Resting In Order to Serve (1 Chronicles 22) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

If you would, please take your copy of God's

Word. Maybe you've brought a copy today. You

may also reach for the one in the pew back there

in front of you. We're going to be in 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22. And what we're doing is really finishing

out our sermon series on the life of David. There

is so much on the life of David. So you've noticed

we've we've hit some we've hit the highlights

We've also hit some of the lowlights, right?

We cannot possibly cover everything on the life

of David There's so much and first Samuel and

second Samuel and the beginning of first Kings.

There's so much in the Psalms, but we also Today

go into first Chronicles and we'll be in chapter

22 And so I ask That you would give careful attention

to the reading of God's holy word First Chronicles

22 the whole chapter then David said Here shall

be the house of the Lord God and here the altar

of burnt offering for Israel David commanded

together to gather together the resident aliens

who were in the land of Israel and he set stone

cutters to prepare dress stones for building

the house of God. David also provided great quantities

of iron for nails, for the doors of the gates

and for clamps, as well as bronze in quantities

beyond weighing, and cedar timbers without number.

For the Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities

of cedar to David, and David said, Solomon, my

son, young and inexperienced, and the house that

is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly

magnificent of fame and glory throughout all

lands. I will therefore make preparation for

it." So David provided materials in great quantity

before his death. Then he called for Solomon

his son and charged him to build a house for

the Lord the God of Israel. David said to Solomon

my son I had it in my heart to build a house

to the name of the Lord my God But the word of

the Lord came to me saying you've shed much blood

and have waged great wars You shall not build

a house to my name because you have shed so much

blood before me on the earth Behold a son shall

be born to you who shall be a man of rest I will

give him rest from all his surrounding enemies

for his name shall be Solomon and I will give

peace and quiet to Israel in his days he shall

build a house for my name he shall be my son

and I will be his father and I will establish

his royal throne in Israel forever now my son

the Lord be with you so that you may succeed

in building the house of the Lord your God as

he has spoken concerning you only may the Lord

grant you discretion and understanding that when

he gives you charge over Israel you may keep

the law of the Lord your God then you will prosper

if you're careful to observe the statutes and

the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel

be strong and courageous fear not do not be dismayed

with great pains I have provided for the house

of the Lord 100 ,000 talents of gold, a million

talents of silver and bronze and iron, beyond

weighing, there is so much of it, timber and

stone too, I have provided. To these you must

add, you have an abundance of workmen, stone

cutters, masons, carpenters, all kinds of craftsmen

without numbers, skilled and working, gold, silver,

bronze and iron, arise and work. the Lord be

with you. David also commanded all the leaders

of Israel to help Solomon his son saying is not

the Lord your God with you and has he not given

you peace on every side for he has delivered

the inhabitants of the land into my hand and

the land is subdued before the Lord and his people.

Now set your mind and your heart to seek the

Lord your God arise and build the sanctuary.

the Lord God So that the ark of the covenant

of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be

brought into a house built for the name of the

Lord This is God's Word. Let's pray Father we

thank you for a good word. We thank you for all

66 books of the Bible We thank you for 1 Chronicles

22, and we ask that you would open our hearts

and our minds to hear from you to help us, by

grace, live out the Christian life and serve

you. This we pray in Christ's name. Amen. I wonder

if you saw a news story this week out of Australia.

There was a 98 -year -old woman named Yvonne

Engelman. She was an Auschwitz survivor. After

surviving that concentration camp, she moved

as far away as she could. And so she moved to

Australia. She passed away this week. She was

originally from Czechoslovakia. And during World

War II, she was sent with her family to Auschwitz.

And before they got there, Yvonne's Her father

specifically said to her, I don't know where

we're going, but I know we're not going on holiday.

Promise me this, Yvonne, that you will survive.

And the young girl told her father, I will survive.

The sad reality is that she was the only one

of the family that did survive that death camp.

Her story is well known. And that while she was

there, she was in a group that was going to be

taken to one of those dreadful chambers. Except

on that particular day, the gas didn't work.

It didn't turn on. And so instead of being put

to death, she was put to work. If you've ever

been to Auschwitz, you know there is an awful

sign that hangs over the entrance to the death

camp. It says, work sets you free. It's a wrought

iron sign. And of all of the horrific things

that you see when you go into that concentration

camp, you honestly don't have to set foot inside

before you have a sense of terror, before you

have a sense of the evil and the cruelty that

was done. With a sign like that, you don't have

to go any further. Because the sad reality of

that place is work didn't set anybody free. Work

didn't set anybody free there. The Lord saved

her, and then they put her to work. I don't want

to make too much of a connection here, but it

should not go unnoticed that with a slogan like

that, work sets you free, that appeals to us.

It doesn't just appeal to Nazis. It doesn't just

appeal to the Germans. It appeals to us, too.

