1 Chronicles 22-27

1 Chronicles 22-27

1 Chronicles 22-27
Zealous To Serve

I. vv. 1-5 David is zealous for the temple.

1 Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” 2 So David commanded to gather the aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to cut hewn stones to build the house of God. 3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance beyond measure, 4 and cedar trees in abundance; for the Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. 5 Now David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.[1]

  1. David desired that the house be famous and glorious in its appearance.
    1. Mason, iron nails, cedar trees, and bronze.
    2. In addition, vv. 14-16 give the details of a staggering amount of gold and silver.
    3. He built a virtual hardware store for Solomon.
  2. Today, we are the temple of God, and there is no physical building that holds the significance that the temple did.

    Ephesians 2:19-22 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
    1. The Church is the grand building project of the Lord today.
    2. We have a building project going on, but in reality, it is not THE project.
    3. The church is not a physical construction, but rather it is a spiritual construction.

II. vv. 6-10 Solomon is charged to build.

 6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the Lord my God; 8 but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

  1. The prohibition against building did not stop David from storing up supplies.
  2. David charges his son to build.
    1. In like manner, in the New Testament, we have been charged to edify or build the Church of Jesus Christ.
    2. When Jesus said He would build His Church, it is the same Greek word that is used for “edify.”
    3. In other words, Jesus was going to build His Church by saving, gifting, and empowering His followers.
    4. We are His construction crew.
  3. Do you have a burden and passion for the (spiritual) building project of the Church?
    1. Evangelism
    2. Equipping
    3. Giving
    4. Rather than breathing a sigh of relief that God didn’t require his efforts, David looked at how he could get involved.
    5. We need to have a passion for the project.
  4. How does a self-centered life impact the project of building the Church?
    1. A heavy workload falls to a few.
    2. Certain gifts are not utilized.
    3. Ministry projects go unfunded.

III. vv. 11-13 Exhortation to obey.

11 Now, my son, may the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. 12 Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed.

  1. Fear often keeps people from serving.
    1. Don’t let fear of failure or fear of inadequacy keep you back.
  2. David realized from his own personal experience that when he walked with the Lord in obedience, he walked in blessing.
    1. Solomon had a significant task ahead of him that was a great privilege, and he would need the Lord’s blessing on this endeavor.
    2. David exhorts Solomon to keep the Law of God and experience the Lord’s hand of blessing.

      Joshua 1:7–8 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
  3. We must walk in obedience to the Lord so that we might find His blessing and prosperity in our lives.
    1. We do not keep God’s commands to earn salvation, yet if we want to experience the fullness of the life God has prepared for us, we must walk in obedience.
    2. This is no different than with my children.
      1. Their obedience does not make them my children.
      2. This is a result of birth.
      3. Yet if they want to enjoy what I have for them, they must walk in obedience.
    3. If you are not walking in obedience, then the Lord is withholding His glorious blessing.

IV. vv. 14-16 Exhortation to work.

14 Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. 15 Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. 16 Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and the Lord be with you.”

  1. Much trouble and much treasure.
    1. The trouble came by way of much warfare and bloodshed on the battlefield.
    2. The treasures were immense and are calculated to have been in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
    3. One challenge in estimating the worth is that the weight of a talent has changed over time.
    4. As seen below, there is a strong belief that a talent would have been seventy-five pounds.
    5. The king had accumulated 100,000 talents of gold (3,750 tons) and 1 million talents of silver (37,500 tons)—together, 41,250 tons (or 821½ million pounds)—a staggering amount of weight and value![2]
    6. The talent is such a heavy weight (= 3,000 [or 3,600] shekels, or about seventy-five pounds) that even when counted by medium-sized numbers it still entails large quantities.[3]
    7. This amount is a little less than 75% of the gold that is in Fort Knox
    8. The table below shows the values using different weights for a talent and the value as of April 15, 2026.
Assumed Talent WeightGold (100,000 talents)Gold Value (USD)Silver (1,000,000 talents)Silver Value (USD)
75 lb (34.0 kg)3,750 short tons≈ $578 billion37,500 short tons≈ $97 billion
  1. David made the project achievable, and so he exhorts Solomon to take up the task at hand.
    1. Similarly, our King has given us a task and supplied all that we need to get the work done.

      Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

      Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

      Titus 3:14 And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.
  2. The life-changing message of the gospel has been worked out by our Savior.

    Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

  3. He has sent us out in His authority

    Matthew 28:18–19 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

  4. He has given us the power of His Spirit to fulfill the task at hand

    Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

    John 14:12–14 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

  5. He has uniquely gifted every member in the Body of Christ to build the Church up.

    1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all

V. vv. 17-18 Leaders are exhorted to help.

17 David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people.”

  1. This was not a one-man job.
  2. It will take tens of thousands of laborers and a united front of leaders to get the work done.
  3. v. 18 The Lord was with them to build, as is evidenced by the peace he had with other countries.

VI. v. 19 Seek and serve the Lord

19 “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore, arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

  1. Set your heart and soul to seek God.
    1. Notice how getting to work is the same as seeking God.
    2. We must always guard our hearts from becoming disconnected from the Lord as we labor!
  2. The goal of the project was to bring the ark of God, which was where God’s physical presence was manifested.

VII. Chs 23-24 Levites are divided into groups for service

  1. Ch 23 The total of 38,000
    1. 24,000 for the work of the Temple
    2. 6,000 as officials and judges
    3. 4,000 as gatekeepers
    4. 4,000 musicians
  2. v. 32 These men were to help in the worship that took place in the Temple and assist the sons of Aaron

    32 and that they should attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the Lord.

  3. Ch 24 Aaron’s sons were organized into a team of service.
    1. v. 3 Ahimelech scheduled everyone.

      3 Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service.
    2. Division of the sons of Aaron.
    3. They served for two weeks a year.
    4. The remainder of the chapter divided the Levites who were not priests into groups for their service.

VIII. Ch 25 The worship leaders.

  1. v. 1 has the interesting note that they serve as prophets.
  2. Why prophesy? The lyrics declare the Word of God and exhort the worshipper’s heart.
  3. These men were what we call our worship leaders today.

IX. Ch 26 Gives the division of gatekeepers, treasurers, and judges.

  1. These are the ushers and greeters.
  2. v. 20 is a close equivalent to our counting team, the finance department, and the Board of Elders of CCL.
  3. v. 29 These are the pastors and leaders at CCL.

X. Ch 27 List of David’s ministers and military.

  1. In vv. 32-34 the counselors of David are listed.

    32 Also Jehonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a scribe; and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons. 33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion. 34 After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, then Abiathar. And the general of the king’s army was Joab.
    1. It is interesting that Ahithophel was a counselor.
      1. He was the man who joined with Absalom in his attempt to overthrow David.
      2. He was also the grandfather of Bathsheba.
  2. Organized and scheduled.
    1. Some feel that organizing removes the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
    2. The key is to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things.

XI. Conclusion

  1. Walk in obedience.
  2. Seek and serve the Lord.
  3. Make the project the priority!

[1] All Scripture quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

[2] Eugene Merrill, “1 Chronicles,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 612.

[3] J. Barton Payne, “The Validity of the Numbers in Chronicles: Part 2,” Bibliotheca Sacra 136 (1979): 207.

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