1 Chronicles 29

1Ch 29:1-9.

DAVID

CAUSES THE

PRINCES AND

PEOPLE TO

OFFER FOR THE

HOUSE OF

GOD.

1, 2. Solomon . . . is yet young and tender--Though

Solomon was very young when he was raised to the sovereign power, his

kingdom escaped the woe pronounced

(Ec 10:16).

Mere childhood in a prince is not always a misfortune to a nation, as

there are instances of the government being wisely administered during

a minority. Solomon himself is a most illustrious proof that a young

prince may prove a great blessing; for when he was but a mere child,

with respect to his age, no nation was happier. His father, however,

made this address before Solomon was endowed with the divine gift of

wisdom, and David's reference to his son's extreme youth, in connection

with the great national undertaking he had been divinely appointed to

execute, was to apologize to this assembly of the estates--or, rather,

to assign the reason of his elaborate preparations for the work.

3, 4. Moreover . . . I have of mine own proper good, &c.--In addition

to the immense amount of gold and silver treasure which David had

already bequeathed for various uses in the service of the temple, he

now made an additional contribution destined to a specific

purpose--that of overlaying the walls of the house. This voluntary gift

was from the private fortune of the royal donor, and had been selected

with the greatest care. The gold was "the gold of Ophir," then esteemed

the purest and finest in the world

(Job 22:24; 28:16;

Isa 13:12).

The amount was three thousand talents of gold and seven thousand

talents of refined silver.

5. who then is willing to consecrate his service--Hebrew, "fill his

hand"; that is, make an offering

(Ex 32:29;

Le 8:33;

1Ki 13:33).

The meaning is, that whoever would contribute voluntarily, as he had

done, would be offering a freewill offering to the Lord. It was a

sacrifice which every one of them could make, and in presenting which

the offerer himself would be the priest. David, in asking freewill

offerings for the temple, imitated the conduct of Moses in reference to

the tabernacle

(Ex 25:1-8).

6-8. Then the chief of the fathers--or heads of the fathers

(1Ch 24:31; 27:1).

princes of the tribes--

(1Ch 27:16-22).

rulers of the king's work--those who had charge of the royal demesnes

and other possessions

(1Ch 27:25-31).

offered willingly--Influenced by the persuasive address and

example of the king, they acted according to their several abilities,

and their united contributions amounted to the gross sum--of gold 5,000

talents and 10,000 drams; and of silver, 10,000 talents, besides brass

and iron.

7. drams--rather, darics, a Persian coin, with which the

Jews from the time of the captivity became familiar, and which was

afterwards extensively circulated in the countries of Western Asia. It

is estimated as equal in value to 25s. of British currency.

of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents

of iron--In Scripture, iron is always referred to as an article of

comparatively low value, and of greater abundance and cheaper than

bronze [NAPIER].

8. and they with whom precious stones were found--rather, "whatever

was found along with it of precious stones they gave"

[BERTHEAU]. These

gifts were deposited in the hands of Jehiel, whose family was charged

with the treasures of the house of the Lord

(1Ch 26:21).

1Ch 29:10-25.

HIS

THANKSGIVING.

10-19. Wherefore David blessed the Lord--This beautiful thanksgiving

prayer was the effusion overflowing with gratitude and delight at

seeing the warm and widespread interest that was now taken in

forwarding the favorite project of his life. Its piety is displayed in

the fervor of devotional feeling--in the ascription of all worldly

wealth and greatness to God as the giver, in tracing the general

readiness in contributing to the influence of His grace, in praying for

the continuance of this happy disposition among the people, and in

solemnly and earnestly commending the young king and his kingdom to the

care and blessing of God.

16. all this store that we have prepared--It may be useful to

exhibit a tabular view of the treasure laid up and contributions stated

temple. Omitting the brass and iron, and precious stones, which,

though specified partly

(1Ch 29:7),

are represented in other portions as "without weight"

(1Ch 22:3, 14),

we shall give in this table only the amount of gold and silver; and

taking the talent of gold as worth £5475 (the talent being 125

pounds in weight), the value of the gold will be about 73s. per

ounce. The talent of silver is given at £342 3s.

9d., or 4s. 4½d. per ounce. The total

amount of the contributions will be:

Sum accumulated, and in public treasury

(1Ch 22:14):

Gold

£547,500,000

Silver

342,187,500

Contributed by David from his private resources

[1Ch 29:4]:

Gold

16,425,000

Silver

2,395,312

Contributed by the assembled rulers

[1Ch 29:7]:

Gold

28,000,000

Silver

3,421,875

A grand total of approximately

£939,929,687

Though it has been the common practice of Eastern monarchs to hoard

vast sums for the accomplishment of any contemplated project, this

amount so far exceeds not only every Oriental collection on record, but

even the bounds of probability, that it is very generally allowed that

either there is a corruption of the text in

1Ch 22:14,

or that the reckoning of the historian was by the Babylonian, which was

only a half, or the Syrian, which was only a fifth part, of the Hebrew

talent. This would bring the Scripture account more into accordance

with the statements of JOSEPHUS, as well as within

the range of credibility.

20. all the congregation . . . worshipped the Lord, and the

king--Though the external attitude might be the same, the sentiments

of which it was expressive were very different in the two cases--of

divine worship in the one, of civil homage in the other.

21, 22. they sacrificed . . . And did eat and drink--After the

business of the assembly was over, the people, under the exciting

influence of the occasion, still remained, and next day engaged in the

performance of solemn rites, and afterwards feasted on the remainder of

the sacrifices.

22. before the Lord--either in the immediate vicinity of the ark, or,

perhaps, rather in a religious and devout spirit, as partaking of a

sacrificial meal.

made Solomon . . . king the second time--in reference to the first

time, which was done precipitately on Adonijah's conspiracy

(1Ki 1:35).

they . . . anointed . . . Zadok--The statement implies that his

appointment met the popular approval. His elevation as sole high priest

was on the disgrace of Abiathar, one of Adonijah's accomplices.

23. Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord--As king of Israel, he was

the Lord's vicegerent.

24. submitted themselves--Hebrew, "put their hands under Solomon,"

according to the custom still practised in the East of putting a hand

under the king's extended hand and kissing the back of it

(2Ki 10:15).

1Ch 29:26-30.

HIS

REIGN AND

DEATH.

26. Thus David . . . reigned--(See

1Ki 2:11).

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