1 Chronicles: The Plan of a Lifetime

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Open your Bibles, if you would, to First Chronicles. The title of the message today is, “The Plan of a Lifetime.” Today is the story of a father teaching his son. The father is at the end of his life. And this is no ordinary father, though. He is the king of Israel. God has shown big plans for Solomon to take over the kingdom, and to build a temple. And David is trying to communicate this to his son, towards the end of David’s life. He must teach him the plan, so that he can follow through with God's will for his life. Sounds like something all of us want for not only ourselves, but our children and our friends. This is also a story of succession. Of a king handing the reins of a nation over to his child, his son. He wants the best for his son. He wants Solomon to succeed, and to follow God, and to lead the nation into the worship of God.

But I want to ask you a question. If you were the king, what would you tell your child, your son? If you had the power and the wealth and the authority to give Solomon everything he needed to build the temple and lead the nation, what advice would you give him? What would you tell him? Would you tell him about marriage and friendship and love? Would you tell him to be dedicated to the Word, to prayer? Well, we don't have to wonder what David told King Solomon because it's all recorded in First Chronicles. And I have to say he gave him the plan of a lifetime.

Let me give you a little introduction to First Chronicles. It was written sometime after the Israelites returned from captivity in Babylon, around 450 BC. So, remember, they were prophesied in Daniel to be taken captive to Babylon even and they returned. And this is written probably by Ezra the scribe, though we're not sure. And it's to remind the Israelites of who they are. And it's to remind them that they have the right to rule over all the land of Israel. So, the focus is on what we call, Judah. That's the Southern Kingdom. And the story takes place around 1000 BC, when David is starting to hand the reins over to Solomon, and set him up to be the next king.

The outline of First Chronicles, though it's a longer book, it's pretty easy to follow through. So, the first nine chapters are a genealogy. It begins with Adam. In fact, it doesn't say hello, there's no greeting, it just starts with the word, “Adam.” And so, it traces the line from Adam, all the way to King David. It gives descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It gives to the 12 tribes of Israel. It shows where the Levites came from. Traces the line and lineage of Saul. Traces the line and lineage specifically of David as well, and how he will be anointed king.

But as I said, this shows the right to rule over Israel. In addition, this is the last genealogy of Israel in Scripture. It's very significant. If you look in 1 Chronicles 9:1-2, it says, “So all Israel was recorded in genealogies, and these are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith. Now the first to dwell again in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.” So, remember, Israel was the name of Jacob and his name was changed to “Israel” and his sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. So, but it says, “Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants,” [1 Chronicles 9:2] they were the first to return.

After the genealogies, around chapter 9 and going all the way through 15, is absolutely fascinating. I'm just going to summarize it in about 60 seconds for you, though. It describes how King David took the throne of Israel. How did he go from who he was to where he got to ruling and reigning? Not so much the story of David and Goliath. But how did he move into power? It also shows some fascinating things of how he assembled his army, how he chose the chief of his army? How would you pick that out? It also shows how he selected his special forces. In Scripture, those are called, “mighty men.” And they would make our Special Forces, not look so special. These were incredible men who could go in and take on hundreds of other men each. It also shows in these chapters, 9 through 15, how they would achieve peace throughout the whole land, and how he brought home the Ark of the Covenant. Okay, so it starts (First Chronicles starts) with the genealogies, then it shows how David comes to power, right? So now David has the right through genealogy to come to power. And then we're going to learn later in other books how, of course, the Messiah will come through the line of David.

So, this is all significant for the people of Israel to understand their history, and to know how they got where they are. And remember, this is almost 500 years after these events, that probably Ezra is recording these events and reminding the people of just how significant everything was. This leads us up to the end of chapter 15. Okay, so David is ruling and reigning now. And we come to 1 Chronicles 15:28, it says, “So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD [that's Yahweh] with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres [which is like a flat harp].” So, here's the scene: David is so excited, he is ready to celebrate and worship God with a whole nation, he's ready to give them the charge, the Ark is here, and he brought it up. And it's basically a party for the whole nation, which is probably around 2 to 4 million people at this point. We have in Scripture, the amount of fighting men, which is a million people or so, probably a little bit more. And so if you include all of their families, you're at least around 4 million people in Israel at this time. And the whole nation is getting thrown a free party. David is giving away food, it lasts for days and days and days. They're singing and dancing and cymbals and it's loud. And it's just this massive celebration.

