Kingly Commitment (1 Chronicles 22)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:04.799 Well, let's hear God's Word From First Chronicles chapter twenty two. Will Continue 2 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:15.750 First Cross continue preaching through first chronicles, hearing the God's word. Here I'll 3 00:00:15.750 --> 00:00:31.179 be reading the whole chapter. First Chronicles, chapter twenty two. Then David 4 00:00:31.300 --> 00:00:37.689 said here shall be the House of the Lord God, and here the altar 5 00:00:38.289 --> 00:00:45.729 of burnt offering for Israel. David commanded to gather together the resident aliens who 6 00:00:45.770 --> 00:00:50.320 were in the land of Israel, and he set stone cutters to prepare dressed 7 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:55.359 stones for the building are for building the House of God. Verse Three. 8 00:00:55.399 --> 00:01:02.799 David also provided great quantities of iron for nails for the doors and of the 9 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:08.829 gates and for clamps, as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing and Cedar 10 00:01:08.950 --> 00:01:15.150 Timbers without number, for the Sidonians and the tyrians brought great quantities of Cedar 11 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:19.700 to David. For David said, Solomon, my son, is young and 12 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:23.780 inexperienced, and the House that is to be built for the Lord must be 13 00:01:23.819 --> 00:01:30.340 exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make 14 00:01:30.459 --> 00:01:37.049 preparation for it. So David provided materials in great quantity before his death. 15 00:01:38.250 --> 00:01:42.129 Then he called Solomon, his son, and charged him to build a house 16 00:01:42.329 --> 00:01:47.129 for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, my 17 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:51.680 son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name 18 00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:55.920 of the Lord, my God, but the word of the Lord came to 19 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.599 me, saying, you have shed much blood and have waged great wars. 20 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:02.790 You shall not build a house to my name because you have shed so much 21 00:02:02.829 --> 00:02:07.030 blood before me on the earth. Behold, a son shall be born to 22 00:02:07.150 --> 00:02:12.310 you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from 23 00:02:12.349 --> 00:02:17.020 all his surrounding enemies, for his name shall be Solomon, and I will 24 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:23.340 give peace and quiet to Israel. In his days, he shall build a 25 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:27.740 house for my name. He shall be my son and I will be his 26 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:35.650 father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever. Purse Eleven. 27 00:02:37.370 --> 00:02:39.050 Now, my son, the Lord be with you, so that you 28 00:02:39.129 --> 00:02:43.569 may succeed in building the House of the Lord, your God, as he 29 00:02:43.610 --> 00:02:49.639 has spoken concerning you. Only may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding that, 30 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:53.719 when he gives you charge over Israel, you may keep the law of 31 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:58.750 the Lord your God. Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe 32 00:02:58.830 --> 00:03:02.509 the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses. For Israel. Be 33 00:03:02.669 --> 00:03:10.110 Strong and courageous. Fear not, do not be dismayed. With great pains. 34 00:03:10.189 --> 00:03:15.740 I have provided for the House of the Lord One hundred thousand talents of 35 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:21.180 gold, a million talents of silver and bronze, and iron beyond weighing, 36 00:03:21.860 --> 00:03:25.340 for there is so much of it. Timber and stone too. I have 37 00:03:25.500 --> 00:03:30.250 provided to these, you must add, you have an abundance of workmen, 38 00:03:30.370 --> 00:03:37.090 stone cutters, Mason's carpenters and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in 39 00:03:37.250 --> 00:03:43.080 working gold, silver, bronze and iron. Arise and work. The Lord 40 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:47.240 be with you. David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon, 41 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:52.159 his son, saying is not the Lord your God with you, and 42 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.509 has he not given you peace on every side? For he has delivered the 43 00:03:55.590 --> 00:04:00.069 inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the 44 00:04:00.189 --> 00:04:04.110 Lord and his people. Now set your mind and your heart to seek the 45 00:04:04.270 --> 00:04:10.180 Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so 46 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:14.219 that the Yark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God 47 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:20.459 may be brought into a house built for the name of the Lord. Amen, 48 00:04:21.339 --> 00:04:42.639 he may be seated. I was at Home Depot recently and I noticed 49 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:46.639 that on the side of some of the boxes they were tell you not only 50 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:51.040 what's in the box itself, but they also have listed the materials that you'll 51 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:55.470 need to complete the project. So there may not be a hammer in the 52 00:04:55.509 --> 00:04:58.670 box, but there's one in the other aisle that you can go and get 53 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:02.310 to do what you need to do. If this is true for hanging a 54 00:05:02.509 --> 00:05:05.949 door or putting in a window or something like that, can you imagine? 