Please turn to 1 Chronicles 17, the first two verses.
And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord dwelleth under curtains.
And Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.—1 Chronicles 17:1-2
Now turn to 1 Chronicles 22, verses 2 through 5.
And David commanded to gather together the sojourners that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight;
and cedar-trees without number: for the Sidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.
For David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.—1 Chronicles 22:2-5
The same chapter, verses 14 through 16.
Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance; timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.
Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all men that are skilful in any manner of work;
of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.—1 Chronicles 22:14-16
Then 1 Chronicles 29, verses 1 through 5.
And David the king said unto all the assembly, Solomon my son, whom God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.
Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the brass for the things of brass, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
Moreover also, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of mine own of gold and silver, I give it unto the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house;
even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;
of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto the Lord?—1 Chronicles 29:1-5
We go back to 1 Chronicles 28, verse 11.
Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch of the temple, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper rooms thereof, and of the inner chambers thereof, and of the place of the mercy-seat;
and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasuries of the house of God, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things.—1 Chronicles 28:11-12
Then verse 19:
All this, said David, have I been made to understand in writing from the hand of the Lord, even all the works of this pattern.
—1 Chronicles 28:19
Two months ago, we mentioned that David was a man after God’s own heart. This is expressed in a very special way in his preparation for the house of God.
We mentioned how David actually ascended the throne of all Israel. The first thing he did was to take Jerusalem. Evidently, he must have received a revelation from the Lord that Jerusalem was the place of God’s choice.
Even before the children of Israel entered into the promised land, in Deuteronomy God told the children of Israel that, after they entered the promised land, God would choose one place out of all the places in the promised land where He would set His name.
To this place all the children of Israel must go, to offer sacrifices and to worship. But after hundreds of years, no one knew what that place was. Until David came to the throne, the first thing he did was to take Jerusalem, because Jerusalem was the place of God’s choice. There God set His name, and to that place all Israel was to go to sacrifice and worship.
Jerusalem, the city of peace, is where God’s name is.
The second thing he did was to prepare a tent. A long time before, he removed the ark of God from Kirjath-jearim to the tent which he had pitched for it on Mount Zion, where the royal palace was. Of course, Zion always represents the throne.
The ark being removed to Zion, to the tent of David, speaks of the authority of God being set among His people.
Thirdly, we find that he did something wrong. He numbered the people, and because of that a plague came upon the whole nation. When he saw the angel of destruction over Jerusalem, he repented before God and cried to the Lord, saying, “It is my fault, not theirs. Spare the people, and strike me.”
God said, “Go up to the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, where the angel stood, and build an altar there.” So he went to Mount Moriah, and there, on the threshing floor of Ornan, he built an altar, called upon the name of the Lord, and prayed to the Lord. We know this was the site of the future temple.
So, brothers and sisters, you find in these three places—Jerusalem, Zion, and Moriah—a kind of preparation for the building of the house of God: Jerusalem, where God’s name is placed; Zion, where God’s throne is set; and Moriah, where the altar of God is.
A temple would be built on the site of Moriah; it would be joined to Zion, and it would be in Jerusalem.
So, brothers and sisters, in preparing for the house of God, first, God’s people must come together under the name of the Lord Jesus, and no other name. Second, God’s people must be under the rule of God. The throne of God must be set among them. Third, there must be the altar; that is to say, there must be dedication and consecration unto the Lord for the whole house.
At least, these are preparations for the building of God’s house. Now, this evening we would like to continue on with David’s preparation for the house.
David was in his palace, and one day he said to Nathan the prophet, “How can I live in a house of cedar, and the ark of God still remains under curtains?”
It is true that David had removed the ark from Kirjath-jearim, the field of the woods, where it had been hidden and forgotten by the children of Israel. David moved the ark of God to Mount Zion; that is to say, God was put in His rightful place among His people.
David did a great deal for God. But still, in his heart, he said, “How can I live in a house of cedar, a permanent place, and the ark of God—which represents God Himself, His glory, and His presence—remain under curtains?” It had only a temporary dwelling place. He could not endure it.
You remember, according to Psalm 132, he said:
I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
Or slumber to mine eyelids;
Until I find out a place for the Lord,
A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob.—Psalm 132:4-5
Other people may say they have done much for the Lord. The Lord was forgotten, the ark was forgotten, and now it was in its rightful place. What more could David do?
But nothing was enough, because David’s service unto the Lord was not merely a matter of duty. It was a matter of love.
You know, brothers and sisters, sometimes we do serve the Lord, but sometimes our service is motivated by duty. We feel there is something that we must do. Being a Christian, being one who belongs to the Lord, there are certain things that we have to do. If we do not do these things, we have not done our duty.
How often our service to the Lord is a matter of duty. So far as duty is concerned, probably David could have said, “I have done my duty.” But not David.
