WWUTT 614 King David's Last Words?

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David arranged for the construction of the temple, and then he also organized its continued function after it was built.

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Likewise, we give our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we continue to grow in holiness when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand the Text, a daily study of God's Word that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will.

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For questions and comments send us an email to whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com

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Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. Are you ready for this? We are going to finish our study of 1

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Chronicles today. I know I've got seven chapters I need to cover in the 20 or so minutes of time that I allot myself, but we are going to do it.

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So let's recap what we had read last week. David decided he wanted to do a little bit of counting, so he conducted a census, and this was contrary to the law as it was given in the book of Exodus.

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So because David did this pridefully, the Lord sent a pestilence upon the land, and tens of thousands of Israelites died.

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In order to appease the wrath of God, David purchased a plot of land where he built an altar and sacrificed to the

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Lord, and the Lord relented in his anger. That very place that David bought was going to be the place where the temple would eventually be constructed.

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And that's what we're going to read about at the start of 2 Chronicles, which we'll get to next week.

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So then at the end of chapter 22, David told Solomon what he was to do in undertaking this monumental task of building the temple of God, and that's where we pick up the story.

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So here in chapter 23, when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son, king over Israel.

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David assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. The Levites, 30 years old and upward, were numbered, and the total was 38 ,000 men.

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The Levites were not numbered in the census that David took. So here

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David is counting the Levites in a manner that is worthy before the Lord, where previously he had done his census just to see how great he was.

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He just wanted to see how many people in Israel he had under him and how many men he had available to him to fight for him.

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But here this is a noble and worthy effort in counting the Levites, for they are in charge of the temple service.

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So as David has commissioned Solomon to build the temple, it's necessary to know how many Levites are on hand for this task.

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So verse 4, 24 ,000 of these, David said, shall have charge of the work in the house of the

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Lord. 6 ,000 shall be officers and judges, 4 ,000 gatekeepers, and 4 ,000 shall offer praises to the

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Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise. And David organized them in divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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And so that's what we get next. We get the list of names in these respective divisions that David has appointed for the service in the temple that Solomon is going to build.

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So skipping down to verse 24, these were the sons of Levi by their father's houses, the heads of father's houses, as they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from 20 years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the

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Lord. For David said, the Lord, the God of Israel has given rest to his people and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.

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And so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service for by the last words of David, the sons of Levi were numbered from 20 years old and upward for their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the

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Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy and any work for the service of the house of God.

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Their duty was also to assist with the showbread, the flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering, the offering mixed with oil and all measures of quantity or size.

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And they were to stand every morning thanking and praising the Lord. And likewise at evening and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the

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Lord on Sabbaths, new moons and feast days, according to the number required of them regularly before the

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Lord. Thus, they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers for the service of the house of the

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Lord. Very, very important job that the priest had. And they did this on behalf of all of the people of Israel.

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Chapter 24 is David, then organizing the priests and the divisions of the sons of Aaron.

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So we had the tribes of Levi in chapter 23 and then the organization of the sons of Aaron in chapter 24.

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So skipping now to chapter 25, David organizes the musicians. These are the ones to whom were given the instruments that David had constructed for the purpose of praising

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God there in the temple. And they praise God with hymns that David and his courtiers had written for the purpose of leading all of Israel in these songs of praise.

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And as was mentioned in chapter 23, this was done on Sabbaths and new moons and festival days.

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The people of Israel would gather and sing these songs of praise to the Lord. What is it that they would sing?

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Exactly what we have written in the Psalms. Now, unfortunately, to history, we've lost the tunes exactly what these songs would have sounded like and their melodies.

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But those are the lyrics. Those are the Psalms that the people of Israel would have lifted up together in chorus in praise to our great

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God and king. Now imagine that the very Psalms that we read together and probably even read together as a congregation in church.

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We do that every Sunday, my church congregation. We read a Psalm every so and not exactly every

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Sunday, but pretty close to that. We do one of those call and response things where I, as the pastor, will read a portion and then the congregation will respond back.

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And oftentimes this is not just a Psalm that we're lifting up in praise, but it's also a

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Psalm that expresses to the Lord a heartfelt need and desire for forgiveness, that God would cleanse us of our iniquities and welcome us into his courts with praise.

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And so as we do this together, 3000 years after David had written many of these

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Psalms that we have, we are singing the same word, the same words of praise with the saints of old.

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How beautiful is that as the people of God, that we do that together and that's the work of the Holy Spirit that reaches across time and bounds and places and territories and countries and nationalities and ethnicities and languages, et cetera, et cetera.

