Will you please turn to 1 Chronicles? We have been going through the Old Testament, and this morning we come to 1 Chronicles.
And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.
And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither.
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.
And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was chief.
And David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the city of David.
And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about; and Joab repaired the rest of the city.
And David waxed greater and greater; for the Lord of hosts was with him.
And David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, even with every leader.
And David said unto all the assembly of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and if it be of the Lord our God, let us send abroad everywhere unto our brethren that are left in all the land of Israel, with whom the priests and Levites are in their cities that have suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:
And let us bring again the ark of our God to us; for we sought not unto it in the days of Saul.
And all the assembly said that they would do so; for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
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 thine heart; for God is with thee.
Dear Heavenly Father, how we do praise and thank Thee that we may gather together unto the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of this, we know that Thy presence is here with us.
In Thy presence there is fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. We do worship Thee, Lord. As we linger in Thy presence, we ask that Thou wilt speak to us through Thy precious Word.
Do open Thy Word to us, and open our hearts to Thy Word, that Thy Word may really become life and spirit to us, that Thou mayest be honored and glorified. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
The First and Second Books of Chronicles were originally one book. You find that they appear in the Hebrew Bible in the third division, called the Writings.
The title in the Hebrew Bible for these two books of Chronicles is The Words of Days, or The Book of the Events of the Time.
And in the Septuagint—that is, the seventy men who translated the Bible from Hebrew to Greek—the title of the book is Paraleipomena, because it is considered supplementary to what has already been written.
We have the title Chronicles, and this began in the fourth century A.D. A casual reading of the Book of Chronicles will tell you that it is a compilation. In other words, the author collects and selects from different sources, and then puts them together into these writings.
If you read 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles very carefully, you are able to find these sources. For instance, in 1 Chronicles 9, we have the genealogy, and there it tells us that the genealogy is according to the book of the kings of Israel.
Or, in 1 Chronicles 29:29, you find that the history of David is according to the prophecy of Samuel the seer, the book of Nathan the prophet, and the book of Gad the seer.
Or if you turn to 2 Chronicles 9, you will find that the story of Solomon is according to the prophecy of Nathan and the vision of Iddo. So, as you look through the two books, you will find at least twelve sources from which these books were collected.
We have the general history of the covenanted people of God in the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings. Now, why do we have 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles?
You will find that when the author gathered the materials together and put them into writing, he had no intention of giving us again the general history of the covenanted people of God—that is, the history of that nation and kingdom from David until the time of the Babylonian exile.
When he collected these materials and put them into writing, he had some specific purpose behind it. In other words, the history given here serves as a background. With this background, he is trying to put forth a theme, a subject, a purpose.
That subject, that theme, that purpose, is worship. So you find that the whole history given in these two books of Chronicles is centered upon worship—upon Levitical worship, upon the temple, upon the religious life, the spiritual life, of God’s covenanted people.
Who is the writer of these two books of Chronicles? Now, we know for sure that these books could not have been written before the decree of King Cyrus.
Why? Because at the end of 2 Chronicles, I think in chapter 36, the book ends with the decree of Cyrus. So it had to be written after that decree was issued.
Then, if you read 1 Chronicles 3 very carefully, you find that the genealogy given there traces Zerubbabel to his grandchildren. So approximately, you know when this book was composed: it was during the time of Ezra.
If you compare the end of 2 Chronicles with the beginning of Ezra, you will find that they are identical. In other words, the end of 2 Chronicles is the beginning of Ezra.
So most people believe—the rabbis, the early church fathers, and evangelical commentators—that 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles are the work of Ezra the priest.
The reason these two books of Chronicles were written is that, at the time of Ezra, the remnant of the children of Israel had already returned to Jerusalem, and Levitical worship was being resumed.
Ezra composed these two books of Chronicles to give them a history of what had gone before, in order to strengthen their faith and their faithfulness unto God in the area of worship.
In 1 Samuel, we find that the kingdom was formed in Saul according to the responsibility of man. Then in 2 Samuel, you find that the kingdom was established in David according to the purpose of God.
