Solomon, the King According to the Counsels of God: 1 Chronicles 28

Narrator: Ivona Gentwo
1 Chronicles 28  •  9 min. read  •  grade level: 11
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AND HIS RESPONSIBILITY AS SUCH—1 Chron. 28
CH 28{In 1 Chron. 23:22And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. (1 Chronicles 23:2), David had gathered together "all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites" so as to give them directions for the service of the temple and the order of the kingdom. In this 1 Chron. 28:11And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 28:1) he assembles "all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the princes of the divisions that ministered to the king, and the captains over thousands, and the captains over hundreds, and the comptrollers of all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the chamberlains, and the mighty men, and all the men of valor, unto Jerusalem." In fact, he addresses all the people, for he wants to make known to all what God has revealed concerning the temple itself, the religious center of the kingdom.
"I had in my heart," he says, "to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Jehovah and for the footstool of our God, and I have prepared to build" (1 Chron. 28:22Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: (1 Chronicles 28:2)). This is what Psa. 132 expresses in a very remarkable manner. David, in all his tribulations had not given himself rest until he had found a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord  a place where this covenant, deposited in the ark, could eventually be established for God's people without being exposed to a fresh journey across the desert or to new vicissitudes in the hands of the Philistines. This rest of God was at the same time that of "the footstool of His feet," for the ark was the throne of God who was seated between the cherubim, the throne which He had established in the midst of His people.
Such were God's counsels of grace. In Chronicles we see them accomplished in David and Solomon as types of Christ, but they were accomplished only in type. For soon this ark, which through David's solicitude had found its rest on Mount Zion and in the midst of a glorious temple built by Solomon, disappeared and its place of rest was completely destroyed.
David had made immense preparations for this house, but he recalls what Jehovah had told him (1 Chron. 22:88But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. (1 Chronicles 22:8)): "Thou shalt not build a house unto My name, for thou art a man of war, and hast shed blood" (1 Chron. 28:33But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. (1 Chronicles 28:3)). Through his sufferings David could prepare the "rest that remaineth for the people of God," but he could not bring in that rest as long as the kingdom still bore the impress of the warrior character of its leader. So will it be with Christ. At the cross He laid the foundation for eternal rest, but He will not establish this final rest until after all His enemies will have been put under His feet.
In 1 Chron. 28:4-64Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: 5And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. (1 Chronicles 28:4‑6) David insists, in the presence of all the representatives of the people, on that principal fact that Chronicles always emphasizes: the accomplishment of God's counsels according to the election of grace. The Lord had chosen him, David, to be king over Israel forever, He had chosen Judah as prince; in Judah He had chosen the house of Jesse. Among the sons of Jesse He had taken pleasure in David, to make him king. The Lord's free choice as well as God's good pleasure had been upon the least and most humble of them all, strong and mighty no doubt in God's eyes in his struggle with the lion and the bear in the wilderness, but having nothing in the eyes of men that they should desire him. Was he not a type of the Perfect Servant, acclaimed by Jehovah as the object of His good pleasure at the very moment He was publicly taking a place of most profound humiliation in the baptism of repentance? But later came that moment when God declared Him to be the true Solomon, the object of the same good pleasure as at John's baptism, when He appeared on the holy mountain, anticipating the glory of His eternal kingdom.
Among David's numerous sons God had again "chosen Solomon... to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of Jehovah over Israel" (1 Chron. 28:55And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. (1 Chronicles 28:5)). Note this expression which we find again in 1 Chron. 29:2323Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. (1 Chronicles 29:23): The kingdom of Solomon is "the kingdom of Jehovah"; his throne, Jehovah's throne. Do not these words speak to us of God's counsels with regard to Christ's future kingdom? This is all the more striking here as God says of Solomon: "I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father" (1 Chron. 28:66And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. (1 Chronicles 28:6); cf. 1 Chron. 22:1010He shall build an house for 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 for ever. (1 Chronicles 22:10); Heb. 1:55For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1:5)). Solomon is God's son, and he will build a house (Heb. 3:3-43For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. 4For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. (Hebrews 3:3‑4)); he is the Chosen One of Jehovah who "will establish his kingdom forever" (1 Chron. 28:77Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day. (1 Chronicles 28:7)). Lastly, "Jehovah has chosen [him] to build a house for the sanctuary" (1 Chron. 28:1010Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it. (1 Chronicles 28:10)).