David’s service unto the Lord was motivated by love. Because it was motivated by love, he could not rest until he did everything he could to satisfy God, until he did what God really desired.
But, dear brothers and sisters, you know God had never asked for that. David had this desire to build God a house, and Nathan said, “Go ahead and do it, because the Lord is with you.” You know, when the Lord is with you, you have a certain liberty.
But the word of the Lord came to Nathan and said, “Go and tell My servant David, ‘You say you want to build a house for Me. I have never asked for it. All these years I have traveled with the children of Israel, through the wilderness and even in the promised land, from one place to another. I have never asked any leader to build Me a house. I have never said it. I have never required it. Yet you want to build a house for Me.’”
Does it mean that God did not desire it?
If we read behind the words, we know that God really desired it, but somehow He never said it. I think He was waiting for someone who could understand His heart so perfectly and offer to do it for Him.
I wonder if something like this sometimes happens to you. There may be someone whom you love very much, and who loves you very much. Do you think you will tell that person everything you want?
If you tell that person everything you want, and he does everything that you have said, he is only doing what you told him. But if you really love that person, and that person really loves you, oftentimes the thing that you really want, you will never say it. You do not need to.
You do not want to make it a matter of duty. You want that person who loves you and knows you so well that he will volunteer to give it to you. And when he does volunteer to give it to you, it is such a joy.
Isn’t that something like what happens in our human relationships?
Here was something that God wanted above all things. He wanted to dwell among His people permanently. But He never came out and asked anybody to build a house for Him. He never did—not even today.
He was waiting and waiting until someone like David, who knew God so well, who knew His heart so well, would take the initiative, as it were, and say, “Lord, I am going to build a house for You.”
We often say that in spiritual things you cannot take the initiative. In spiritual things there is no liberty for man to do what he likes. For instance, in the building of the tabernacle, God did not give Moses any leeway. God told Moses everything concerning the tabernacle, and they were not allowed to change even a bit.
So we often think that in spiritual things man cannot take the initiative. Men cannot just do whatever they think is good for God. In spiritual things, you need to wait upon the Lord. You need to know what God wants. You need to do everything according to His specifications.
Brothers and sisters, this is true—very true.
There is something according to God’s purpose. Surely God desired to have a house. But according to experience, God did not come out and say it. Somehow, God will wait until that life understands God perfectly and volunteers, as if he takes the initiative. But actually, he is just doing what he knows God desires.
So there is no contradiction. It is still according to His purpose, but this purpose is to be known by a life relationship. When this purpose is known, you offer it. You do not wait until God says it. Why? Because behind everything is this relationship.
Brothers and sisters, what does God really desire? He wants to make His home among His people. He wants to rest among His people, not just as a guest.
This is something we have, as it were, to know. Actually, there is no guessing, because you know Him so intimately. You know what is in His heart, and He knows it. It is for you to follow. It is for you to take the initiative, as if you are suggesting it to God; but you are only suggesting what He has revealed to you.
This is a big principle in prayer. How do we pray? Sometimes it is as if we are taking the initiative. We are asking God for something; we are praying for something. The truth is, you first receive from Him. You know Him so well, you know that it is His will, and you just pray what He desires. But it is He who first reveals it to you.
So, dear brothers and sisters, in our love relationship with the Lord, this is something that we need to know voluntarily, and not something that must be told definitely and specifically.
God did not tell David to build, perhaps because He had never asked for it, but David volunteered to build a house.
Think of the children of Israel when they came back from the Babylonian captivity. As you know, in Ezra, when the remnant came back to Jerusalem to rebuild the house, there was a command. God commanded through King Cyrus that any one of His people who was in captivity and wanted to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of God might do so.
But unfortunately, only a remnant of the Jewish people returned. Most people remained in captivity. There was a command from God, but they did not respond.
Those few who came back started to build the temple, but they met with opposition. So they stopped the work for about fourteen years. During those fourteen years, do you know what they did? Instead of building the house of God, they were all building their own houses.
So, under God, the prophet Haggai came to them and said, “You say, ‘This is not the time to build the house of God.’ You do not give up building the house of God, but you say, ‘This is not the time to build the house of God.’ Is it time for you to build your own houses?”
Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your ceiled houses, while this house lieth waste?
Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.—Haggai 1:4-6
Because you put your house first and God’s house last.
David did not even need God to command him, and he offered to build God’s house. But when the remnant returned from captivity, they were commanded to build the house of God, and yet they said it was not the time.
Oh, brothers and sisters, we need to be exercised before the Lord. Is this the time that we build our own houses and let the house of God lie in ruin?
When David offered to build God a house, God did not say, “I have never asked for it. I am deeply touched, but you are not going to build it. Wait a minute. Let Me build your house first.”
