Sermon Notes for 1 Chronicles 29:6-18

Key verse: 1 Chronicles 29:14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!”
                People seldom read the books of the Chronicles because they seem to repeat so much of the history already described in the books of 1 and 2 Kings. However, the description of history in Chronicles actually reinterprets the events as the author looks back from a later perspective after returning from exile. A brief review of that history will help us understand even more the significance of this passage.
                David and his descendents served as kings until the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 587 B.C.E. After conquering a people, the victors would take the skilled artisans and others back to their own homeland to both benefit from their skills and to prevent the conquered territory from regaining prominence. Similarly, Babylon took many of the residents of Jerusalem back to Babylon in exile. While in exile, the Hebrew people experienced a faith crisis. If God was their national God and lived in the Temple, then how could they worship now? Through their time in exile they discovered that God’s realm expanded far beyond Jerusalem to include the whole world.
                After about 50 years, when freed from exile, some of the people returned to Jerusalem to rebuild their way of life. However, Persia quickly defeated their attempts to reestablish a monarchy. So, they turned to the other aspect of what made them a unique people—their religion, and more specifically, the Temple of their God. If they understood that God was in control, they would no longer need a monarchy anyway, since the Lord would be their King. The Chronicler, then, retold some of their history with a new emphasis on God’s personal involvement in everyday events.
                To demonstrate God’s involvement, the Chronicler reinterpreted some of the historical events through a retribution and reward system, where God punished those who disobeyed and rewarded those who obeyed. Looking back at their history, the author could see where that system did not make sense, so he presumed that those who seemed good and yet experienced bad things must have disobeyed God somehow. That system seemed to the Chronicler the only way to prove God’s personal involvement in everyday matters. Also, a system of retribution and reward helped them gain control of the people when there was no kingly authority. Since God was in control, then God’s intention all along must have been to gather a community of people around not a king but a Temple and its religious practices.
                Construction of the Temple, then, as a sign of God’s presence, became vitally important. Therefore, the Chronicler described in much detail the dedication of King David and the people to that construction in the passage we read today. King David set the example as their leader by giving generously of not the royal wealth but all of his own private treasures. He then called on the leaders to give and finally the people to give, and the Chronicler made sure that we understood they all gave willingly and generously.
                In response, King David prayed a prayer dedicating those treasures to the Lord. His prayer contained three parts: praise (in verses 10-12), thanksgiving (verses 13-17), and petition (verses 18-19). He praised God as Creator who owns the whole world, as King who ruled supreme over all the world, as the source of all human wealth, and the supplier of all human power. All that we have belongs first to God who shares it all generously with us. Then, the prayer moved into thanksgiving, recognizing God’s prevenient grace in that everything we have comes first from God. We can only give back to God what God has given to us. David’s petition then asked that God would give people the desire to love and obey God, therefore returning what we have to God.
                This passage, then, teaches us several things. Everything we have is not really our own, but God’s. God entrusts the things to us as “stewards” or caretakers of God’s property. However, just as God gives us these resources, God also inspires our hearts to part with them. Philippians 2:13 reminds us: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.”  Generous and joyful giving, then, is a measure of spiritual maturity and the fruit of our deepening relationship with God. As we long to become more like God, we begin to give all that we have and all that we are to God’s work and pleasure. The good news, though, is that we cannot outgive God. As we humbly “own” what God has given us and invest it all in God’s work, we reap a generous harvest of love, peace and joy.

Questions for Reflection
1—What things do you own that would be hardest to part with? Why? What circumstances would inspire you to part with them?
2—How do you feel about the statement that everything we have is God’s and that we are caretakers? How would thinking of your resources in that way change how you live?
3—How have you experienced God’s generosity? How do you feel inspired to respond to that extravagant and generous love? How might God be calling you to invest it in the kingdom? What does your current giving practice say about your relationship with God?
4—How did the Holy Spirit speak to you in worship today?