55 00:05:06.660 --> 00:05:11.100 Would you? Can you imagine the kind of preparations it would take to build 56 00:05:11.100 --> 00:05:15.779 a whole house? What about now, a house for God, a temple 57 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:21.889 where people will worship, where animals will be sacrificed, and not any temple 58 00:05:23.009 --> 00:05:28.930 either. Notice what David wants in particular. He doesn't just want a Nice 59 00:05:29.050 --> 00:05:33.410 House for the Lord. He doesn't just want a good temple and average temple, 60 00:05:34.329 --> 00:05:43.199 he wants one that is exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all 61 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:48.879 lands. I'm not sure how many things that we could think of that could 62 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:56.189 be DIS cribed this way. Can you think of something that is exceedingly magnificent 63 00:05:57.230 --> 00:06:01.949 of fame and glory throughout all the lands. On our vacation we went to 64 00:06:02.029 --> 00:06:06.379 the Grand Canyon and we notice there that there were lots and lots of people 65 00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:12.339 there that weren't from Arizona, people from Spain, people from France, people 66 00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:16.899 from Canada, people from all over the United States. Maybe the Grand Canyon 67 00:06:17.019 --> 00:06:24.769 comes close as a good decide, something that describes this exceedingly magnificent of fame 68 00:06:24.889 --> 00:06:29.649 and glory throughout all the lands. That's what David wants for the Temple of 69 00:06:29.769 --> 00:06:34.279 God. Now, imagine you're in David's position. You want to build a 70 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:39.759 temple like this, a temple that everyone will talk about, that everyone will 71 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:43.480 know about, that everyone will think of Israel, will think of Jerusalem ago, 72 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:49.189 yes, the temple of Yahwa, nothing like. What would you include? 73 00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:56.750 What kind of preparations would need to be made? We that's what we 74 00:06:56.829 --> 00:07:00.389 have here in this chapter, is we have a description of David's preparations. 75 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:04.699 Now, ultimately it's going to be Solomon who's going to build the house, 76 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:11.180 and there's a reason given here. David tells Solomon that the Lord has kept 77 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:15.449 him from building the House. I'm partly because the reason that's listed here is 78 00:07:15.529 --> 00:07:19.769 that he is a man of war. It's worth mentioning that this is not 79 00:07:19.810 --> 00:07:25.930 a punishment against David, just as an aside. God made David a man 80 00:07:26.050 --> 00:07:28.930 of war. He is the one who sent him out into the battle. 81 00:07:29.290 --> 00:07:32.920 He's the one who wanted him to go and defeat the Philistines, as you 82 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:39.160 remember from a few chapters back. But nevertheless, God wants his temple to 83 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:45.029 be established in a time of peace. He wants the completion to be done 84 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:50.750 in a period of rest and quiet, and that's why Solomon is being called 85 00:07:51.389 --> 00:07:56.829 to the task. It tells something about what the temple is going to be. 86 00:07:58.350 --> 00:08:03.060 Sometimes, when people retire, they move to places where all they can 87 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:05.139 have, or all that they want, is a little peace and quiet, 88 00:08:05.459 --> 00:08:11.220 right, a little rest, a little relaxation. It implies that the busyness 89 00:08:11.300 --> 00:08:16.329 of life, the war of life, is over, and that's what God 90 00:08:16.449 --> 00:08:20.529 wants for his people. No more war, no more work, just peace 91 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:26.529 and rest in the land. And that's the setting, that's the context in 92 00:08:26.610 --> 00:08:33.480 which God will dwell with his people in the temple. Well, focusing on 93 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:39.480 this and reading this chapter is not just interesting and amazing to hear how this 94 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:41.789 was built, or the kinds of things that went into it. But it 95 00:08:41.830 --> 00:08:48.870 will really help us to understand the kind of temple that Jesus builds. David 96 00:08:48.909 --> 00:08:54.309 and Solomon together work to picture Jesus, our king, who builds a temple 97 00:08:54.470 --> 00:09:00.620 not out of stones but out of people. Seeing something of the model helps 98 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:05.259 us understand something of the real thing, of the thing that it points to, 99 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:09.659 and so we want to spend some time this evening thinking about what God 100 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:15.090 says in First Chronicles twenty two, of getting a sense of the greatness of 101 00:09:15.169 --> 00:09:18.409 the temple. But as you we do this, as we discuss this and 102 00:09:18.529 --> 00:09:22.250 think about this, I want you all ready to be thinking about how the 103 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:28.200 temple of Jesus, the Temple of God that he makes out of you and 104 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:35.399 me, is all the more greater. So first, what is needed? 