God said, in effect, “You cannot build My house. I do not want you to build it. Wait a minute. Let Me build your house first. After I build your house, then your house will be able to build My house.”
That is a principle in the Bible. If we put God first, He will take care of us in all that we may be able to serve Him. But if we put ourselves first and become occupied with our own house, God is not responsible to build our lives or His house.
So how we need to exercise before the Lord. As the chorus says:
Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
And His righteousness;
And all these things shall be added unto you.
Are we here to build God’s house, or are we here to put ourselves first and give whatever is left to God? Are we here living for God? Are we here living to build the house of God, that He may find rest and satisfaction among His people?
Oh, brothers and sisters, if we seek to satisfy God’s house first, we will be satisfied. If we do not, no matter how much we provide for ourselves, there is always an emptiness, something unfulfilled. You will never be full; you will never be satisfied.
The result was that God told David, “Your son Solomon will build My house.” God put His consideration upon it. David accepted it, and by that God’s house was eventually built.
God told David, “You are not to do it, but your son is to do it.” Now probably, if we were in that position, what would we do? We might say, “There is a lot of time. I have offered, but He has not accepted. So what else can I do? I will just sit back and enjoy myself.”
But not David. Even though he was rejected, as it were, by God from building the house himself, the Bible says that he prepared abundantly before his death.
He was not allowed to build it because he was a man of war; he had shed too much blood. What did he do? He prepared.
He did not just say, “Well, since God did not want me to build it, all right, I will leave it for my son.” He took out all the materials needed for the building of the house. He said, “Solomon my son is young and tender. Therefore, I must prepare. I must get everything ready.”
How did he prepare? He said, “In my affliction I have prepared a hundred thousand talents of gold, a thousand thousand talents of silver, brass and iron without measure.” Think of it. He said, “In my affliction,” not in my peaceful days.
David was a man of war. He fought many battles. He went through many afflictions. He was opposed by many. In his many fightings, in his afflictions, he prepared such an abundance of materials for the building of the house.
Every time he was afflicted, every time he went to war, every time the Lord God was with him and he overcame the enemy, he gained spoil. Did he take the spoil for himself? No. He set apart the best of the spoil for the building of God’s house.
Brothers and sisters, in one sense we are God’s building. We are not only to build God’s house, but we are the materials for the building. We are living stones, being built up together into a spiritual house.
But in another sense, in our application, out of the spoils of our battles, we set apart the best for the building of God’s house.
Do not think that because you have a heart for the Lord, therefore the Lord will give you a smooth and easy life. Because you love the Lord, you will go through many testings. You will go through many trials. You will go through many temptations. You will go through many conflicts and many afflictions.
A Christian life is not an easy life. It is a life of conflict. Our flesh will be in conflict with the Spirit. The world will be in conflict with us. The enemy of God will try to tempt us and lead us astray. You find that the Christian life is like warfare.
Sometimes you wonder why God allows all these things to come. Why does not God give you a peaceful, restful, smooth, easy life? Why do all these circumstances, trials, and conflicts come into your life? You wonder why.
Is it because God does not love us? We say He loves us; He will protect us; He will deliver us from all these things. We are talking too much.
Because without conflict, there will be no spoil; and if there is no spoil, there is no material for the building. It is through these trials and testings and temptations and conflicts that we learn Christ.
These are the spoils. What we have gained by overcoming our enemies becomes material for the building of God’s house.
The reason why some people do not have much material for the building of God’s house is because they do not have much spoil. In other words, they are defeated. If you are defeated, you do not have spoil; then you have nothing.
You are in the house, of course. But every time, by the grace of God, you win a victory, remember what is left is your spoil, and that is the very thing that can be used in the building.
David accumulated a hundred thousand talents of gold and a thousand thousand talents of silver, with brass and iron in abundance. Where did he get all these things? War after war, battle after battle—much spoil.
Brothers and sisters, take heart. Do not be discouraged if you are in trial. Just look up to the Lord, and out of the trials will come spoil for the building. That is the way to gain it.
What you learn of the Lord, what you learn of yourself, what you learn of the enemy, what experience you have, what you learn of the word of God—these are the things that really are spoil.
Then David said not only, “Out of my affliction I have prepared,” but he also said, “Because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given of mine own property.”
There is not only a question of spoil, but there is affection too. There is not only the spoil from battles, but there are the goods that he accumulated during peaceful days.
So he said, “Because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have taken out of my own possessions, my own property, my own treasure: three thousand talents of gold of Ophir—that is the best—and seven thousand talents of refined silver.” Not just silver, but refined silver. Over and above all that I have prepared.
You know, our life is not all battle. If our life were all battle, we would be exhausted. God knows. You will go through a time of battle and a time of fighting, and then a time of peace. God knows how to lead us.