And this leads us to the first major section. I think I can summarize the rest of the book for us, just by looking at three individual chapters. And I think that'll give us the main idea of the whole book. And the first is this, it's in chapter 16, and this is David's song of praise. So as the nation is going into this party, and they're thanking the Lord, and they're praising God for the return of the Ark of the Covenant, and David is going to burst into praise. And this is really a way for Solomon to understand the magnitude of who it is that he worships.

Okay, here's what David says in 1 Chronicles 16:8-18, “Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.’”

So, notice he's reminding them so far of praising God, seeking the Lord, remembering his works, remembering the word. And remember this covenant, which isn't just a spiritual promise, it's a promise for land that they are going to inherit. Okay, so that that's really important as we try and understand all the Old Testament covenants and this great Abrahamic promise that there is this land promise. And this is repeated to the people by Ezra the scribe, around 450 BC. One of the latest writings that we have.

1 Chronicles 16:19-22, “When you are few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, saying, ‘Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!’” Verse 23 [1 Chronicles 16:23-26], “Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.”

So, he's making a distinction for them between who the real true God is, and how he led them, and all the other idols and all the other gods of the earth. And he's saying, all the earth should worship Yahweh. It's very instructive for Solomon. Verse 27 [1 Chronicles 16:27-30], “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.” Verse 31 [1 Chronicles 16:31-36],, “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult and everything in it! Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Say also: Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Then all the people said, ‘Amen!’ and praised the LORD.”

The two million plus people shouted, “Amen!” That must have terrified any nations nearby who were listening. But it brings the whole nation together. This extended section here in chapter 16 is this bursting of praise. But it's full of theology, to guide and direct not only Solomon, but also the people, the people who are back in this land. It's a time of rebuilding. They’re rebuilding the temple, rebuilding the walls, and Ezra wants to remind them, of where they came from and what they're there for. This is still why we are on the earth, to give thanks to the LORD for he is good. This is not just a prayer. It's a call to action. It's a call to give thanks, to sing, to glory, to seek God, to remember him, to ascribe worship to his name. And it starts and ends with thanksgiving. It mentions thanksgiving for God's deeds, for his name, his miracles, his judgment, his covenant, his Word, his protection, his provision, his salvation, his splendor, his majesty, his strength, his greatness, his creation, his power, his rule and reign, and his enduring love.

Can we not say, Amen, to that? See, this is what a mature believer in God, who is just overwhelmed with the joy and glory of Christ, this is what their prayers and their celebrations unto God sound like. This is what it looks like where their theology just rises to the surface. And they can't contain themselves. And here we even notice David as dancing before all the people. Believer, we need to be thankful for these things too. We need to be thankful that these praises invigorate us. They cause us to sing, to be joyful, to give praise, and this inspires our mind. And this thankfulness, it's acting upon the truth of God and who he is. Not just some kind of blind message and understanding. But it's a thankful disposition of those who believe in God. We need to be reminded of all that God has done and all that he is, so that we can be thankful for him.

Now, David here is going to not only discuss all of this theology, he is going to talk about this plan for the future. And David had big plans for the future. And he knew he would have to hand those over to his son. So, the next section is called “David's Plan for the Future.” And it's in chapter 22, starting in verse six, look there, if you would with me, actually turned to chapter 22, verse five [1 Chronicles 22:5-6], says, “For David said, ‘Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David provided materials in great quantity before his death. Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel.”

Have you ever wondered why Solomon asked for wisdom? Sometimes we think it's just because he was young, and he wanted to learn how to rule well. Or maybe, you know, God said, “Ask whatever you wish,” and we kind of think it's like a genie. And he's like, “Oh, well, I just need to be wise, you know,” like, he wants to be wiser than everyone else for his own gain. But that's not really what we see here. We see, you know, when Solomon asks for wisdom, it's because one of his first and major task was to build the most magnificent temple anyone had ever seen in the history of the world. You know normally, when you take a new position, you set a few things in order, you lay out a plan that's achievable, you know, you go for some quick wins. Not Solomon. Solomon's charge was, “Son, you've never built a temple before. But I am going to gather together a hoard of materials, of gold, and silver, and timber; and you're going to have to build this.”

You see, when they looked at the temple, God's fame should come to mind. God's glory and his excellence should come to mind. And not just a church building, you know, is what we would call it today, the place of worship. Not just a temple where they would go to make sacrifices and where they would go to praise. But something that inspired awe. We should have noticed that or seen that from just how magnificent David's prayer was in chapter 16. And now that we're in chapter 22, we see here that David, he gives a one-on-one talk with his son, Solomon. This is a father to his son.

