Psalm 132 indicates that from his youth on, David had longed to build a temple worthy of the ark of God, the symbol of God’s presence among His people Israel. The time came when he had rest from his enemies and wanted to go ahead with this project. But God did not permit him to do this, reminding him that he was a man of war who had shed much blood through the course of the years. The Lord spoke to him through the prophet Nathan and promised to build him a house (2 Sam. 7; 1 Chr. 17).

He also told David that he would have a son who would build a house for His name, and that He would establish his name forever (1 Chr. 17:10–14). God even went so far as to name the son Solomon, meaning peaceful, saying that he would be a man of rest, and that He would give peace and quietness to Israel in his days (22:9–10). Whether David realized it or not, in this Solomon was to be a type of the Lord Jesus, who in a coming day would truly build a house for God’s glory.

Rather than being upset that he was not permitted to carry out his project, David was thankful to God for His wonderful promise and began to make preparation for the temple that Solomon would build rather than he. The enormous amounts of gold, silver, and other materials of all kinds that he stored up for this project are detailed for us in 1 Chronicles 29:1–5, and the leaders and the people added still more to this. Let us not rebel when our cherished ambitions are thwarted, but look to God for His plan for our lives, thankful that His ways are higher than ours.