GIFTS FOR THE TEMPLE

Passage: 1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Key verse: 6

NIV

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced.(A) The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold(B) for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,[a](C) stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.(D) 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided(E) for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents[b] of gold (gold of Ophir)(F) and seven thousand talents[c] of refined silver,(G) for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials(H) in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.(I) 7 They(J) gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents[d] and ten thousand darics[e] of gold, ten thousand talents[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents[h] of iron. 8 Anyone who had precious stones(K) gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.(L) 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly(M) to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

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Footnotes
  1. 1 Chronicles 29:2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:4 That is, about 110 tons or about 100 metric tons
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:4 That is, about 260 tons or about 235 metric tons
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 190 tons or about 170 metric tons
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 185 pounds or about 84 kilograms
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 380 tons or about 340 metric tons
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 675 tons or about 610 metric tons
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 3,800 tons or about 3,400 metric tons
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Offerings for the Temple

29 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is (A)young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for (B)the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God. 2 So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of (C)onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. 3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 4 (D)3,000 talents[a] of gold, of the gold of (E)Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,[b] 5 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself[c] today to the Lord?”

6 Then (F)the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and (G)the officers over the king's work. 7 They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 (H)darics[d] of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of (I)Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a (J)whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

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Footnotes
  1. 1 Chronicles 29:4 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Septuagint; Hebrew houses
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Or ordaining himself; Hebrew filling his hand
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:7 A daric was a coin weighing about 1/4 ounce or 8.5 grams
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

King David said to the whole assembly that he had offered all his resources for the temple of God. He has provided his own gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, turquoise, and all kinds of fine stones. He offered these in large quantities so the best materials could be used in building the temple of God. In addition, he offered gold and silver from his personal treasurers.

And he asked who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord. Then the leaders, officers, and commanders all gave willingly. They gave gold, silver, bronze, iron, and precious stones as well. The people were rejoicing greatly when they saw the willing response of the leaders. They did not give partially or provide leftovers. But they gave freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.

Before the building of God’s temple, the Israelites all offered freely, starting from David. In front of God’s work, God wants us to offer what we have freely. It may be our offering of money, time, energy, and youth. When we give freely for God to use, God will be rejoicing in heaven. He will surely make us a blessing to be used powerfully for His world mission purpose.

Prayer: Help us to offer what we have for your work.

One Word: Offer our money, time, and youth in serving God