I see 1 Chronicles Chapter 29 as David’s retirement ceremony. He has just named his son Solomon as his heir. He then, In the first part of chapter 29, publicly reads his will in which he leaves all his wealth to the work of building God’s house. All the gold and silver etc, would in today’s market, equal hundreds of millions. He then closed his retirement ceremony with a prayer. It’s a prayer of praise to the great God of heaven whom he worshipped, served, wrote many songs about, and sought to follow all the days of his life. It’ goes like this:
“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. ?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. 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.”
When my dad retired from the VA Hospital the whole family was there. They praised all the work he’d done, the things he’d accomplished, and they ended the ceremony by giving him a watch. I expect most retirement ceremonies are like that. The one retiring is praised by those who are remaining on the job. But at David’s retirement ceremony he was the only one to speak. He began the ceremony by giving to God everything that he owned, and then praising the God that had blessed him so abundantly throughout his life.
Notice that David does not see leaving his wealth to God as “giving.” He acknowledges that it all belongs to God and recognizes the transitory nature of man’s existence and his very limited control of the resources God has entrusted into his care. To David there is no real material offering. It’s already Gods. Leslie Allen observes, “…the real offerings were spiritual, a right motivation to honor God in sincerity and a devoted willingness to give.”
Chuck
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16