Title: Rise and Build the Temple of God
Arise and build the temple of God 1 Chronicles 22:14-19
David committed a grievous sin before God by ordering and urging the people of Israel to take a census, and after receiving a painful punishment from God, God offered a sacrifice for atonement. He took away the plague of the plague that caused the plague (1 Chronicles 21:1-14, 26-27). David decided that the place where God had forgiven his sins and made reconciliation with Israel was the site where God's temple should be built (1 Chronicles 22:1) and began all the preparations necessary for the building. We had masons work out the stones to build the temple of God (1 Chronicles 22:2), we prepared many railroads to make all kinds of nails, and we also prepared a lot of brass that could not be weighed (1 Chronicles 22:3). He also prepared countless cedars (1 Chronicles 22:4). David made many preparations until he died, saying that the temple to be built for God should be so magnificent that it should bring fame and glory to all nations (1 Chronicles 22:5).
Today's text tells us that David, who had completed his preparations, called Solomon and all the princes of Israel in turn to announce that the time had come to begin the construction of the temple. In verse 16, David said to Solomon, “Gold, silver, bronze, and iron are countless; get up and work. May the Lord be with you” and in verse 19, “Arise, build the temple of the Lord God, and bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the articles of the temple of God into the temple built for the name of the Lord.”
After ascending to the throne of Israel, it cannot be said that David was poor, who succeeded in battles with all the neighboring countries and received gifts and tributes from all the nations by bringing peace to the world. In fact, it must be said that he created enormous wealth. But he made himself poor by giving all of it to building the temple of God. This cannot be done without denying oneself. They put aside their pride, which puts their own luxury and comfort in the sight of God, and in the humility of denying themselves and making the glory of God their first and only goal, they gathered all the wealth they could have and dedicated it to the building of the temple.
There is one thing we must not forget. It is true that David didn't just call his son Solomon to build the temple. Read verses 11-12 just before the text: “Now, my son, the LORD wants to be with you, and you prosper and build the temple of the LORD your God, just as the LORD has spoken about you, and the LORD will give you wisdom and understanding. more to give you to rule over Israel, and to keep the law of the LORD your God.” David tells Solomon that he wants to build the temple of God, but what he wants more is that Solomon keeps God's law. David also did not forget to say that Solomon would prosper if he was careful to follow all the ordinances and laws that God commanded Israel through Moses (1 Chronicles 22:13). What does this fact teach us? Building a temple is important, but more importantly, obeying God's word and keeping faith.
What should not be forgotten while building the temple? It is to do what the church is supposed to do rightly and diligently. When it comes to building a temple, what should we not know that God will ignore us? The church is not doing what it should be doing under the pretext of building. A common phrase we hear over and over again is, “We need to build, but let’s not do this, let’s get rid of that. Some people say, “Why do you say that you are doing the same thing when you need to build the temple?” And I hear people complaining about it. No matter how hard you try to explain and understand, a person who decides not to listen and complains can't do anything about it, but he must know the teachings of the Bible and complain.
What did David say to all the princes of Israel when he instructed them to build the temple? Look at verse 19 again: “Now seek the LORD your God with all your heart and all your mind. Then get up and build the temple of the Lord God, and bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the articles of the temple of God into the temple built for the name of the Lord.” We must listen to David's words. It means that there are things that take precedence over the building of the temple. Before David said, “Build the temple of God,” he said, “Seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.” “And get up” to build the temple of God.
What does it mean to “seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul”? “Seek the Lord your God” means to find out where God’s will is. It is knowing what is pleasing to God. It is to do the will of God and please him. So let him be with us. Only then will you be qualified to build the temple of God. God is far away from us, but we do not know where God is, so what can we do by building a temple? The temple is a blessing to us only when God is with us. When we seek God first and always with all our hearts and minds, we will be able to get up and build the temple, and the construction will be accomplished smoothly by God's grace, and the completed construction will bring glory to God and a blessing to us. there will be
Now, the day of the dedication for the construction of the new temple, which we have all been waiting for for a long time, is approaching in two weeks. For the next two weeks, we want to become those who pray with all our hearts and seek God's will. I hope that we will become thoroughly humble before God. May I have the determination to deny myself like David. And above all, I hope that we can all become more and more worthy of faith and faithful to the mission of the church as we build the temple. And let us rise and build the temple.