In 1 Kings, you find the history of the kingdom from Solomon to the death of Jehoshaphat. In 2 Kings, you find the history of the remaining days until the time of the Babylonian captivity.
But in these two books of Chronicles, you find that the record begins with Adam and ends with the Babylonian exile. So it covers three thousand five hundred years of history, and yet it is not giving us a general history. It is giving us the inner history of the covenanted people of God.
Samuel and Kings are written from a prophetic viewpoint, but Chronicles is written from a priestly viewpoint. Samuel and Kings were written by prophets—Samuel, Nathan, and Gad—but Chronicles was written by a priest, because Ezra was a priest.
Here you find the different emphasis. As prophets, they look at the history of the nation with a prophetic view. That is, they look at the nation as a nation under the rule of God.
But as priests, they look at the nation as a holy priesthood to serve God. So Kings and Samuel give us the general outward history of the people, but Chronicles gives us the inner history.
In a sense, brothers and sisters, the church today is, on the one hand, a holy nation; on the other hand, a kingly priesthood. So you find that in the church there are two things that are prominent: one is the authority of God, and the other is the worship of God.
Now, this is the general background. Let us come to 1 Chronicles itself.
The first ten chapters of 1 Chronicles give us the genealogies and also the history of the death of Saul. That serves as a kind of introduction.
Why? Because, to the remnant, such genealogy and history were important. They gave them a sense of continuity. But I think that, for us today, we do not need to go into those genealogies.
From 1 Chronicles 11 onward, you find that the main figure is David. In other words, David is the prominent person in the mind of the Spirit during this period of history.
But it is not the personal history of David that is given here. It is the history of David as king in relation to worship, in relation to the temple.
Roughly, you can find that this history is divided into three parts:
After David was anointed king over all Israel—he had first been king in Hebron, and then he was anointed king over all Israel—what was the first thing that he did?
According to the sacred record, the first thing he did was to take Jerusalem and make Jerusalem the capital of the nation.
Now, we all know that Jerusalem, so far as geography is concerned, is not a very strategic place. If you consider it from the political standpoint, or even from the economic standpoint, you find that it is not a strategic place.
The major trade road from the east to the west does not pass through Jerusalem. It is out of the way. And it is not a high mountain; actually, it is surrounded by high mountains.
So, from a human standpoint, Jerusalem would never be chosen as the capital of any nation. But strangely, after David became king, the first thing he did was to take Jerusalem and make it the capital.
Now, why was this so? It was not because of its strategic importance. It was because of the will of God.
You remember that after the children of Israel came out of Egypt, God brought them through the wilderness. Before they entered into the promised land, God revealed something to Moses in Deuteronomy 12.
God said to Moses that when the people were in the wilderness, they worshiped wherever they were because they were traveling. There was no fixed place of worship.
But after they entered into the promised land, this was not to be so. God said that He would choose one place, and in that place He would put His name.
To that place all the tribes of Israel would go, and it was only in that place that they could offer sacrifices to worship God. That was in Deuteronomy 12, before they entered into the promised land.
But after the children of Israel entered into the promised land, you find that this place was never revealed. When they went into the land, the tent of meeting, the tabernacle, was placed in Shiloh at one time, and afterwards it moved to other places. There was no fixed place.
Nobody knew what was the place of God’s choice. In the Bible you cannot find any reference to it.
But wonderfully, there was a man—a man after God’s own heart. You know the words. He knew God’s heart. He received revelation from God. He knew that the one place in the whole land was Jerusalem.
But at that time Jerusalem was occupied by the Jebusites. So David, after he was anointed king, the first thing he did was to take Jerusalem and make it the capital.
In other words, he did it not for himself; he did it for God, that there might be a place where the name of God would be placed and where the name of God would be known upon this earth.
Jerusalem, the city of peace, is the place where God put His name. Jerusalem is the place where the throne of David is set. Jerusalem is the place where the children of Israel go together to worship.
