What does it say?
Though David was not to build the temple and was told through Nathan the prophet that one of his descendants would build a house for God, David took it upon himself to prepare for the building. David gathered resident aliens as forced laborers and gathered materials for the building of the temple. David then charges Solomon with the task of building a temple for God and tells Solomon that he intended to build the temple himself but refers to the word of the Lord given through Nathan the prophet as the reason for tasking Solomon with building the temple. (Ch. 22) David turned over the kingdom to his son Solomon before his death, when David had reached old age. In addition to the forced labor and materials; david also provides religious, military, and political leadership for Solomon’s kingdom. The Levites were given a new job because they would no longer need to care for the portable tabernacle and its furnishings which included the ark of the covenant. The age for Levitical service was 30 and upwards (Numbers 4:1-3) but is lowered to 20. The Levites were ordered by their traditional clans for their duties in the temple: the Gershonites, the Kohatthites, and the Meraites. (Ch. 23) David then organizes the priest into 24 divisions with each division serving for 2 weeks, this covered a lunar year. It is acknowledged hear that one could only be a priest by hereditary as a descent of Aaron. (Ch. 24)
What does it mean?
David had it in his heart and mind to build a temple out of cedar to house God. Yet the Lord said, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?” (Is. 66:1) David wanted to put the God who created heaven and earth (Gn. 1:1) in a temple made out of cedar. God put David on a thrown. God told David that one of his descendants would build him a house and that it is God who would build a house for David. God did not sanction a temple made out of cedar but David goes forth planning the building anyway. “David appears as the successor to Moses (see Numbers 4) as he defines the Levites’ duties in relation to the temple.” (ESV Global SB Notes) All that David did regarding the temple came from David. It should be noted that the temple planned by David and built by Solomon was not permanent. In fact, the temple would be rebuilt several times before it would ultimately be destroyed by the Romans. The kingdom and house that was prophesied through Nathan was forever, not temporal as this house of cedar would be.
What shall I do?
I shall understand that God is the creator of heaven and earth (Gn. 1:1) not I. God does not need me to accomplish anything. I can be used by God for his purpose but it is God who works all things for good. (Rom. 8:28) I am temporal and God is eternal but in Jesus Christ God has promised eternal life to me in his house; therefore, I shall trust in Christ alone. Jesus Comforts his disciples: “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” (John 14:1-4) It is by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in the Son of God Jesus Christ alone that we may enter into the house of God. A house not made from the materials of this world but from above. (Cf. Jn. 1:12-13 & 14:7)
