When God Says “No” Lesson One Focal Text: 1 Chronicles 28:1-10 Background: Job 38:1-8 Teaching Aim: To lead members to reflect on the legacy they are leaving behind and determine ways to make that legacy more in keeping with God’s plan for their lives. Connect with Life: Begin with a challenge for members to reflect on the legacy they are leaving behind if today was the last day of their life. In other words, what would their loved ones and friends say was most important in their life based on their actions? Then ask members if they would like to make any changes in their life message? Share with members that in our study for today we will be reminded of the legacy left behind by David with his final words that reflected the life he lived. We will discover some aspects of his legacy that can be applied to our own legacy revisions. Guide Bible Study: Then lead members to identify these aspects of David’s legacy as found in our focal passage for this study. Suggested aspects and related commentary are as follows: 1. Humility (28:1-2a). David demonstrated humility throughout his life and in this final gathering of the Jewish leaders. Even though David was their king, he referred to them as brothers and “my people.” He was certainly identifying with them as an equal before God. We will also see his humility in our discussion of verse 5. David included all of the leaders in this final gathering before his death in order to remind them of the legacy he was leaving behind. This gathering included the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. David wanted everyone to hear what he had to say. David’s life was characterized by great humility as he tried to put God’s will and the welfare of others first in his life. David certainly strayed from this commitment from time to time, but it was characteristic of him to be humble before God and his fellow man. 2. David made serving God the priority of his life (28:2b-3). David led the children of Israel to conquer their enemies so that God’s name would be glorified throughout the world. This meant that he had to take the lives of many people, which kept him from fulfilling his greatest desire- to build the Temple. David wanted to build the place of “rest” for God but he was not a man of “rest.” (The days of rest related to creation represented the completion of God’s work. This Temple would represent the completion of his promises to Abraham.) Solomon, on the other hand, was a man of “rest.” 1 Chronicles 22:9 says, “But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name is Solomon.” David made all the preparations for building the Temple and was about to give the people and Solomon his charge to build the Temple. 3. David acknowledged the call of God in his life (28:4). David made it clear that being king of Israel was not his idea. He was called by God to be king in spite of the fact that he was not of Saul’s lineage and was not even the oldest son in his family. David had devoted his life to preparing the way for the birth of the Savior who would come from his tribe, the tribe of Judah. Therefore, he could say that God had established his kingdom forever. 4. Concern for God’s kingdom (28:5). David was careful not to claim the kingdom of Israel as belonging to him. He declared the kingdom to belong to God and expressed his commitment to the welfare of that kingdom. David was quick to give God the glory for his place on the throne of Israel and for the upcoming rule of his son, Solomon. These last two chapters of 1 Chronicles are a record of the passing of the rule of Israel from David to Solomon. 2 Chronicles will deal with Solomon’s days as king of Israel. “Israel’s king, then, was God’s deputy, commissioned to carry out God’s will for the nation.” 5. Concern for the Temple and for his son (28:6-7). As we will see in the next study, David made special provisions for the construction of the Temple and made it clear that this was to be a priority for Israel and for Solomon to complete the construction. David wanted Solomon to know of God’s plan for the kingdom and for Solomon’s place in God’s plan. God was ready to make the same promise to Solomon that he had made to David regarding the future of his reign. David also reminded Solomon of his responsibility in this covenant. 6. David’s challenge to Solomon (28:8-10). David’s last words included these challenges: a. “Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God.” “It was the king’s solemn duty to study and obey God’s laws (all of them).” Solomon needed to be careful to pass on David’s legacy to his own children in order to guarantee their inheritance. b. “Learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately.” David challenged Solomon to know and serve God the way that David had. Solomon needed to experience a real relationship with the living God. David essentially told Solomon- “The secret of my success has been my relationship with God. You need to pursue the same relationship.” c. “Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind.” Solomon was to serve God with a loyal heart and a willing mind- both, not one or the other. He could have a heart for God but an unwillingness to be obedient to God. This would not work. He could also go through the motions of fulfilling God’s commands without a heart for God. This would not work either. He needed both if he was to be useful to God. “For the Lord sees every heart, and knows every plan and thought.” David certainly experienced this truth in his time of sin related to Bathsheba. “David told Solomon to be completely open with God and dedicated to him. It makes no sense to try to hide any thoughts or actions from an all-knowing God.” d. “If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” Solomon found God (1 Kings 3:1-15) and forsook him (1 Kings 11:1-13). Solomon’s response, typical of humanity, was inconsistent. Though he did seek God (2 Chron. 1:5), it was not with a whole heart and his divided devotion led ultimately to a divided kingdom. e. “So take this seriously.” David made it clear to Solomon that it would be his responsibility to build the Temple and to remain strong in the Lord. This would be his legacy to the generations that would follow him. Encourage Application: Remind members of our discussion related to the legacy we wish to leave to our family and friends. Share with members that it is not too late to impact our legacy statement with these aspects from the legacy of David. For example: 1. We can allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (including humility) in our lives. 2. We can demonstrate a willingness to make our service to God more of a priority in our lives. 3. We can share words of testimony regarding God’s call in our lives and our response to that call. 4. We can turn any praise we may be receiving to God and give Him the glory for any good that we have done. 5. We can renew our efforts to establish God’s kingdom in the hearts of people by sharing the Gospel more freely. 6. We can become better students of God’s Word and demonstrate the Bible’s teachings in our lives. 7. We can enrich our relationship with God through obedience and worship. 8. We can claim God’s forgiveness of failings in our life and let people know that we are committed to serving God with all our heart and mind. 9. We can continue to demonstrate a seeking of God’s will in our lives and a rejection of anything that might distract us from that commitment. 10. We can complete the work that God has called us to do. Close with a time of prayer for members to continue thinking about their legacy and any improvements they would like to make. .