Build On

“Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.” (1Ch 22:16 AV)

 

David's Charge to Solomon was multifaceted.  However, in our reading this morning, we are made aware the majority of this charge is to build the temple.  David had in his heart to build a temple for the ark of the covenant.  He desired a more permanent dwelling for worship wherein God would meet His people.  He desired a temple that would rival the pagan temples of their neighbors.  David gave this a lot of thought.  He planned and designed the building.  He gathered the materials.  He prefabbed the entire building.  All that remained was to assemble the temple.  Then came Nathan and told David by the word of the LORD that Solomon was to build this temple.  Upon the last few months of his life, David laid out the plans for the temple and revealed to Solomon all he had prepared.  This project was a true shovel-ready project.  It was all there.  All Solomon had to do was to arise and do it.  The instruction above is not to be busy for being busy’s sake.  David is not telling Solomon to arise and do anything.  There is a plan laid out and resources assembled.

My father had a few projects that were always part of our life.  There was the darkroom where we learned how to develop film and make prints.  That was my hobby.  Then there was the model railroad project laid out upstairs in our playroom.  A four-by-eight piece of plywood with track and buildings which we were allowed to work on.  However, one project which my brother Christopher fell in love with was building airplane models.  My father loved airplanes.  Christopher was very talented in this craft.  I always messed up with too much glue or breaking the decals as I tried to place them.  But Chris was excellent at these models.  Everything was perfect.  He would even go so far as to sand down flyers.  Those little ‘tags’ left from breaking the parts off their frame.  He would fill cracks with putty.  Where there were no decals, he would paint his own pattern appropriate to the aircraft at hand.  My father would pick up a new model and Chris would dive into it.  When they were done, Dad hung them by wire from the ceiling or bookshelves in his den.  It was quite remarkable.  Sometimes, Christ was a bit busy or disinterested.  So, the model lay there unassembled.  My father had to prod and poke Chris into assembling another one.  Arise and do it. 

Idle minds are the Devil’s workshop.  So I have heard.  Idle hands will find something to do.  There is a plan for each of us.  There are resources the LORD has provided for the performing of our calling.  God has something for us to do and a way to do it.  Our lives are a project.  From the beginning, the LORD assembled us in the tummies of our Mums.  But the building did not stop there.  There is a plan.  There are resources laid aside.  Many of which we are unaware.  There are gifts and talents.  There are abilities.  There are personality and temperament.  There are acquaintances, influences, and material things God has given and will continue to give to accomplish that which the Masterbuilder has designed.  We cannot sit idle, wasting away our lives as though they have no purpose.  This is exactly what is happening.  In our world of turmoil, the saints are becoming fraught with fear and holding up in their homes, afraid to come out for the possibility of what might happen.  The building materials are out in the weather, rotting from neglect.  The resources are sitting idle, accruing interest that others will enjoy.  It is time to arise and do.