Commentary - 1 Chronicles 22:17-19

Bird's-eye view

Here at the end of his life, David is a man possessed by a holy charge. He has fought the Lord's battles, secured the borders, and established peace. But peace is not a time for putting your feet up. Peace is the platform from which the next great work is launched. David was a man of war so that Solomon could be a man of building. In the same way, Christ, our greater David, has won the decisive victory and given us rest from our enemies, sin and death. He has done this so that we, His Church, might get on with the business of building His house. This passage is David's charge to the leaders of Israel, and by extension, it is God's charge to us. The logic is simple and profound: because of the rest God has given, we are to give ourselves wholly to the work He has given.

Outline

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Chronicles 22:17

17 David also commanded all the officials of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying,

David begins with a command. This is not a polite suggestion or a memo circulated for feedback. This is royal authority, grounded in God's authority, setting the agenda for the nation. Notice that he commands the "officials of Israel." The building of God's house is not a private hobby for the king; it is the central task of the entire commonwealth. The leadership is being bound to this task. A godly ruler ensures that the work of God will continue after he is gone. He is leveraging his authority to establish a multi-generational project. He commands them to "help his son Solomon." This is a crucial aspect of succession. The old guard must support the new, rallying around the common task that transcends any one man's lifetime. This is a picture of the Great Commission. The Lord Jesus has commanded His church, and particularly its leaders, to get behind the great building project of making disciples of all nations.

1 Chronicles 22:18

18 “Is not Yahweh your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before Yahweh and before His people.

David then lays the foundation for his command, and it is entirely theological. He begins with two rhetorical questions that demand a hearty "Amen!" The first is, "Is not Yahweh your God with you?" This is always the first question. Before we assess our resources, our manpower, or our strategic plans, we must reckon with the presence of God. If He is with us, then the project is possible. If He is not, then it is vanity. All Christian endeavor stands or falls on this reality.

The second question is, "And has He not given you rest on every side?" This is the great enabler. God does not give His people peace so they can be idle; He gives them peace so they can build. We do not work for our rest, we work from our rest. Christ has accomplished our salvation and subdued our enemies. He has given us the great Sabbath rest in His finished work. The reason we can now "arise and build" is that the fighting is, in principle, over. The victory is won.

David then states the grounds for this rest: "For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand." The victory was God's doing. David was the instrument, but Yahweh was the warrior. The land is subdued "before Yahweh and before His people." God's victory becomes His people's victory. This is covenantal thinking. What God accomplishes for His anointed king is reckoned to the entire nation. In the same way, Christ's victory over sin and death is reckoned to all who are in Him. We stand on conquered ground.

1 Chronicles 22:19

19 “Now give your heart and your soul to seek Yahweh your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of Yahweh.”

Here is the pivot from the indicative to the imperative. Because God is with you, and because God has given you rest, therefore... what? "Now give your heart and your soul to seek Yahweh your God." The external peace must be matched by an internal consecration. This is not a call for half-measures. To give your heart and soul is to give your all. It is the language of Deuteronomy 6:5. True seeking of God is an all-consuming pursuit. And this seeking is not a nebulous, mystical affair. It has a direction, a tangible expression. "Arise, therefore, and build."

Your devotion is demonstrated by your labor. Your consecrated heart leads to calloused hands. Faith without works is dead, and a soul that truly seeks God will want to build a house for Him. The command is to get up and get to it. "Arise...and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God."

And what is the goal of all this? It is doxological. The purpose of the building is "so that you may bring the ark of the covenant...and the holy vessels...into the house that is to be built for the name of Yahweh." The whole point is to provide a central, glorious, and fitting place for the worship of God. It is to honor His presence among them. The work is not for their own fame or comfort, but for the glory of the name of Yahweh. All our building, whether it be families, churches, or Christian cultures, must have this as its final end: to be a house where the glory of God dwells, all for the fame of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Key Issues

Application

The pattern established here by David is the blueprint for all Christian living and service. We do not begin by trying to earn God's favor or secure our own peace. We begin with the accomplished fact of what Christ has done. Is not God with us in Christ? Yes. Has He not given us rest by His cross and resurrection? Yes. Has He not subdued the powers of darkness and given them into the hand of our King? Yes.

Therefore, what are we to do? We are to respond by giving our whole selves, heart and soul, to seeking Him. And that seeking must take tangible form. We are to arise from our spiritual lethargy and build. We build our families in the fear of the Lord. We build the church through the faithful preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and the making of disciples. We build a Christian culture by taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

This is not drudgery; it is the joyful work that flows from a state of peace. It is the great privilege of those who have been saved by grace. And the ultimate goal is that the glory of God, the presence of Christ symbolized by the ark, might be honored and magnified in every corner of the house we are building. The whole point is to construct a civilization that is for the name of Yahweh.