Scripture
Gifts for Building the Temple
1Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals—it is for the Lord God himself! 2Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble.
3“And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. 4I am donating more than 112 tons of gold[1] from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver[2] to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings 5and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?”
6Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army,[3] and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. 7For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold,[4] 10,000 gold coins,[5] 375 tons of silver,[6] 675 tons of bronze,[7] and 3,750 tons of iron.[8] 8They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the Lord under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. 9The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and King David was filled with joy.
David’s Prayer of Praise
10Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:
“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel,[9] may you be praised forever and ever! 11Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
13“O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
16“O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
18“O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”
20Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.
Translation notes (9)
- 29:4a Hebrew 3,000 talents [102 metric tons] of gold.
- 29:4b Hebrew 7,000 talents [238 metric tons] of silver.
- 29:6 Hebrew the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
- 29:7a Hebrew 5,000 talents [170 metric tons] of gold.
- 29:7b Hebrew 10,000 darics [a Persian coin] of gold, about 185 pounds or 84 kilograms in weight.
- 29:7c Hebrew 10,000 talents [340 metric tons] of silver.
- 29:7d Hebrew 18,000 talents [612 metric tons] of bronze.
- 29:7e Hebrew 100,000 talents [3,400 metric tons] of iron.
- 29:10 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.
11Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.
Reading is one of my favorite things to do. I especially love reading a book that someone recommended to me. Sometimes when someone recommends a book to me, they also let me borrow that book from them. When I read someone else’s book, I am very careful with it. With my own books, I doggy ear the pages, highlight, and write in them. I use a bookmark with other people’s books, and I never write or highlight in them. Why am I so careful with someone else’s book? It’s simple: it’s not mine. 1 Chronicles 29 serves as a reminder that when we stop and think about it, the same is true with our money: it is not ours because everything belongs to God.
In 1 Chronicles chapter 29, David talks to the people of Israel and tells them that his son Solomon will be the next king of Israel. Solomon, David writes, is going to build a temple for God. As he explains how extraordinary this temple is going to be, he says a prayer to God. He praises God for all of the resources that are going to be used to build this temple. As he says this prayer, David declares, “Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things” (verse 11). In preparation for making this temple, David recognized that everything belongs to God. He is the creator and author of life. As a result, everything is His.
The same is true for us. Everything in this world belongs to Him. This includes all of the things He has blessed us with in our life, including our finances. This changes everything, from the way we view our money and the way we spend it. What God has blessed us with is ultimately His.
When you consider your finances, are you a hoarder, or are you a giver? Hoarders believe that everything belongs to them. They have to be in control because it is all theirs. A giver flips the script. They regard everything as God’s. Understanding that our money belongs to God and is a gift from Him is the first step in making wise financial decisions. You see, we tend to be much more careful and deliberate when handling someone else’s things, and handling God’s money and material possessions is no different. All we have is His. How will you steward His financial gifts that He has given you?
Moving Toward Action
Take a moment and consider the fact that everything you have, including your finances, is God’s. Next, journal using this prompt: How does the knowledge that my finances are a gift from the Lord that belongs to Him change how I steward my finances? As you journal, commit to steward your finances carefully and wisely, just like the way you treat things that do not belong to you.
Going Deeper
1 Chronicles 29:1-20 (NLT)
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