#539 Unbox

Then David said, “The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

Preparations for the Temple

2 So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,[a] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

14 “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents[b] of gold, a million talents[c] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon.18 He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God.Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.” 1 Chronicles 22 NIV

The fire from heaven that fell upon this Mount Moriah, this is the place where God stayed the sword of justice, accepted repentance through the sacrifice that David paid for. I grew up in an evangelical church, and it seemed that only once a year we hinted around at the costliness of our salvation, that it cost God dearly. This is the place, "one of the mountains of Moriah", a secret best kept out in the open. 

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. Hebrews 11: 17-19

God has had a plan, and this is where He wants the temple to be built. David will not build it because he is a man of war, and this is to be built in the time of peace and reconciliation. It is the place of the gospel and where Christ will hang outside the gate, Isaac was not worthy nor capable, but became the finger pointing to that day. Even though David is not going to build the temple, he has made the way, defeated Israel's long held enemies. His work and his time were important, his desire towards God's house was true, for here we see him continue to prep the build. He has stones precut, cedars stored, gold and silver. He doesn't just pass the torch, "figure it out", his words carry the weight of his actions. Solomon can see all these things that David has set aside for the building of God's house. After all that, he charges him.

This is the relationship I had with God, and I wanted so badly to honor Him with this house, but alas it was not given unto me to do. He has told me that you will be a man of peace, that you will build His temple.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

1. Build the house, the Lord is with you in this. This is your calling and God will be with you in it. I have always told my leads when they interview, and later when they are promoted and we sit down to go over their expectations, "if it is important to me then it needs to be important to you." David has demonstrated the value he puts on this, but it goes even above him, it's important to God. Do this right.
2. May the Lord give you discretion and understanding. Solomon ask for this when he asks for wisdom, teach me how I should rule. Let me know the difference between right and wrong and choose justly.
3. Keep the laws that God gave Moses. I see a thousand rabbits I would love to chase here, and I will hunt them at another time, but there is a law above men's ideals and there is a Creator above creation.

Now, with all that, let's also remember and consider this same subject from 2 Samuel 7. God never asked for a house of cedar, and so some will try to build from that that Solomon's building of the temple is a disobedience of David. They give me a head ache, but then let's also recall that God was against a monarchy as well. These are all types, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, the Judges, the law, the tabernacle, the kings and now the temple. He not only allows them to build this, but He shows up with His presence. He gives David a sound reason of bloody hands, that being a man of war, he could not build the house of peace. God allows them to build up what will be torn down. All these things are recorded for our learning, the buildings in which we worship are not the temples of God's presence, for His people are the church. The buildings are where the church meets, or did you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that you are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your bodies. When you read any of the stories in the OT, know that they are not told for amusement, but read them in the realization that they are about Christ. They are not the end, but only the means by which God reveals Himself to a fallen world. It is all fulfilled in Christ. Those who go to buildings now for a taste of God, a nod from a preacher or priest, are ignoring the knock upon the door of their own temple. We should not forsake the assembling of ourselves, but nor should we forsake the call of God to repent. They did not have half the light to see by back then, and were in awe of the thought of Messiah as even just a good king, yet here we are in the in the year of our Lord, knowing He is the eternally begotten of God. What or Who is the church?

27Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”…John 20: 27-29

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time[a] the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. 1 Peter 1: 10-12

We see through a glass dimly now, but know this, that God makes clear that He will have obedience rather than sacrifice. Those who put much upon buildings and esteem titles, will find it very difficult to deny themselves and take up their cross. Read Isaiah, did Messiah not come to suffer? Did Jesus not say in Matthew 5, blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for my sake?

18On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?” 19Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20“This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?”…John 2: 18-20

Lord, let us meet together in love, let us not put so much upon wood and stucco that we forget Your actual body or that we carry the gospel of peace. Thank you for reconciling us to you and making us members of Your church.