And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the LORD God.
David speaks to the whole assembly of Israel about the temple. In one sentence he names the man God chose, admits that man is not ready, and says who the building is for.
The One God Chose
David does not present Solomon as his own heir. He presents him as God's choice, and one writer weighs the word "alone."
H. L. RossierSolomon is put in the spotlight here more and more as a picture of Christ in His reign. David says of him: "whom alone God has chosen." He is the only one, the object of His choice, the only one who answers to His thoughts and to His eternal counsels concerning the kingdom.
Young and Tender
The words describe a king already named but not yet grown into his rule. The same writer sees in that gap a picture of where Christ stands now.
H. L. RossierBut, as David had already said (1 Chron. 22:5), Solomon was still "young and tender." He was not yet grown up enough to take the government into his hands. While he waited for that moment, his father had declared him king, and had seated him on his own throne beside him (1 Chron. 23:1)… Of course, in Christ there was no weakness to delay His kingdom. God has exalted Him and given Him a name above every name. But for now He sits on His Father's throne in heaven, and, as Man, He waits for the moment God has fixed for Him to rule over Israel and the nations.
The son was not yet strong enough, so the father stockpiled. The same pattern runs forward: the one who suffered first gathers the wealth of the kingdom to come.
H. L. RossierIn the same way, when the true Solomon takes the government into His hands, He will find that everything which makes up the glory of His kingdom has already been prepared by the true David — by Him who suffered and whom His people rejected… Solomon was still "young and tender," but David, through his sufferings and victories, had prepared all that was needed for God's rest and for the reign of righteousness and peace that was about to begin.
The Work Is Great
David backs it with an inventory. What he gathered came from two places: the kingdom's wealth, and his own pocket.
William KellyHere he states in full how he had prepared with all his might for the house of his God… "Because I have set my heart on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God my own treasure of gold and silver, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house" — that is, it was not only what he drew from the kingdom, but what he gave out of his own property and estate.
Not for Man, but for the LORD God
David calls the building a "palace." That word belongs to kings.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThis term represents several Hebrew words, and may signify castle, fortress, the king's residence, or any large building… The temple built by Solomon is also called "the palace." 1 Chr. 29:1, 19.
That is the whole point of David's clause: the finest building in the land was going up as a residence for someone other than the king. One writer treats this as the thing that made David's enormous energy worth spending.
Truth & TestimonyNot only did David use his power in an energetic and purposeful way but his power was used to achieve an object. What an object! "This palace is not to be for man, but for the LORD God."
The House God Is Building Now
One writer carries the same sentence over to the dwelling God builds today out of people, not stone.
James McBroomThis leads on to the city and the household of God (Eph. 2:11-22). Then to the building joined together, which grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Here, at the very heart of the precious things of heaven, we come to God's dwelling place. It is where all these treasures are kept… And rightly so, since — to borrow the language of the house that pictures it — this Palace is not for man but for the Lord God (1 Chr. 29:1).
The same pattern reaches Christ's own giving — and leaves something for us to do.
H. L. RossierChrist loved the Church and gave all that He had, even His own life, so that He might build it as a holy temple where God could dwell. All is ready for the day He appears in glory. Meanwhile Christ is adding material for the building, and even allows us to work with Him… No one shared in the wisdom that prepared it all, but there are fellow workers in the task: and so it is with us today.
Summary
- Chosen — Solomon comes first as God's choice, not as David's son: "the only one who answers to His thoughts and to His eternal counsels" about the kingdom.
- Young — the chosen king is real, but not yet reigning. One writer reads that gap as our own moment: Christ sits on His Father's throne and waits for the hour God has fixed.
- Prepared — the son was not yet strong enough, so the father gathered it all first. He gave from his own estate on top of what the kingdom supplied.
- Not for man — "palace" is a word for a king's house, yet David raised this one as God's home.
- Ours to join — the house God builds today follows the same rule. No one helped plan it, but there are "fellow workers in the task: and so it is with us."