1Ch 22: Outline: (1) David again prepares for the temple (vv
1-5); (2) David instructs Solomon about the promises and the temple (vv 6-16);
(3) David then commands the princes to help Solomon (vv 17-19). David was
preparing for the temple right from the time of the promise (1Ch 17) and now
there is no doubt. Solomon is the one who is charged with the task of building
it, and the princes are commanded to support Solomon in that work.
It began as a bad decision on David's part. He decided to
number Israel's fighting men, which was a thing that both God and Joab were not
happy about. When Joab had finished counting and brought the number back, David
realized what he had done and asked for forgiveness. God gave David three
options as a consequence of his actions, and David chose three day's plague by
the hand of the LORD. It turned from bad to worse now, as 70,000 Israelite men
died in the plague. God stopped the plague in Jerusalem at the threshing floor
of Araunah the Jebusite; it was there that David was told to make an altar. But
now, passing on from all the bad that had happened, God began to work for good.
This threshing floor became the site of the new temple, and David began a new
and glorious chapter in Israel's history as the temple preparations began to
take place.
David did not know where his actions were going to lead. He
could not see that it would all culminate in the temple of God. Neither can we
see how things in our lives will work together for good -- but God will bring it
to pass just like he did with David (cp Rom 8:28).
1Ch 22:8
It almost looks as though David is being punished because he
had been a warrior. But Solomon's words in 1Ki 5:3,4 may put this in better
perspective: "You know that because of the wars waged against my father David
from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God
until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. But now the LORD my God has given
me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster."
That is, until his death, David had to devote most of his time
to fighting his enemies and expanding his kingdom to its rightful bounds. This
was a necessity, and David -- a man of faith -- did as the LORD required. But
David was not GUILTY for "shedding much blood" in wars, because he was fighting
the wars God had commanded.
And when it is considered that Jesus, the fulfillment of both
the type of David and the type of Solomon, will both fight great wars AND build
a temple for the LORD... then this explanation looks even more
reasonable.