When David asked the prophet Nathan if he should build the temple, Nathan immediately told him to go ahead and do this. However, that night the Lord came to Nathan and told the prophet what he had said was wrong. He returned to David and gave the king the message from God. Sometimes we, like Nathan, give our own opinions about the Bible.
David had become a wealthy king as God had rewarded his righteousness. He wanted to build a permanent house where God could be worshiped. The tabernacle built at Mt. Sinai was ornate, but it had not survived the almost five hundred years from that time until the time of David. There had been many replacements built, and the furnishings of the tabernacle had gone from one tabernacle (tent) to another (1 Chron. 17:5).
Human wisdom would seem to justify the king’s desire. He said, “See, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains” (1 Chron. 17:1). When Nathan delivered God’s new message to David, God said, “Have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges, of Israel, whom I command to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’” (1 Chron. 17:6). Sometimes we, like David, do not see the world as God sees it.
While the tabernacle built at Mt. Sinai was glorious, we fail to see that the glory of that tabernacle did not come from the riches used to build it, but from the glory given by God’s presence in that holy place and that most holy place.
God then told David the reason the king was not to build the temple was because he had been a man of war. God wanted a man of peace and told David to name his son Solomon (Solomon means “peace”). This son was to be the one to build the temple. David was given the plans for that temple in great detail which he gave to Solomon (1 Chron. 28:11-12). David told Solomon, “The Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it” (1 Chron. 28:10).
Before his death, David worked diligently to gather the material for Solomon to use. He told his young son, “I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord, one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond measure for it is abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them” (1 Chron. 22:14). He then charged his son, “Arise and begin working, and the Lord be with you” (1 Chron. 22:16).
There is more to this story which will be discussed next week. Here is a challenge to you until then. Use Google to discover the worth of the temple Solomon built!