22 And they eat and drink before Jehovah on that day with great joy, and cause Solomon son of David to reign a second time, and anoint `him' before Jehovah for leader, and Zadok for priest.
And David is old, and satisfied with days, and causeth his son Solomon to reign over Israel,
and anointed him there hath Zadok the priest -- and Nathan the prophet -- for king over Israel, and ye have blown with a trumpet, and said, Let king Solomon live; and ye have come up after him, and he hath come in and hath sat on my throne, and he doth reign in my stead, and him I have appointed to be leader over Israel, and over Judah.' And Benaiah son of Jehoiada answereth the king, and saith, `Amen! so doth Jehovah, God of my lord the king, say; as Jehovah hath been with my lord the king, so is He with Solomon, and doth make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.' And Zadok the priest goeth down, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethite, and the Pelethite, and they cause Solomon to ride on the mule of king David, and cause him to go unto Gihon, and Zadok the priest taketh the horn of oil out of the tent, and anointeth Solomon, and they blow with a trumpet, and all the people say, `Let king Solomon live.'
and unto those of the sons of Israel who are near He hath not put forth His hand, and they see God, and eat and drink.
and ye have eaten there before Jehovah your God, and have rejoiced in every putting forth of your hand, ye and your households, with which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.
`And it hath been, the place on which Jehovah your God doth fix to cause His name to tabernacle there, thither ye bring in all that which I am commanding you, your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all the choice of your vows which ye vow to Jehovah; and ye have rejoiced before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your handmaids, and the Levite who `is' within your gates, for he hath no part and inheritance with you.
and thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who `are' within thy gates. Seven days thou dost feast before Jehovah thy God, in the place which Jehovah doth choose, for Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all thine increase, and in every work of thy hands, and thou hast been only rejoicing. `Three times in a year doth every one of thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which He doth choose -- in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths; and they do not appear before Jehovah empty; each according to the gift of his hand, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God, which He hath given to thee.
And Bath-Sheba boweth -- face to the earth -- and doth obeisance to the king, and saith, `Let my lord, king David, live to the age.'
And all the people go to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great joy, because they have understood concerning the words that they made known to them.
There is nothing good in a man who eateth, and hath drunk, and hath shewn his soul good in his labour. This also I have seen that it `is' from the hand of God.
And I have praised mirth because there is no good to man under the sun except to eat and to drink, and to rejoice, and it remaineth with him of his labour the days of his life that God hath given to him under the sun.
Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a glad heart thy wine, for already hath God been pleased with thy works.
Those rich in the present age charge thou not to be high-minded, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who is giving to us all things richly for enjoyment; -- to do good, to be rich in good works, to be ready to impart, willing to communicate,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 29
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 29 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 29
1Ch 29:1-9. David Causes the Princes and People to Offer for the House of God.
1, 2. Solomon … is yet young and tender—Though Solomon was very young when he was raised to the sovereign power, his kingdom escaped the woe pronounced (Ec 10:16). Mere childhood in a prince is not always a misfortune to a nation, as there are instances of the government being wisely administered during a minority. Solomon himself is a most illustrious proof that a young prince may prove a great blessing; for when he was but a mere child, with respect to his age, no nation was happier. His father, however, made this address before Solomon was endowed with the divine gift of wisdom, and David's reference to his son's extreme youth, in connection with the great national undertaking he had been divinely appointed to execute, was to apologize to this assembly of the estates—or, rather, to assign the reason of his elaborate preparations for the work.
3, 4. Moreover … I have of mine own proper good, &c.—In addition to the immense amount of gold and silver treasure which David had already bequeathed for various uses in the service of the temple, he now made an additional contribution destined to a specific purpose—that of overlaying the walls of the house. This voluntary gift was from the private fortune of the royal donor, and had been selected with the greatest care. The gold was "the gold of Ophir," then esteemed the purest and finest in the world (Job 22:24; 28:16; Isa 13:12). The amount was three thousand talents of gold and seven thousand talents of refined silver.
