Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
1 Chronicles 22:8 – Too Busy To Build?
Why couldn’t David build the temple? Because David had “shed much blood” (1 Chronicles 22:8). Are you thinking, “So what?” Or, possibly, “That’s not fair!” Maybe your thoughts are more sacramental – “Why should a man with blood on his hands build a place of holiness?”
I don’t know the “why” behind the “why” but I wonder…could it be far from personal, and nothing spiritual, but just simply practical? And if my “wondering” is correct, oh what a lesson for our churches and families.
Notice how Solomon reasons why David could not build the temple, but why Solomon himself could: David didn’t have time because of war, but Solomon did because of peace (1 Kings 5:3-5). Also notice that the temple required 183,300 manual labors (1 Kings 5:13-16). In war, those men would be needed to fight.
What applications can be made?
- How can a church build up either spiritually or numerically if it is too busy fighting and tearing down?
- How can a church afford to pay preachers if they keep splitting and have to pay mortgages and utilities?
- How can a husband and wife grow in their oneness if they are ripping each other apart?
- How can parents raise their children to be Christians if they are constantly criticizing?
Why couldn’t David build the temple? Could it be the same reason churches don’t grow and families fall apart? They are too busy to build.
Comments