The Hand-Off: War, Peace, and Building God's House Text: 1 Chronicles 22:6-16
Introduction: The Necessary Division of Labor
We live in a sentimental age. It is an age that wants peace without victory, an age that wants order without authority, and an age that wants to build beautiful things without first clearing the ground. Our culture wants the stately cathedral of Christendom without the messy business of spiritual warfare that made it possible. They want Solomon's temple, but they don't want David's wars. But the kingdom of God does not advance that way. The logic of God's work in history is that the ground must be cleared before the foundation can be laid. The enemies must be subdued before the temple can be built.
This is a principle that runs right through Scripture. There is a time for war and a time for peace. There is a time to tear down and a time to build up. And God, in His wisdom, often assigns these different tasks to different men, to different generations. David was a man after God's own heart, a mighty warrior, a poet, a king. He longed to build a house for God. It was a good and godly desire. But God told him no. The reason given here is stark and instructive for us: David was a man of blood. His calling was to fight, to conquer, to secure the borders, and to establish the kingdom in the midst of ferocious opposition. His wars were not sinful; they were commanded. But the house of God, the place of worship and fellowship, was to be built by a man of peace, a man of rest. The temple was to be a symbol of the peace that God grants after the victory is won.
This passage is about more than just an ancient building project. It is about generational faithfulness. It is about the vital hand-off from one generation to the next. David, the warrior father, prepares everything for Solomon, the builder son. He accepts his role, embraces his limitations, and pours all his energy into setting his son up for success. This is a direct rebuke to the selfish individualism of our day, where every man wants to be the star of his own movie. In the kingdom of God, we are part of a multi-generational relay race. Some of us are called to run the leg of the race that involves clearing the track of thorns and thistles, and others are called to run on that cleared track. Both are necessary. Both are honorable.
In this charge from David to Solomon, we see the pattern for how God builds His kingdom. He works through fathers and sons, through the bloody work of conflict and the glorious work of construction, and He ties it all together with the absolute necessity of obedience to His Word.
The Text
Then he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. And David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it within my heart to build a house to the name of Yahweh my God. But the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be a son to Me and I will be a father to him; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ Now, my son, Yahweh be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of Yahweh your God just as He has spoken concerning you. Only Yahweh give you insight and understanding, and give you command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of Yahweh your God. Then you will succeed, if you are careful to do the statutes and the judgments which Yahweh commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of Yahweh 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. Moreover, there are many of those who do the work with you, hewers of stone and craftsmen of stone and wood, and all men who are wise in every kind of work. Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no number. Arise and work, and may Yahweh be with you.”
(1 Chronicles 22:6-16 LSB)
A Godly Ambition Denied (vv. 6-8)
We begin with David's charge and the reason for it.
"Then he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. And David said to Solomon, 'My son, I had it within my heart to build a house to the name of Yahweh my God. But the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me.'" (1 Chronicles 22:6-8)
David's desire to build the temple was a good desire. God Himself acknowledges this elsewhere, saying to David, "you did well that it was in your heart" (1 Kings 8:18). This is an important lesson for us. We can have righteous ambitions, godly goals, and yet God, in His sovereignty, can say "no." God's "no" to a good desire is not a rebuke of the desire itself, but a redirection according to His perfect wisdom and timing. David's response is the model of mature faith. He does not pout. He does not grow bitter. He does not throw down his tools and walk away. He immediately pivots from being the builder to being the preparer. He accepts the role God has given him and throws himself into it wholeheartedly.
The reason God gives is profound. It is not that David's wars were unjust. On the contrary, they were God's wars, necessary for the establishment of God's kingdom. But God wanted the house of worship to be dissociated from the violence of conquest. The temple was to be a house of peace, built in a time of peace, by a man of peace. This is a typological point. The church, the true temple of God, is built by the Prince of Peace. It is established not by the sword of steel, but by the sword of the Spirit. The kingdom expands not through carnal warfare, but through the preaching of the gospel of peace.
This distinction is crucial. We are in a spiritual war, and we must be warriors. We fight against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places. But the goal of our warfare is peace. The church militant fights so that the church triumphant can reign. David represents the church militant, clearing the ground, fighting the battles. Solomon represents the church at rest, enjoying the fruits of that victory in worship and fellowship. We must not confuse the two. We cannot have the peace of Solomon without the battles of David.
The Promise of a Peaceful Builder (vv. 9-10)
God's "no" to David is immediately followed by a "yes" to his son, Solomon.
"Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be a son to Me and I will be a father to him; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever." (1 Chronicles 22:9-10)
God's providence is on full display here. He has a plan that spans generations. The name Solomon itself, from the Hebrew "Shlomo," is related to "shalom," or peace. God names him before he is born, defining his calling. He will be a man of rest, and his reign will be a time of peace. This peace is not an accident; it is a direct gift from God, purchased by the wars of his father. "I will give him rest from all his enemies."
This points us forward to the greater Solomon, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate man of rest. He says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He is the one who builds the true house for God's name, not a temple of stone and wood, but a living temple of redeemed people (1 Peter 2:5). And the promise given to Solomon, "he shall be a son to Me and I will be a father to him," finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, the only-begotten Son of the Father (Hebrews 1:5).
