Tag Archives: 1 Chronicles 22

Inspired by the Past

June 21, 2024 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

“Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God…”
1 Chronicles 22:19a (NIV)

As a baseball fan, I have been enjoying the outpouring of honor for Willie Mays the past few days. Not only was Mays possibly the greatest all-around player ever, but he is among the last players who transitioned from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. He is one of the greats.

“We were playing for generations of players who were held back. We had a lot to play for, not just [for] us,” Mays told John Shea, co-author of Mays’ memoir 24.

One of the things that I love about history is its power to inspire, and there is plenty of inspiration in a man like Mays who was not only a great ball player, but a stellar human being who helped move history forward out of the sickness of segregation.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post/podcast, we have entered a new phase of 1 Chronicles. Once again, I found it important this morning to place myself in the sandals of the Chronicler and the people to whom he is writing his history of King David and the Kingdom of Israel. His generation has returned to the rubble of Jerusalem left by the Babylonian army almost a century before. Their generation has been given the monumental task of turning the debris into a new Temple.

How does he inspire them? With the history of their larger-than-life hero King David. King David’s greatest desire was to build the temple, but God made it clear that it would be his son, Solomon, who would do the job. So, David made all of the preparations he could, and in today’s chapter, he passes the responsibility to his son with history’s version of an inspirational locker room speech.

I think it’s important to note that all of these details are not found in the earlier historical account in Samuel. This is the Chronicler’s unique addition to the story. When he writes of David urging his son to succeed in completing his life’s greatest ambition he knows that he is writing to the “sons of David” who have the same task before them hundreds of years later. He is using history to inspire.

In the quiet this morning, I’m reminded that everyone has a natural bent with regard to time. My bent is to look to the past for its lessons and inspiration. Wendy’s bent, on the other hand, is to always be looking to the future so that she can plan and execute that plan well. Still, others have a bent to living in the moment and focus on the present realities. There is no right or wrong. It’s not an either-or, but a yes-and. I have learned along the journey that we all need to learn from and appreciate those who have a different bent. And from time to time everyone needs the pasto to inspire us. The Chronicler certainly understood this.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

An Unorthodox Choice

July 8, 2014 Tom Vander Well 2 Comments

Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 1 Chronicles 22:6 (NIV)

When reading the ancient stories in God’s Message, I’ve learned that a big part of the story is often not what is said in the text, but what is left unsaid. I found it interesting last week when we read 1 Chronicles 20 that the scribe left out the naughty bits about David’s sin with Bathsheba and his conspiracy to murder Uriah, her husband. Today, the scribe moves right into the story of David commissioning his son Solomon to build the temple, but why Solomon was chosen as the one to ascend to the throne is never addressed.

Through the millennia, it has been a common practice in monarchies around the world for the throne to be passed to the eldest living son. In the case of King David, there were many children born to him from a handful of wives and several concubines. David’s scandalous dalliance and subsequent marriage to Bathsheba happened relatively late in his life. There were several sons born to David prior to Solomon, but David chooses his young son Solomon, born to him through Bathsheba rather than any of his other children.

Very few families escape the conflicts, machinations, and hard feelings that arise from parental favor and estate. This is true even of simple nuclear families trying to settle issues of a parent’s last will and testament. Imagine the chaos that ensues when polygamy, the throne, political power, and vast riches are at stake. David’s choice of the young Solomon could not have gone over well with his half-siblings who had been waiting in line for the throne for many years.

I am reminded again this morning what God said to Samuel when David was anointed King as a young boy:

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

We don’t know why David chose young Solomon over his siblings, but David had a long track record of seeking to do the right thing in God’s eyes. I must wonder if David’s choice was based on what he saw in the hearts of his children rather than sticking with human protocol of simply handing the crown to his eldest.

Life is full of choices and decisions. Handling family dynamics with children of diverse personalities, gifts, and capabilities can be difficult for the even the most dutiful parent. It requires, if you’ll forgive the blatant connection, “the wisdom of Solomon.” And, perhaps, that is what David perceived in making his unorthodox choice of successor.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Chronicles 22

July 23, 2010 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

David said to Solomon, “I wanted in the worst way to build a sanctuary to honor my God. But God prevented me, saying, ‘You’ve killed too many people, fought too many wars. You are not the one to honor me by building a sanctuary—you’ve been responsible for too much killing, too much bloodshed.” 1 Chronicles 22:7 (MSG)

I’ve got the gift of teaching and preaching. I don’t know why God gave it to me, and I don’t always understand His designs for it in my life, but I’ve got it. I’m not a gifted singer, even though I’m envious of those who are gifted singers. I’d love to open my mouth and have a voice eminate that stops people in their tracks, but that’s not me. I’m a decent singer, and I can belt out a decent tune, but I was never the first choice to sing the solo (or the second or third, for that matter).

Along the journey I’ve had the opportunity to speak and to preach along side some very gifted musicians and worship leaders. I’ve noticed a pattern. Many of them really wanted to be gifted teachers and preachers, but they weren’t. They were gifted singers. I really wanted to be a gifted singer, but I wasn’t.

I recall one weekend I was doing a series of messages. The worship leader, knowing that I secretly wanted to sing, let me try my hand at a solo. It wasn’t embarrassing, but it wasn’t great, either. Everybody knew it. During the worship set, the worship leader went off between songs into a long teaching introduction. There was nothing wrong with what he said, it just didn’t fit. I’ll never forget that evening, After the service I remember saying, “I won’t sing if you don’t preach. You stick with singing. I’ll stick with preaching. It’ll be better for everyone.”

As much as David wanted to build the temple, he wasn’t the right person person. He was a warrior. His job was to make way for the building of the temple, which would be done by his son, who was a man of peace, knowledge and wisdom.

We all have our gifts and our part to play in God’s kingdom. The key is to identify our gift and use it well.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and kypkanomin