Day 147 (1 Chronicles 26-29, Psalm 127) - Year 7
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today we finished our 12th book of the Bible. Congratulations! Today David continues making preparations for the first temple to be built, and even though this is God's house and David's doing the planning, it's commonly referred to as Solomon's temple since he's the one who actually built it. We start out with the gatekeepers. This is an incredibly important role.

They are Jerusalem's first line of defense against attack, so these men need to be agile and vigilant. There are lots of gates in the city all around the walls, so there need to be lots of gatekeepers as well. And if you recall, Scripture regards east as the direction of holiness, so not only would the temple itself face east, but the gate of highest honor, and the one that requires the most guards, is the eastern gate. It's also known as the king's gate.

And scripture tells us this is the gate Jesus will return through when he comes back to earth at his second coming. And you may recall that it's the gate the local Muslims have currently sealed off with concrete, and they've built a cemetery in front of it in order to prevent the Jewish Messiah from coming through. I don't expect that to stand a chance against him. David also sets up treasurers for the temple. They aren't just in charge of money, they're in charge of any gifts dedicated to God or even the spoils of war. I'm so curious what kind of spoils they got.

I bet if you had this role, it would be really tempting to bring your friends in after hours and be like, hey, you want to see the crown we got from the Ammonite king? And over here are the crescent ornaments Gideon took from the Midianites. That's probably against the rules. David has his own treasurers too, as well as his own gardeners and farmers and vine keepers and shepherds. And I bet the shepherds are his favorite.

I wonder if he was ever like, listen guys, someday if you practice your harp really hard and manage to behead a giant and avoid getting killed by the king and his demon, you could be king like me. I mean, technically all the kings are supposed to be his descendants, so I guess not.

Some of the Levites also have the job of managing tribal relationships. It sounds a bit like being a diplomat or an ambassador. There are a lot of people involved in all these roles, 24,000 per month, which adds up to a total of 288,000 people. And I have no idea what they do in all 11 of their months off. In case there was any doubt, chapter 27 tells us why David wasn't supposed to take that census a few days ago in 2 Samuel 24.

It was an act of unbelief in God's promise to make them a great nation. David felt like he needed to verify things and check in on God's progress. In chapter 28, David gives his charge to all of Israel and to Solomon. He reminds Israel to seek and obey God and establishes that God has chosen Solomon for this project and to be the king. Then he reminds Solomon that all of this has to be done with a heart and mind that have yielded to God in all things. David knows the consequences he suffered when he set out on his own course.

He tells Solomon that God will be with him in all this work and won't leave him until he finishes building the temple. And this is the point when I would commit to never finishing the temple. If God is going to leave me at that point, I'm going to work as slowly as possible, and I'll always find something to add or change. Oh no, looks like that tile is crooked. Oops, guess we have to pull up the whole floor and redo it all. Sorry, God, you have to stick around a little longer. But actually, here's maybe what I hope this passage means.

I think at this point, because God would be dwelling above the mercy seat, God's presence would still be near to Solomon anyway. David donates a lot of his personal stash to build the temple, including over 200,000 pounds of gold and more than half a million pounds of silver. I don't know where he keeps it all.

David models his own generosity toward God's house and leads the way in making donations and sacrifices before he invites the people to join in. The people are really excited to participate. They rejoice and give willingly with a whole heart. David blesses God, and then in 29, 18-19, he asks God to continue to direct their hearts toward him and to guide Solomon's heart.

As we close out 1 Chronicles, David passes off the throne to Solomon and then dies after ruling Israel for 40 years. But he'll still die one more time in our reading, so don't do all your grieving just yet. We finish today with Psalm 127, one of the Psalms of Ascent, and this is one of the two that were written by Solomon. The first verse takes on so much more meaning in light of Solomon's calling to build the temple. It says, "...unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain."

But this could also refer to Solomon's offspring and David's dynasty. God is establishing their family just as he promised David he would, in order to bring about the Messiah. This psalm serves as a reminder that only what God initiates will be sustained and fulfilled. God is attentive to and involved in all areas of our life.

From something as little as sleep to something as major as enemy warfare. And we can strive all we want, but we'll gain nothing without Him working on our behalf. What was your God shot today? In several spots, I noticed the theme that He is the source of all things. Not only was it all over Psalm 127, but I saw it in parts of 1 Chronicles as well.

In 29.12, David says, In verse 14, he says, Then in verse 16, he says,

All that we give to God is God's gift to us first. This is true not just of money, but of talents and time and service, too. And along these lines, I noticed something else in 2732. It's talking about Jonathan, David's uncle, and it says, He was a counselor, being a man of understanding and a scribe. He was a scribe, a man who spent his days in Scripture. And from that came the wisdom he used to counsel the king. He was offering back to God's service the wisdom he got from God.

Everything we give back to Him originated with Him. He is the source of all good things. And He's where the joy is.

Okay, Bible readers, it's time for our weekly check-in. And I have great news for you. You are right on time, right where God has you, even if you're quote unquote behind in the plan. Because every day that you're in God's Word, you're right on time. And even here in the Old Testament, I want to remind you to look for Jesus. In John 5, Jesus says the Old Testament is all about Him. He doesn't just show up in a manger in Matthew. He says,

He's been here all along, even since Genesis 1. He was in our reading today as David was planning for the temple and how it would face the Eastern Gate, the same one Jesus will return through. So keep looking for him, for prophecies of him, for pictures of him, and even for some surprise visits he makes to earth in advance of his birth. We'll see you back here tomorrow, and you'll be right on time then too.