1 Chronicles 28:1
And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.
Toward the close of his reign as he neared death, David made his last great official work the assembling of Israel's leaders at Jerusalem. Those gathered were the princes of Israel and of the tribes, the captains of the companies that ministered by course and over thousands and over hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men. They were all those bearing the burden of God's work in that day, representative leaders and responsible officers appointed to different responsibilities in His service and in governing the nation.
The public gathering was distinct from David's more private charge to Solomon as a father to his son. It was meant to set his charge before the leaders and to prepare them to hear their solemn responsibility to God as subjects of His theocracy. At this assembly he prepared to entrust Solomon with the kingdom and with carrying out the work of building the temple, and to secure the leaders' support for that transfer. David's experience enabled him to advise and counsel and encourage Solomon, but Solomon himself was to do the work.
In the sight of all Israel as the congregation of the Lord and in the audience of God, the aged king solemnly charged them to keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord their God. The gathering shows that the work is sacred and requires people of experience and dependable character who are able to serve faithfully. The verse lays out principles of piety and justice to guide rulers among God's people, the same high standards to be followed by those given oversight of the newly organized church in setting things in order and ordaining officers. The account illustrates that God may assign different people to different stages of a work and qualify new workers to advance it, so experienced leaders should support rather than hinder them.