1David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, the captains of the companies who served the king by division, the captains of thousands, the captains of hundreds, and the rulers over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officers and the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor, to Jerusalem. 2Then David the king stood up on his feet and said, “Hear me, my brothers and my people! As for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and for the footstool of our God; and I had prepared for the building. 3But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for my name, because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4However Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen Judah to be prince; and in the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of Yahweh’s kingdom over Israel. 6He said to me, ‘Solomon, your son, shall build my house and my courts; for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues to do my commandments and my ordinances, as it is today.’
8Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, Yahweh’s assembly, and in the audience of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of Yahweh your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.
9You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10Take heed now, for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”
11Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its inner rooms, for the place of the mercy seat; 12and the plans of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of Yahweh’s house, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of God’s house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things; 13also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of Yahweh’s house, and for all the vessels of service in Yahweh’s house— 14of gold by weight for the gold for all vessels of every kind of service, for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service; 15by weight also for the lamp stands of gold, and for its lamps, of gold, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps; and for the lamp stands of silver, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps, according to the use of every lamp stand; 16and the gold by weight for the tables of show bread, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver; 17and the forks, the basins, and the cups, of pure gold; and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl; 18and for the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and gold for the plans for the chariot, and the cherubim that spread out and cover the ark of Yahweh’s covenant. 19“All this”, David said, “I have been made to understand in writing from Yahweh’s hand, even all the works of this pattern.”
20David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed, for Yahweh God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of Yahweh’s house is finished. 21Behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of God’s house. Every willing man who has skill for any kind of service shall be with you in all kinds of work. Also the captains and all the people will be entirely at your command.”
It may seem strange that King David, who had the godly desire to fulfill God’s prior command (Deut 12:5-7) to build a Temple to the LORD (2 Sam 7:2; 1 Kings 8:17-18; 1 Chr 17:1), and to whom God revealed the plans for its construction (1 Chr 28:19), would be forbidden to build it. However, God expressly forbids David to build the First Temple because he had been a warrior who had “shed so much blood on the earth …” The biblical principle is that “the life is in the blood” (Lev 17:11; cf. Deut 19:6), therefore, the shedding of blood is the taking of life. David’s life was defined by violence and warfare (whether slaying Goliath, fleeing from Saul, or fighting the Philistines). God desired that His Temple was to be a place of peace and so would have to be founded in peace by a man of peace. David had been chosen to rid Israel of its enemies through warfare (2 Sam 7:1, 9), and although these conquests had made possible the peaceful rule that followed, the means (war) was characteristically the opposite of peace. Therefore, David could not be the proper symbol to serve as the builder of a place of peace. Rather, his son Solomon, whose Hebrew name Shlomo means “His peace,” was the one to establish the Temple. So necessary was it to keep before the Nation that God’s house was to be a place of peace that God commanded that the preparation of the stones for its construction be at a quarry located away from the Temple site (1 Kings 6:7). At this distance people there would not be able to hear the sound of the iron implements cutting and tooling the stones, a sound that would remind them of the sound of battle (i.e., of swords clanging against one another) and bring back the painful memories of war. Even though God did not permit David to build the Temple, He did allow him to make the financial and practical preparations for its construction (1 Chr 28:11, 20-21; 29:1-21) and to have the knowledge that his son would complete the task to God’s glory (2 Sam 7:13).