Глава 28

1–21. David's last orders and instructions to Solomon regarding the construction of the church. 1 Chronicles 28:1. And David gathered to Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes and the heads of departments who served the king, and the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and those in charge of all the property and herds of the king and his sons with the eunuchs, the commanders of the army and all the brave men. Since the instructions addressed to Solomon regarding the construction of the church should have been accompanied, according to David, by an invitation to the people's representatives to donate to the church (1 Chronicles 29:5 etc.) and the enthronement of Solomon in their presence (1 Chronicles 29:22), they were given at a meeting of “all the leaders of Israel.” Of these, “chiefs of the tribes” (1 Chronicles 27:16–22), “chiefs of departments” are named, i.e. 12 corps of the army that served David (1 Chronicles 27:1–15), subordinate commanders of thousands and hundreds, “who were in charge of all the king’s property and flocks” (1 Chronicles 27:25–31), eunuchs (1 Samuel 8:15) and all the brave. 1 Chronicles 28:2. And King David stood on his feet and said: Listen to me, my brothers and my people! It was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and as a footstool for the feet of our God, and I prepared what was needed for the building. 1 Chronicles 28:3. But God said to me: Do not build a house for My name, because you are a warlike man and have shed blood. 1 Chronicles 28:4. However, the Lord God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever, because He chose Judah as a prince, and in the house of Judah was the house of my father, and from among my father’s sons He was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 1 Chronicles 28:5. Of all my sons, for the Lord has given me many sons, He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel, 1 Chronicles 28:6. and he said to me: Solomon your son will build my house and my courts, because I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his Father; 1 Chronicles 28:7. And I will establish his kingdom forever, if he remains steadfast in doing My commandments and My statutes, as to this day. 1 Chronicles 28:8. And now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the ears of our God, I say: keep and keep all the commandments of the Lord your God, so that you may possess this good land and leave it behind you as an inheritance to your children forever; 1 Chronicles 28:9. and you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, for the Lord searches all hearts and knows all the movements of thoughts. If you seek Him, you will find Him, and if you leave Him, He will leave you forever. 1 Chronicles 28:10. See, then, when the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary, be strong and do it. The king, weak from old age, stands up to address the assembly with a speech. In its first half, which points out the impossibility of the king’s desire to build a church to Jehovah, in which the Ark of the Covenant would always reside, and explains the reasons for this (verse 3), the general and main idea is conveyed that in the life of David the main role was played not by his intention and strength, but by the will and determination of God. The prosperity of all Israel depends on Him. Therefore, he, now represented by his leaders, must be faithful to God. Devotion to Him is the only condition for eternal possession of the land of Canaan (v. 8). Likewise, Solomon’s fate is entirely dependent on God (v. 9). Faithful to him in everything, he, Solomon, in particular, must fulfill the responsibility assigned to him by God Himself to build the church (vv. 10, 16). Solomon must draw the strength necessary for this, as explained in the second part of his speech, from the idea that at present the work on building the church is facilitated by his father David, who has now compiled and passed on to his son drawings of the church and outbuildings, an inventory of its accessories and the materials required for their preparation (vv. 11-18), and in the future they will be facilitated by the help of God himself (vv. 20) and the assistance of experienced builders, as well as all the people, ready to carry out the orders of their king (v. 21). You might be interested in: