"Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee." [1 Chr 22:16]

When it entered David’s heart to build God a house to dwell in, (for he said, ‘Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains.’”), Nathan presumptuously said, “Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.” [1 Ch 17:1-2] But he misspoke: for “it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in.” [1 Ch 17:3-4] And so, for various reasons, The LORD would not have David to build the temple; but God promised instead that Solomon his son would build the temple. The LORD told David, “I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.” [1 Ch 17:12]

Because David was not allowed to build the temple, he decided to prepare for it. It being for The LORD, David desired the temple to “be exceeding magnificent, [and to be] of fame and of glory throughout all countries,” and so as it is written, “David prepared abundantly [for the temple] before his death.” [1 Ch 22:5]

As all of our lives have a specified time when they will end, as is set by God, (for in His hand “is the soul of every thing, and the breath of all mankind,” [Job 12:10]), eventually, so too David’s time to be gathered to his father’s came. But before he died, spoke with his son Solomon, saying,

“Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee. David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son...” [1 Ch 22:14-17a]

We see in this exhortation and admonition a wonderful example of Christ, David himself being a picture of Jesus in many ways. Notice that David prepared everything needed for the temple in order that it would be fashioned according to the pattern he received by The Holy Spirit. For after this, it is written that “David gave to Solomon…the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit,” and David said to him, “the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.” [1 Ch 28:11-12; 19] We see, then, that the materials acquired in preparation for the construction were ordained of God, them being gathered to accomplish that specific pattern from God, which like the tabernacle, would be a “shadow of heavenly things.” [Heb 8:5]  The encouragement and strength from this is clearly seen and enjoyed when we place Christ dead center and remember it is Jesus who has “prepared abundantly” for us, giving us not only His Spirit but also an immeasurable source of heavenly grace; for “of his fulness have all we received, and grace upon grace,” [John 1:16] and, “the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” [1 Tim 1:14] And this grace is available to us through Jesus our High Priest. So, as Hebrews exhorts, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the opportune time.” [Heb 4:16]

As the materials David provided were so abundant they were beyond counting, so too the grace offered through Jesus. No matter what is required, Jesus has the grace necessary. There is no lack with Jesus, and since we are His there is none with us either; for it is written, “The LORD is my shepherd; I am not lacking.” [Psa 23:1] He is God; all belongs to Him, and He holds all at His disposal; for He said, “All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” [Mat 28:18] There is nothing too hard for Him; as Jeremiah said, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.” [Jer 32:17]

Whatever is required, Christ has it. There is no lack with our Savior. He has abundantly prepared all that is required, so that we might, as the temple, be built up into that image God has provided. And that pattern in heaven which is for our example is Christ Himself. Just as The LORD gave Moses and David a pattern of things in heaven as a model for building, so too we have a pattern; Christ Jesus is our model, and God has “predestinate[d] [us] to be conformed to the image of His Son,” and so, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” [Rom 8:29; 32] Therefore, because there is no limit to the grace available to us in God through Jesus our Savior, let us follow the same admonition that David gave to Solomon: “Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.” And again, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.” [1 Ch 22:16; 28:20]