Study Desk

David ordered the foreigners living in Israel to come to Jerusalem. Then he assigned some to cut blocks of stone for building the temple.

He got a large supply of iron to make into nails and hinges for the doors, and he provided so much bronze that it could not be weighed.

He said, "The temple for the Lord must be great, so that everyone in the world will know about it. But since my son Solomon is young and has no experience, I will make sure that everything is ready for the temple to be built." That's why David did all these things before he died.

David sent for his son Solomon and told him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel.

Solomon, my son, I now pray that the Lord your God will be with you and keep his promise to help you build a temple for him.

I have all the supplies you'll need to build the temple: You have four thousand tons of gold and forty thousand tons of silver. There's also plenty of wood, stone, and more bronze and iron than I could weigh. Ask for anything else you need.

David then gave orders for the leaders of Israel to help Solomon.

Obey the Lord your God with your heart and soul. Begin work on the temple to honor him, so that the sacred chest and the things used for worship can be kept there.

And so, the Levites won't need to move the sacred tent and the things used for worship from place to place.

They will also be in charge of the sacred loaves of bread, the flour for the grain sacrifices, the thin wafers, any offerings to be baked, and the flour mixed with olive oil. These Levites will weigh and measure these offerings.

They were once in charge of taking care of the sacred tent; now they are responsible for the temple and for helping Aaron's descendants.

David assigned them their duties by asking the Lord what he wanted. Everyone was responsible for something, whether young or old, teacher or student.

Eighteen descendants of Meshelemiah were chosen for this work.

Jehieli was the father of Zetham and Joel, and they were responsible for guarding the treasury.

Shelomoth and his relatives were responsible for any gifts that had been given to the temple, including those from Samuel the prophet, King Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah.

Shitrai from Sharon was responsible for the cattle that were kept in Sharon Plain, and Shaphat son of Adlai was responsible for those kept in the valleys.

David called a meeting in Jerusalem for all of Israel's leaders, including the tribal leaders, the government officials, the army commanders, the officials in charge of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, and the brave warriors.

After everyone was there, David stood up and said: Listen to me, my people. I wanted to build a place where the sacred chest would be kept, so we could go there and worship the Lord our God. I have prepared all the supplies for building a temple,

Solomon, my son, worship God and obey him with all your heart and mind, just as I have done. He knows all your thoughts and your reasons for doing things, and so if you turn to him, he will hear your prayers. But if you ignore him, he will reject you forever.

The Lord has chosen you to build a temple for worshiping him. Be confident and do the work you have been assigned.