1 Chronicles 21:28 - 22:6  ⁸ At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he made his sacrifices there.  ²⁹ For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon;  ³⁰ but David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.  ^NRS

1 Chronicles 22:1 Then David said, "Here shall be the house of the LORD God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel."  ² David gave orders to gather together the aliens who were residing in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God.  ³ David also provided great stores of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing,  ⁴ and cedar logs without number-- for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar to David.  ⁵ For David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorified throughout all lands; I will therefore make preparation for it." So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.  ⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel.

            Continuing from last week’s devotion, I chose a text for this week that also is about David.  Last week, we heard about the covenant that God made with David.  This week, our text is about David handing the reigns of the kingdom over to his son Solomon, and more importantly, about Solomon beginning work on the temple of God. 

            The text above tells us a few things about this temple:

• It was built on top of the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (earlier in 1 Chronicles we learned that Ornan threshing floor was on Mt. Moriah, which is said to be the mountain that Jerusalem is built upon.)

•  David helped Solomon with the initial materials needed to build it (Solomon was still an inexperienced prince at this point, and David was beginning to lose respect as a King)

·         It was a place that God had visited David

There is still debate about where on the temple mount in Jerusalem Solomon’s temple was located.  The name of the mount, Moriah, is also debated.  The temple mount, along with the neighboring Mount of Olives, are part of a range of mountains that are often called the Moriah Mountains.  This has led to some confusion in trying to discern and understand the locations as the Bible lists them.

As we read forward in the Old Testament from this point, we see that Solomon was not such an inexperienced ruler after all.  He completed the temple construction, grew the kingdom, and became one of the richest rulers in the history of the world.  His kingdom is still a marvel as compared to modern day societies.  Furthermore, it is through Solomon that God continued to keep the Davidic covenant, in that a member of David’s family would rule forever. 

In our prayers this week: Ann, Daniel, David, Brianna, Woody, Scott, and Anna

God’s Peace,