Context No. 4063 of 4322 · 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 29:20-25: in context

20Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the LORD your God!” All the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king. 21They sacrificed sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the next day after that day, even one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel, 22and ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. They made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before the LORD to be prince, and Zadok to be priest. 23Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24All the princes, the mighty men, and also all of the sons of King David submitted themselves to Solomon the king. 25The LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and gave to him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

At the end of David's reign, as Solomon is made king, the whole assembly of Israel blesses the LORD together, bowing low before him. They offer sacrifices in abundance, and they eat and drink before the LORD that day with great gladness. It is a scene of joyful, unified, wholehearted worship, a whole people together giving thanks and rejoicing before God.

There is something worth savoring in this picture of corporate joy. The people did not worship grudgingly or as a mere duty; they worshiped with great gladness, offering generously, blessing God with one heart. Their thanksgiving overflowed into abundant giving and shared celebration. This is worship as it is meant to be: not solitary and grim, but communal and glad, a people rejoicing together in the goodness of God. There is a call here to enter into the joy of worshiping God together with his people. Worship is not only a private matter but a shared celebration, and there is a particular gladness in blessing God alongside others, offering generously and rejoicing together in who he is and what he has done.

Is my worship of God marked by the great gladness of Israel that day, a wholehearted, generous, joyful thanksgiving offered together with his people, or has it become solitary, grudging, or merely a duty?

Sources

1 Chronicles 29:20: "David said to all the assembly, Now bless the LORD your God! All the assembly blessed the LORD... and bowed down their heads."
1 Chronicles 29:22: "They ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness."
1 Chronicles 29:9: "Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly... with a perfect heart."