The Great Handoff: Building for a Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken Text: 1 Chronicles 28:20-21
Introduction: The Relay Race of Covenant History
We live in an age that despises fathers and has contempt for history. Our generation is afflicted with a damnable case of chronological snobbery, assuming that because we have smartphones and self-driving cars, we have somehow outgrown the ancient wisdom of God. We think we can build a future without receiving anything from the past. We want the blessings of stability without the burden of inheritance. We want to be self-made men, which is another way of saying we want to be our own gods. This is the foundational lie of our entire secular project, and it is collapsing in on itself in a pile of rubble, confusion, and misery.
The Scriptures present us with an entirely different picture of reality. God's kingdom is not built by isolated individuals who spring up out of nowhere. It is built generationally. It is a great relay race, where one generation hands the baton of covenant faithfulness to the next. The health of a nation, the health of the church, and the health of a family can be measured by how well that baton is passed. And here, in 1 Chronicles 28, we are invited to witness one of the most significant handoffs in all of redemptive history. David, the man after God's own heart, the warrior-king, is at the end of his race. He is handing the baton to his son, Solomon. The task is monumental: to build the Temple, the house of Yahweh.
This is not merely a construction project. It is a profound theological statement. The Temple was the place where heaven and earth met, the dwelling place of God's manifest presence among His people. David had the heart for the work, he had the plans for the work, and he had gathered the materials for the work. But God had told him that his hands were too bloody. He was a man of war. The house of God was to be built by a man of peace, a Shelomoh, a Solomon. This itself is a picture of the gospel. The wars must be fought and won before the temple can be built. Christ, our greater David, has fought the ultimate war and defeated sin, death, and the devil. And now, He is building His temple, the church, through us, His people.
David's charge to Solomon is therefore not just a private conversation between a father and son. It is a paradigm for all kingdom work. It is a charge to every generation of Christians who are called to build upon the foundation that has been laid for them. It is a charge to us. The principles laid out here are timeless, because the God who gives the charge is timeless. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The Text
Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of Yahweh is completed. Now behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and every willing man with wisdom will be with you in all the work for all the service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”
(1 Chronicles 28:20-21 LSB)
The Charge to Build (v. 20a)
David begins with a four-fold command that forms the foundation of all faithful action.
"Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed..." (1 Chronicles 28:20a)
This is the classic biblical charge for those undertaking a great work for God. It echoes God's charge to Joshua as he prepared to take the Promised Land. "Be strong and courageous." Strength and courage are not feelings; they are commands. They are duties. In our effeminate age, we treat courage as a rare personality trait reserved for Navy SEALs and firefighters. The Bible treats it as a baseline requirement for every believer. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is obedience in the face of fear. Solomon was a young man, taking over from a legendary father, tasked with a project of immense scale and spiritual significance. He had every human reason to be terrified. But David does not coddle his feelings. He commands his will. "Be strong."
But strength and courage are useless if they remain internal sentiments. They must be married to action. "And act." The Hebrew is simply "and do." Get to it. The plans are complete, the materials are gathered, the charge has been given. Now is the time for work. Faith without works is dead. A vision for a great temple without swinging a hammer is just a pious daydream. Christianity is not a philosophy to be contemplated; it is a world to be built. We are called to be doers of the Word, not hearers only. Our problem today is that the church is full of men who will talk endlessly about what needs to be done, who will write position papers on the importance of doing, who will attend conferences on the methodology of doing, but who will not actually do anything.
The flip side of this positive command is the negative prohibition: "do not fear nor be dismayed." Fear paralyzes. Dismay saps the will. The enemy's primary tactic is not to overpower us with strength but to neutralize us with fear. He whispers lies in our ear: "The task is too big. The culture is too hostile. Your resources are too small. You will fail. You will be mocked." And when we listen to that voice, we become dismayed, and we sit down and do nothing. David is telling Solomon, and us, to refuse that lie. You must choose, as a matter of principle, not to be afraid. You must decide that the opinion of the howling mob and the sneering elites is of no more consequence to you than the buzzing of a fly.
The Reason for Courage (v. 20b)
This command to be fearless is not based on positive thinking or mustering up internal grit. It is grounded in an objective, theological reality.