The promise of an eternal throne is also key. While Solomon's physical kingdom eventually crumbled due to sin, the promise did not fail. It was carried forward, generation after generation, until it landed on the one to whom it truly belonged: Jesus of Nazareth, of the line of David, whose kingdom will have no end. This is a covenant promise, and God always keeps His covenant.
The Conditions for Success (vv. 11-13)
David now turns from recounting God's promise to charging his son with his responsibility. This is the classic biblical pattern: divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not enemies; they are friends who work together.
"Now, my son, Yahweh be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of Yahweh your God just as He has spoken concerning you. Only Yahweh give you insight and understanding, and give you command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of Yahweh your God. Then you will succeed, if you are careful to do the statutes and the judgments which Yahweh commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed." (1 Chronicles 22:11-13)
Notice the interplay. God has promised success. David prays for success. And then David tells Solomon what he must do to obtain that success. Success is not automatic. It is conditioned on obedience. "Then you will succeed, if you are careful to do the statutes and the judgments." This is not works-righteousness. This is covenant faithfulness. God establishes the covenant by grace, He promises the blessings by grace, and He demands the obedience of faith as the path to those blessings.
The success Solomon is to seek is not personal wealth or fame, but the successful completion of the task God has given him: to build the house of God. And the prerequisite for this work is not architectural genius or political savvy, but wisdom that comes from God for the purpose of keeping God's law. "Only Yahweh give you insight and understanding... so that you may keep the law of Yahweh your God." True wisdom is moral and spiritual before it is practical. Obedience to God's Word is the foundation of all true prosperity. This is the same charge Joshua received: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth... for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success" (Joshua 1:8).
The final exhortation is to courage. "Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed." Why would a man of peace need such a charge? Because building is its own kind of warfare. It requires battling discouragement, fighting laziness, resisting compromise, and overcoming the sheer inertia of the world. Building anything worthwhile is hard work, and it requires fortitude. Solomon would face internal and external challenges, and his strength was not to be in his own abilities, but in the promise and presence of God.
The Lavish Preparation (vv. 14-16)
David did not just give Solomon a verbal charge; he gave him a massive head start. He modeled the very diligence he was demanding.
"Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of Yahweh 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight... Arise and work, and may Yahweh be with you." (1 Chronicles 22:14, 16)
The quantities here are staggering, almost unbelievable. A talent was about 75 pounds. This is thousands of tons of gold and silver. Whether these are literal figures or symbolic numbers representing an immense, almost uncountable fortune, the point is the same. David, the man of war, gathered the spoils of his victories and consecrated them to the future house of worship. He did this "with great pains," meaning with toil and affliction. He labored and fought and bled, not for his own palace, but for the house of his God that his son would build.
This is the essence of generational faithfulness. The father works and saves and prepares so that the son can build upon that foundation. The previous generation fights the battles so that the next generation can enjoy the peace and build in that peace. This is what Christian parents are called to do for their children. We are to fight for their spiritual well-being, prepare a home that is saturated with the Word of God, and store up a spiritual inheritance for them, so that they can begin their lives on higher ground than we did.
David prepared the materials and the craftsmen, but he makes it clear that Solomon still has a job to do. "You may add to them... Arise and work." Grace is not an excuse for laziness. The fact that God has prepared the way for us, the fact that our fathers have labored before us, is not a call to put our feet up. It is a call to take up the tools and get to work with all our might, building on the foundation that has been laid for us. The final word is a blessing that is also a command: "Arise and work, and may Yahweh be with you." The presence of God is not found in idleness, but in faithful labor.
From Solomon's Temple to Christ's Church
The entire scene is a beautiful type of a greater reality. King David, the warrior-king, foreshadows Christ in His first coming. Christ came as a man of sorrows, a man of war. He did battle with Satan, sin, and death. On the cross, He shed His own blood to conquer our enemies and to secure an eternal peace. He fought the great war so that we could have rest.
And having won the victory, He, the greater David, has prepared everything for the building of His true temple, the church. He has provided the immeasurable riches of His grace, the gold of His righteousness, the silver of His redemption. He has given us gifted craftsmen, pastors, teachers, and evangelists, to equip the saints for the work of ministry. He has done it all.
And now, as the greater Solomon, Christ reigns in peace at the right hand of the Father, directing the construction of His church. And He gives us, His people, the same charge David gave Solomon. He tells us that true success is found in obedience to His Word. He commands us to be strong and courageous, not to fear the opposition. And having been given everything we need for life and godliness, He tells us to "Arise and work."
We are the generation that lives in the age of Solomon, the age of peace with God purchased by the blood of our King. The ground has been cleared. The materials have been supplied. The blueprints are in His Word. The charge has been given. Our task is not to fight the war that has already been won, but to take the glorious spoils of that victory and build a magnificent temple for our God, a global church that fills the earth with His praise. So let us arise and work, knowing that Yahweh is with us.