If you read the Psalms, you will find that, to those who love God, Jerusalem meant a great deal to them. For instance, Psalm 122 says:
Jerusalem, that is builded
As a city that is compact together;
Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord,
For an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks unto the name of the Lord.
For there are set thrones for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
They shall prosper that love thee.
In other words, to those who loved God, Jerusalem was very precious. Jerusalem was a city built compact together. It was the city where the tribes went up together as a testimony to Israel, and it was the place where the thrones were set.
That is Jerusalem. And if you read Psalm 137, when the children of Israel were in captivity, you find the sentiment of the psalmist by the rivers of Babylon:
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her skill.
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
If I remember thee not;
If I prefer not Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
They had such love for Jerusalem. Why? Because Jerusalem represents God’s will.
Now, brothers and sisters, in Galatians 4:26, we are told that the Jerusalem above is our mother. In other words, the earthly Jerusalem is only a shadow. It is a principle demonstrated in a shadowy way.
The reality is the Jerusalem above, or, in another word, the holy city, the New Jerusalem. That is the real purpose of God.
In the heart of God, He desires a place where He can put His name. Dear brothers and sisters, this place in reality is the Jerusalem above. It is the New Jerusalem, and of course, now that is the church.
What is the church? The church is the place where the name of the Lord is placed. So you remember our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 18:20:
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.
This is the simplest definition, if you want to say it that way, of what the church is. The church is where the name of the Lord is the center.
In other words, people are gathered together not unto any other name, not unto their own name, but unto the name of the Lord Jesus. This is the church.
God has called people out of every nation, every tribe, every tongue, and every people, and gathered them together unto the name of the Lord Jesus. There you have the church.
What does it mean to be gathered together unto His name? It means that these people take upon themselves the name of the Lord.
What do you mean by that? I think the simplest illustration is this: when a lady is married to a man, she takes up the name of that man. In other words, she joins herself to that man; they become one.
So, gathered together unto the name of the Lord Jesus simply means that there are people who lay down their own names—that is, who lay down themselves—and willingly subject themselves to the name of the Lord Jesus.
They take the name of the Lord Jesus as their name. They let the Lord Jesus be their Head. This is what it means for the name of the Lord to be placed there, where His authority is known and where His throne is set.
Brothers and sisters, the throne of God is not only set in each of our hearts. The throne of God is also set among His people.
In each of our lives, we need to have the throne set and Christ enthroned. We usually sit on our own throne. In other words, we govern our own life.
But if He is our Lord, and if we know what salvation means, then we have to get down from our own thrones and enthrone Christ. Christ should be on the throne in each of our lives. We are called by His name.
The same is true corporately. When God’s people come together, it is the throne of our Lord Jesus that is set there. His authority is known. There is no authority but the authority of our Lord Jesus. That is what makes it the church.
You know what Jerusalem is. Jerusalem is a place where the twelve tribes go together as a testimony. They live in different places, and they each have their own inheritance, but they are not twelve different nations. They are one nation.
Why? Because they come together to Jerusalem as one people. This is their testimony. Brothers and sisters, that is what Jerusalem represents.
Jerusalem represents the one place where God’s people flow together, declaring that we are one. There is only one Jerusalem. There is only one church.
All God’s people, no matter where they are, flow together to Jerusalem as one people. Not only that, but Jerusalem is a city built compact together. In other words, it is organically built together.
Brothers and sisters, we are not a scattered people. We are a people with a center, and we flow together. We are built up together—compact, united, ministering one to another. That is our testimony.
Because of this, God has a name upon this earth. His name is known upon this earth. As long as Jerusalem was there, God was called the God of heaven and earth.
But when Jerusalem was in ruins, during the period of captivity, God was no longer addressed as the God of heaven and earth. He was addressed only as the God of heaven. Why? Because His name was nowhere upon this earth.
Now, brothers and sisters, this is what the church is. The church is here to bear the testimony of God, to bear the testimony of Jesus Christ.
If the church is not here, who knows God? The name of God will be unknown. It is the church that bears the testimony of Jesus Christ. We uplift the name of the Lord Jesus that He may be known throughout the whole world.