105 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:39.950 What is David preparing? I wonder if you can list them in your mind 106 00:09:39.309 --> 00:09:43.950 as you kind of tick through the things you heard in first chronicles twenty two. 107 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:48.149 What are some of those things? Well, one of the things that 108 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:52.340 David needs and is preparing our workers. If this temple is going to be 109 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:56.659 built, he can't do it by himself. He is going to need workers, 110 00:09:56.700 --> 00:10:01.340 and we see that right away from verse two. Interestingly, the people 111 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:09.529 that are going to be working are not Israelites but resident aliens, people who 112 00:10:09.529 --> 00:10:15.169 were in the land of Israel, gentiles are going to be building this most 113 00:10:15.169 --> 00:10:18.210 Holy House of the Lord. And he sat and then we read in verse 114 00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:24.360 two that he set stone cutters to prepare dressed stones for the building of the 115 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:26.919 House of God. This is hard work. You have to go into a 116 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.440 big quarry where there's large stones. From what I understand, they would, 117 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:35.870 one of the things they would do is drive these long wedges into cracks and 118 00:10:35.990 --> 00:10:41.549 then fill soak those wedges with water so that the stones would break apart. 119 00:10:41.070 --> 00:10:45.590 And then once you have this these large pieces of stone broken apart, you 120 00:10:45.629 --> 00:10:48.190 have to chisel off the sides. You have to move them somehow, probably 121 00:10:48.309 --> 00:10:52.860 on little lead balls or something like that. It's a lot of work. 122 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:58.139 There are these people particularly skilled at this craft, and that's what he needs. 123 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:01.659 He needs workers, stone cutters. We have other people listed, other 124 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:09.210 workers listed in Verse Fifteen. In Verse Fifteen, Paul, I'm sorry, 125 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:15.929 David says to his son. You have an abundance of workmen, stone cutters, 126 00:11:16.570 --> 00:11:22.519 Mason's, carpenters and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working 127 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:28.440 gold, silver, bronze and iron. Well, what else does David prepare 128 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:33.990 other than the workers? He also prepares the materials. We read of the 129 00:11:33.029 --> 00:11:39.230 stones, of course. In verse two we read of these various minerals, 130 00:11:39.669 --> 00:11:46.350 iron, Bron on's gold, Cedar, a Seedar, obviously, a tree, 131 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:52.259 the trees that were, by the way, gifted to the kingdom from 132 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:56.779 the Sidonians and the tyreans. And what we see in all of these things 133 00:11:58.340 --> 00:12:03.450 is there is a lot of them. Remember David says about the workers there 134 00:12:03.529 --> 00:12:05.409 without number. Well, he says the same thing about the bronze and the 135 00:12:05.610 --> 00:12:11.649 iron. It's so much bronze and iron going into this temple that you can't 136 00:12:11.690 --> 00:12:16.240 even begin to weigh it. It's sort of an impossible task, so much 137 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:22.000 of it. And that's true not only of these less precious elements, but 138 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:26.559 even the silver and the gold. Take the gold, for example. The 139 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:31.350 silver, it says there's a million talents. I'm I'm forgetting all of a 140 00:12:31.389 --> 00:12:39.909 sudden a hundred thousand talents of gold. That's three thousand seven hundred and fifty 141 00:12:39.110 --> 00:12:46.779 tons of gold. If you took all the gold together in your house, 142 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:50.740 how much do you think you have? Don't tell me, but how much? 143 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:54.500 How many rooms can you fill with the gold that's in your house? 144 00:12:56.980 --> 00:13:03.169 Three thousand seven hundred and fifty tons. That's about forty five billion dollars worth 145 00:13:03.210 --> 00:13:05.970 of gold. And you know what David says to solemn about that gold. 146 00:13:07.529 --> 00:13:11.929 Make sure you add more, more, put more on, more El more 147 00:13:11.049 --> 00:13:18.720 gold, more silver. This is an amazing amount of gold. Outside, 148 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:22.519 inside of first chronicles, the second highest number is only a hundred and twelve 149 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:28.830 tons. Outside of chronicles we only see twenty five tons, an amount that 150 00:13:28.950 --> 00:13:33.990 was given to Solomon yearly. There are other amounts of gold mentioned in the 151 00:13:33.070 --> 00:13:39.309 ancient Near East, but very rarely. There's only one instance where I'm forgetting 152 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:41.580 the name of the city, but in the time of Alexander, the great 153 00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:48.539 a city is mentioned and it's the amount of gold. It exceeds this hundred 154 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:52.059 thousand talents by just a little bit, and this is the city with the 155 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:56.850 greatest wealth in the world at the time. This is an amazing amount of 156 00:13:58.769 --> 00:14:05.809 materials, amazing amount of precious materials. Why is all this important? Well, 157 00:14:05.889 --> 00:14:09.759 it's magnificent