arrive safely at death, but to have as much as we possible can to leave to God’s church?

I’m reminded of Jesus drawing attention to the poor widow’s offering in Mark 12. Jesus made sure that his disciples knew that she was honored above all others, not because of how much she gave, but because of the fact that she took all that she had and gave it to the Lord.