STUDY THEME: SEEKING GOD'S HEART:  LESSONS FROM DAVID'S LIFE  
"DRIVEN BY DEVOTION"  1 CHRONICALS 22: 1-5, 6-10, 11-13, 17-19.   MAY 21,
2000
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO 1 CHRON. 22/

Last Sunday we studied about David's horrible sin and yet his commendable
honesty in confessing and asking for forgiveness. The lesson this Sunday
is based upon an experience years later in David's life. Solomon was
going to succeed David and David was not going to be permitted by God to
build the temple he had  wanted to erect for the glory of God. Instead of
being resentful by not being allowed to build it, David decided that he
would do what God would let him do...and that was to gather as much of
the material as he could so that Solomon would be able to build a temple
worthy of the great God of Israel. 

Sometimes there are people who will not do anything if they cannot do
what they  want to! You need not ask them to do it unless they have
already made up their minds to. David thought at first that God would let
him build the temple but Nathan had to tell him that he could not build
the temple of God because David was a man of war. But God would permit
David's son, Solomon, build it. Therefore instead of wasting his time and
life in frustration or regret or bitterness, David decided to do what he
could to show his devotion for the Lord. 

The suggested  "Lesson Bible Truth" is that devotion to the Lord involves
seeking and obeying His will above our personal agenda. The suggested
"Life Outcome" is to help us seek and obey the Lord's will above
everything else.

The record of David's life is recounted over more than one book of the
Bible. Events in his youth and young adult years are told in 1 Samuel 31.
His reign as king is recorded in 2 Samuel. His death is recounted in 1
Kings 1-2. A summary of his life is found in 1 Chron.. 11-29, which
focuses on the parts of David's life having to do with the covenant and
the temple. Most of 1 Chronicles is paralleled in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, or
1 Kings but 1 Chron. 22-29 has no parallel elsewhere in the Bible. 

Back in 1 Chron. 17:1 David told Nathan the prophet that he wanted to
build a house for the Lord. In Vs. 2 Nathan told David to go ahead. Then
in Vs 3-5 the Lord told Nathan to announce to David that he would not be
allowed to build the temple. The Lord also sent word to David that the
Lord would use David's son to build a house for Him. God then promised in
Vs. 11-14 to establish David's kingdom forever. 

In 1 Chron. 21:1-14 when David conducted a census contrary to God's will,
God sent a plague that could have wiped out Jerusalem. Because the plague
was stopped at the threshingfloor of Or'nan the Jebusite the Lord told
David in Vs. 15-18 to build an altar there. David, in Vs. 19-28,
purchased the place, built an altar, and made offerings. At the time ,
the tabernacle and altar of the Lord were in Gibeon. However, David made
preparations to have a temple built on the new site and place it where he
had built this altar.

Because of Solomon's youth and inexperience at the time, David did what
the could in making preparations for Solomon to build the temple after
David's death, including purchasing the property and gathering supplies. 

1. PLEASE READ 1 CHRONICLES 22: 1-5. 

The point of these verses is that we are each to do our best at what we
can do. Even though David was not permitted by God to build the temple to
house the Altar of the Burnt Offerings and the Ark of the Covenant, he
did what he could do. He collected and prepared the material with which
the temple would be built. He was even permitted to chose the site for
the temple.  

Two events occurred back in Ch. 21 that caused David to choose Ornan's
threshing floor as the site for the temple. David ordered a census, and
God brought judgment against him and against Israel because of the
census. 

God considered the census evil and began to punish Israel. David
confessed to God that he, not Israel, had sinned in taking the census and
asked God to take away his guilt.  Of the three choices God gave David as
punishment for his sin, David chose in 1 Chron 21:13 to "fall into the
hands of the Lord for his mercy is very great." God sent a plague on
Israel and 70 thousand men died. You will want to read David's
intercessor prayer in 1 Chron. 21:17. Then God sent an angel to destroy
Jerusalem, but God stopped him when he reached Ornan's threshing floor,
leaving him sanding between heaven and earth with a drawn sword over
Jerusalem.