right. He's meeting his goal. He wants the template of 158 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:15.240 God to be exceedingly magnificent, and with this kind of material and these kind 159 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:20.200 of workers, certainly it will. But it also reminds us that this is 160 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:26.870 a special at place. It's to be exceedingly magnificent because the Lord God of 161 00:14:26.990 --> 00:14:33.750 Israel is exceedingly magnificent. You don't go by a Strativarius and then put it 162 00:14:33.870 --> 00:14:39.019 in a sack and carry it around with you. You don't go get an 163 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:46.460 expensive sports car and then leave it outside and not garage it. You don't 164 00:14:46.539 --> 00:14:50.700 build a temple to the Lord God, Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth, 165 00:14:52.090 --> 00:14:56.250 and not build it like this. That's David's vision here. We are 166 00:14:56.409 --> 00:14:58.929 going to do this right, we are going to do this well. Yah 167 00:15:00.049 --> 00:15:05.049 Ways. Name is going to be known throughout the land. In many ways, 168 00:15:05.129 --> 00:15:09.519 the temple was meant to picture heaven itself. Indeed, the closer you 169 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:13.000 moved into the holy of holies, the more precious these materials would become, 170 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:20.279 the more beautiful everything would be. The entire temple was meant to express the 171 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:24.629 magnificence of God. As you approached it, as you saw it, as 172 00:15:24.669 --> 00:15:28.509 you heard about it from a far away land. It was supposed to impress 173 00:15:28.669 --> 00:15:35.470 on you the truth of Yah ways greatness and of his great love for Israel. 174 00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:39.460 So we have the workers, we have the materials. What else does 175 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:46.980 David Need? Well, he needs a man of character and obedience to make 176 00:15:46.019 --> 00:15:52.289 all of this work. If you were going to build a house, you 177 00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:56.330 would go higher, an architect, a contractor, you would gather together people 178 00:15:56.330 --> 00:16:02.169 who would be in charge of the project, especially if you were not capable 179 00:16:02.210 --> 00:16:07.120 at this yourself. You would need need someone who could supervise make good decisions. 180 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:12.399 Solomon needed to be that kind of man. There have been many kings 181 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:17.840 in history who have been given vast amounts of wealth and have squandered it, 182 00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:22.350 who have wasted it, lost it through bad policies, through greed, all 183 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:29.029 kinds of things. But psalmn and must be wise. He must be wise 184 00:16:29.149 --> 00:16:33.019 and his father praised this for him. He calls Solomon in verse six, 185 00:16:33.139 --> 00:16:37.940 to his son and he tells him, I want you to build this house. 186 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:41.019 And then in verse eleven, he says, may God be with you, 187 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:48.169 and then in verse twelve, only may the Lord grant you discretion and 188 00:16:48.490 --> 00:16:53.490 understanding. But it's not just for building the house, for managing kind of 189 00:16:53.610 --> 00:17:00.370 this big work that he needs discretion and understanding. You See, Solomon's not 190 00:17:00.490 --> 00:17:04.079 just a contractor, he's going to be a king. He is going to 191 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:11.519 not just construct a house but rule a kingdom. David goes on to say 192 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:17.990 that when God gives you charge over Israel, you may keep the law of 193 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:25.630 the Lord, your God. The connection between the temple and the law, 194 00:17:25.990 --> 00:17:30.099 between the temple and the kingdom or the king who would keep the law, 195 00:17:30.619 --> 00:17:34.940 is seen in the last few verses of this chapter, in last few verses, 196 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:40.019 when David is speaking to the other leaders in Israel. He says, 197 00:17:40.059 --> 00:17:45.049 arise and build the Sanctuary of Jehovah, God, so that the Ark of 198 00:17:45.130 --> 00:17:48.690 the Covenant of Jehovah and the Holy Vessels of God may be brought into the 199 00:17:48.809 --> 00:17:55.690 house, into a house built for the name of Jehovah. You see the 200 00:17:55.849 --> 00:18:00.160 connection there and that article in particular, the Ark of the covenant. Do 201 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:03.559 you remember what's in the Ark of the Covenant? The Law of God? 202 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:10.680 God doesn't God reveals himself through his law. He wants a kingdom ruled by 203 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:14.789 his law. God is a God who is holy. God is a God 204 00:18:14.829 --> 00:18:18.750 who is righteous, who is filled with justice and mercy, who is justice 205 00:18:18.869 --> 00:18:26.509 and mercy and love and he wants his king and he wants his kingdom and 206 00:18:26.630 --> 00:18:30.740 his people ruled in this way. And that is why, in the place 207 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:34.019 where God dwells, the Ark of the Covenant will be and that is why 208 00:18:34.099 --> 00:18:38.579 the king who builds this house, who will place the arc in this holy 209 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:47.410 of holies, must have discretion and understanding that he might rule according to God's 210 00:18:47.410 --> 00:18:53.369 law, that he might apply God's law with understanding to his people. The 211 00:18:53.410 --> 00:18:59.200 name of God would dwell with his people, but his people must dwell with 212 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:03.720 him, and to do so they must be righteous, they must be holy. 213 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:08.359 So David praise that his son would have discretion, would have understanding. 