Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of I Chronicles Chapter 22
Metaphysically Interpreting I Chronicles 22:1-5
22:1Then David said, This is the house of Jehovah God, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel.22:2And David commanded to gather together the sojourners that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. 22:3And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight; 22:4and cedar-trees without number: for the Sidonians and they of Tyre brought cedar-trees in abundance to David. 22:5And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for Jehovah must be exceeding magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
Metaphysically Interpreting I Chronicles 22:6-19
22:6Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for Jehovah, the God of Israel. 22:7And David said to Solomon his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God. 22:8But the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. 22:9Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days: 22:10he shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. 22:11Now, my son, Jehovah be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of Jehovah thy God, as he hath spoken concerning thee. 22:12Only Jehovah give thee discretion and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel; that so thou mayest keep the law of Jehovah thy God. 22:13Then shalt thou prosper, if thou observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which Jehovah charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; fear not, neither be dismayed. 22:14Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of Jehovah a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. 22:15Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all men that are skilful in every manner of work: 22:16of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and Jehovah be with thee.
22:17David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 22:18Is not Jehovah your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before Jehovah, and before his people. 22:19Now set your heart and your soul to seek after Jehovah your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of Jehovah God, to bring the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of Jehovah.
September 6, 1896: I Chronicles 22:6-16
If we wisely use all experiences as the spirit directs, we shall be continually advancing from one plane of consciousness to another higher, in our march from sense to Spirit, from Egypt to Canaan, until we reach the consciousness of perfect at-one-ment with God. We have been abiding in the David consciousness (the consciousness of Love), where we have won wonderful victories over sense and sensual thoughts, until all these enemies in our mind-kingdom have been subdued. This has brought us to a new and delightful epoch, the dawning of an era of peace, the very result of our victories. The dawning of this era of peace is the passage from the David consciousness to the Solomon consciousness.
22:6Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for Jehovah, the God of Israel. 22:7And David said to Solomon his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God. -- In the David consciousness we have foreseen the holy development of the body, as a natural result of the purification of thought; and we have had an earnest desire to build up our body temple, “unto the name of our God,” in holiness.
22:8But the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. -- But the Spirit, which “reveals the deep things of God,” shows us that it is not Love's office and mission to build: Love is not a builder; Love is “a man of war,” a great conqueror, “cutting off all enemies out of its sight” – 2 Sam. 7:9, subduing and destroying all evil thoughts from the mind (“shedding blood”). For it is thus seen that each dominant thought or consciousness has a specific mission to fulfill, which, when it has accomplished, it must yield to a higher consciousness, which in turn performs its higher function, whose way the former consciousness has prepared and made possible.
The mission of Love is very important, clearing the mind of all evil thoughts (David's victories), so preparing the way for the high consciousness of Peace and Understanding (Solomon). In our contests with error thoughts and in our wonderful victories, we do not build up God's Temple holy and healthy; important as these overcomings are, they are not builders.
22:9Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days: 22:10he shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. -- But, “behold! a son shall be born of thee, who shall be a man of rest; he shall build an house for my name.” This is the Consciousness of Peaceful Understanding; this is the region of thought known as “stillness,” which is also the restfulness of True Understanding. In this region of “peace,” following overcoming, is where the Spirit upbuilds the body-temple, perfect and holy. Not in the battle nor in the victory is there any growth; but in the still region of “peace,” following the victory. It is in the peaceful reign of Divine wisdom and True Understanding that we build God's Temple; “in wisdom thou hast made them all.” Psalms 104:24.
At his birth David named this son, “Solomon” (peaceful); but Nathan, the prophet, named him “Jedidiah” (Jehovah's darling). Absalom was a disturbing element in the consciousness, because, while his father was of Israel, his mother was a Syrian; but this son [Solomon] was Israel-fathered and Israel-mothered, wholly of the spiritual. Thus the “peaceful” Solomon was “Jehovah's Darling”, “God's well-beloved Son,” the “Prince of Peace,” God-fathead and God-mothered; he is the “Wisdom of God,” a beautiful manifestation of the Christ. I Cor. 1:24.
It is in this consciousness of Understanding that we have the clearest perceptions of our True Sonship, and in this is the greatest permanency of our perfect dominion assured.
22:11Now, my son, Jehovah be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of Jehovah thy God, as he hath spoken concerning thee. 22:12Only Jehovah give thee discretion and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel; that so thou mayest keep the law of Jehovah thy God. -- The relation between these two states of consciousness is very close and intimate. The former has a prophetic understanding of the latter, its mission, its relation to God; and while Solomon is David's son, yet the Wisdom and Understanding which he represents and embodies are God-derived, and kept in manifestation through obedience.
22:13Then shalt thou prosper, if thou observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which Jehovah charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; fear not, neither be dismayed. -- Prosperity on the higher as well as lower planes of thought is guaranteed to us only on condition that we “take heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments,” or the Spirit's behests. Strength and Courage are indispensable in all conditions of Life, if we would demonstrate Truth, in building up a perfect body.
22:14Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of Jehovah a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. -- While the David consciousness does not build, it is a great provider. Wisdom builds up the body out of the True Substance-material of Love and Truth. This Substance-material is of inexhaustible abundance and of the highest value. It is priceless and very substantial for the building of this Temple of highest worth, and Temple of the Holy Ghost. The measureless infinitive of the Divine Substance is indicated by the symbolic numbers, “100 x 1000 talents of Gold and l000 x 1000 talents of silver and of brass and iron without weight.” Gold being a symbol of Love, and Silver a symbol of Truth, the two most important factors of Divine Substance, out of which the True body-temple is built, are Truth and Love. These are Incorruptible substance, Divine Substance.
22:15Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all men that are skilful in every manner of work: -- The building up of this wonderful “Temple of the Holy Ghost” is not accomplished without intelligent thought (“workmen”). David, in subduing nations, made them his servants; and king Solomon made them the workmen in building the Temple. Just so love, having subdued all other faculties, makes these faculties of intellect servants (“workmen”) under spiritual overseers (Omniscient Wisdom), in working out the problem of health, or building up our Holy Temple.
22:16of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and Jehovah be with thee. -- When we are to “arise and be doing,” being co-workers with God, in the intelligent appropriation of inexhaustible Divine Substance, in building up our Living Temple, Holy and healthy, meet for the master's use.
– UNITY magazine.
May 6, 1951: I Chronicles 22:17-19
Is love the author of peace? Yes. Love (David) takes thought for peace (Solomon) and seeks to establish it completely. “David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son.” The establishing of peace is a work that engages all the faculties and powers.
What does peace do when it is established in consciousness? Peace accelerates growth in spiritual consciousness. “Arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of Jehovah God, to bring the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of Jehovah.”
How can we tell when Jehovah is with us? When we are at rest physically, mentally, spiritually. “Is not Jehovah your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side?”
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 12-13-2013