"...for Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of Yahweh is completed." (1 Chronicles 28:20b LSB)
Here is the bedrock. The reason for courage is the presence of God. "Yahweh God... is with you." Notice the personal nature of it. David says, "my God." This is not an abstract deity, but the covenant-keeping God with whom David has walked his entire life. David is testifying from experience. "This God who was with me in the valley of Elah, who was with me in the caves of Adullam, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the bear and from the hand of Saul, this same God will be with you." Faith is passed down through testimony.
And God's presence is not passive. It is an active, sustaining presence. "He will not fail you nor forsake you." This is the great promise that undergirds all of God's covenant dealings with His people. It is the promise given to Jacob, to Joshua, and it is the promise that Christ gives to His church: "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). He will not run out of resources. He will not get distracted. He will not change His mind. His commitment to His project is absolute.
And look at the duration of the promise: "until all the work... is completed." God's presence is not a temporary boost to get you started. He is committed to the project until the very end. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. This means that the completion of the work is guaranteed. It does not depend on Solomon's cleverness or the strength of his armies. It depends on the faithfulness of God. This is our confidence as we build the church. The gates of hell will not prevail against it because God has promised to be with us until the work is done. Our success is not a possibility; it is a certainty, because it is His work, not ours.
The Provision for the Work (v. 21)
God's promise does not mean we sit back and do nothing. God works through means. And David now points Solomon to the abundant means God has already provided.
"Now behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and every willing man with wisdom will be with you in all the work for all the service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command." (1 Chronicles 28:21 LSB)
First, the spiritual structure is in place. "The divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God." Before a single stone is laid, the worship has been organized. This is crucial. The goal of the building is the worship. The structure serves the liturgy, not the other way around. We build so that God may be rightly glorified. David had spent years organizing the personnel who would lead the people in worship. The foundation of any great work is right worship.
Second, the skilled labor is available. "...and every willing man with wisdom will be with you in all the work for all the service." God provides the men. Notice the two qualifications: they are willing, and they have wisdom, or skill. Both are necessary. Willingness without skill is incompetence. Skill without willingness is rebellion. But when God undertakes a project, He stirs the hearts of His people to offer themselves willingly, and He equips them with the necessary gifts and talents. This is how the church is built. Not by a few superstar pastors, but by every member, every willing man and woman with wisdom, doing their part. The task of leadership is to identify, equip, and deploy these willing and wise people.
Third, the civil and popular support is secured. "The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command." David had done the hard work of unifying the kingdom and securing the allegiance of the leaders and the populace for this project. Solomon is not starting from scratch. He is inheriting a kingdom that is ready and waiting for his command. This is the fruit of his father's long and faithful reign.
Passing the Baton to Us
This is a glorious picture of generational faithfulness. David prepared everything he could. He fought the wars, drew up the blueprints, gathered the materials, organized the worshippers, and secured the kingdom. He brought Solomon right up to the starting line, gave him the charge, pointed to the resources, and said, "Now, you run. You build."
This is our story. We are not building a temple of stone and gold. That temple was always a type and a shadow. It pointed forward to the true temple, the body of Jesus Christ, and by extension, His church. As Peter says, we "as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood" (1 Peter 2:5). Christ, our greater David, has won the victory. He has given us the blueprint in His Word. He has poured out His Spirit and gifted His people. He has given us the Great Commission. And His charge to us is the same as David's to Solomon: "Be strong and courageous, and act."
We are to build His church, His spiritual house. This means evangelizing the lost, discipling the nations, teaching them to obey everything He has commanded. It means building strong families, planting faithful churches, creating Christian culture, and establishing Christian institutions. This is the work for the service of the house of Yahweh in our generation.
And the temptation to fear is immense. The world hates what we are building. They call our good evil. They mock our God. They seek to intimidate us into silence and inactivity. But the reason for our courage is the same as Solomon's. Yahweh God, our God, is with us. The resurrected Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth, and He has promised not to fail us or forsake us until the work is done, until the Great Commission is completed.
So look around you. God has provided. The priests and Levites are here, the pastors and elders who minister the Word and sacrament. The willing men and women with wisdom are here, gifted by the Spirit for every kind of service. The resources are here. The command has been given. The only thing missing is our bold, fearless, obedient action. Let us therefore shake off our fear and dismay. Let us take up the tools that have been placed in our hands by the generations that came before. Let us be strong, and courageous, and let us get to work, building the house of the Lord.