But in this passage we find a characteristic little word: "If." This is the first time1 this word is uttered in Chronicles in relation to the kingship or to the people: "If he be firm to do My commandments and Mine ordinances, as at this day." "If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cut thee off forever" (1 Chron. 28:7, 97Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day. (1 Chronicles 28:7)
9And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. (1 Chronicles 28:9)).
Solomon, although considered here in his perfection as the king according to God's counsels, is nonetheless responsible and his kingdom cannot be made firm if he does not measure up to this responsibility. Chronicles, in accord with its purpose, does not present Solomon to us as having failed. Even less than in the account of David's history, it does not mention his fallibility or his faults. Yet nonetheless Solomon remains responsible. Such exactly is Christ's character as the King of righteousness and of peace. He will be responsible to Him who has entrusted the kingdom to Him and will carry out His office perfectly until He delivers up the dominion into the Father's hands (1 Cor. 15:2424Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. (1 Corinthians 15:24)). Doubtless Solomon personally failed completely in this, but Chronicles does not mention this, since it deals with the counsels of God realized in Christ.
However we find here another reason for presenting the blessing as conditional. The successors of the first two kings are neither Davids nor Solomons. Kingship according to God's counsels does not go beyond them, for in them in type it reaches to the millennial reign of Christ. Nevertheless the kingship continues through Solomon's line until the appearing of the true King, the house of David forming an uninterrupted chain which ends in Christ. Now this line of descent only rarely offers us features of the true King. The house of David falls into ruin; the people of Solomon give themselves up to idolatry. All this cannot be passed over in silence in Second Chronicles when it tells of the royal house and of the chosen people. Yet, as we shall see in studying the Second Book, the general character of this inspired writing is maintained in the midst of ruin and God acts in grace, covering a multitude of sins at the least trace of repentance, whereas the books of Kings expose the faults of all the kings without mitigation, even those of David and Solomon.
The "if" therefore serves in part as an introduction to the history that follows Solomon's in the following book.
In the preceding chapters we have seen the religious and civil system established by Jehovah by means of the authority conferred by Him upon David. This system does not resemble the order of things established by Moses, although it does not in any way contradict it. Neither the priests, nor the Levites, nor the singers, nor the doorkeepers, nor the army are organized as in the past. Everything is new; everything depends upon the king who establishes them according to lot, that is to say, under the immediate direction of the Lord. In 1 Chron. 28:11-1911Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlors thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, 12And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: 13Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord. 14He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service: 15Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. 16And by weight he gave gold for the tables of showbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: 17Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver: 18And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. (1 Chronicles 28:11‑19) we find the same principle when it is a matter of the temple compared to the tabernacle. Only it is by inspiration (1 Chron. 28:1212And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: (1 Chronicles 28:12)) that David had received all the details, not by a model placed before the eyes of a Moses upon the mountain, which the latter was to execute. David received these details (they were in him, in his mind) through the Spirit. Nothing depended upon his gift of organization or upon his natural intelligence. Everything came directly from God. "All this said David, in writing, by Jehovah's hand upon me" (1 Chron. 28:1919All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. (1 Chronicles 28:19)). He also received by inspiration the directions concerning "the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of Jehovah" (1 Chron. 28:1313Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 28:13)). The vessels themselves were different from those of the tabernacle, without really differing in their typical significance. Their number and weight differed; new vessels were added. So too it was with the musical instruments. The very weight of each object of gold and of silver was determined by inspiration, from the candlesticks to the goblets and forks (1 Chron. 28:16-1716And by weight he gave gold for the tables of showbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: 17Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver: (1 Chronicles 28:16‑17)). The ark of the covenant which enclosed the law remained the same, with its mercy seat and the cherubim overshadowing it, for neither the covenant nor the mercy seat could be altered in any way. By contrast, the cherubim that spread out their wings and touched the two walls of the sanctuary, were something entirely new (2 Chron. 3:10-14; 5:7-910And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold. 11And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. 12And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. 13The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward. 14And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon. (2 Chronicles 3:10‑14)
7And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: 8For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. 9And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. (2 Chronicles 5:7‑9)).