A Current Prayer Directive from 1Chron.29

“Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: ‘My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple^[a] is not for man but for the Lord God.’” 1Chron.29:1

I was reading 1Chronicles 29 this morning and was struck by the parallel that could be drawn between the transfer of power from King David to Solomon, and the extraordinary election of Donald Trump as President of the USA.

It’s not a perfect metaphor of course, and there are places that really don’t apply at all, but it really stood out to me this morning as a directive for God’s people to pray, if nothing else.

Solomon and The Building of the Temple

In V1, King David is speaking to “all the assembly” about his son Solomon, about whom he says he “alone God has chosen.” It’s been widely reported about this election that evangelical Christians made a huge difference, helping Trump to win because they came out en force—through prayer and voting—believing that Trump was the one God has chosen for the job, even with all of his many flaws.

King David describes his son as “young and inexperienced” in that verse. While Donald J. Trump—at 70-years-old—isn’t exactly young, he IS young and definitely inexperienced when it comes to being the President of the United States, and the leader of the free world.

Verse one continues with David saying, “the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the Lord God.” As Christians, we know that because of Jesus’ work on the Cross, God does not limit Himself to the walls of a temple, but that each Believer’s body is now a temple for the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit.

America was formed by people who believed that God was directing them, and they acknowledged this at every step in the crafting of this country’s foundations and Constitution. Even within America’s ‘Declaration of Independence,’ the dependence upon God the Creator is spelled out. This is also depicted in the more recent text of our National Motto: “In God We Trust.”

Because of America’s dedication to God, the last part of V1 comes into play, that this country is indeed not for man’s glory but that of “the Lord God.” Also, the position of this country’s Commander-in-Chief IS great, and really a monumental task.

The Remarkable Contributions

“Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?” 1 Chron. 29:2-5

In the following verses, 2-5, King David lists all the gold, silver, wood and precious stones that he has accumulated for the work of building God’s Temple, and then later on in this chapter it mentions how others gave for the work. In this, one can draw a loose parallel to the surprising way Americans supporting Trump gave to the cause, and his campaign was able to raise enough money—including that of his own—to help him win the office.

“Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly.” 1 Chron. 29:6 

In V6, it mentions how the leaders, captains, officers—and in the previous verses, the craftsmen—“offered willingly” to help Solomon build the Temple. The last few days we’ve heard of how President-elect Trump is putting together his cabinet, and the many good people who have stepped up to help.

“Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.” 1 Chron. 29:9

In V9 I see a parallel between these people who had “offered willingly” and with a “loyal heart offered willingly to the Lord” and those who came together and prayed for this election. It truly was inspirational the way God’s people from all denominations, religious backgrounds, and ethnicity joined in prayer and intercession—some even fasting—for God’s results in this 2016 election.

Praise and Dedication to God

In V10-17 King David offers praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, acknowledging that He reigns over all, and that all of this wealth, land position is His in the first place and that “we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope” if not for God.

As mentioned before, America’s forefathers did the same and dedicated this land to Him, acknowledging their dependence on their Creator. America belongs to God.

A Current Prayer Directive from the Ancient

“O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.” 1 Chron. 29:18-19

King David prays that this dedication and reliance on God would be kept “forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people” and that the Lord would “fix their heart toward” Him. This is still an excellent prayer directive for all of us to pray over ourselves and the people of this country.

And then David prays for his son Solomon, a prayer that seems applicable and important to pray now over President-elect Trump; that God would give Donald Trump a “loyal heart to keep [God’s] commandments and [His] testimonies and [His] statutes.” Remembering how the Church rose up (with the exception of some) to pray and prophesy over him, and the incredible miracle of Trump’s victory over the seemingly insurmountable Clinton machine. May our new President-elect ponder all these things and hold them close in his heart, staying humble before the Lord.

We know from later chapters of the Bible that King Solomon was definitely not perfect—a bit of a playboy even—but he was the man that God had chosen for the building of The Temple and the leading of the nation of Israel.

Solomon Anointed as King, and the New President Taking Office

In the following verses, the transfer of power is made from King David to Solomon, and the people thanked the Lord and rejoiced, as God’s hand was truly on King Solomon and his reign, with great blessing and favor.

“And they made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. So they ate and drank before the Lord with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before the Lord to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted themselves to King Solomon. So the Lord exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.” 1 Chron. 29:21-25

We must certainly be praying for this transition from candidate Trump to President Trump, and for his presidency thereafter. Trump truly has a huge task before him of leading this nation, and of bringing this now very divided country together as one.

It does seem like an almost impossible mission, but so did the idea that Donald J Trump would ever actually win this election in the first place!

And we know that “with God, nothing shall be impossible.”