Look in chapter 22, verse seven [1 Chronicles 22:7-10], “David said to Solomon, ‘My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’”

Can you imagine one of your parents saying, “I wanted to do these great things for God. And God said to me, ‘No, I want your child, to do it instead.’” David doesn't gloss over the facts that God has passed over him to build the temple, something everlasting, something that would remain, something that God would use to establish the royal throne in Israel forever. He goes on in verse 11 [1 Chronicles 22:11-12], David talking to Solomon, “Now, my son [i.e., Solomon], the LORD be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the LORD your God, as he has spoken concerning you. Only,” and here it is, “may the LORD grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the LORD your God.”

David inspired Solomon to ask for wisdom. We see it right there in verse 12, “may the LORD grant you discretion and understanding.” Solomon hears this from his father. He hasn't yet been approached by God to ask for whatever he wishes. But David is inspiring his son to trust God for the wisdom he needs in life. And that is exactly what he's going to do. Verse 13 [1 Chronicles 22:13-14], “Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed. With great pains I have provided for the house of the LORD 100,000 talents of gold, a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone, too, I have provided.” Now listen to this, and he says to all of that, “To these you must add.”

It's not just that you have these things, Solomon. I've amassed so much that we can't count any more, but you have to add to these things. Verse 15 [1 Chronicles 22:15-16], “You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and work! The LORD be with you.” Now that friends, that is a challenge to this son. You know, we want our children to just go to church, or read the Bible, and pray. King David is saying you must fulfill what God has foreseen and foretold. At this point, Israel was a lot to manage. In our county around us, there's around 420,000 people, and that's Loudoun County, Virginia. Israel [military] numbered over a million, as I said before, and you add women and children to that, and you have somewhere around 4 to 5 million people to govern.

And here's the thing. Do you know how old Solomon was when he became king? Probably somewhere around 20 to 25 years old. That is a tall task for a man, any man. But even more so for a young man with the greatest warrior ever to overshadow your throne, like David. But David knew he could do all of these things with God's help. Do you ever feel like someone else gets to do what you wanted? That's pretty much what happened with David. He was told, “No, you're not going to build the temple, but Solomon is.” And sometimes we talk about things and we want things to be done. And then somebody else later comes up with the same idea as though it's their own. You've heard that and you might think, “Hey, that's my idea.” And yet David charged his son encouraging him saying, verse 11, May Yahweh be with you.” Verse 12, “may Yahweh give you understanding.” He's not whining, he's not complaining. He says, “Do these things,” verse 13, “and you will be strong and courageous, you will succeed, do not be afraid my son.”

See David, he was all about God's plan. Whether that included him being the guy or not, he wanted God's plan to come forward. Not only for himself and his family and for Solomon. You say, “Yeah that was Solomon, his son.” It was a dangerous position to be king. But he wanted it for the whole nation. And we saw that, you know, when David just burst forth, in chapter 16, with this long, extended praise and song to God. And now he's charging his son with a plan that he needs to draw Solomon's heart to the Lord. This charge to Solomon was all about God. If he would just keep his eyes on the Lord, his plan would succeed. You know it's important at times like these, that we remind ourselves that life is about God. We all have plans that we want to see happen, but we need to make sure that our lives are not just about making our own lives comfortable. Of just taking care of our own children, of just taking care of our own bills, and our own schedules, and our own health needs, and all these things. We must be about God's plan, which as you can clearly see in First Chronicles, includes the whole nation. Who were to be, you know, the keepers, God's chosen people of his Word that would establish God's glory forever.

It's not just a mindset, it's a call to action. Solomon couldn't just agree that these words were good, he had to put them into practice. And if he didn't, he would fail. God has gifted each of us with spiritual gifts, with ways to serve God. And if we don't put those into practice, we fail in serving God in the way that he's called us to. 1 Peter 4:10-11 says, “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

See, the gift that we have today, the spiritual gifts that we have, are not to serve ourselves. It’s to serve others. Let me ask you, how are you using your gifts to serve God? It says, each one has received a gift. Solomon had his father pray that he would get wisdom. And we see that come true in Solomon's life in a way that we have seen in no other. He was wise, more wise than anyone who ever lived, except for Christ. He was more wise than his father David. And yet, we need to remember that we need to apply those gifts in the way God says we are to apply them. Otherwise, we can even drift like Solomon.