214 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:14.950 He also calls him to be strong and courageous. Though he's a man of 215 00:19:15.069 --> 00:19:18.990 peace, he must not be weak. He must be as vigilant as Joshua, 216 00:19:19.390 --> 00:19:23.859 who is also called to be strong and courageous, to go forward into 217 00:19:23.900 --> 00:19:30.819 battle. David also was called to be strong and courageous. Well, just 218 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:33.059 as these men were called to be strong and courageous and times of war, 219 00:19:33.339 --> 00:19:38.529 so Solomon must be in times of peace. And all and much of what 220 00:19:38.650 --> 00:19:45.170 is said here of Solomon extends to the leaders mentioned in verses. Seventeen through 221 00:19:45.250 --> 00:19:49.289 twenty two. He says to the leaders of Israel to go and help Solomon, 222 00:19:49.450 --> 00:19:55.359 his son. He says God has given you peace, God has given 223 00:19:55.400 --> 00:20:00.880 you is subdued the people. Now set your mind. Verse Nineteen. Set 224 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:07.230 your mind and your heart to seek the Lord, your God. You remember 225 00:20:07.269 --> 00:20:11.789 this? This theme of seeking has been so important in first chronicles. Do 226 00:20:11.869 --> 00:20:17.829 you remember who didn't seek the Lord? Saul? Saul didn't seek the Lord. 227 00:20:17.910 --> 00:20:22.859 The people didn't seek the Lord and Saul was replaced. The King of 228 00:20:23.059 --> 00:20:30.700 God's people must seek God, must know him, belong to him, submit 229 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:37.769 to him. This is the kind of man that David needs. Well, 230 00:20:37.809 --> 00:20:44.650 the last thing that David needs, so to speak, is God. Psalm 231 00:20:44.970 --> 00:20:48.609 one hundred and twenty seven famously says this. I'll read it to you. 232 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:53.359 Perhaps you even have it memorized. Psalm one hundred and twenty seven, verse 233 00:20:53.559 --> 00:21:00.119 one. It's a song by the way of Solomon. Unless Jehovah builds the 234 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:04.670 house, those who build it Labor in vain. Unless Jehovah Watches over the 235 00:21:04.750 --> 00:21:10.150 city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you 236 00:21:10.269 --> 00:21:12.990 rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil 237 00:21:14.029 --> 00:21:22.660 for he who gives for he gives to his beloved sleep. You can have 238 00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:26.859 the strongest man, the most courageous man, the most skilled cutters, the 239 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:30.420 largest amounts of gold and silver and bronze and iron. You can have great 240 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:37.289 gifts coming to you from other kingdoms, but nothing, nothing will work unless 241 00:21:37.450 --> 00:21:45.049 God is on your side. This is always true of everything that we do. 242 00:21:45.410 --> 00:21:48.799 We must always seek after God, we must always seek the he is 243 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:52.240 on our side, that he is with us, that we are going about 244 00:21:52.599 --> 00:22:00.920 his word work. And that's why David says and asks and praise that Yahwagh 245 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:06.789 would be with you, that Yah Wah would grant to his son a discretion, 246 00:22:07.029 --> 00:22:15.579 understanding peace. Sometimes people want understanding. This will want to deny the 247 00:22:15.660 --> 00:22:19.299 work of men. But this isn't true, is it? You see both 248 00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:23.180 here, though. God is ultimately supreme over these things, though. God 249 00:22:23.420 --> 00:22:26.579 is the one who will built this temple. What is David say to his 250 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:33.170 son? A rise and work, get busy, do the things that I've 251 00:22:33.210 --> 00:22:38.009 called you to do. May God be with you. So these are the 252 00:22:38.130 --> 00:22:41.690 things that are going to be required, these are the things that David is 253 00:22:41.809 --> 00:22:48.960 preparing the temple with workers, materials. He needs a good king a good 254 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:55.160 son and he needs the Lord God of Israel on their side. Well, 255 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:57.829 what does all this tell us? Well, tells us a lot, but 256 00:22:57.950 --> 00:23:03.190 we only have a little bit of time. One thing, it tells us 257 00:23:03.230 --> 00:23:07.869 that David is most certainly doing God's work. David's not out seeking to gain 258 00:23:07.990 --> 00:23:12.859 glory for his own name. Everything that he's doing is centered around the covenant 259 00:23:12.859 --> 00:23:17.779 that God has given in and notice how David is doing it properly, in 260 00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:22.259 an accord with what God has commanded. God said, no, you shall 261 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:26.099 not build my house, while your son shall build my house. Can you 262 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:30.130 imagine sitting around with all this gold, with all this labor, with so 263 00:23:30.250 --> 00:23:34.369 much success, so much power, and have to pass it on, to 264 00:23:34.450 --> 00:23:38.170 have to say, well, that'll be for the next