Work sets you free. We like how that sounds,

right? We're Americans. We like to work. We're

put -our -nose -to -the -grind kind of people.

We're put on your gloves and your work boots

and let's get after it. We like people who do

that. That's called success in our minds. Work

sets you free. But what if there was another

way? What if we didn't trust the sign hanging

over the entrance of a death camp? What if work

was the thing that you did after you were free?

What if freedom set you to work? That's what

I want us to see today in this passage, that

we are freed by the Lord from our slavery to

sin in order then to do God's will. We're talking

about the construction of the temple. Solomon's

temple was the biggest, grandest, most expensive

project of all time at the time. It really was.

And yet, Solomon and these Jewish leaders within

the text, they don't accomplish the building

of this temple on their own. They were set free

to do it. They set their minds and their hearts

on the Lord. And with the Lord, they're able

to construct this. Temple. Chapter 22, we see

mostly this is a private conversation between

David and Solomon. And so let's start there with

David and Solomon. This chapter reminds us of

something we've already looked at, about how

David really, really wanted to build the temple

for the Lord, right? He wanted to build a house

for the Lord. David said, I've got a house. Why

don't you, Lord, have a house? Well, here we

see that David would not be the one to build

that temple. Instead, the Bible says that Solomon

would. You'll remember David had many sons. Three

of them actually died before David does. We haven't

spent a lot of time on Absalom, but you'll remember

that David feuded with his son Absalom for a

very long time. We might even say... that perhaps

David's greatest battles were actually fought

against his own son. But here you have another

son, and this is Solomon. And within our text

here, Solomon is really young. We don't know

exactly how old he is, but probably a teenager.

But we know that David was zealous to build the

temple, but he wouldn't be the one to do it.

Look in verse 8. The word of the Lord came to

me saying, you have shed much blood and have

waged great wars. You shall not build a house

to my name because you have shed so much blood

before me on the earth. So David's not going

to be the one to do it. How come? It's actually

a bit of a tricky spot in scripture. There are

at least two possibilities of interpretation,

maybe more. Some have looked at David's shedding

of blood, and they have said, well, this usually

assumes that it's a statement of guilt, saying,

David, we know what you've done with Uriah. We

know about that whole episode with Bathsheba.

And so because of that shed blood, you will not

be the one to build the temple. However, While

it may be true, we also recognize that David

is called in many places a man of war. In many

of those wars, the Lord actually commanded him

to fight and to lead. And so that have led some

to say this has nothing to do with Bathsheba

and with Uriah. This has to do with the very

fact that David has shed a lot of blood as a

warrior and perhaps his hands are unclean from

the shedding of blood. To be honest with you,

I think both of them might be in play here. We

do know that David sinned greatly. And we do

know from last Sunday that David sinned with

Uriah and with Bathsheba. That whole episode

had ongoing consequences. The Lord told him there

would be consequences for this, even as he truly

repented. David goes through so much in his life.

He goes through horrible family trauma. He doesn't

handle it all well. Through it all though, he

makes preparation so that Joshua, or not Joshua,

so that Solomon can build the temple. And I reference

Joshua because as we're reading this, you might

get a sense, hey, I feel like I've heard some

of this before. And the reason that you feel

that way is because I think this text is encouraging

us to think about somebody else who is doing

something incredible for the Lord, but didn't

get to finish it. We're supposed to think of

Moses and Joshua here. You remember Moses leading

the people, the Israelites, out of Egypt and

going on the way to the promised land, but he

doesn't get to take the people all the way there,

does he? Instead, he has to hand the reins over

to Joshua. There's several similarities then,

both. Joshua and Solomon have a commissioning

service. And just as Moses was not able to finish

what he started, David doesn't get to build the

temple. But you can see the headway, the work

that he puts into it to ensure that Solomon will

be successful. Look at all of these materials

here. Gold and silver, bronze, iron, timber,

and stone. I'm not much of a mathematician, but

I've read some who have calculated the numbers,

especially with the gold and the silver. As you

look at these numbers and you calculate them

today, we would be talking this temple, just

in those precious materials alone, hundreds of

billions of dollars would have gone into this

temple. Hundreds of billions of dollars into

this This temple was to be the most magnificent

structure around. This temple was to be so grand

that people from out of town, from way far away

would be like, hey, have you heard about that

temple that they're building there? Have you

heard about this guy, Solomon, and this temple?

