DAVID DESIRES 



TO BUILD THE TEMPLE.



THEN David went down to Kirjath-jearim with thirty thousand chosen men of Israel, and took the ark from the house of Abinadab, to bring it up to Jerusalem. The ark was placed upon a new cart, drawn by oxen, and David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all kinds of instruments. As they were going along, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah, who was driving them, put out his hand to steady the ark. Now the Lord had said plainly that none but the priests must touch the ark, lest they should die. So the Lord smote Uzzah, because he put his hand to the ark, and he died there by the ark of God. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and carried the ark aside, and put it in the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite, where it remained three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had. When David heard this, he gathered the priests and Levites together to go and bring up the ark, and put it in a tent, which he had pitched for it at Jerusalem. "So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded, according to the word of the Lord," David had brought cedar from the forests of Lebanon, which were a long way off, and had built him a beautiful palace on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Then David wanted to build a house for the Lord, where the ark and all the vessels should be kept. So when the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains. Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee."

"And it came to pass the same night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 

Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in." The Lord told David that he must not build him a house, because he had shed so much blood; but that he would raise him up a son whose name should be Solomon, and that Solomon should build him a house. The Lord made known to David the plan of this house, or temple, as it was called, and from this time onward, David laid up gold and silver, brass and iron, etc., in great abundance, for the building of the temple.