generation? Can you 265 00:23:38.210 --> 00:23:45.359 imagine being King David and knowing that you would not see this temple that was 266 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:48.079 in your heart to build, that you have prepared for and build? And 267 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:53.599 yet David seems to be okay with this. He's at peace with this because 268 00:23:53.640 --> 00:24:00.910 he submitted himself to God's will obediently. He has submitted himself to God, 269 00:24:00.069 --> 00:24:07.309 his father, and is going about things a god. This way, we 270 00:24:07.470 --> 00:24:12.259 also see what is required to build the Temple of God a lot of work, 271 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:19.460 costly material, obedience, a godly king. Only through these things would 272 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:27.170 God be present among his people. Now, with that being said, let 273 00:24:27.210 --> 00:24:36.329 us turn the corner and consider the work of Jesus and how it compares to 274 00:24:36.369 --> 00:24:41.039 the Temple Building we have here. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is 275 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:47.960 to consider how the original hearers would have heard this passage. You remember the 276 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:52.950 WHO the original hearers were? They were people who had returned back from the 277 00:24:52.069 --> 00:24:57.029 exile, the people who heard this. We're not people who were waiting for 278 00:24:57.150 --> 00:25:02.990 the temple to be built. They were people who had seen the temple destroyed. 279 00:25:03.910 --> 00:25:08.259 This is the ears through which they're hearing this history. They're hearing this 280 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:14.940 great story and all this anticipation about David getting the the the Temple Materials Ready, 281 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:19.420 about Solomon being prepared, this young and inexperienced man being prepared and a 282 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:23.690 gifted and anointed by God. But they know the end of the story, 283 00:25:23.849 --> 00:25:30.809 don't they? They know how Israel would defile the temple, defile the land, 284 00:25:30.730 --> 00:25:37.319 how they wouldn't be holy, how the King's including Solomon, would not 285 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:44.119 follow God's law, how all of it would come crashing down in judgment and 286 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:52.029 in exile and in defilement. This text has this note of joy, but 287 00:25:52.390 --> 00:25:57.269 after the exile it has a kind of sadness to it. All the work, 288 00:25:57.549 --> 00:26:03.390 all the materials, all that had gone into this were lost, plundered. 289 00:26:03.670 --> 00:26:10.980 People put to death, no wonder, but the older people who had 290 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:15.339 seen the temple before it was destroyed wept even as a new one was being 291 00:26:15.500 --> 00:26:22.490 constructed. Did hearing this history, on that side of history might very well 292 00:26:22.730 --> 00:26:26.690 cause you to weep and to wonder. God had surely kept his promises to 293 00:26:26.849 --> 00:26:33.559 judge, but what about his promises of grace? What about his promise to 294 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:38.359 David that his son would be established on a throne forever, it says, 295 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:48.910 a kingdom forever, an eternal covenant? Well, that's where Jesus comes in. 296 00:26:51.750 --> 00:26:55.190 For thousands of years, ever since the fall, people have been taking 297 00:26:55.430 --> 00:27:00.819 holy things of God and defiling them. They've been taking humanity, has been 298 00:27:00.900 --> 00:27:10.299 taking the close relationship that it has with God and separating through sin, taking 299 00:27:10.420 --> 00:27:15.660 the temples of God and worshiping idols in them, building towers of Babel in 300 00:27:15.849 --> 00:27:19.210 their name and in their glory, when God is the one who made us 301 00:27:19.250 --> 00:27:25.450 and God is the one who deserves us. Humanity, ever since the fall, 302 00:27:25.650 --> 00:27:32.359 has been constantly separating itself from God, and of course we can't just 303 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:36.480 look over our shoulders and say all all those terrible people right, the same 304 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:40.000 as true of us. Would you do any better? Do you do any 305 00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:44.950 better? How often do we try to find God and other than in the 306 00:27:44.990 --> 00:27:48.029 places that he would meet us? How often do we seek to work on 307 00:27:48.190 --> 00:27:53.390 projects that his will simply isn't in, to build our own towers, to 308 00:27:53.509 --> 00:27:57.819 strengthen our own name? Do we, like David, go out and seek 309 00:27:57.980 --> 00:28:03.900 the glory of God? Is that something that's important to you? Is that 310 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:07.859 something that you devote your time, your money, your energy, your prayers 311 00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:14.930 to? Or do we amass fortunes and pursue careers at any cost? Do 312 00:28:15.049 --> 00:28:18.569 we try to find a name for ourselves so that we can finally be independent 313 00:28:18.769 --> 00:28:26.359 of God? We do, but these attempts of course, always fail, 314 00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:33.880 and this one does as well, not because God failed, but he let 315 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:38.720 his people fail so that they could see what real glory, what real peace, 316 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:45.589 whateverlasting rest and communion with God would be. In some ways, you 317 00:28:45.670 --> 00:28:49.910 can think about the temple as a little model. When I was in sixth 318 00:28:51.029 --> 00:28:56.940 grade, we all had to do an Egypt project and everybody did different things. 