Solomon needed the help of other leaders as well to get these things done. And he gives him further charge in 1 Chronicles 22:17 basically telling him, “Don't be a maverick, don't try and do this all on your own.” It says this in verse 17, “David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son…” So, he gives this charge to Solomon. And then he gives a charge to all the current leaders of Israel, saying [1 Chronicles 22:18-19], “Is not the LORD your God with you?” verse 18, “And has he not given you peace on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and his people. Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the LORD.”

Though right now the Ark was brought into a tent, that’s chapter 16. They wanted to put it into a house. Is this our most treasured possession? Do we just keep it, you know, our back in the shed. He's saying, “Now set your mind,” verse 19, “and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build…” So, he gave a charge to the leaders as well: seek after God and follow through with the plan that he has given. Set your heart and mind to seek Yahweh. Isn’t that what we're all called to do? To use our skills and abilities for God's glory, for God's glory. You may use that for God's glory at your place of work. All day long, you don't have to be a full-time minister or pastor. You don't have to be on staff at a church to do this. You can use your skills and abilities for God's glory, wherever you are. When you do something well at work. You say, “I do this work unto God's glory.” Right?

1 Chronicles 22:19 tells us that we are to do these things, “for the name of the LORD,” for the name of the LORD, that's why we do what we do. And friends, it is all worth it. You don't want to look back on your life and have regrets. That, you know, you just started checking out. That you got your feelings hurt at one church and so you're never going to serve the church again. You don't want to be like that. And there are many like that. We want to give those things that hold us back from serving God the way we should over to the Lord and allow him to lead and guide us. It was David's great desire to build the temple, but he had to give those desires over to God and follow God's plan instead of his. And he's trying to teach Solomon and the leaders of the nation to do the same thing. You want to look back on your life and say, “I gave it my all, I gave everything I have, I left nothing on the table. I just, I worked for the Lord's glory.”

So now, as we transition to the third point here, we come to the end of David's life. His future is set. He was about 70 when he died. He's given charge to Solomon and to the leaders. They will have all the finances they need, they will have all the materials they need, even though David says, “Bring more.” To say that they were all generous is an understatement. But what would David's prayer be like now, at the end of his life. And this prayer of blessing is found in chapter 29. And I want to go over it with you quickly. There are so many things packed into this. But I want you to see that David continued this, this life of being a man after God's own heart, even with all his failures, to the very end of his life.

This is the third section called, “David's Prayer of Blessing.” Turn to 1 Chronicles 29:10. We see here it says, “Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: ‘Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.’” The first thing David does in this prayer at the end of his life, is he blesses God publicly. David was thankful and recognized God's exalted status. Friends, when you get to the end of your life, when I get to the end of my life, that's where we want to be, publicly thanking and blessing God for all things.

Second, David gives glory to God. Look in verse 11 [1 Chronicles 29:11], “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.” Who's the focus on here? It's not on David and his family and what he's done in his life and who he is. And if he could just have one last meal, one last vacation, one last trip, one last whatever. It's on God, magnifying and exalting God. And David gives God glory above all else. Recognizing that the heavens and the earth are all God's.

Third, David says, “all he has come from God.” Verse 12 [1 Chronicles 29:12-13], “Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.” God is able to make people great, and to strengthen them. Society says, “Take pride in what you do, in what YOU do. Pride about YOURSELF and YOUR accomplishments.” And I would say if they mean that we do everything with excellence, that I would agree with them. But I don't think that's what they mean. I think they mean, “Look at what I've done. Look at ME how great I am. I take pride in how great I have done things”. But what we see here is that David is saying, “YOU give riches, YOU give glory, and YOU rule over all, LORD GOD.” And David was the wealthiest man around. He had literally piles of gold and silver, so much money, so much extravagance. And he is thanking God, for who God is because God rules over all. He didn't say, “I thank you because you made me rich.” He just said, “Lord, it's yours. And you give and everything that comes to me has come from your hand and your might and your power.” Verse 12. That's where we want to be, friends.

Fourth, David admits, even though God's blessed him, he's not worthy. Verse 14 [1 Chronicles 29:14-16], “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.” David says, in other words, “Everything I've got and everything I've amassed, has all been just giving back to you what you've given to me. I'm nothing, our people are nothing, all who've come before me, all the way back to Adam.” Remember the genealogy, it's important. “All our fathers were nothing.” He says, “We're all just strangers and sojourners, and we're just here for a moment. But you've given us the opportunity to build up your name and your glory.” So, David admits he is not worthy of these things.