But David doesn't get to build it. Instead, Solomon

does. But we see that as much as David wants

this and as much as David does, Who really provides

the materials? The Lord provides those. And not

only that, but the Lord also provides the workers,

right? A great, a great number of workers at

work on this temple. This is the locals. These

are the Jebusites, which tells us something else

important about the temple. Is that from the

start, with this temple, God was already including

Gentiles here. The temple is built on Gentile

land. Again, the Jebusites. This temple is built

by Gentiles. God is already including others

in this thing. And so, yes, we are to think about

Moses and Joshua. Because all along what God

is doing is preparing redemptive history. As

the Israelites were saved from Egypt, He saves

them, and we are supposed, as we read that episode,

to think of Christ and what He has done, about

how Christ saves us from our sin. As the Israelites

were saved from being enslaved to the Egyptians,

so we are saved by Christ from our enslavement

to sin. Thirdly, though, of these connections,

look at the language here. Be not afraid, don't

be dismayed, strong and courageous. Who does

this sound like? Again, Moses to Joshua. This

is God telling Moses who's telling Joshua these

things. You can read this in Deuteronomy 31,

I think verse 6, and Joshua 1, verse 9. So if

Joshua 1:9

you're feeling a little bit of Moses and Joshua

going on, that's intentional. And so what David

does is he passes these good words onto his son,

Solomon. But if I can add even more history to

this, you should think of Moses, you should think

of Joshua, you might even see beyond them to

Abraham. Because where is the temple being constructed?

I haven't mentioned it yet. But I'm gonna read

to you 2nd Chronicles 3 1 2nd Chronicles 3 1

Then Solomon began to build the house of the

Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah Where the Lord

had appeared to David his father At the place

that David had appointed on the threshing floor

of Ornon the Jebusite If you know your Bibles

well, what else happened on Mount Moriah? You

know that this was the location that Abraham

took his son Isaac to offer him as a sacrifice.

And just before Abraham could plunge that knife

into his son, the Lord said, stop. And he provided

a ram to be the sacrifice. You know what else

happened not too far from Mount Moriah? Mount

Calvary, Golgotha. Moriah is not far from the

location where Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice,

was crucified. And so you can see within this

text that sounds like it's about materials and

sounds like it's a father's encouragement to

his son. We see redemptive history playing out

in this thing. Mount Moriah is where the temple

would be built. But you might say, well, this

temple sounds pretty important. Why does God

use Solomon? Why does he use this young man,

this son of David? Look in verse 9. Behold, a

son shall be born to you who shall be a man of

rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding

enemies, for his name shall be Solomon. And I

will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.

Solomon, unlike his father, was to be a man of

peace, not a man of war, but the Lord provides

the conditions, right? He provides the peace,

but also the Lord provides a name. What's the

Hebrew name for Solomon? Shalomah. Does that

sound like shalom to you? It should, because

that's where Solomon gets his name. Shalom means

peace. But also notice how the peace comes. It's

not achieved. It's not attained. It's given.

The Lord is the one who gives the rest from the

surrounding enemies. The Lord gives the peace

and the quiet. And what a relief this must have

been for David. David, who's been through so

many wars. He's fought with Goliath. He's been

a king. He's been a warrior. He's been a refugee.

He's been a father. What a relief that David

gets to say to his son, it's going to be okay.

that as you take the throne, you will not have

to fight the same battles, the bloody battles

that I had to fight. Oh, if we could all be in

such a position with our children to say it's

going to be okay, I know so many of you, you

would fight a thousand battles for your children,

right? This is what David gets to say to his

son, the Lord is bringing about peace for you

so that you may build the temple. Now, as parents,

we might not get to give our children peace like

that. But David does tell Solomon how to navigate

the storms of life. So you can do this to four

things that David tells his son. Look in verse

12. Only may the Lord grant you discretion and

understanding. This sounds like a blessing, doesn't

it? May the Lord grant Solomon is later going

to ask for wisdom, right? We might even say that

that prayer is already being asked, that blessing

placed upon Solomon by his father. May the Lord

grant you understanding. He knows that Solomon

will need that. Secondly, a parent's urgent advice,

the latter half of verse 12. Observe the statutes

and the rules of the Lord. David tells his son,

be obedient to the very word of God. Parents,

You can do that too. You can open your Bibles.

You must open your Bibles for your children.

Help them to see that this is our roadmap. This

is how we live the Christian life, by observing

what God has for us in His Word. Thirdly, the

language again that's here. Be strong and courageous.

Fear not. David encourages his son. David knows

the task ahead is going to be tremendous. But

he says, don't fear, trust the Lord. We have

to tell our children that as well. And fourthly,

and I've said this to the last, but it's important,

it kind of bookends this speech, the Lord is

with you. When David says that to Solomon, when

he says the Lord be with you, it's not a catchphrase.

It's not something you put on a t -shirt. He's

telling him, you will not be able to do this

thing if the Lord's not with you. Friends, we

need to be freed to work. We need to rest in

order to serve. In order to do anything for the

Lord, we must first rest in Christ. We have already

said this, haven't we? The Westminster Shorter

Catechism, number 86. Faith in Jesus Christ is

a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon

him alone for salvation as he's offered to us

in the gospel. Friends, in order to do anything

for the Lord. We must rest in Jesus as our savior.

