6 In all the places where I have gone with all Israel, did I ever say to any of the judges of Israel, whom I made the keepers of my people, Why have you not made for me a house of cedar?
From looking after the sheep which were giving milk, he took him to give food to Jacob his people, and to Israel his heritage. So he gave them food with an upright heart, guiding them by the wisdom of his hands.
And he said, I myself will go with you and give you rest. And Moses said, If you yourself are not going with us, do not send us on from here.
Then the Lord gave them judges, as their saviours from the hands of those who were cruel to them. But still they would not give ear to their judges, but went after other gods and gave them worship; quickly turning from the way in which their fathers had gone, keeping the orders of the Lord; but they did not do so. And whenever the Lord gave them judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and was their saviour from the hands of their haters all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved by their cries of grief because of those who were cruel to them.
So they went forward three days' journey from the mountain of the Lord; and the ark of the Lord's agreement went three days' journey before them, looking for a resting-place for them; And by day the cloud of the Lord went over them, when they went forward from the place where they had put up their tents. And when the ark went forward Moses said, Come up, O Lord, and let the armies of those who are against you be broken, and let your haters go in flight before you. And when it came to rest, he said, Take rest, O Lord, and give a blessing to the families of Israel.
And I will put my holy House among you, and my soul will not be turned away from you in disgust. And I will be present among you and will be your God and you will be my people.
So that Moses was not able to go into the Tent of meeting, because the cloud was resting on it, and the House was full of the glory of the Lord. And whenever the cloud was taken up from the House, the children of Israel went forward on their journey: But while the cloud was there, they made no move till it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was resting on the House by day, and at night there was fire in the cloud, before the eyes of all the people of Israel, and so it was through all their journeys.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 17
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 17 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 17
This chapter contains an account of David's intention to build an house for God, which, he signified to Nathan the prophet, who first encouraged him to it; but afterwards was sent by the Lord to him with an order to desist from it, assuring him, at the same time, that his son should build it, and that his own house and kingdom should be established for ever; for which David expressed great thankfulness, the whole of which is related in 2 Samuel 7:1 with some little variation, see the notes there; only one thing has since occurred, which I would just take notice of, that here, 1 Chronicles 17:5 as there also, it is said by the Lord, that he had "not dwelt in an house since the day he brought up Israel out of Egypt"; which seems to suggest that he had dwelt in one before, as has been hinted on 2 Samuel 7:6 even while the people of Israel were in Egypt, though it is nowhere mentioned by Moses, or any other writer; yet it is not unreasonable to suppose it; for as the ancestors of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when only travellers from place to place, built altars for God wherever they came; so their posterity, it is highly probable, not only did the same, but when they found themselves settled in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, might build places of worship; and when we consider the wealth of Joseph, and his family, and indeed of all Israel, who enjoyed for many years great plenty, prosperity, and liberty, before their servitude, the vast numbers they increased to and the long continuance of them in Egypt, more than two hundred years; it will not seem strange that they should build houses for religious worship, and even one grand and splendid for public service, to which also they might be led by the example of the Egyptians; who, as Herodotus saysF9 , were the first that erected altars, images, and temples to the gods, and who in the times of Joseph had one at On, where his father-in-law officiated as priest, Genesis 41:45 or rather to this they might be directed by some hints and instructions of their father Jacob before his death, who it is certain had a notion of a Bethel, an house for the public worship of God, Genesis 28:17 and I find a learned manF11Dickinson. Physic. vet. & vera, c. 19. sect. 24. of our own nation of this opinion, and which he founds upon this passage; and he supposes the house God dwelt in, in Egypt, was not a tent of goats' hair, as in the wilderness, but a structure of stones or bricks, a firm and stable house, such an one as Abraham built at Damascus when settled there; which continued to the times of Augustus Caesar, as related by Nicholas of DamascusF12Apud. Joseph. Antiqu. l. 1. c. 7. sect. 2. . See 2 Samuel 7:1.cf13 (i) Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 4.
See Chapter Introduction