1 Chronicles 22



Plans for the Temple



1 Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God,

and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.

2 And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land

of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors

of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;

4 also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought

much cedar wood to David.

5 And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that

is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame

and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation

for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for

the LORD God of Israel.

7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build

an house unto the name of the LORD my God:

8 but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood

abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house

unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will

give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon,

and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.

10 He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be

his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel

for ever.

11 Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house

of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee.

12 Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge

concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.

13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes

and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel:

be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

14 Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD

an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents

of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance:

timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.

15 Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers

of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.

16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number.

Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.

17 David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon

his son, saying,

18 Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest

on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand;

and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people.

19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise

therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the

ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God,

into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.



Psalms 30

A Psalm of David. A Song at the dedication of the temple.



1 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have drawn me up,

and have not caused my foes to rejoice over me.

2 (Ps 63:1; 84:2) O Lord my God, I cried to You,

and You healed me.

3 (Ps 79:10; 80:5) O Lord, You have brought up my soul from the grave;

You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4 (Isa 30:29; Ps 62:8) Sing to the Lord, O you saints of His,

and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.

5 (Ps 42:11; 43:5) For His anger endures but a moment,

in His favor is life;

weeping may endure for a night,

but joy comes in the morning.

6 (2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8-9) In my prosperity I said,

"I will never be moved."

7 (Ps 88:7; Jnh 2:3) Lord, by Your favor

You had set me strong as a mountain;

You hid Your face,

and I was terrified.

8 (Job 35:10; Ps 63:6) I cried to You, O Lord,

and to the Lord I made supplication:

9 (Ps 38:6; 18:2) "What profit is there in my death,

if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust give You thanks?

Will it declare Your truth?

10 (Ps 42:3; Joel 2:17) Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me;

Lord, be my helper."

11 (Ps 42:5; 43:5) For You have turned my mourning into dancing;

You have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,

12 so that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.



Psalms 30

[1] I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made

my foes to rejoice over me.

[2] O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

[3] O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me

alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

[4] Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the

remembrance of his holiness.

[5] For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may

endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

[6] And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

[7] LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou

didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

[8] I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.

[9] What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the

dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

[10] Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

[11] Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my

sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

[12] To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O

LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.



2) Our Daily Bread for 21 May 2025 titled

Longing for Home by Matt Lucas



Psalm 137:1-6



1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept

when we remembered Zion.

2 (Ps 63:1; 84:2) We hung our harps

upon the poplars.

3 (Ps 79:10; 80:5) For there our captors made us sing

and our tormentors made us entertain,

saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion."

4 (Isa 30:29; Ps 62:8) How shall we sing the song of the Lord

in a foreign land?

5 (Ps 42:11; 43:5) If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget its skill.

6 (2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8-9) If I do not remember you,

let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not have Jerusalem

as my highest joy.



Psalms 137

[1] By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we

remembered Zion.

[2] We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

[3] For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and

they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs

of Zion.

[4] How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?

[5] If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

[6] If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth;

if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.



Ethel and Ed live in the high desert area of the Rocky Mountains. As our

family visited them on their ranch filled with memorabilia, the conversation

turned to childhood stories of riding horses on the grasslands of North

Dakota and herding cattle in Montana. They're on in years now, and I could

hear in their voices a longing for home.



Psalm 137 captures a similar emotion. The Israelites had been forced into

captivity and longed for home. "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept,"

they said. "There our captors asked us for songs" (vv. 1, 3), prompting

the Israelites to ask, "How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in

a foreign land?" (v. 4).



The longing to return from exile is a common theme throughout the Old

Testament prophets. Eventually the Israelites did return. They rebuilt

Jerusalem and resettled in the land, but it was never the same. When the

temple was rebuilt, those who remembered its former glory wept because

it was a shadow of the first (Ezra 3:12).



Old age may feel as if we're in exile from our former selves as time

takes a toll on mind and body. For those who know Jesus, this longing

points not to the past but the future. That's where my conversation

turned with Ethel and Ed - a longing for our future home,

where everything is made right and is far better than anything

we can imagine.



Reflect & Pray



What do you miss from the past?

How might this longing help you anticipate the future?



Father in heaven, thank You that You're with me in every

stage of life and that You're preparing a bright future for me.



For further study, read Hunting for Resurrection Hope.