So, brothers and sisters, this is our Jerusalem. But do we love Jerusalem as the godly people in the old days loved earthly Jerusalem?
To the covenanted people, Jerusalem was their first love. They loved Jerusalem above everything else.
The psalmist said, “If I do not prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy, then let my tongue cleave to my palate.” In other words, I will be dumb. “And let my right hand forget her skill.” I will do nothing.
To the godly people, Jerusalem was so dear to their hearts. But brothers and sisters, is this true with us today concerning the Jerusalem above? Do we love the church as those earthly people loved earthly Jerusalem?
If they loved earthly Jerusalem so dearly, then how much more must we love the church? We love the church because it is God’s desire. We love the church because it is the place where the name of the Lord is.
We love the church because this is where God’s people are built together. We love the church because it is the vessel of the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, we find that God’s people today do not know much about the principle that Jerusalem represents. God’s people are so scattered. They do not seem to have a center, a place.
We find that the condition of God’s people today is like the condition during the time of the judges, when everyone did what was right in his own eyes because there was no king.
Is it not a tragedy that God’s people have been so scattered? Is it not true that God’s people are not gathered together because they are not under one name?
How important it is that we see the principle of Jerusalem. This is what David did in the first place.
We need to have that spirit of David. It should be in our hearts because we know this is God’s will. He wants to have His name on this earth. He wants to have a place where He can put His name.
He wants His people to be built up together as one testimony. Brothers and sisters, may this become our passion and our desire.
That is the first thing you find in 1 Chronicles. Then, from 1 Chronicles 13 to 16, you find that David did a second thing.
After David took Jerusalem, the record gives us the heroes, the men who helped David build up his kingdom. But then in 1 Chronicles 13, David consulted with his people.
He said, “Let us bring the ark of the covenant of God to the city of David.” Now, you know that the ark in the Old Testament represents the presence of God.
Because the glory of God rested upon the mercy seat, the covering of the ark, the ark occupied a very essential position in the history of the children of Israel.
It was upon the mercy seat of the ark that sins were atoned for. Once a year, you will remember, the high priest took the blood and the incense, entered behind the veil, and made atonement for the whole nation.
It was the ark that enabled them to have their sins covered. It was from the mercy seat between the two cherubim that God spoke to the children of Israel.
They encamped around the ark, and it was the ark that led their way through the wilderness. When they entered into the promised land, it was the ark that fought for them.
So you find that the ark was the center of their life. It was the ark that did everything for them, and they gathered around that ark.
But you remember how the children of Israel were unfaithful to God. During the time of Eli, even though the ark was still in their midst, they behaved in contradiction to what the ark represented.
Finally, the Philistines came against them and they were defeated. They thought, “We were defeated because God was not here.” So they moved the ark to the camp.
They thought that the ark which fought for them in the past would certainly fight for them again. So they brought the ark from Shiloh to the battlefield, believing that now they had God and would certainly overcome the enemy.
But God was not with them. God allowed the ark to be captured by the Philistines. The ark was in captivity for six months.
The children of Israel, who were supposed to be the guardians of the ark, did not guard it and allowed it to be taken into captivity. But the ark could protect itself.
When the ark was in the land of the Philistines, the Philistines could not stand it. Finally, they had to send the ark back.
But after the ark of God came back to the children of Israel, what did they do? They let it be hidden in the fields of the forest, in Kiriath-jearim.
For twenty years the ark remained hidden. During those twenty years, Samuel began to encourage the people and turn their hearts again to God. But even so, the ark was still hidden there.
During the time of Saul, he was king for forty years, and he never once inquired of the ark. In other words, he had no heart for the ark. He had no heart for God. He had no heart for the presence of God.
He wanted only the blessing of God, but not the presence of God.
But here was David. Even in the days of his affliction, he often thought of the ark. You remember Psalm 132:
Lord, remember for David
All his affliction;
How he sware unto the Lord,
And vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob:
Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house,
Nor go up into my bed;
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.
Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah:
We found it in the field of the wood.
We will go into His tabernacles;
We will worship at His footstool.
