David has gathered tons and tons of materials for the building of God’s temple.
God has also used David to prepare for this day by all his wars. God has subdued the peoples under Israel’s feet. They have been conquered and they have many servants as well.
David reminds Solomon of how he will prosper if he is careful to follow God’s statutes and commandments in the law.
David then gives him this directive. “Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God.”
Can we say we have this same order today?
How do we build the sanctuary? Here’s what Ephesians 2 says.
Ephesians 2:20b-22 Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Israel’s temple was to be God’s dwelling place among them. Those whose lives are built on Jesus Christ are being built into a temple and a dwelling place for God.
How? How are we built up? Let’s jump to Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:11-13, 15-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ ,…, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
We build ourselves up in love, meaning we build up each other. We are one body. When we are edifying and equipping another, we are building ourselves up. God gave us gifts to build each other up that we may each do our part in the construction process, joining and knitting ourselves together, being fitted together into the one dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
So, how do we build His sanctuary? We build each other up in the faith.