Fifth, David acknowledges God knows the heart of man. Verse 17 [1 Chronicles 29:17], “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.” So David says, “You know my heart and the heart of all people.” Friends, do you know that God knows your true heart? He knows if you're offering joyously and freely to God. He knows what we're doing well and what we need to work on. There is nothing held back from him. Sometimes we want to show people all the good we have done behind the scenes. “Did you know I did this or did you know I did that?” I mean, how many leaders go unnamed here in First Chronicles, that had the greatest privilege ever, of building the temple. We don't know their names. We know some of their names, we don't know all of their names. Thousands and thousands of people. And he says, “My God, you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness.”

Friends, that's where we want to be. We want to have pleasure in uprightness. Not that someone knows our name but that someone knows God. And we continue to point people to him and sing praise and joy to God. You know, we can't earn God's favor and love. He gives us a heart transplant and we thank him for it. And it's like heart surgery, we just go to sleep for a while and we wake up with a new heart. And what happens is, is we've pursued God and trusted him and given our lives to him. And he's given us something new, something we couldn't do on our own. So, David acknowledges that God knows his heart. He's the one who gave it to him.

Sixth, David asked God to guide their hearts. Verse 18 [1 Chronicles 29:18], “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.”

And not only just the hearts of all people, seventh, David asked God to guide Solomon's heart. Verse 19 [1 Chronicles 29:19], “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.” I mean, that is the heart of a true father, right? And the true parent for their child: “Give my child, a pure heart, a whole heart.” That's what we all want for ourselves and for our children, that their testimonies will be glorifying and honoring to God.

Eighth, and lastly here as we wrap up, David calls on all the peoples to bless God. Listen to this in verse 20 [1 Chronicles 29:20], “Then David said to all the assembly, ‘Bless the LORD your God.’ And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king.” To picture just millions of people bowing their head to the Lord, and they offered sacrifices to the Lord. [1 Chronicles 29:21] “…and on the next day [they] offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs…” You think you've been to big barbecues, this is 1,000 bulls, rams, and lambs, “…with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.” It says in verse 22 [1 Chronicles 29:22], “And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the LORD, and Zadok as priest.”

So, we have the completion of transferring over the kingdom. It is a joyous time for David, he got to see his son become king, he got to see the nation being set up perfectly, to move forward with God's plan. They had accumulated resources, they had accumulated all these things. And God set it in motion for the next guy to build and lead the nation forward. As Solomon took over, it was a good time to live in Israel. They all blessed the Lord and lived with thankful hearts towards the Lord.

Let me ask you a question: How do we, like David, encourage others to live for God? Now First Chronicles is a written reminder for the nation that they live and breathe, and they have their movement and being for God. They're reminded of the things that God has done for the nation of Israel, for God's people. Now, here on this side of the cross, we too are God's people. We are the elect of God, we are the chosen of God. We have been called out of the world to serve the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. We have been called to point other people to God. To point not only our children, but other people's children. “Let all the earth rejoice,” David says. “Not just this nation, not just this city, but all nations and all cities, let them all rejoice for God is King above all, and the earth and the heavens are his.”

Friends, do you know the plan that God has given to you? It is a plan to bring you forward in the world and to allow your light to shine. Whether that's just to your own husband, or to your own spouse, or to your own child, whether that's just to your friends, but we must let our light shine. And when we must do so according to God's plan, and according to his Word, with great gladness. See, true believers find their greatest joy in serving God, in loving God. That's God's plan for our lives. To love, to serve him, and to rejoice in him forever. Friends, that starts now in this life, and that is the plan not only of a lifetime, but for all eternity. Let's pray.

Father God, I just pray for our church. I pray for our hearts that we would continually pass on your knowledge to the next generation. But also to be a great light to the world, that we may share your plan with the world. Thank you for First Chronicles and this wonderful example of David setting himself and his ideas aside and fully embracing your plan for his life, and for the next generation.

Lord, I pray that you would help us to do that. I pray that you would give us the courage to do that. Let's just take a moment right now to ask God to help us to live out his plan for our lives.

Lord God, we thank you. We love you for this day. We pray, Lord God, that you would bless our lives. And give us courage to live for you and remind us of the plan, Lord, for your glory. And let us rejoice with great glory. Amen.