When you are in battle, you gain spoil for the Lord. When you are at rest, you accumulate possessions for the Lord. In your quiet time, in your personal life with the Lord, in communion with the Lord, in those quiet and peaceful days, you learn. What you learn of the Lord is gold of Ophir and refined silver, which you can offer to the Lord.
David had prepared all these things. How did he do it? He had offered according to all his power. In other words, he could do a lot, and that is why you find such a large amount of material prepared. He said, “According to all my power.” He was not doing just a little for the Lord. No, he did all that was in his power.
You remember when Mary came to the Lord. She broke the alabaster cruse and poured a pound of pure nard upon Him. The disciples complained, and Judas, who loved money very much, said, “Why this waste? This pound of ointment could be sold for three hundred denarii. Why not sell it and give it to the poor? Why waste it upon the Lord?”
And the Lord said of her, “She hath done what she could.”
That was all she had: a pound of pure ointment. That was all she could do, and she did it all.
One day, you remember, our Lord was standing by the treasury in the temple. People came in to offer. Probably, because there were many people there, some would lift their money up high so it would drop down and make a bigger noise. Perhaps they wanted the Lord to see how much they had offered.
Then a widow came. She was so poor, but she had something. She put in two mites, which made a farthing. But she gave more than all, because she gave all that she had.
Brothers and sisters, have we done what we could? The Lord does not require more than that.
The Bible says David prepared not just a little, but according to all his power, because he loved the Lord.
Then David did not only have a desire to build God’s house. He had not only prepared such an abundance of material for the building of God’s house. He also had the pattern.
If he prepared the materials but did not have the pattern, everything probably would be wasted. It might be misused, and when something was built, it might not be God’s house. Then everything would end up in vanity.
But thank God, David said, “God showed me the pattern,” and all the things that are connected with the house. God showed it by His Spirit.
Now, I do not know how David received all this. I wonder whether, in this particular case, David was more like a draftsman. An architect has the design, the thought, and the concept. The draftsman puts the architect’s concept into drawing.
The concept was God’s, not David’s. God showed David, and David, just as a draftsman, put it down—all the specifications. With that, Solomon was able to build according to the design.
We need to have a design to build God’s house. We need to prepare materials for the building, but we also need the pattern.
Where can we find the pattern of the house of God today? It is in the word of God, and by His Spirit we will be led into the truth.
I want to emphasize this: first, we find all the divine principles concerning the house of God in the word of God. We are not to invent any principles by which the church of God is to be built.
Unfortunately, there are many who think they are clever enough to invent principles. But we are not supposed to. The principles governing the house of God can be found in the word of God.
But how do you apply them? You have to be led by the Spirit.
There is a problem. Some people do not read the Bible. They do not know the word of God. They do not try to go to the word to find out the divine principles. They just say, “We love the Lord. We are guided by the Spirit. If our spirit moves, we will just go and do it.”
The Holy Spirit cannot be wrong, but you may be wrong. The Holy Spirit cannot be wrong, but your spirit may be wrong. What if you are wrong? You misunderstand.
Then there is another extreme. Some people say, “Go to the word. Give me the verse, and I will do it.” All right, you get the verse. But you get only the letter, and you try to do it.
Remember, the word of God is the sword of the Spirit. If you take the word of God and use it as your sword apart from the Spirit, you will cut people into pieces. The word of God must be handled by the Spirit.
All the divine principles in the Bible must be applied by the Spirit of Christ. We have these principles, but how are these principles going to be applied? Let the Spirit of God lead.
Then you will find everything is living and real. It is not just a dead thing. You may be very orthodox; you may be very scriptural; but the letter kills.
I do not in any sense despise the word of God, but divine principles must be applied by the Spirit. Brothers and sisters, the pattern of the house is in the word of God. We all can find it, and as we wait upon Him, we are given an understanding of these principles and learn to be led by the Spirit of God.
Then you will find the house of God, the church of the living God, becomes a reality, and God will have His habitation.
So, dear brothers and sisters, these are beautiful principles. May the Lord speak to us.
God has desires. If you are willing, is it not a blessed thing to know what He wants? There is no compulsion and no force. If you really love God, you want to know what He loves and what He desires.
Oh, how necessary it is that every day we are prepared for the building of the house, and also that, when it is built, it may be according to His design and not according to our own thoughts and ideas.
Lord, constrain us by Your love, that we may not be removed from the first love. Lord, we do not want our relationship with You to be on the basis of duty. We want our relationship with You to be a matter of love.
Give us understanding of Your heart, so that we may desire what Your heart desires.
Lord, do not allow us to do this just with empty words, but teach us how to prepare—prepare from our afflictions, according to all our power. And Lord, do what You reveal to us by Your Spirit.
Deliver us from just the letter. Lord, may we have a living spirit, and may Your Spirit quicken everything that needs to be done through Your house. In the Lord Jesus’ name, amen.