319 00:28:56.980 --> 00:29:00.980 I remember there were Barbie dolls wrapped in toilet paper, a little SARCOFFA, 320 00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:04.940 the guy and that sort of thing. Other people would take sugarcubes and 321 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:08.180 build little pyramids and things and they would all be on displaying. Well, 322 00:29:08.859 --> 00:29:12.369 why? What's the point of this? Well, we were building models so 323 00:29:12.529 --> 00:29:18.210 that we could understand something of what the real thing was. So you'd walk 324 00:29:18.289 --> 00:29:22.410 down the Sixth Grade Hallway and you'd see a little pyramid and you'd look inside 325 00:29:22.609 --> 00:29:26.119 and there'd be a little chamber, a burial chamber, and be some pots 326 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:32.279 over here, and but it wasn't anything like the Pyramids really, right, 327 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:37.079 you didn't stand in front of this thing and be amazed at the magnificence that 328 00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:44.670 Tommy put together. They're just a little sugar cubes, right. What's pretty 329 00:29:44.670 --> 00:29:48.430 much exactly the same thing with this temple. As grand as it is, 330 00:29:48.710 --> 00:29:53.140 as much gold as was poured into it, as much workman skilled and all 331 00:29:53.299 --> 00:29:59.539 the rest that were devoted to this temple, it's really just a sugarcube pyramid 332 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:07.329 compared with the temple that Jesus builds. Do you believe that, how do 333 00:30:07.410 --> 00:30:12.289 we know that? Let's tick through the list quickly. The materials right. 334 00:30:12.849 --> 00:30:19.250 What about the materials? Gold, silver, bronze. What could be more 335 00:30:19.529 --> 00:30:27.519 expensive? What could be more costly? What could be more magnificent? Listen 336 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:36.430 to first Peter two, verse five, Verse Four. As you come to 337 00:30:36.509 --> 00:30:41.549 him, that is Jesus, a living stone, rejected by men but in 338 00:30:41.589 --> 00:30:48.190 the sight of God, chosen and precious. You yourselves, like living stones, 339 00:30:48.230 --> 00:30:52.940 are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, 340 00:30:52.940 --> 00:31:02.220 to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable and pleasing to God. If you didn't catch 341 00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:07.809 it there, listen to Ephesians too, Effesians two, nineteen through twenty, 342 00:31:07.890 --> 00:31:11.890 twenty two. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you 343 00:31:12.009 --> 00:31:18.680 are fellow citizens and saints and members of the household of God, built on 344 00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:22.920 the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Christ, Jesus himself being the cornerstone 345 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:30.000 in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a Holy Temple and the 346 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:37.269 Lord. In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place 347 00:31:37.750 --> 00:31:45.789 for God by the spirit. Talk about materials. We're not talking about rocks 348 00:31:45.829 --> 00:31:51.299 anymore. We're talking about people. What could be more costly, what could 349 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:56.019 be more magnificent and wonderful than God taking each one of you and building you 350 00:31:56.380 --> 00:32:04.769 into a holy house, a temple for him to dwell in? What about 351 00:32:04.809 --> 00:32:08.250 the workmen? Well, did you hear what Paul said? WHO BUILDS THAT 352 00:32:08.490 --> 00:32:17.279 HOUSE? The spirit, not gentiles who happen to be around, or gentiles 353 00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:23.400 foreigners, who are being pressed into Labor, the spirit of God taking you 354 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:30.589 and putting you one next to another, joining you together, building you up. 355 00:32:32.230 --> 00:32:37.869 If you doubt the cost of your own soul, consider who paid the 356 00:32:37.109 --> 00:32:45.660 price to put you there. Jesus, the son of God, giving his 357 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:51.859 own life, shedding his own blood so that he could take you and corry 358 00:32:52.059 --> 00:33:00.170 you and put you on himself, so that he can dwell in you. 359 00:33:02.490 --> 00:33:08.410 Very interestingly, we read an acts hundred and forty seven, and then again 360 00:33:08.450 --> 00:33:13.799 in chapter seventeen, that this temple that God is building, it's described as 361 00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:20.880 one that's built without human hands, without human hands. That's how the new 362 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:25.680 temple, the temple that Jesus is described, or that Jesus builds, is 363 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:31.990 built, that is to say, it's built spiritually. There's all kinds of 364 00:33:32.029 --> 00:33:37.029 implications of this. I'll tell you just one, one really exciting one. 365 00:33:37.869 --> 00:33:40.700 Do you remember, if you were here, when we were going through Daniel, 366 00:33:40.779 --> 00:33:45.180 how Nebuchadnezzar had this dream that there are all these kingdoms of the world 367 00:33:45.299 --> 00:33:51.220 built up and then there was this thing that came and blew at all the 368 00:33:51.299 --> 00:33:55.410 smitherines. Do you remember what that thing was? It was a stone and 369 00:33:55.569 --> 00:34:02.130 it was a stone uncut, untouched by human hands. And this stone, 370 00:34:02.170 --> 00:34:08.530 Daniel says he interprets, grows so big that it becomes a mountain and fills 371 00:34:08.610 --> 00:34:15.039 the entire earth. What he's describing here is the temple of God. He 372 00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:20.440 describes it as an individual stone, but ultimately it's all of these stones. 