David had a heart for God, and because he had a heart for God, he had a heart for the ark. So after he became king and had Jerusalem as his capital, the next thing he did was to consult with his people.
He said, “Is it not time that we should bring the ark to the city of David and make the ark again the center of our national life?”
All the people agreed with him. You remember how they went to Kiriath-jearim and brought the ark back toward Jerusalem.
But unfortunately, David consulted the people and consulted his military leaders, but he did not consult the priests and the Levites. So they tried to bring the ark back on a new cart driven by oxen.
This was the way the ark had come back from the Philistines. The Philistines had put it on a new cart driven by two oxen.
They did it as a test. These were milch cows, cows that had calves. The Philistines said, “We will see whether it is really God or not.”
So they put the two cows to the cart, kept the calves at home, and let the cows go without telling them where to go.
Naturally speaking, the cows would go back to where their calves were. That is natural. But you find that the Spirit of God controlled them, and they went all the way straight to the border of Israel.
As they went, they lowed. In other words, they were mourning because they suffered; they had to leave their young behind. That was the way the ark came back.
So probably the people said, “Well, that is a good idea—to have the ark on a cart pulled by oxen. That is convenient. You do not need to put it on the shoulders of the priests, which is very heavy.”
It was a very ingenious invention. You know, the world is full of such inventions. So the children of Israel adopted the Philistine way and tried to bring the ark back to Jerusalem.
You know what happened. At a threshing floor, the oxen stumbled and the ark was about to fall. One of the sons of Abinadab tried to hold it up, and God smote him to death because no one could touch the ark.
David was indignant. He thought he was doing God a great honor, and he was afraid too. “Who am I, that I should have the ark of God, the presence of God?”
Brothers and sisters, the presence of God is a terrible thing. It is an honorable thing, but a terrible thing.
So instead of taking the ark to Jerusalem, David took it aside and put it in the house of Obed-edom. For three months the ark stayed there, and God blessed the house of Obed-edom.
David heard about that. He reconsidered. He repented. He knew that he was wrong.
So he consulted the priests, and the Levites took the ark upon their shoulders. They brought it gloriously back to Jerusalem. In other words, the presence of God was in their midst.
Now, brothers and sisters, applying this to us today, the ark represents our Lord Jesus.
In the Old Testament, the ark represents our Lord Jesus. He is the Ark. He is the mercy seat.
In Romans 3, we find that we have a mercy seat, and it is Christ, our mercy seat. It is there that our sins are forgiven.
It is in Christ that God speaks to us and communes with us. It is there that we worship. He is the One who is the center of our gathering. He is the One who leads our way. He is the One who fights our battles.
Brothers and sisters, this is our Lord Jesus, the presence of the Lord. So the Lord says, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” His presence.
What makes the church different from any other group in the world? One thing: the presence of the Lord.
That is the one thing that makes the church different from every other organization, every other group in the whole world. It is the presence of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, do we treasure His presence? We see David, how he treasured the ark. He treasured the presence of God. He considered that the most important thing in his life and in the life of the whole nation.
Dear brothers and sisters, is this true with us today? We find God’s people coming together. Thank God, we do come together to sing, to read the Word, to fellowship, and to do many things.
But brothers and sisters, do you not know that the one thing that makes us different from the world is His presence?
If His presence is not here, there is no reason for us to be here.
It is His presence that guides our steps. It is His presence that leads our way. It is His presence that makes us victorious. Without His presence, we are lost.
But His presence is everything to us. So, brothers and sisters, remember this: the reason why we come together and put ourselves under His name is because we know that where His name is, there is His presence.
We love His presence. His presence is everything to us. All blessing comes from His presence.
This is also true in our individual lives. In your individual life, His presence with you is the most important thing. In our life together, His presence is the most important thing.
If there is anything that takes His presence away, that thing has to go—not His presence, but that thing.
But how do we have His presence? David tried to bring the ark back in the way of the Philistines. He could not have it that way.
You have to bring the ark back according to God’s way. Here is another lesson for us to learn: God’s will has to be done in God’s way.
