David's farewell PowerPoint
1 Chron. 26:12-32, 1 Chron. 27:1-34, 1 Chron. 23:1b, 1 Chron. 28:2-21, 1 Chron. 29:1-22
Ryan: As always happens when we read passages with a lot of numbers, I have to do a little bit of math and research to find a way to put the numbers into perspective. Going through the list of all the military commanders and their battalions, the total number of troops adds up to 288,000 (1 Chron. 27:1-15). To compare that to a modern-day number, that would be (very) roughly the size of the 2008 U.S. Army Reserve combined with the U.S. Air National Guard. So, not even up to the size of our “regular” army, which is 543,000 active troops (in 2008). However, I didn’t stop there. I wanted to compare that number to the total population of the earth. Best estimates put the total earth population during David’s time at somewhere between 30 and 50 million (I used 40M). That would put David’s army at approximately .73% of the entire earth population. By contrast, the entire United States military (3 million, including all reserves and guards) equals only .05% of the entire earth population. David’s army was over 14 times larger than the United States, by proportion. Think the United States is a superpower? We’d be an ant in the eyes of King David.
Samantha: Today’s reading was reminiscent of when God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle and the people then brought freewill offerings (Exodus 35-39). They followed the pattern God had given them and were blessed. The same is true for David’s preparation for the temple. Even though he didn’t get to build it, David followed the plans God had given him through the Spirit and made sure that the best materials were brought in and prepared ahead of time for Solomon. The people, like in Moses’ day, brought in abundant offerings (1 Chron. 28-29).
Tags: History