When David saw the angel, he and the elders began to pray for God to
remove the plague. The angel ordered Gad, a prophet, to tell David to
build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan and the plague
would stop. David went to Ornan and offered to buy the threshing floor in
order to build and altar. Ornan tried to give it to David, but David said
in 21:24, "I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a
burnt offering that costs me nothing." So David purchased the site (about
12 acres)  and offered an offering to the Lord. David called on the Lord
and the Lord answered with fire upon the offering. The plague ended, 
Then David said, "The house of the Lord God is to be here." 

This site was in the region where Abraham came to sacrifice Isaac. It was
called Mount Moriah, a fortress occupied by the Jebucites before David
captured it. It came to be called "the City of David." Three temples
eventually stood on this site: the temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and
Herod. Today, the Muslim mosque "Dome of the Rock" stands on this site. 

David instructed that the altar of burnt offering for Israel be brought
to the house that was to be built there. At that time the tabernacle and
the altar of burnt offering was at Gibeon. The ark was already in
Jerusalem in a tent David pitched for it. The Ark's presence in a tent
was one reason David wanted to build a permanent house for it. 

Nathan had declared that one of  David's sons would build the house for
the Lord. He didn't say which one. Later, God revealed to David that
Solomon would build the temple David had many sons. Solomon is listed as
his tenth son. He was Bathsheba's first son to live. Her first child died
soon after being born. 

Bathsheba's second son was named Solomon, meaning "The Peaceable One."
Scripture says that "the Lord loved him" and because He did, He "sent
word thru Nathan the prophet to name the baby Jedidiah," which means
"Beloved of the Lord." The birth of Solomon was a sign of God's mercy,
forgiveness, and continued love for David.

Since Solomon was to be the one to build the Lord's house, David began
thinking about his son. He realized that Solomon was young and
inexperienced. At that time Solomon probably was still in his teens. Old
Testament scholars say anywhere between 12 and 17 years of age. He came
to the throne several years later. Solomon was inexperienced, David was
very experienced and had built his own "palace of cedar," and other
buildings for himself in The City of David.

David said in Vs. 5  that God's house "should be of great magnificence
and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations." David wanted the
temple to be of such splendor that it would be a marvel to other nations.
Later, David said that "this palatial structure is not for man but for
the Lord God." Solomon later, in 2 Chron. 2:5 expressed his reason for
building a great temple: He said "The temple I am going to build will be
great, because our God is greater than all other Gods." Both David and
Solomon wanted a house worthy of the Lord God. 

To get the project under way, David said in Vs. 5, "I will make
preparations for it." Therefore, he made extensive preparations before
his death. The preparations included building plans, materials,
administration of the temple activities, and various aspects of worship.
The materials David provided were so great the Scriptures says in 22:3-4,
the bronze was too much to be weighed and the cedar logs were too many to
be counted. 

If the numbers are understood in terms of today's currency, one O.T.
researcher  estimated that David collected around 100 billion dollars
worth of materials. By any measure, David made extensive preparations,
taking "great pains to provide for the temple." He did his best to do
what he could toward getting a house built for the Lord.

Someone has said that we can do much for the Lord if we don't care who
gets the credit. History calls the temple "Solomon's Temple." David
didn't get credit for building it, but he did get the project started and
enabled Solomon to build it. David identified what he could do and did
it. As king, he had contacts and power to find and gather materials.
Young Solomon would not have had that advantage. David was content to see
his dream realized thru his son because David  was more devoted to God
than to his dream.       

Have you ever noticed how God  uses different leaders for different
tasks? He has different kinds of servants who are gifted with particular
abilities. One reason God brings us together as a body of believers is so
we can work together, using our unique abilities in cooperative efforts
for His glory. Leaders have different leadership styles, and people who
follow have varying skills that are necessary to completing tasks
successfully. 

2. PLEASE READ 1 CHRONICLES 22: 6-10.

David's experience teaches us that God can use different ways to get His
will done. What we plan might not be possible or according to God's will
and wisdom, but all things are possible with Him. 

