Who Then Offers Willingly?
1 David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Yahweh God. 2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, also onyx stones, stones to be set, stones for inlaid work of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. 3 In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, since I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house: 4 even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses; 5 of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be made by the hands of artisans. Who then offers willingly to consecrate himself today to Yahweh?” 6 Then the princes of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king’s work, offered willingly; 7 and they gave for the service of God’s house of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand darics, of silver ten thousand talents, of bronze eighteen thousand talents, and of iron one hundred thousand talents. 8 People with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of Yahweh’s house, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Yahweh; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. 10 Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, “You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all! 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own. 15 For we are strangers before you and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining. 16 Yahweh our God, all this store that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and is all your own. 17 I know also, my God, that you try the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you. 18 Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the heart of your people, and prepare their heart for you; 19 and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.”
The largest gift in the book is presented with a denial that anything was given: what was offered had come from God already.
David states the scale of the task and its reason in one line: the palace is not for man, but for Yahweh God 1 Chronicles 29:1.
He then distinguishes two kinds of provision, and the distinction is the point of the scene. There is what he has prepared as king — gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, stones of every kind. And there is something else, given because I have set my affection on the house of my God, out of a treasure of my own, over and above the rest 1 Chronicles 29:3.
A public works budget is one thing; a man's own money is another. Having listed the first, he adds the second, and only then puts the question to the room: who then offers willingly to consecrate himself today to Yahweh? 1 Chronicles 29:5.
He asks nobody for anything he has not already done, and he asks for consecration rather than for funds. The gifts follow, and the writer's summary of them dwells not on the totals but on the manner: the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly 1 Chronicles 29:9. The word is repeated three times in a verse, and the king's own joy is added at the end of it.
The prayer that follows is the theological summit of the book. Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty!... Yours is the kingdom 1 Chronicles 29:11. Everything the reign has been credited with is handed back in a sentence, and the kingdom with it.
Then the argument turns on the offering itself. Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own 1 Chronicles 29:14.
The generosity is not denied and it is not praised. It is reclassified. Nothing left the possession of its owner, because it had never been anywhere else, and even the capacity to give it willingly is named as something received. That is as close as the book comes to a doctrine of gift, and it is spoken over the largest donation it records.
The self-description in the next verse is the more remarkable for who says it. We are strangers before you and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow 1 Chronicles 29:15. A king at the summit of a forty-year reign, standing over the treasure for a temple, calls himself a resident alien with no lease.
The two closing requests are for hearts rather than for materials: that God would keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the heart of your people, and give Solomon a perfect heart to keep the commandments and do the work 1 Chronicles 29:18–19. Everything else has been provided already.
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