1 Chronicles 22:5b
“…the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it." So David made extensive preparations before his death.”
When our church chose the Boot Camp theme for VBS this year, we knew it will be hard work. For one, instead of buying the usual starter kit, we opted the Armor of God free curriculum download and thought we can just add in our creative juices. Extracting those juices was the hard part of course. But we found the hard-er one last night. Realizing the irreconcilable concept-conflict that modern day armies don’t use swords as main weapons, how do we teach the Sword of the Spirit then? Surely not by saying 'Guns of the Spirit' or hope the kids won’t mind imagining WW heroes doing swordplay. At first, we were trying compromises here and there. But t’was a compromise indeed. We’l hurt both if we don’t let one go. It’s just either embrace the Roman soldier idea minus the boot camp, or goodbye armor of God equals writing the curriculum from scratch. It was clearly excellence’ call and we knew it. Can you guess our choice?
Without a hint that it will soon be the venue for Solomon’s beautiful temple, David faced a compromise deal I’d probably easily say yes to. We knew the story: God ordered him to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah and the owner offered it to him as a free gift. Free! Imagine how many other God-projects can be pursued by saving fifteen pounds of gold? But David didn’t give in. He insisted on paying the full amount and said, ‘I will not sacrifice to God offerings that cost me nothing’. When the time came for him to help his son prepare for building the house of God, he kept the same countenance. The earlier verses mentioned more bronze than could be weighed and more cedar logs than could be counted. All imported from the Sidonians and Tyrians - - legendary for their excellent timber. Verse 14 added ‘he took great pains in providing a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, as well as men skilled in every kind of work and craftsmen beyond number’. An abundance exceeding and excelling! His reason? ‘It should be in great magnificence and fame in splendor in the sight of all nations’. The temple is where God’s Name will reside. He will be praised there according to His excellent greatness. Anything less is an inconsistency. A sin actually, because it missed the mark.
If we follow the idea that everything we do is our worship to God, would you look with me for a minute and see what we just placed there on the altar? Was that lamb late again this morning, a little grumpy too because of the traffic? Why wasn’t it shaved and fluffy and white? It looked perfect last week when someone influential paid a visit. Oh this was another kind. One you hurriedly grabbed in between your shifts. Discounted you say, for that little blemish? Here’s God’s word for you Malachi: ‘Try offering them to your governor, would he be pleased? Would he accept? Cursed is the cheat! For I am a great King, and my name is to be feared among the nations. Yes I have already cursed them, because they have not set their hearts to honor me.’ So how’s your offering? How much did it cost you? Compare that with God’s lamb on the cross. No less than His treasured Son. And we thank Him with cheap mediocrity? Shame on us :<
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