It is the will of God that we have His presence. But how are we to have His presence? Not in the Philistine way.
Lots of people try to obtain His presence by many different ways. In other words, we try to obtain His presence by using the ways of the world.
You find that Christianity today is full of Philistine ways. People try to use different attractions and ingenious methods—methods that are more convenient and that demand no personal cost.
They use different activities, methods, and means: music, plays, parties, bazaars, or whatever it may be. They try to bring people together, but can they bring the presence of God in?
They may be able to attract people, but they cannot attract God.
Brothers and sisters, let us remember that the presence of God can only be brought in upon the shoulders of the priests. In other words, how we need to be sanctified.
You know, we are priests—not priests in name, but priests in reality. The universal priesthood of believers is the teaching of the New Testament.
We are a holy priesthood. But are we holy?
The priests who bore the ark upon their shoulders had to be sanctified. In other words, we have to be separated. We have to be sanctified. We have to be set apart wholly for God.
Oh, how we need to give our lives completely to the Lord, so that the presence of God may be brought in upon our shoulders.
Wherever you find consecrated believers coming together, you have the presence of the Lord. This is the way to bring in His presence: not by method, but by a sanctified people.
Well, from 1 Chronicles 17 to 28, you find that David did the third thing.
He was in his house of cedar, his palace, but he could not rest. One day he spoke to the prophet Nathan and said, “Look, I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God dwells in a tent. I feel uncomfortable about it.”
Nathan said, “Do whatever is in thy heart, for God is with thee.” David had in his heart to build a house for God, to build a temple, so that the ark might have a resting place.
God was pleased with the desire of his heart. After Nathan had spoken to David, God told Nathan to go back and speak further to David.
If you read carefully what God said, you have to feel it. After David expressed the desire to build God a house, God sent Nathan back to David and said, “Did I ever ask anybody for a house to dwell in?”
“All these years, I have been going from tent to tent, from tabernacle to tabernacle. I have wandered with My people. I have never asked anything for Myself, and here you are—you want to build Me a house.”
God’s heart was deeply touched. But God said, “You cannot build it for Me because you have shed too much blood. But your son, a man of peace, will build it for Me.”
But God said, “Before you build My house, I will build your house first.” You can never do anything that exceeds God. He always does more than you do.
David wanted to build God a house, and God said, “Wait a minute. Let Me build your house first. Then your house can build My house.” What a God He is!
When David heard that, he went before God and said, “God, who am I? Who am I, that Thou shouldest be so gracious to me? Now do according to Thy Word.”
If you read 1 Chronicles from chapter 17 onward, you find how God began to build David’s house. David received victory after victory. God was building his house.
Then, in 1 Chronicles 21, something happened. David, out of pride, wanted to know how strong he was.
So he called Joab, the captain of the host, and sent him to go through all the land to number his army.
Of course, God had promised that He would make the seed of Abraham as the sand on the seashore and as the stars in the sky—countless. So this was a lack of faith.
Because of that, God sent a prophet to David. David knew that he was wrong. The prophet said, “Here is the discipline: three years of famine over the land, three months of defeat before your enemies, or three days of pestilence.”
David said, “It is difficult. It is very difficult to choose. But I would rather fall into the hands of God than into the hands of man, because man is merciless.”
So pestilence came upon the land for three days. David saw the angel of the Lord with his sword stretched out over Jerusalem, going to destroy Jerusalem.
David prayed, “It is my fault, not the fault of the people.” God said, “All right. Offer sacrifice where that angel stood.”
So David went to Mount Moriah, to the threshing floor of Ornan. He bought the land, offered to God, and God heard him. The pestilence stopped.
David said, “This is the house of God.” In other words, the site of God’s house was chosen. Some people say that this was the very site where Abraham offered Isaac.
You find that it was through repentance that God revealed to David the site of the house of God.
From that time on, David began to prepare for the house. Even though he was not allowed to build the house, his love for God was so great that he prepared everything he could for it.
He mobilized the strangers for cutting wood and cutting stones. He mobilized the Levites to be supervisors. He arranged the courses of the priests and Levites to serve in the temple.
