By Rev. Michael Mwangi
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church KAG
1 Chronicles 29:1-13
Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,[a] stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents[b] of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents[c] of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”
6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents[d] and ten thousand darics[e] of gold, ten thousand talents[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents[h] of iron. 8 Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, Lord,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
This is a selfless sacred and sacrificial giving for a sacred course beyond the usual. It is not regular giving and it proceeds from a revelation and love for God or his work. This was the type of giving that David gave with the Israelites for the building of God's temple.
1.The work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God:
David understood this was a special project for a great God. God's house was not a usual thing but a great privilege.
When this opportunity came he understood how great a thing it was. He, therefore, gave so many resources to prepare for the building of the temple because he knew that the work was great and required great resources.
He knew how great God and so must be the work of building his house. He gave out of love and revelation.
1. Verse 10 to 12 above - God's greatness
He understood great work required great commitment and a great sacrifice
The work was great because it was for a great God. Before a great God, there are no small works; everything should be done for the glory of God
Colossians 3:22
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
2. Giving passionately, sparing no resources or effort
With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God.
Now for the house of my God, I have prepared with all my might: When we consider all that David did to prepare and to provide, the land, money, materials, supervisory staff, workers, plans, and an organized team to run the temple, it is evident that David gave this work of preparation with all of his might.
How much are you giving to this work?
3. Motivated by his love for God
David gave from the heart not from his wallet. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God.
David loved God and out of this love he wanted to build a house for his God.
He gave all he gave because he loved the house of God. We naturally give to and support that which we love. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).
How you spend your finances shows what you love?
How much are you giving into building God's house?
This giving was personal rather than duty or out of necessity?
David had a personal relationship with God, he loved his God with a passion and longed to do this. He was not just building a house for God but My God, David specifically used the phrase house of my God to emphasize the personal connection; this was more personal than merely saying the house of God. Because God was David’s God in a personal sense, David loved the house of God.
Giving above the usual devotion
Over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house: David loved the house of his God so much that he gave over and above what he gave before. David did an enormous amount of preparation and resource gathering to build the temple; but now he gave more, even giving over and above.
Consecration Giving
Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD? David brought up his giving – especially the over and above giving – he used it as an occasion to challenge his fellow Israelites to also consecrate themselves to the LORD.
Given the massive amount that David gathered for the building of the temple, it might be argued that the gifts of the people were unnecessary. Yet David knew that it was important to give the people an opportunity to give, for their sake more than for the sake of the building project itself. Their giving was a legitimate and important way to consecrate themselves to God.
“The king’s appeal for each giver to ‘consecrate himself which ’ reads literally ‘to fill his hand.’ to dedicate or to set it as holy unto the lord, to declare it sacred.
Consecration was a technical phrase used to describe ordination to the priesthood; and Scripture, significantly, places the act of this giving on this same level of devotion. It was giving that was setting them apart for the lord,
It is a giving that goes beyond your usual commitment. It is giving that is devotional.
Conclusion
Like David, let me challenge you, Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?
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