Word of Encouragement (12/10/2024)
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's last prayer in this section was for Solomon, his son, who God promised would build a house for the LORD in his place. All he did in preparation for the temple construction was to help Solomon finish the task. Notice what he prayed for. He did not simply ask God to help Solomon build the temple; he prayed for Solomon, particularly for the condition of his heart: “Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments...” (v. 19).
First, David prayed, “Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart....” He prayed for “a whole heart.” The Hebrew word for “whole” is shalem, the adjective form of the noun, shalom. It can also be translated as sound, complete, and perfect. What does it mean to have a whole heart? David described it as a heart that keeps God’s commandments, “performing all.” A whole heart does not pick and choose which commands to keep and which ones to dismiss. As finite beings, we can do only one thing at a time: we cannot keep all of God’s commandments at the same time. But when we have a whole heart, we acknowledge God’s sovereign authority over our lives and our accountability to keep all His laws (at their appropriate times and places), not just some.
David asked God to “grant” this whole heart to Solomon. He recognized that sinful men and women had no ability in themselves to cultivate a whole heart that kept all of God’s commandments. So, he confessed after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5). This was the confession of a man, who was once described as a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). David knew that Solomon was no exception. That was why he asked the Lord to “grant” (or give) a whole heart to Solomon so he could obey God’s commandments (v. 19): it had to be given by God, not developed by Solomon himself.
Second, David prayed for a whole heart to be granted to Solomon so he could build the temple for God. Temple-building required more than just money and skills. He who would build a temple and dedicate it to the Lord had to be a man of piety. Should that be surprising? God does not need any charity from mere men, does He? He created the whole world; the heaven and the earth and all that they contain belong to Him. He declared, “Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest” (Isa. 66:1)? Even Solomon confessed after building the temple, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built” (1 Kings 8:27)! Building a temple must be an act of worship and devotion to God.
Solomon started well, but his heart proved to be not whole at the end of his life. The temple he built, too, was destroyed at the hands of Babylonians. But God answered David’s prayer in a greater measure by providing a Son greater than Solomon—Jesus Christ. His heart proved to be whole. And He built a heavenly temple, which is His body (John 2:21). And as members of His body, we are being built into a living temple (Eph. 2:20-22). Since we are set apart unto God as His holy temple, our prayer should be for a whole heart so we might do all things in joyful obedience to His will.