You have been created in Christ for good works,

but the work that saves you is not yours. The

work that saved you is Jesus's work, his life

and his death. And so what does Jesus tell you?

It was also on our call to worship. He tells

you to come and lay your burdens at his feet.

That's what we must do. We cannot free ourselves

from the grip that sin has upon us. It's too

strong. No amount of labor on your part can save

you. We need to be freed from sin in order to

serve. That's not just us. That's not just Solomon.

That's also the leaders. Look in verses 17 through

19. David no doubt is concerned for his son.

He's concerned for the temple being built, but

he doesn't tell these leaders, hey, go get your

best pair of work gloves and your work boots

and get after it. No, David says to the leaders

the same thing that he said to his son is not

the Lord with you. The Lord supplies the materials.

The Lord supplies the workforce. The Lord supplies

the peace from the enemies. The Lord makes the

conditions perfect. And so he says, set your

mind in your heart to seek the Lord. actively

obey Him. And you can build this sanctuary, this

temple. Why, though? Why does the temple need

to be built? What's the purpose? The purpose

is for worship. That's really what this discussion

is all about. Why does the Lord need a house?

He doesn't have a body. You say, well, it's for

the ark, but why? It's all for worship David

acknowledges anything he's been able to do is

because of the invisible hand of God and David

recognizes this He recognizes that he is chosen

for this work His son is chosen for this work

flip over to 28 chapter 28 verses 4 through 7

First Chronicles 28 4 through 7 they are chosen

for this work 28 for yet the Lord God of Israel

chose me from all my father's house to be king

over Israel forever for he chose Judah as leader

and in the house of Judah my father's house and

among my father's sons he took pleasure in me

make me king over all Israel and of all my sons

for the Lord has given me many sons he has chosen

Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom

of the Lord over Israel he said to me it is solemn

in your son who shall build my house in my courts

right chosen him to be my son and I will be his

father I will establish his kingdom forever if

he continues strong and keeping my commandments

and my rules as he is today Friends, if you are

really here for worship, and if you're really

a Christian, it's not because you willed yourself

to be one. And if you've accomplished anything

at all for the Lord in your life, it's not through

your own hard work. And if you have peace in

your heart today, it's not because you achieved

it somehow. It comes from the Prince of Peace.

And once we have that Prince of Peace, once we

have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and we've

believed on the name of Jesus Christ, then and

only then we are called to action. You remember

Ephesians 2 10, for in Jesus Christ, we're created

for good works, which he prepared beforehand.

We're created for good works. And so what this

is, what chapter 22 is, it's a call to serve.

With redeemed hearts, we are to seek and honor

God and loving him and loving others. That's

what this chapter is. But there's also a gospel

connection here. We know that the temple that

Solomon built, it was destroyed, right? And then

another one was built, right? And then Jesus

said to the Jewish leaders, he said, destroy

this temple and I will raise it up in three days.

And they said, what are you talking about? You

can't possibly do that. They didn't understand.

They were confused, right? He was talking about

his own death and his own resurrection. He says,

I'll be raised on the third day because he who

lays his life down does so to take it up again.

Let me read to you a quote from one commentator

on this. As a place of God's dwelling, Christ

is the way of access to God's presence. The goal

of David's temple is the goal of incarnation.

The Lord dwells on earth with humans in the fullness

of his attributes. But the commentator also goes

on to explain that not only is Christ the temple,

but we as Christians, as the church, we are also

the temple. because of the indwelling of the

Holy Spirit, as God's temple, we can then serve

God. Yvonne Engelmann that I referenced at the

beginning, she was freed from that death camp

and she went on to serve every single week in

a Holocaust museum in Australia. That's how she

went about service. But we, have the Holy Spirit.

We've believed in Jesus. And so how might Jesus

use us? What is our call to action? Well, there's

probably a lot that we could say here. I'll just

give you one point of application. We are called

to build the church. Now you might say, well,

Matthew 16 tells us that Jesus builds the church

and the gates of hell will not prevail against

it. And that's 100 % true. but what is true of

Solomon in building the temple is true of us

as we build the church unless the Lord builds

the house those who build it labor in vain but

no doubt God called Solomon to action and God

provided what he needed and so he does with us

you Christian you've been commissioned by Jesus

to go and make disciples of every nation and

I get it it can be a lot to build the church.

It can be a lot to do evangelism. It can be a

lot to do apologetics. It can be a lot to go

on a mission trip. It can be a lot even for us,

especially those of us who are a little bit timid

to share with our neighbor or our co -worker

or even our relative. But the Lord grants you

understanding. The Lord has given you his word

to guide you. The Lord provides strength and

so we shouldn't fear. And the Lord promises his

presence as we build the church. And so church,

arise. You have been freed to serve. Let us make

disciples and go out to build the church to the

glory of God. Let's pray.