I knew that David had collected most of the building materials, but I didn’t remember that God had given the whole blueprint to him. David did everything except build the temple. There are some great leadership lessons here as well.
Read 1 Chronicles 26-29 and Psalm 126 in the New Living Translation
Before I forget: Psalm 126 wasn’t written for this time period, it says it was for the exiles returning to Jerusalem, which would happen hundreds of years later, after the Babylonian captivity. As we read it here, it reminds us just how special Jerusalem is.
Back to David’s time: I think it’s wise to note the large number of people that David surrounded himself with. He had leaders assigned to almost every conceivable area, including wine, oil, farming in different areas, treasure in several categories, advisors for war, appointments as ambassadors, etc. David truly moved the Israelites from a nomadic group to a well organized government.
This passage starts with the gatekeepers, but these weren’t ordinary gates. The walls to the city were 20 feet thick in places, and the gates were huge…they were almost a tunnel you walked through to enter the city, with rooms on either side. Apparently there were storehouses in some of those rooms, and the responsibility for them fell to the gatekeepers. I suspect that they also operated a little bit like the TSA officers at the airport, checking to make sure you had legitimate business in the city. It wouldn’t do to have spies wandering around, or visiting dignitaries entering the city unannounced. It was an important job.
The military wasn’t full-time, and that’s the beauty of it. David had the potential of an army that was 12 times the size of the division on duty, and all of them would be trained. But throughout the year, he only had to feed and supply 1/12th of that army. If every man went home with his own sword and weapons then what David established was very similar to the Minute Men of the U.S. colonies, or the modern day National Guard. Still today in Israel you will see off duty soldiers walking around with their rifles on their shoulders. Every man and woman in Israel is required to serve at least 3 years, some serve more. This provides them with a “call up” force of tens of thousands more than are actually on the books.
David was a capable administrator as well as a warrior. He was not only a poet, and a king, but a warrior and an architect. He knew how to plan, and was extremely generous when it came to the Lord’s house. I can’t even conceive of how much the precious metal they collected in one day was worth in today’s dollars. A quick Google search tells me that one ton of gold is worth between 40 and 50 million dollars. David himself donated 112 tons. 112 tons! At 45 million per ton, that’s 5 billion dollars. David donated 5 billion to the temple. Is it any wonder that the officials around him were as generous? David was a wise leader, and his passion was inspiring.
As you read down through the people he appointed, the rotating schedule of military service, and the way he gathered the people of influence together and shared his vision for the temple, the future of Israel, and the reign of his son Solomon, you begin to see that he was far more than a blood thirsty warlord who imposed himself on the people for a short time. David was wise, beloved and ruled well. In spite of all his wisdom, and his great legacy, he still had internal struggles within the kingdom, a military commander who went off the rails, a son who tried to overthrow him and some citizens who hated him without cause. When David passed away there were certainly some who were delighted….which is sad, considering that he was an anointed leader of God’s own choosing.
Administratively and spiritually we would be wise to follow his example. His words to his son Solomon about developing an intimate relationship with God are the best advice I could give my own children.
Faithfully,
PR