Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 20-23.

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I want to start by noting two things I noticed which seemed to be discrepancies.  First, this passage says that the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshold of Ornan the Jebusite when David went up to raise an altar to sacrifice to God in order to stop the plague which followed David’s census.  However in 2 Samuel it says that it was the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.  As I record that, the answer seems obvious: Ornan is just a different rendering of Araunah (similar to the way that the name Peter is rendered as Pietro in Italian), but I had to look that up because I just remembered that Ornan was different from the way it was recorded in 2 Samuel and did not remember how it was different.  I noticed another apparent discrepancy when I read in chapter twenty-three where David counted the Levites for service in the temple.  In verse three it says he counted those “thirty years old and upward”.  Then in verse twenty-four it says the individuals “twenty years old and upward” were listed.  The reason for this change of age was that the permanent structure of the temple changed the work of the Levites so that more men were required on a day by day basis then with the temporary structure of the tabernacle.  The tabernacle only occasionally required the Levites to perform most of their duties for a short period of time, while the temple required them to perform their duties every day all year long.   This change meant that you would need a larger pool of men taking turns fulfilling their duties.

Yesterday, I wrote that the prophecy which Nathan gave to David concerning who would build a house for the Lord did not actually spell out that it would be Solomon who did so, and in fact, Solomon did not truly fulfill the prophecy which Nathan gave to David.  Today’s passage seems to say that I interpreted Nathan’s prophecy incorrectly. However, there are two reasons that what David says here about the prophecy do not necessarily mean that my interpretation from yesterday’s passage was wrong.  First, the writer is quoting David, not a direct prophecy of God.  So, perhaps what David says here about God telling him that Solomon would build the temple may not be what God actually said. So while this is certainly what David understood the prophecy he was given to mean, it may not be what it actually meant.  The more important reason is that David actually seems to be referencing a different prophecy than the one recorded in yesterday’s passage.  The prophecy in yesterday’s passage does not reference David’s wars nor him shedding blood.

I want to touch on one more thing from today’s passage.  In David’s instructions to Solomon he tells him to “Be strong and courageous.”  That closely resembles what God said to Joshua when Joshua took over leadership of Israel from Moses.  In both cases, they are instructed not to fear, nor to be dismayed.  Neither Joshua nor Solomon would have any need to fear if they allowed the discretion and understanding which God gave them keep them from going against God’s commands.  In the same way, we can be strong and courageous, without fear if we obey God.  And God’s commands to us are simple, love Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  God makes it even simpler than that by promising to have His Holy Spirit dwell within us, transforming us into His likeness.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.