1 Chronicles 22
"And David said, This is the house of Jehovah Elohim, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel" (1 Chron. 22:1). The altar that had been built and the sacrifices that had been offered sufficed for David to proclaim the establishment of the temple. Doubtless the Lord's house was not yet constructed, but in effect it was found there where the altar — the sacrifice — and the throne (or ark) was, the real presence of God in the midst of His people. Later, in the Book of Ezra, when the ark had ultimately disappeared, the altar alone remained as gathering center for the people, and then the remnant built the temple around the altar.
These examples show us how we may recognize the house of God, whether we consider the present time as similar to the days of David which preceded Solomon's glory, or whether we view the days we are passing through as days of ruin resembling those of Ezra, which in reality they are.
Having proclaimed the existence of the house of God, David is occupied with its future manifestation (1 Chron. 22:2). The king gathers the strangers living in the land of Israel and appoints them to work together at erecting the future temple. 153,600 in number, as we learn in 2 Chron. 2:2, 17-18, they are employed as bearers of burdens and as stone cutters. Only the latter are mentioned here. Their work bears the stamp of servility, yet it is different from that of the Gibeonites (Josh. 9:21), for we know how costly the stones of the temple were (1 Kings 5:17). Moreover, we see in 1 Chron. 22:4 that the nations beyond the land of Israel were called to join in this great work and that they applied themselves with zeal and absolute good will. So it will be when the millennial temple is built (Isa. 60:10, 13; Zech. 6:15).
"And David prepared iron in abundance... and brass in abundance... and cedar-trees innumerable." In 1 Chron. 18, as in 2 Sam. 8, we learn that the brass, silver, and gold came either from the booty of war, of which David kept nothing for himself, or from the voluntary offerings of the nations which sought the protection of the king of Israel. The cedar wood came from Lebanon and was brought by the people of Tire and Zidon. Other less precious materials also contributed to the temple's construction, for iron was needed "for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joists" (1 Chron. 22:3). Iron was not only useful, but it was indispensable, despite its lesser worth. It was one of the products of the land of Canaan, "a land whose stones are iron" (Deut. 8:9); and it alone could serve to join together the various pieces of wood in the building. Without it, the doors of the temple could not be opened or closed, nor could the partitions be built. Just so, even the most common materials of the heavenly land are indispensable to Him who has determined the order of His house and whose alone is the secret of its construction. Likewise, let us not despise the materials that enter into the composition of the building if they have value in the eyes of the sovereign Architect of the house.
In 1 Chron. 22:5, David, thinking of Solomon's youth, prepares everything necessary for him, for he was not yet strong enough to build this house which was to be "exceeding great in fame and in beauty in all lands." Likewise, when the true Solomon will take in hand the reins of government, he will find all that will constitute the glory of His kingdom already prepared by the true David, by Him who suffered and was rejected by His people. It is David who commands Solomon (1 Chron. 22:6) to build a house for the Lord, but he had himself received this commandment from God, for the Lord had told him: "He shall build an house unto my name." Thus God in His counsels has decreed that everything is to be subjected to Christ for "the administration of the fullness of times," but it is in virtue of His sufferings and rejection that the Lord has the right to the kingdom. Solomon was not called upon to establish it, for the kingdom was only in his person in germ. Solomon was still "young and tender," but David through his sufferings and victories had prepared everything necessary for God's rest and the reign of righteousness and peace about to be inaugurated.
When it is a matter, in type, of Christ's millennial reign, it is impossible to separate His sufferings and His rejection from His glories. This is why 1 Peter 1:11 tells us that the prophets testified "before of the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these." It is the same here, and we insist particularly upon the little phrase in 1 Chron. 22:14: "And behold, in my affliction I have prepared...and thou shalt add to it."
This is all the more striking as Chronicles does not in any way take up David's afflictions. Except in this passage they are not once mentioned. We have previously seen the reason for this omission. Throughout Chronicles David is shown us as taking possession of the kingdom according to God's counsels and establishing the kingdom by his victories over the nations. This latter feature, as we have already seen, in this book is presented in an accessory way, the Spirit in a single account uniting all the victories of the king won at different times in order to bring in the future reign of his son Solomon, the king of peace.
Martial victory and peace, here presented in type by these two distinct men, will be fulfilled in the person of a single Man, Christ. The distinction we have just made we find expressed here by the mouth of David: "The word of Jehovah came to me saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto My name, for thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in My sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon [peaceful], and in his days I will give peace and quietness unto Israel. He shall build a house unto My name; and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever" (1 Chron. 22:8-10). Yet, although Chronicles passes over David's affliction in silence, it was impossible not to mention these words: "My affliction." Without this there could be no rest for the throne of God in His temple and in the midst of His people. In his affliction David prepared all the materials for the house of God. Also, when in Psa. 132 it is a matter of finding "a place for Jehovah, habitations for the mighty One of Jacob," habitations of which the ark's return to Zion was only the prelude, the psalmist cries: "Jehovah, remember for David all his afflictions" (Psa. 132:1). The temple and the earthly throne before whose footstool the saints will bow are founded upon "the afflictions of David." It is the same in Rev. 5 with the heavenly throne. Its center is the slain Lamb who is the root of David. Thus the earthly and heavenly portions of the kingdom are both built upon the sufferings of Christ.
David in his affliction had prepared everything for the house of God, and Solomon, the king of peace, was to add yet more (1 Chron. 22:14). So it will be during Christ's reign; he will add all His glories to His temple upon earth as well as to the new Jerusalem in heaven, acquired at the price of His sufferings on the cross.
To organize everything involved in Solomon's reign, it would be necessary that the Lord give him "wisdom and understanding" (1 Chron. 22:12). Indeed, this is the only thing we see him himself asking of the Lord in 2 Chron. 1:10. As king of glory he was to prosper in fulfilling all the Word of God, just as it is said here: "Only Jehovah...place thee over Israel, and to keep the law of Jehovah thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to perform the statutes and ordinances which Jehovah commanded Moses for Israel" (1 Chron. 22:12-13). Alas! Solomon, as the responsible king whose history is given us in the First Book of Kings, completely fails in all that God had entrusted to him; whereas Christ, after having perfectly corresponded to God's thoughts, will deliver into the hands of His Father, intact, the kingdom whose administration will be entrusted to him (1 Cor. 15:24).
One thing more was necessary for Solomon: "Be strong and courageous; fear not, neither be dismayed" (1 Chron. 22:13). "Arise and be doing and Jehovah be with thee" (1 Chron. 22:16). Strength, firmness, and activity which he could find only in himself were necessary. This is what will characterize the Lord in His kingdom. Not only will He be firmly established by virtue of God's counsels, but He will find the resources of His government in His own perfections. Nothing will be lacking in His character for the prosperity of the kingdom placed in His hands by His God.
What blessing this reign will bring for Israel! "David commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son." They too were to "set [their] heart and [their] soul to seek Jehovah [their] God." They too must "arise and build the sanctuary of Jehovah Elohim" (1 Chron. 22:17-19). And thus the Lord associates us with His kingdom and the administration of His house. He will have disciples, acquired during His rejection, seated on twelve thrones, judging all the tribes of Israel. The new Jerusalem will have twelve foundations upon which will be written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. They will share in the character of Him who strengthened Himself and arose to act. They will share in His work (1 Chron. 22:19); yet not in the wisdom which has prepared everything beforehand in order to obtain this glorious result. This wisdom is uniquely the portion of the true David who has heaped up the materials, of the true Solomon who has ordered everything and set all in motion for the establishment of this eternal kingdom!