“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Down through the ages of reading about God’s chosen and anointed prophets, priests, and kings, we notice some defining characteristics about them.  The faithfully committed sought the Lord and humbly and obediently listened to what He had to say.  Sometimes God sought them; but the devoted always stopped to listen because they knew it was God’s voice speaking.  Upon hearing, they humbled themselves before Him in a posture of praise and thanksgiving.  And, without thinking of words to answer God; their thoughts instead focused of the glory of being in God’s Presence to hear Him!

As they tenaciously sought the heart of God, trusted, and obeyed what He said, their own character, integrity, ways of speaking and behaving, increasing became more like the God they were in awe of, loved, and served!  God’s character grew within those whose hearts were firmly committed to Him.  The more they inquired of God before doing anything of significance; the more God blessed, guided, and provided.  Mm.

“All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me” is the beloved hymn to God we sing in praise and thanksgiving because we know with God—nothing is impossible. God provides all we need because of His great love for us and our great love in return.  When we fully realize that all have was/is owned by God our Father; the deeper our gratitude goes within us and His generosity flows from us.  Our Father in heaven gives from what He owns in His treasury of riches to provide all we need as we trust and obey.

King David’s words are a testimony of this truth that stirs our hearts today. He could have boasted about how he obtained the resources to build the Temple but his focus was more on teaching the people who God is—Forever faithful!  Read with praise and thanksgiving for all God has done in our lives because of His relentless love, forever faithfulness, and gracious generosity to us.  “All I have needed; His hand has provided…”

1 Chronicles 29

Gifts for Building the Temple

Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. ² With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. ³ Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: ⁴ three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, ⁵ for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

⁶ Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. ⁷ They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. ⁸ Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

¹⁰ David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, Lord,
    the God of our father Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
¹¹ Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.
¹² Wealth and honor come from you;
    you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
    to exalt and give strength to all.
¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks,
    and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. ¹⁵ We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. ¹⁶ Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. ¹⁸ Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. ¹⁹ And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

²⁰ Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Acknowledged as King

²¹ The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²² They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day.

Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. ²³ So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.

²⁵ The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.

The Death of David

²⁶ David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. ²⁷ He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. ²⁸ He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.

²⁹ As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, ³⁰ together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Isn’t it just like David to pray in prose as a song of praise to the God he loved with all his heart, mind, and soul!  His heart is so full of gratitude; that a song of praise must be sung.  He praises God for who God is and what He will do in and through his son, Solomon!  We can learn from David…do we pray God’s will be done in our children? Or do we pray our will be done so they can serve and sustain us?  (I’ll just leave that right there for meditation.)

David’s final words consisted of thanksgiving and praise to God. David recognized that even the gifts Israel presented to God came from Him.  What will be our final words be to our children before Jesus takes us home?  That depends on the condition of our hearts.

David led by example—He did not ask the people to do what He had not already done.  King David knew he is dying and takes time to announce to all the contents of his last will and testament.  He details what he was bequeathing personally for the construction of the temple but coupled this with God’s truth—All he had came from God! Did you notice how quickly David’s personal example affected all the leaders who soon followed his example of giving back to God what He had given to them?

Leaders who lead by example can certainly have a profound effect on events that unfold. I’ve seen it with my own eyes over my lifetime!  The Temple construction project was partly funded by the willing gifts of the people who gave from what God had given to them!  Churches today are built by faithful people who give from what God has provided to them to manage and share.

David spoke of and demonstrated the character of God.  The king’s prayer dedicated the people and their gifts to God. But at the heart of David’s prayer is the magnificent picture of God’s character, power, majesty, and honor due only to Him!  David’s words, “everything in heaven and on earth is yours” is like heaven’s praise reported by John whom Jesus revealed to him!

“In a loud voice they were saying: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” Revelation 5:12-13

WOW, from the Genesis to the Revelation—God is unchanging! He is who He says He is.  His love never changes. His compassions and mercies do not end.  The God who was, is, and always will be loves and cares for his beloved who believe, trust, and obey Him in the Name of Jesus, His Son!  And where He guides—God provides!

God gave us His Son to provide what we needed most—redemption. 

To God be the glory!  Great IS His faithfulness!

Our Father and our God,

Great are you, Lord!  Great is Your love and faithfulness to us—even we are not a faithful to you as we should be.  Thank you for providing all we need to give to others. Thank you for protecting us through trials as you strength our faith and resolve in you. Thank you for Your word that stirs our hearts daily.  I give you me as an offering to you.

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God;
may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.” Psalm 143:8-12

 In Jesus Name, Amen