After making extensive preparations for building the temple, David called
for his son Solomon. Solomon was not David's oldest son. Adonijah was
David's fourth son and may have been his oldest surviving son. 

Near the end of David's life, Adonijah gathered all of his brothers
(except Solomon) and most of the royal officials and led them to declare
him David's successor. They proclaimed, "Long  live the King Adonijah!"
When David heard this, he ordered Solomon to be named Israel's next king.
David had Solomon anointed and had the people shout, "Long live king
Solomon." David said in , 1 Chron 28:5, "Of all my sons--and the Lord has
given me many--he has chosen my son               Solomon to sit on the
throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel". Solomon became Israel's
next king and built the temple. 

When David called Solomon to him, he charged him to build a house for the
Lord, the God of Israel. That charge was a command to Solomon from David
as his father and as his king. Steven mentioned in his speech to the
Sanhedrin in Acts 7:47 that Solomon built the dwelling place that David
had wanted to build. From the time of Moses, the dwelling place for God
had  been a tent, the tabernacle. Now God's dwelling place would be a
house, a permanent place. All people would know that the house of the God
of Israel was located at Jerusalem. 

David began his charge by relating to Solomon how the plans to build the
temple all came about. David first told how he had it in his heart to
build the temple. Solomon said later that God told David in 1 Kings 8: 18
"Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well
to have this in your heart." 

How did David come to have building a house for God in his heart? David
conquered Jerusalem, made his residence in the fortress there, and
"became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with
him." A palace was built there for David, and he settled down in his
palatial home of cedar. David had the ark brought to Jerusalem and placed
in a tent. This situation must have weighed on David's mind and
conscience, because he said to Nathan in 1 Chron. 17:1, "Here I am,
living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is
under a tent."  The ark deserves a better home.

The Lord also gave David rest from all his enemies around him. Many of
David's victories are summarized in 1 Chron. 18:1-14. The verses 6 and 13
in that chapter, the Scripture says, "The Lord gave David victory every
where he went." The Scripture says in 1 Chron 18:13 "David reigned over
all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people". Solomon
later said in 1 Kings 5:3 that "David could not build a temple for the
Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet."
This time of victory and relative calm provided an opportunity to build a
house for the Name of the Lord his God. This desire must have continued 
to grow in David's heart. 

David began making plans to build, but this word of the Lord came to him.
God intervened and changed David's plans. We already have seen in this
lesson that God told Nathan to tell David he could not build the house of
God, but that one of his sons would build it. Nathan did not name which
son or give the reason David could not build God's house. In this charge
to Solomon David revealed why God would not let him build the temple. God
said "You have shed much blood and have fought many wars." 

David's life had been that of a warrior. He had taken God's people,
molded them into a nation, and led them to drive out their enemies and
defend themselves against all danger. Therefore, God said "You are not to
build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth
in my sight." The saying is true: "Man proposes but God disposes."   

God would not let David build the temple. God had a different way for it
to be done. David told Solomon that God had said, "But you will have a
son who will be a man of peace and rest." David was known as a man of
war: Solomon would be a man of peace. Also, Solomon seemed to suggest
later in 1 Kings 5:3 that David did not have time to build the temple
because "of the wars waged against my father David from all sides."
Solomon inherited a kingdom in which David had overpowered his enemies,
and had brought peace, prosperity, and security to Israel.

Thru David God told Solomon, "I will give him  (Solomon) rest from all
his enemies on every side". Solomon's comment in 1 Kings 5:4 on the peace
in his kingdom when he became king in contrast to his father David's
reign, was: "But now the Lord God has given me rest on every side, and
there is no adversary or disaster."

God gave Solomon a kingdom where peace prevailed. And the Lord protected
Solomon's kingdom during his reign while Solomon built the temple. God
said that Solomon "will be my son and I will be his father." Using the
analogy of a family, beginning with Solomon, God promised a special
relationship with David's descendants who would sit on his throne. This
relationship required faithfulness and obedience from the son and
promised protection and provisions from the father.     

