DAVID is here (1 Chron. 22:55And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death. (1 Chronicles 22:5)) setting forth, if I may so speak, in type―the object of the Lord Jesus Christ in life and death―to build, in eternal glory, a house for God. And as the type was to be “exceeding magnifical,” this was to be a monument to God’s glory worthy of God―worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ―a monument to the glory of God that shall bring praise to God from the whole intelligent universe throughout the countless ages of eternity.
David is the type of Christ in life, in His affliction, sorrow, and suffering here, and in His death; while Solomon is the type of the Lord Jesus in resurrection and ascension glory.
“Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord 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.
“Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.
“Of the gold, and the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise, therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.”
Let us look at this provision a little in detail.
A talent is about 114 lbs. weight, and a talent of gold is computed at ₤5,475 sterling.
This will amount to, £547,500,000! There is not only a hundred thousand talents of gold, but there is “a thousand thousand talents of silver.” A talent of silver is computed at £342, so that a thousand thousand talents of silver would amount to £342,000,000. Now, I ask, why are all those figures put here?
There is something to be learned; there is something of Christ, something of God. There is something for our souls; for comfort; for exhortation and encouragement. Let us put these two sums together, and what do they amount to? There is: gold, £547,500,000 silver, £342,000,000—total, 889,500,000. This provision in gold and silver was four millions more than the National Debt of Great Britain in 1816. “Now behold!” That was the provision of David in his trouble. Well might he call attention. He says, moreover, to Solomon, “And thou mayest add thereto.”
If David in his trouble could prepare this, what might Solomon add in his riches, honor, and glory? And so of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Antitype; if a suffering Christ here has procured thus largely, if I may so speak, for bringing honor and glory to God as connected with the salvation of poor sinners, what will be added to it by a Christ in resurrection glory!
The Lord tells us that each soul outweighs in value the whole world.
“For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”