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Though David had it in his heart to build a house for God, God instead promised to build a house for David (2 Sam 7; 1 Chron 17). That house was a royal dynasty that would never end because it would culminate with the eternal King and Saviour of the world Jesus Christ. This promise God made to David is referred to as the Davidic Covenant and is why God kept David’s descendants on the throne despite how evil many of them were. But God made another promise to David. Even though God would not allow him to build the temple because of the wars he had fought and the blood he had shed (1 Chron 28:3), David’s son Solomon would.
The son of David and Bathsheba, Solomon became king before his father died. In fact, “The last recorded act of David was his acceptance of the coregency with Solomon as king (cf. 1 Kings 1:38-40; 2:1).” How long they ruled together we don’t know but it couldn’t have been for that long. Nevertheless, this helped to solidify the legitimacy of Solomon’s rule in the minds of the Israelites. One of the other acts David did before he died was to give Solomon the plans for God’s temple. According to David’s own testimony, God had supernaturally revealed these plans to him. And in 1 Chronicles 28:19 we get a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of the ways revelation from God is received and recorded in the Bible: “All this,” David said, “I have in writing as a result of the LORD’s hand on me, and he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan.” Not only did David write down exactly what the Lord told him too, but God made David understand every detail as well.
But it wasn’t just plans for the temple itself. Also included was “the ministry of the priests and Levites (v. 13) and the weight of the gold and silver from which the sacred temple furnishings were to be made (vv. 14-18). Not wanting to leave anything to chance, David wrote down every detail of the heavenly revelation (v. 19).” And this is not the first time God gave divine instructions like this, nor would it be the last. God had given Moses very detailed blueprints for the construction of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, and the rest of the furnishings. He told Moses to build everything according to the pattern which God had shown him up on Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:40). God also gave Ezekiel nine chapters worth of very detailed plans about an apparently future temple (Ezekiel 40-48). And He gave Noah plans on how to build the ark (Genesis 6:14-16), which (if they were anything like the other revelations) we’re probably very extensive!
Thus, while these construction projects were built by human hands, they were, in reality, divine designs created by Almighty God!
Ryan Hembree is a daily co-host, speaker, and writer of Bible Discovery. He also hosts a YouTube channel that shows the unity of the Bible and how science and Scripture fit together. Ryan also has an honorary Masters of Ministry in Creation Science from Phoenix University of Theology.
[1] Eugene H. Merrill, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, Note on 1 Chronicles 29:22b-23, P.617.
[2] Eugene H. Merrill, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, Note on 1 Chronicles 28:11-21, P.616.
[3] For example, “Gudeam the Sumerian king of Lagash (2143-2124 BC), claimed the god Ningirsu revealed a temple plan to him in a dream: ‘On that day in a night vision (he saw) his king, Gudea saw the lord Ningirsu, (and) he commanded him to build his temple. The Eninnu, its stature being the greatest, he displayed to him’ (COS, 2.155:419). The precise details of the plan were unclear to Gudea, so he consulted the goddess Nanshe for further explanation. The goddess explained that Gudea was to construct the temple according to a divinely revealed plan the god Nindub had copied onto a slate of lapis lazuli. In one of several surviving statues of Gudea, the king holds on his lap a tablet engraved with the divine architect’s drawings.” (ESV Archaeology Study Bible, Note on 1 Chron 28:11-19, P.595-596.)
[4] Numerous studies have been done on this such as Ervin N. Hershberger’s book Seeing Christ in the Tabernacle.
[5] We should not necessarily assume that the brief description of the ark given in Genesis 6:14-16 is the only instruction God gave to Noah. This passage likely is a broad and brief summation of more detailed blueprints.
