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Then David the king addressed the congregation: āMy son Solomon was singled out and chosen by God to do this. But heās young and untested and the work is hugeāthis is not just a place for people to meet each other, but a house for God to meet us. Iāve done my best to get everything together for building this house for my God, all the materials necessary: gold, silver, bronze, iron, lumber, precious and varicolored stones, and building stonesāvast stockpiles. Furthermore, because my heart is in this, in addition to and beyond what I have gathered, Iām turning over my personal fortune of gold and silver for making this place of worship for my God: 3,000 talents (about 113 tons) of goldāall from Ophir, the bestāand 7,000 talents (214 tons) of silver for covering the walls of the buildings, and for the gold and silver work by craftsmen and artisans. āAnd now, how about you? Who among you is ready and willing to join in the giving?ā Ready and willing, the heads of families, leaders of the tribes of Israel, commanders and captains in the army, stewards of the kingās affairs, stepped forward and gave willingly. They gave 5,000 talents (188 tons) and 10,000 darics (185 pounds) of gold, 10,000 talents of silver (377 tons), 18,000 talents of bronze (679 tons), and 100,000 talents (3,775 tons) of iron. Anyone who had precious jewels put them in the treasury for the building of The Temple of God in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. And the people were full of a sense of celebrationāall that giving! And all given willingly, freely! King David was exuberant. David blessed God in full view of the entire congregation: Blessed are you, God of Israel, our father from of old and forever. To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might, the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor; Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth; the kingdom all yours! Youāve raised yourself high over all. Riches and glory come from you, youāre ruler over all; You hold strength and power in the palm of your hand to build up and strengthen all. And here we are, O God, our God, giving thanks to you, praising your splendid Name. āBut meāwho am I, and who are these my people, that we should presume to be giving something to you? Everything comes from you; all weāre doing is giving back what weāve been given from your generous hand. As far as youāre concerned, weāre homeless, shiftless wanderers like our ancestors, our lives mere shadows, hardly anything to us. God, our God, all these materialsāthese piles of stuff for building a house of worship for you, honoring your Holy Nameāit all came from you! It was all yours in the first place! I know, dear God, that you care nothing for the surfaceāyou want us, our true selvesāand so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily. And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willinglyāwhat a joy! O God, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this generous spirit alive forever in these people always, keep their hearts set firmly in you. And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what you command, live by your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple for which I have provided.ā David then addressed the congregation: āBless God, your God!ā And they did it, blessed God, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped reverently in the presence of God and the king. The very next day they butchered the sacrificial animals and offered in the worship of Israel to God a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand sheep, and in addition drink offerings and many other sacrifices. They feasted all day, eating and drinking before God, exuberant with joy. Then they ceremonially reenacted Solomonās coronation, anointing Davidās son before God as their leader, and Zadok as priest. Solomon sat on the throne of God as king in place of David his father. And everything went well; all Israel obeyed him. All the leaders of the people, including all the sons of King David, accepted Solomon as their king and promised their loyalty. Solomon rode high on a crest of popular acclaimāit was all Godās doing. God gave him position and honor beyond any king in Israel before him. * * * David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel. He was king for forty years. He ruled from Hebron seven years and from Jerusalem thirty-three. He died at a ripe old age, full of days, wealth, and glory. His son Solomon ruled after him. The history of David the king, from start to finish, is written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer, including a full account of his rule, his exploits, and the times through which he and Israel and the surrounding kingdoms passed.
1 Chronicles 29:1ā-ā¬22ā, ā¬22ā-ā¬30 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/1ch.29.1-30.MSG


Wow, when I posted this, I didn’t realize that this was the last chapter of 1 Chronicles. Tomorrow, we’ll start on 2 Chronicles.