Daily Devotional (GPS)
King David’s legacy: a vision and resources for the future
Daily Scripture
1 Chronicles 28:1-11, 20; 29:1-5, 16
1 Chronicles 28
1 David assembled all of Israel’s leaders in Jerusalem, the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, the officials in charge of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, as well as the officers, warriors, and all the valiant men. 2 Then King David stood up and said:
Listen to me, my relatives and my people. I wanted to build a temple as the permanent home for the chest containing the LORD’s covenant, our God’s footrest. But when I prepared to build it, 3 God said to me, You must not build a temple for my name, because you are a military man and you’ve shed blood. 4 The LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole household to become king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and within Judah’s family, my household, and among my father’s family he was pleased with me, making me king over all Israel. 5 And from all the many sons the LORD has given me, he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the LORD’s kingdom over Israel. 6 He said to me: Your son Solomon will build my temple and my courtyards, for I’ve chosen him to become my son even as I myself will become his father. 7 I’ll establish his kingdom forever if he remains committed to keeping my commands and case laws as he does now.
8 So now, in the presence of all the LORD’s assembly and with God as our witness, carefully observe all the commands of the LORD your God, so that you may hold on to this good land and pass it on to your children forever. 9 As for you, Solomon, my son, acknowledge your father’s God and serve him with enthusiastic devotion, because the LORD searches every mind and understands the motive behind every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. 10 Now then, since the LORD has chosen you to build a temple for him as the sanctuary, work hard.
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plan for the entrance hall, its buildings, treasuries, upper and inner rooms, and the room for the cover [Or mercy seat or perhaps reconciliation cover (Hebrew kapporet)].
20 “Be strong and courageous,” David said to his son Solomon. “Get to work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the LORD God, my God, is with you. He’ll neither let you down nor leave you before all the work for the service of the LORD’s temple is done.
1 Chronicles 29
1 Then King David said to the whole assembly:
My son Solomon, the one whom God chose, is too inexperienced for this great task, since this temple won’t be for humans but for the LORD God. 2 Using every resource at my disposal, I’ve provided everything for my God’s temple: gold for gold objects, silver for silver objects, bronze for bronze objects, iron for iron objects, lumber for wooden objects, carnelian stones for settings, antimony, colorful stones, every kind of precious stone, and a large amount of marble. 3 What’s more, because of my delight in my God’s temple, I have dedicated my own private treasure of gold and silver to my God’s temple, in addition to all that I’ve provided for the holy temple: 4 three thousand kikkars of gold from the gold of Ophir, seven thousand kikkars of refined silver for covering the walls of the rooms, 5 gold for gold objects, and silver for silver objects, to be used for everything the skilled workers will make. Who else, then, will volunteer, dedicating themselves to the LORD today?
16 LORD, our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build you a temple for your holy name comes from your hand and belongs to you.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Israel’s King David dreamed of building a Temple in God’s honor (cf. 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 1 Chronicles 17:1-15). When God (through the prophet Nathan) said David was not the one to build the Temple, the king turned his eyes to the future. His legacy became a builder, not a building. He trained his son Solomon in how to lead in building the dazzling temple. He didn’t just talk a good game but set out to gather what Solomon would need for the project, giving a large chunk of his fortune as a legacy.
- David also let all of Israel join in giving for the Temple. 1 Chronicles 29:9 said the people rejoiced, not because they’d given a fixed financial amount, but because “they had presented their offerings to the Lord so willingly and wholeheartedly.” Do the words “willingly and wholeheartedly” apply to you when paying for health insurance and/or medical bills? Buying gifts? Paying to fix your car, roof or plumbing? Whatever you give to advance God’s kingdom?
- David spoke of God’s choosing him, his family and his people, Israel. It didn’t (and doesn’t) mean the chosen get a free pass to heaven, or that God chose you because you are better than others. “God’s choice of Abraham was not a means of excluding other people but of including them…. They were chosen to fulfill a role, not in order to enjoy being chosen.” * God has chosen you (cf. Ephesians 3:2,10) to fulfill the role of showing others what God is like. How can you do that?
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for the gift of life and all that comes with it. Grow in me a heart that fills with joy when I have the privilege of giving back some of what you’ve given me. Amen.
GPS Insights
Janelle Gregory
Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as Human Resources Lead Director. Janelle finds that her heart is constantly wrestling with the truth that she needs a Savior, and the times when she's at her very best are when she's just too tired to put up a fight.
I did it! I said, “No” to a slice of turtle cheesecake. Do you know how much I love turtle cheesecake? Unless you audibly gasped at that previous sentence, the answer is no. I love, love, love, love, love turtle cheesecake!
Why would I do such a foolish thing? Why would I deny myself the creamy goodness topped with sweet caramel, drizzled with decadent chocolate, and evenly topped with heavenly slices of pecans? It is because I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my health as of late, not only my health of today, but my health in the future too.
I’m by no means a fitness fanatic. Like most of us, my health habits tend to ebb and flow. I recently saw my health decisions start on a path that wasn’t the best. My eating habits were trending towards more desserts and bigger portions, and my physical activity consisted mostly of walking between the couch and kitchen. As a result, I wasn’t feeling my best. I just felt sluggish.
I’m taking small steps to turn that around. I’ve been working out on a regular basis and through some miracle from heaven I said, “No” to turtle cheesecake. I do this because I feel better when I do. I have more energy now, and I know that my choices today impact my future health. I say no to cheesecake, because I am saying yes to my health, yes to my tomorrows.
(Editor’s note: Janelle wrote this post for us in 2017. Imagine how much healthier she is by now!)
As those who make up the body of Christ, we have to be mindful of the health of Christ’s body too. Just as our nutritional and fitness choices impact our own health, we also make choices that impact the health of the body of believers. We care for this body by saying yes to giving of our time, giving of our resources, sharing our faith, caring for our neighbors, and a whole host of other ways. Does this mean that we say no to other choices? Sure it does. We say “No” to certain indulgences, because we care about the future of the body of Christ, the future of the Church. When we imagine the body of Christ in the future, how healthy is it? That all depends on what we say yes and no to today. If I can say “No” to turtle cheesecake, certainly we can all make choices that provide the best health for the future of the body of Christ.
