That is, after the events described in the previous chapter. Chapter 22 deals with matters not found elsewhere concerning David’s preparations for the building of the Temple.

 When God so signally manifested His presence and His acceptance of David’s offering on the altar on Ornan’s threshing floor (ch. 21:26, 28), David concluded that this was the place where the Temple was to be erected and where the people were to come to offer and worship.

 That is, non-Israelite residents of Palestine. They were employed in various types of forced service from which the Israelites were exempted (see 1 Kings 9:20-22; 2 Chron. 8:7-9).

 This metal was known in very ancient times in both Mesopotamia and Egypt (see on Gen. 4:22), but it was not in common use until approximately the time of David.

Rather, “bronze.” Brass is properly an alloy of copper and zinc, the use of which dates from comparatively recent times. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Its use was very common in the ancient Orient. Bronze plates decorated with historical scenes were employed to cover the door of a building of Shalmaneser III, and Sennacherib speaks of the doors of his palace at Nineveh being overlaid with shining bronze.

 The cedar was plentiful in the Lebanon Mts. and was famous throughout the Orient. For a description of the method in which the wood was brought from Lebanon to Jerusalem see 2 Chron. 2:16.

 The thought is that Solomon lacked experience. The expression is again employed by David concerning Solomon in 1 Chron. 29:1, and a similar expression is later applied to Solomon’s son Rehoboam (2 Chron. 13:7).

It was God’s purpose that Jerusalem should be the capital and metropolis of the world (see DA 577). From that city streams of light should go out to all peoples of the globe. By divine inspiration the Lord revealed to David the plan of the Temple whose fame would go out to all the nations. Wherever men heard of the Temple they were to hear of God, and were to make their way to Jerusalem to worship and glorify the Lord. The Temple was to be a structure of such glory as fitly to represent the Lord of glory.

The Temple is usually called Solomon’s Temple. But basically the idea of building the Temple was his father’s. It was David who, by inspiration, received the pattern of the building. It was he who initiated the task, began the work of gathering supplies, and passed on to Solomon the charge to build the house. What Solomon later did was simply to carry out the directions that had been passed on to him by his father.

 When David was old and ready to die, he delivered this address to his son (see PP 750, 751). With intense earnestness and solemnity he unfolded to Solomon the plan that was so dear to his heart (see 2 Sam. 7:1-5).

 Nathan conveyed the Lord’s word to David that he was not to build the Temple (2 Sam. 7:4-17).

 Nathan’s message to David, as recorded in 2 Sam. 7:4-17, does not give this reason. However, Nathan made it plain that David’s task was that of a soldier and that the Lord would be with David in the carrying out of that task (see 2 Sam. 7:9-11), thus implying that it was for this reason that he should not build the Temple.

 Solomon was already married and was a father before the death of David. This is clear from the fact that Solomon reigned 40 years (1 Kings 11:42), and his son Rehoboam was 41 years of age when he began to reign (1 Kings 14:21). Thus Solomon must have been born some considerable time before David’s death, and, if this message came to David before the birth of Solomon, it must have come when David was not much more than halfway through his reign of 40 years.

The name “Solomon” probably means “peaceable.” Hebrew parents attached great significance to the names of their children. Often these names stood for traits of character that the parent desired to see developed in the child (see PK 481).

 Solomon also had another name, Jedidiah (2 Sam. 12:25), “beloved of Jehovah,” but it was by the name Solomon that he was commonly known.

 The fact that God had informed David that his son Solomon should build the Temple, made a great impression upon Solomon, as is seen by his own references to the incident in later years (1 Kings 5:5; 2 Chron. 6:8-10).

 It was David’s fervent wish and prayer that Solomon might have wisdom. This desire on the part of his father was probably one of the contributing factors influencing Solomon to choose wisdom when, in his dream, he was given the opportunity to choose whatever he wished for himself (1 Kings 3:9-12).

Happiness, prosperity, and peace come from an observance of the laws of the Lord.

 Compare Deut. 31:6; Joshua 1:6, 7; Isa. 43:1-5; Jer. 1:8; John 14:27.

 The amounts here given seem extraordinarily large. The weight of a talent varied, but was probably about 75 lb. avoirdupois. That would make about 3,770 tons of gold and 37,700 tons of silver. It is possible that such terms as “a hundred thousand” or “a thousand thousand” were employed to convey the idea of numbers that were very large but were not necessarily intended to be taken literally (see v. 16; see pp. 122, 123).

 This statement is an indication that the numbers in v. 14 are probably not to be regarded as absolute.

This is good counsel when there is a task to be done. David had placed the burden of his heart upon Solomon, and now it remained for Solomon to be up and about the task that was his.

Great as Solomon was, he was not great enough to undertake the task of building the Temple alone. If the house of God was to be built, it would require the cooperation of the princes of Israel. For this reason David invited the cooperation of the leading men throughout the land, that all might work together toward the attainment of their common end.

The land had been conquered, and the enemies that had risen up against Israel had been subdued. God’s promises to His people had been fulfilled. The Lord’s presence was with them and would continue to remain with them as long as they remained faithful to Him. So why should they not join heartily in the building of the Temple as if this enterprise were their very own?

 Compare similar counsel by other prophets (Amos 5:4, 6, 8; Zeph. 2:3). Solomon was admonished to set his heart upon one objective. As king, he would find many allurements that would tend to lead him astray. There was only one path of safety, and that was to seek the Lord with all his heart. Such searching is rewarded: “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).

Similar words of encouragement need to be spoken to weak, perplexed, struggling congregations without a suitable house of worship. Sanctuaries of the Lord need to be built, and the only way that they will be built is for men to arise and build them. By passing on his admonition to his son, David was imparting some of his own zeal and spirit to Solomon. In many a community there could be a fitting monument to the cause of the Lord if only men would arise and build.