Furthermore, God promised: "I will establish the throne of his kingdom
over Israel forever." God's kingdom and Solomon's kingdom would be
intertwined. God ruled in His kingdom over all the earth. Solomon would
be God's king thru whom God would rule over His people Israel. Solomon's
throne, not Solomon, would be established forever. The day would arrive
when Christ would come as Son of David to occupy the throne forever.

God had an overall plan He was working out. He was in the midst of
Israel, preparing a people for Himself. He led Israel to construct the
portable tabernacle during their  wilderness journey, so he could dwell
in their midst. When Israel became a settled nation, God led David thru
Solomon to construct the temple where God dwelt with Israel in the midst
of their nation. Then, God sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, thru whom
He dwelt among His people.  

David was on target with his desire to build the temple. However, God
wanted it built by Solomon so it would be associated with peace instead
of war. We must remember that God has a better way to work out His plans
when our blueprints for those plans are rejected. 

3. PLEASE READ 1 CHRONICLES 22: 11-13. 

In these three verses David blessed his son. In that blessing we will
understand what God says is the real secret of success. David's first
word of blessing was: "the Lord be with you." One truth about David from
the day Samuel anointed him was that the Lord was with him. Because of
the Lord's presence David had been successful as a king. Solomon also
would need the Lord's presence to be successful.

God had promised that Solomon would build the temple. God's presence with
Solomon was his assurance of success. Solomon was to rely on the Lord's
presence and claim His promise that the king would build the Lord's
house. 

For the Lord to rule his people thru Solomon, Solomon needed to know
God's will and how to carry it out as Israel's king. Later, when Solomon
became king, God asked him what he wanted. Solomon asked in 1 Kings 3:9
that God give him a "discerning heart to govern  his people and to
distinguish between right and wrong.' The discretion and understanding
that David pronounced upon Solomon would enable Solomon to keep the law
of the Lord his God. 

David said that Solomon would have success as king if he was careful to
observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. This
promise is reminiscent of the Lord's words to Joshua in Joshua 1:7: "Be
careful to obey all the law, do not turn from it to the right or to the
left, that you may be successful wherever you go." Thru his decrees and
laws, God would instruct and lead Solomon to lead Israel. Therefore,
David challenged Solomon to be strong and courageous and not to be afraid
or discouraged.

David demonstrated that success is not wealth, fame, or power. Success is
living by God's wisdom and obeying His commands. When David ignored and
disobeyed God's laws, he failed in God's sight. David was trying to teach
Solomon what he had learned the hard way. Building the temple would not
make Solomon a success, but seeking God's heart and obeying His will
would. We need to remember this same secret to success.

4. PLEASE READ 1 CHRONICLES 22: 17-19. 

David used the past blessings of God to motivate the leaders to work with
Solomon during his reign. He reminded them of God's presence: "Is not the
Lord your God with you?" He further reminded them of God's victory over
their enemies. "And has he not granted you rest on every side?" Israel's
present condition was peaceful and quiet. Thru David the Lord had
conquered Israel's enemies and now "the land is subject to the Lord and
to his people. Enemy kings had been destroyed and the Lord ruled over the
land thru His king and His people.

The leaders were to seek the Lord and begin building the sanctuary of the
Lord God. Building the temple would allow them to bring the ark of the
covenant of the Lord, the symbol of God's presence, into the temple along
with the other sacred articles that belonged to the Lord. 

David was driven by devotion to seek the Lord. He challenged Solomon to
be devoted to seeking and obeying the Lord. Israel's leaders also needed
to be driven by that same devotion as they helped Solomon build the
temple. God looks at our hearts to see what motivates us. We need to seek
Him until we too are driven by devotion. 

 NEXT SUNDAY WE WILL LOOK AT THE FINAL LESSON FROM THE LIFE OF DAVID AS
WE FOCUS ON HOW TO MAKE OUR LIVES COUNT FOR THE LORD.
A. V. DAUGHERTY   MAY 21, 2000.