Out of the spoils of his battles, he dedicated gold and silver to God. Out of his own affection for God, he gave from his own treasure gold and silver in abundance, and bronze and iron beyond counting.
In other words, he did everything he could to prepare for the house. He even prepared the praise in the house, arranging singers in courses to sing praises unto God.
He prepared everything for the house, and God revealed to him the pattern of the temple. Why? Because of his love for God.
That was what David did when he was king in Jerusalem. He said, “Out of my affliction and out of my affection for God, I gave all these things to Him willingly, gladly.”
He encouraged the people to give willingly and gladly, and they did.
Now, brothers and sisters, God needs a place to put His name. God needs a place to put His presence. God needs a place to be His dwelling place.
This is God’s will. God’s will throughout the ages is that He may have a place.
Remember, Jerusalem on earth is only a shadow, a type. The place is not a physical thing. The place where God wants to put His name is a spiritual place.
It is a corporate body. It is the holy city, the New Jerusalem, the bride of the Lamb, the church. That is the place where His name is honored and no other name.
The will of God is that He wants to be present with His people. How He loves to be present with His people. He enjoys fellowship with His people.
But unfortunately, we find that, in a way, He has been limited and shut out. How He desires that His presence may be known and His blessing known.
This is what the church is. This is His desire. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
“I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” “I will not leave thee, nor forsake thee,” He says.
Brothers and sisters, He loves to be present with us, but oftentimes we lose His presence, as it were, because we are not walking with Him.
He desires to be present with His people, and more than that, He wants to dwell among His people. He wants a house.
You know, I often say that God created the heavens and the earth, but these are His office. The heaven is where His throne is, and the earth is His footstool. But where is His house?
He dwells among those of a contrite and repentant spirit. It was out of the repentance of David that the site of the temple was found.
It is in the contrite, repentant, broken spirit of His people that God can dwell in peace.
Unfortunately, we find that God’s people are fighting—not only against one another, but fighting against God. That gives God no rest. He cannot rest among His people.
But this is what He desires. He wants a dwelling place, that He may dwell in peace and in rest.
Do we have the spirit of David? Our Lord Jesus is our David. He is greater than David.
He said, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” His love for His Father is so great. He wants to build that house for His Father.
He is building it. But are we building it together with David? Do we have this love for the house of God?
Brothers and sisters, David said, “In my affliction, I get material for the building of the house.”
Do you know that in all our trials and all our afflictions, by the grace of God, we may gather gold and silver to offer to God for the building of that house?
All the spoils of our battles are for the building of God’s house. Do not think that all your afflictions are merely for you. Do not think that your victories are yours.
Remember that out of all the afflictions and out of all the victories, there is an opportunity given to you to obtain material for the building of God’s house.
You may know more of God’s grace. You may know more of Him, that you may offer what He has revealed to you for the building of the house of God.
David said, “Out of my affection for God”—not only affliction, but affection. How we need to love Him. In love, we are willing to give the best to Him.
This is the way the house of God is built. The house of God is built with what you have gone through in life. The house of God is built with what He has done in your life.
The house of God is built with the spoils of your battles. The house of God is built with your love. This is the way the materials are all gathered together.
Not only that, but you find that David arranged the service of the house: the courses of the priests, the Levites, and the singers.
Under His guidance, brothers and sisters, we are to serve Him as priests. Every one of us has a part in the priestly function.
Every one of us serves Him as a Levite, doing all the work of the temple—that is, the practical work. And we are singers, singing unto the praise of His glory.
Because the kingdom is His, the power is His, and the glory is His. May the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for Thy precious Word. We do pray that Thy Word may inspire us, that we too may have that longing, that love, that passion, that desire for Thee, for Thy name, for Thy presence, and for Thy life.
Lord, we do want to offer ourselves to Thee, that we may be used of Thee to be the place where Thy name is honored, Thy Son is exalted, and Thy testimony is spread abroad.
We pray that we may be a people who know Thy presence. We pray that we may be a people who give Thee rest. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.