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We can lift our voices as one in Christ Jesus to our

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God and father who saves us. Amen. So after this list of musicians that we have in chapter 25, then we get to chapter 26 and we have the divisions of the gatekeepers.

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See, see how I said we were going to get through this rather quickly. We're just skipping the names.

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I'm not going to be enunciating all of these names, but the purpose of the gatekeepers is mentioned here in, let's start about verse 12.

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The divisions of the gatekeepers corresponding to their chief men had duties just as their brothers did ministering in the house of the

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Lord. And they cast lots by father's houses, small and great alike for their gates.

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The lot for the east fell to Shalamiah. They cast lots also for his son,

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Zechariah, a shrewd counselor, and his lot came out for the north. Obed Edom's came out for the south and to his sons was allotted the gatehouse for Shapim and Hosa.

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It came out for the west at the gate of Shaliketh on the road that goes up.

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Watch corresponded to watch on the east. There were six each day on the north for each day on the south for each day, as well as two and two at the gatehouse and for the colonnade on the west, there were four at the road and two at the colonnade.

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These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the Korah heights and the sons of Marari. So these gates that are being described here, these are the gates around the temple.

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This isn't the city gates, but it's the, it's the gates that people entered to get into the temple place.

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And there were only certain times and certain people that could enter into the temple. Remember there's cleanliness laws also regarding who can enter into the temple space and who cannot.

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The south gate is the entrance that the king uses. The east gate is the main gate into that temple area.

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So the entrance to the temple is facing to the east verse 20 here. And of the

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Levites, Ahijah had charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated gifts, the sons of laden, the sons of the

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Gershonites belonging to laden, the heads of the father's house is belonging to laden, the Gershonite Jehili.

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And then you have the list of names there for those who were the treasurers and other officials in the service of the temple.

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So now we have military divisions in chapter 27. This is the number of the people of Israel, the heads of father's houses, the commanders of thousands and hundreds and their officers who served the king in all matters concerning the divisions that came and went month after month throughout the year, each division numbering 24 ,000.

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And then we have a list of those commanders and the armies that were under them. Then you have the leaders of the tribes in the latter half of chapter 27.

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And then when we get to chapters 28 and 29, we enter into the last words of King David.

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So here we are. Chapter 28, David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that serve the king, the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the seasoned warriors.

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These are basically all the names that we've seen listed in First Chronicles up to this point.

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Verse two. Then King David rose to his feet and said, hear me, my brothers and my people.

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I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our

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God. And I made preparations for building. But God said to me, you may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.

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Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel forever.

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For he chose Judah as leader and in the house of Judah, my father's house.

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And among my father's sons, he took pleasure in me to make me king over all

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Israel and of all my sons. For the Lord has given me many sons. He has chosen

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Solomon, my son, to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

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He said to me, it is Solomon, your son, who shall build my house and my courts.

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For I have chosen him to be my son and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom forever.

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If he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules as he is today.

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Now, therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the

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Lord, your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.

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And as we read those statements there from David might make us grit our teeth a little bit when we realize that Solomon doesn't, in fact, continue strong in keeping the commands of God as he is today, as David mentioned, and that the people did not seek out all the commandments of the

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Lord God, that they would possess the good land and leave it for an inheritance to their children after them forever.

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And remember, first and second chronicles are being written after the people had returned from their exile because Solomon disobeyed, because the people of God disobeyed and the

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Lord turned them over to the hands of their enemies. So again, first and second chronicles being written in remembrance of the things that the people did in rebellion against God and then how

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God turned them over to the hands of their enemies so that they would not repeat the same sins that they were guilty of before.

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So while this seems like a great big celebration in Israel, surely the people of Israel looking back in hindsight and remembering these things read them with great difficulty, but also conviction in their hearts that they may not sin and would continue to honor the

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Lord with what they did. So verse nine and you, Solomon, my son, know the

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God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.

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If you seek him, he will be found by you. But if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

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Be careful now for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.

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Then David gave Solomon his son the plan for the vestibule of the temple and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms and its inner chambers and of the room for the mercy seat and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the

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Lord, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for dedicated gifts for the divisions of the priests and of the

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Levites and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord for all the vessels for the service in the house of the

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Lord, the weight of gold for all the golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, the weight of the golden lamp stands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lamp stand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lamp stand and its lamps according to the use of each lamp stand in the service, the weight of gold for each table of the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, the pure gold for the forks, the basins and the cups for the golden bowls and the weight of each for the silver bowls and the weight of each for the altar of incense made of refined gold and its weight.

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Also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the

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Lord. All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, all the work to be done according to the plan.