373 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:23.989 It's us in Jesus, the foundation of the temple, the Apostles and the 374 00:34:24.070 --> 00:34:29.949 prophets there with him ministering his word, and US built on them. This 375 00:34:30.150 --> 00:34:35.070 is a temple that will fill the earth, and this tells us something else 376 00:34:35.110 --> 00:34:39.019 about the temple and how much grander it is. This temple the David built 377 00:34:39.659 --> 00:34:45.579 was indeed large, was indeed magnificent and wonderful, but did it fill the 378 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:53.329 entire earth? No, not even close. But this is what the Temple 379 00:34:53.409 --> 00:34:58.329 of the Lord does. In fact, when John sees the people, when 380 00:34:58.449 --> 00:35:01.650 God sees us, our sorry, when John Sees in revelation, these the 381 00:35:01.849 --> 00:35:06.130 visions of God in his dwelling place, he doesn't even see a temple, 382 00:35:06.210 --> 00:35:16.559 he just sees a people feeling filling the earth. The materials are more magnificent, 383 00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:23.230 more costly, the the ex the size of the temple is a greater 384 00:35:24.750 --> 00:35:32.789 what about the man who builds the temple? Jesus, Not Solomon, who, 385 00:35:32.789 --> 00:35:37.380 yes, was wise, who yes, was great, but failed in 386 00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:43.860 many ways. Married foreign wives, many married many foreign wives, brought in 387 00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:49.059 all kinds of idolatry. There are many points at which Solomon was not strong 388 00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:52.849 it, which he was not courageous, but never Jesus, and this is 389 00:35:53.050 --> 00:35:59.690 the great thing, beloved, Your Foundation is established on the rock of our 390 00:35:59.809 --> 00:36:05.440 salvation. Jesus was always strong, he was always courageous, he never got 391 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:09.199 weak knees, he never buckled under temptation, he never went the wrong way, 392 00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:15.679 he always did the thing that was right, he always did the will 393 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:22.630 of his father, and because of that he was able to establish peace between 394 00:36:22.670 --> 00:36:28.269 us and God in the Kingdom of God, and he will establish it completely 395 00:36:28.389 --> 00:36:35.900 and perfectly when he comes again. So this is the temple that Jesus built, 396 00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:40.340 as wonderful as David's is, it doesn't really compare. It's just a 397 00:36:40.739 --> 00:36:46.099 little sugar cube structure. Ultimately, it's kind of like the story of the 398 00:36:46.210 --> 00:36:50.329 three little pigs, you know. One goes out builds a house of Straw, 399 00:36:50.489 --> 00:36:53.090 one goes out builds a house of sticks, sticks, and finally someone 400 00:36:53.210 --> 00:36:59.690 does it right. That's what Jesus does. He does it right because he 401 00:36:59.809 --> 00:37:06.599 does it eternally, he does it perfectly. Stones fall apart, gold tarnishes, 402 00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:12.400 things rust, doors fall off. The temple was rated, the temple 403 00:37:12.599 --> 00:37:15.630 was destroyed, it was plundered, the people were killed, but the temple 404 00:37:15.710 --> 00:37:22.469 that Jesus is, Jesus builds, can never be destroyed. It's made by 405 00:37:22.550 --> 00:37:27.190 the spirit of God, through spiritual means, through the preaching of the Gospel, 406 00:37:27.590 --> 00:37:30.579 through the administration of the sacraments, through the changing of our hearts, 407 00:37:30.619 --> 00:37:37.019 by the Holy Spirit themselves, unto resurrected life where we will never die. 408 00:37:37.619 --> 00:37:42.460 This is a temple that cannot perish, a temple that cannot be destroyed. 409 00:37:42.820 --> 00:37:47.409 And so that means, brothers and sisters, that our communion with God is 410 00:37:47.570 --> 00:37:52.610 forever and ever and ever, and our kingdom is forever and ever. He 411 00:37:52.730 --> 00:38:01.599 is eternal and established, just as God promise. We get to hear this 412 00:38:01.800 --> 00:38:08.360 passage with different ears as well. Just like the Jews after the exile heard 413 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:13.429 it with a particular understanding, we do as well, don't we? We 414 00:38:14.989 --> 00:38:19.070 hear it not just as those who have been who who came back from the 415 00:38:19.230 --> 00:38:23.710 exile, but as those who have been built up in the new temple itself 416 00:38:24.949 --> 00:38:31.940 and by our great King Jesus. So, with that in mind, shall 417 00:38:31.980 --> 00:38:37.340 we do any less than Solomon? Shall we be weak and cowardly when it 418 00:38:37.460 --> 00:38:43.210 comes to doing the work of the Lord? Shall we be hesitant in bringing 419 00:38:43.650 --> 00:38:49.010 sacrifices, in giving ourselves? Shall you not give all that you have and 420 00:38:49.250 --> 00:38:55.639 all that you might? Will you not live belonging to God, enjoying his 421 00:38:55.840 --> 00:39:01.880 presence, knowing the safety and security that you have in him, the rock 422 00:39:01.960 --> 00:39:08.360 of our salvation? That's how we hear this passage rightly. We see the 423 00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:13.590 thing that it points forward to, it see it points forward to us, 424 00:39:14.989 --> 00:39:22.030 and we rejoice and we live happily and securely in him. Let us pray 425 00:39:22.349 --> 00:39:24.219 and ask that God would help us in these things.