Word of Encouragement (12/04/2024)
I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. 18 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. 19 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 I have made provision.” (1 Chron. 29:17–19)
David recognized that God tested His people: “I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness.” We saw how this understanding enabled him to resist the allure of shortcuts and choose the path of uprightness when Saul fell into his hand. In this passage, David had a more recent instance in mind as he went on to say, “In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things....” What was the test?
As you know, David wanted to build a temple for the LORD. But the LORD rejected his plea because he was a man of war and had shed too much blood. If you were David, what would you have done in response? “Oh, well, that’s that, I guess! I tried. What can I do?” That was not David’s response. He saw this as a test from God concerning the sincerity and intensity of his desire to honor God. He did not take this to mean that he had to keep on asking until God said yes. He could not refute the reason God gave him. Then, how could he show the sincerity of his desire? It was by making all the preparations he could to help his son, Solomon, to build the temple after he was gone. He contributed greatly to the building fund, so to speak. Following his example, the leaders and the people of Israel gave sacrificially, too. David himself was impressed by how much was collected!
By doing so, David demonstrated that his desire to build a house for God was for God’s glory, not his own. If God allowed him to build the temple, it would have been a lot of work, for sure. But he would have attained much fame throughout the world. Also, the people of Israel would have remembered him through all generations as the one who volunteered to build a house for God before God asked and presented to God a magnificent temple. The temple would have been known as David’s temple. But it seems that David did not care about all that. He was willing to do the hard work and make all the sacrifices without the recognition as the builder of God’s house. He considered it his highest privilege and joy if only he could do something, anything, for the construction of the temple.
Do you think about what you can do in service of God? Do you have any specific ideas? Why do you want to do them? Are you looking for any recognition? Would you be happy to do it even if nobody would know about it—except God?