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Now this that we have written here in first chronicles is the only place that we have detailed for us just how involved

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David was in the construction of the temple. Because when we read this account in first and second

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Kings, or I'm sorry, in second Samuel, then leading into first Kings, we don't see

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David's involvement that much. We just see that David died and he passed the responsibility on to Solomon.

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But here we see just how deliberate David was in how these things were to be constructed.

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God had communicated it all to him and then repeated it all to Solomon. So now we have in verse 20, then

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David said to Solomon, his son be strong and courageous and do it. Same words that God gave to Joshua when he took over after Moses, do not be afraid and do not be dismayed for the

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Lord God. And even my God is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the

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Lord is finished and behold the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God and with you and all the work will be every willing man who has skill for any kind of service.

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Also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command. So here's what

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David is basically laying out for Solomon. You're going to build the temple of God and I've made arrangements for you to be able to do that.

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And then I've also arranged for you how you are to continue in the service in the temple of God.

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So it's not enough that it would be built. David also arranged that it would continue in operation as the temple of God was meant to operate.

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And so that must be the same with us in our Christian lives. We did not just make some sort of profession of faith and then went on as though no change had happened at all.

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But we confess ourselves before the Lord. We ask forgiveness for our sins and then repentance and faith is ongoing in the life of a believer.

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We're growing in the knowledge of these things in sanctification the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts.

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So it was with the temple of God and so it must be with us who are temples of the

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Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Chapter 29 and David the king said to all the assembly

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Solomon my son whom alone God has chosen is young and inexperienced and the work is great for the palace will not be for man but for the

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Lord God. 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 on and on the details are given there through verse 4 or sorry verse 5 then verse 6 then the leaders of fathers houses made their free will offerings as did also the leaders of the tribes the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and the officers over the king's work they gave for the service of the house of God 5000 talents and 10 ,000 derricks of gold 10 ,000 talents of silver 18 ,000 talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron and again this is a free will offering they did not have to do this but did this for the service of God and to please their

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King David and whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord in the care of Jehiel the

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Gershonite then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the

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Lord David the king also rejoiced greatly therefore

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David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly and David said blessed are you

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O Lord the God of Israel our father forever and ever yours

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O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours yours is the kingdom

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O Lord and you are exalted as head above all by the way that's the very place first Chronicles 29 11 that the conclusion to the

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Lord's Prayer is added in the King James Bible it comes from first Chronicles 29 11 it's an addition to the

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Lord's Prayer in Matthew chapter 6 that does not appear in the earliest manuscripts but it was taken from first Chronicles 29 11 verse 12 both riches and honor come from you and you rule over all in your hand our power and might and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all and now we thank you our

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God and praise your glorious name but who am I and what is my people that we should be able thus to offer willingly for all things come from you and of your own we have given you for we are strangers before you and sojourners as all our fathers were our days on the earth are like a shadow and there is no abiding

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O Lord our God all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own

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I know my God that you test the heart and have pleasure and uprightness in the uprightness of my heart

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I have freely offered all these things and now I have seen your people who are present here offering freely and joyously to you

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O Lord the God of Abraham Isaac and Israel our fathers keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people and direct their hearts toward you grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments your testimonies and your statutes performing all and that he may build the palace for which

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I have made provision and so as David is praising God here for all of the treasure that has been given to Israel he acknowledges that all of this treasure belongs to God anyway so how wonderful it is to give back to the

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Lord that which he had given to Israel to be good stewards of and we need to consider the same with what the

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Lord has blessed us with particularly when it comes to the money that he has blessed you with your church your ministry cannot function without it and so give from what

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God has given you to the church do so as a free will offering and do it with joy verse 20 then

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David said to all the assembly bless the Lord your God and all the assembly bless the

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Lord the God of their fathers and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king and they offered sacrifices to the

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Lord and on the next day they burnt offerings to the Lord a thousand bulls a thousand rams of that and a thousand lambs with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all

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Israel and they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness and they made

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Solomon the son of David King the second time and they anointed him as prince for the

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Lord and Zadok as priest then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord is King in place of David his father and he prospered and all

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Israel obeyed him all the leaders and the mighty men and also the sons of King David pledged their allegiance to King Solomon and the

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Lord made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any

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King before him in Israel thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all

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Israel the time that he reigned over Israel was 40 years he reigned seven years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem then he died at a good age full of days riches and honor and Solomon his son reigned in his place now the acts of King David from first to last are written in the

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Chronicles of Samuel the seer and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries to be continued

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Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog sharing personal thoughts alerting readers to false teachers and offering commentary on the church and social issues you can find a link to the blog through our website www .t