5. who then is willing to consecrate his service—Hebrew, "fill his hand"; that is, make an offering (Ex 32:29; Le 8:33; 1Ki 13:33). The meaning is, that whoever would contribute voluntarily, as he had done, would be offering a freewill offering to the Lord. It was a sacrifice which every one of them could make, and in presenting which the offerer himself would be the priest. David, in asking freewill offerings for the temple, imitated the conduct of Moses in reference to the tabernacle (Ex 25:1-8).
6-8. Then the chief of the fathers—or heads of the fathers (1Ch 24:31; 27:1).
princes of the tribes—(1Ch 27:16-22).
rulers of the king's work—those who had charge of the royal demesnes and other possessions (1Ch 27:25-31).
offered willingly—Influenced by the persuasive address and example of the king, they acted according to their several abilities, and their united contributions amounted to the gross sum—of gold 5,000 talents and 10,000 drams; and of silver, 10,000 talents, besides brass and iron.
7. drams—rather, darics, a Persian coin, with which the Jews from the time of the captivity became familiar, and which was afterwards extensively circulated in the countries of Western Asia. It is estimated as equal in value to 25s. of British currency.
of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron—In Scripture, iron is always referred to as an article of comparatively low value, and of greater abundance and cheaper than bronze [Napier].
8. and they with whom precious stones were found—rather, "whatever was found along with it of precious stones they gave" [Bertheau]. These gifts were deposited in the hands of Jehiel, whose family was charged with the treasures of the house of the Lord (1Ch 26:21).
1Ch 29:10-25. His Thanksgiving.
10-19. Wherefore David blessed the Lord—This beautiful thanksgiving prayer was the effusion overflowing with gratitude and delight at seeing the warm and widespread interest that was now taken in forwarding the favorite project of his life. Its piety is displayed in the fervor of devotional feeling—in the ascription of all worldly wealth and greatness to God as the giver, in tracing the general readiness in contributing to the influence of His grace, in praying for the continuance of this happy disposition among the people, and in solemnly and earnestly commending the young king and his kingdom to the care and blessing of God.
16. all this store that we have prepared—It may be useful to exhibit a tabular view of the treasure laid up and contributions stated by the historian as already made towards the erection of the proposed temple. Omitting the brass and iron, and precious stones, which, though specified partly (1Ch 29:7), are represented in other portions as "without weight" (1Ch 22:3, 14), we shall give in this table only the amount of gold and silver; and taking the talent of gold as worth £5475 (the talent being 125 pounds in weight), the value of the gold will be about 73s. per ounce. The talent of silver is given at £342 3s. 9d., or 4s. 4½d. per ounce. The total amount of the contributions will be:
Though it has been the common practice of Eastern monarchs to hoard vast sums for the accomplishment of any contemplated project, this amount so far exceeds not only every Oriental collection on record, but even the bounds of probability, that it is very generally allowed that either there is a corruption of the text in 1Ch 22:14, or that the reckoning of the historian was by the Babylonian, which was only a half, or the Syrian, which was only a fifth part, of the Hebrew talent. This would bring the Scripture account more into accordance with the statements of Josephus, as well as within the range of credibility.
20. all the congregation … worshipped the Lord, and the king—Though the external attitude might be the same, the sentiments of which it was expressive were very different in the two cases—of divine worship in the one, of civil homage in the other.
21, 22. they sacrificed … And did eat and drink—After the business of the assembly was over, the people, under the exciting influence of the occasion, still remained, and next day engaged in the performance of solemn rites, and afterwards feasted on the remainder of the sacrifices.
22. before the Lord—either in the immediate vicinity of the ark, or, perhaps, rather in a religious and devout spirit, as partaking of a sacrificial meal.
made Solomon … king the second time—in reference to the first time, which was done precipitately on Adonijah's conspiracy (1Ki 1:35).
they … anointed … Zadok—The statement implies that his appointment met the popular approval. His elevation as sole high priest was on the disgrace of Abiathar, one of Adonijah's accomplices.
23. Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord—As king of Israel, he was the Lord's vicegerent.
24. submitted themselves—Hebrew, "put their hands under Solomon," according to the custom still practised in the East of putting a hand under the king's extended hand and kissing the back of it (2Ki 10:15).
1Ch 29:26-30. His Reign and Death.
26. Thus David … reigned—(See 1Ki 2:11).