3227.) 1 Kings 2

1 Kings 2 (New International Version)

David’s Charge to Solomon

¹ When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

² “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, ³ and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go ⁴ and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

Matthew 6:33 (Amplified Bible)

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

⁵ “Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. ⁶ Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

⁷ “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

⁸ “And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ ⁹ But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”

Does it seem a little shady to you — that David technically keeps his vow not to kill Shemei, then orders his son to do it? Or that after years of loyal if not totally obedient service to David, Joab is put on the “To Kill” list? Clearly, David sees these matters, as well as the kindness to be shown to the sons of Barzillai, as important matters of justice.

¹⁰ Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.

King David’s Tomb in Jerusalem today

¹¹ He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. ¹² So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.

_________________________

Music:

The end of an era, the death of a hero, the story already a legend.

Music from a stirring death today:  HERE  is The Epilogue from Les Miserables. Composed in 1980 by French composer Jean-Michel Schonberg, Les Mis is one of the the longest-running musicals in history, with over 12,500 performances in London and more than 6,600 on Broadway. Based on a novel by Victor Hugo, the story follows Jean Valjean as he struggles for redemption. And as is always true in redemption, love wins. (Thank you, Jesus!)

_________________________

Solomon’s Throne Established

¹³ Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked him, “Do you come peacefully?”

He answered, “Yes, peacefully.” ¹⁴ Then he added, “I have something to say to you.”

“You may say it,” she replied.

¹⁵ “As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD. ¹⁶ Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.”

“You may make it,” she said.

¹⁷ So he continued, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”

With David’s death, Abishag is now a “concubine widow.” But according to custom, the harem goes to the next king. Adonijah is using her to try to establish a claim on the throne.

¹⁸ “Very well,” Bathsheba replied, “I will speak to the king for you.”

¹⁹ When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat down at his right hand.

²⁰ “I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.”

The king replied, “Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you.”

²¹ So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.”

²² King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother—yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!”

Which is to say, give the throne to all who had not supported David in his choice of Solomon as king.

²³ Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! ²⁴ And now, as surely as the LORD lives—he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised—Adonijah shall be put to death today!” ²⁵ So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

One down . . .

²⁶ To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.” ²⁷ So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD, fulfilling the word the LORD had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

Another one out of the way . . .

²⁸ When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar. ²⁹ King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, “Go, strike him down!”

³⁰ So Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”

But he answered, “No, I will die here.”

Benaiah reported to the king, “This is how Joab answered me.”

³¹ Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. ³² The LORD will repay him for the blood he shed, because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army—were better men and more upright than he. ³³ May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the LORD’s peace forever.”

³⁴ So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country.

Claiming refuge at the altar meant protection to the innocent. Joab was guilty of treacherously killing Abner and Amasa (not to mention Absalom). Solomon has the law on his side in this decision:  But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die (Exodus 21:14).

One more down . . .

³⁵ The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.

³⁶ Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. ³⁷ The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”

³⁸ Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

³⁹ But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” ⁴⁰ At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.

⁴¹ When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, ⁴² the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’ ⁴³ Why then did you not keep your oath to the LORD and obey the command I gave you?”

⁴⁴ The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the LORD will repay you for your wrongdoing. ⁴⁵ But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.”

⁴⁶ Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and he died.

And yet another one down . . . 

The kingdom was now established in Solomon’s hands.

_________________________

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

King Solomon’s chess game.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/solomon-chess.png

Matthew 6:33.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/2-matt633l.jpg

King David’s Tomb.   https://olivetreealliance.org/2019/09/14/davids-legacy-solomons-wisdom/#jp-carousel-3148

one candle.   https://0.s3.envato.com/files/43491309/preview_candle_burning.jpg

two candles.     https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/old-yellow-light-candle-burning-brightly-1238140984

three candles.    https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-7656739-time-lapse-three-candles-burning-on-black-background

four candles.    http://photos-ak.sparkpeople.com/nw/4/2/l423958300.jpg

3226.) 1 Kings 1

King Solomon!

1 Kings 1 (New International Version)

Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

The Books of 1 and 2 Kings were originally joined in one book. We don’t know who the human author of this book was; Jewish traditions say it was Jeremiah and it may very well be so. Donald Wiseman gives a good summary of the Books of 1 and 2 Kings: “The narrative covers almost five hundred years from the initiation to the eclipse of their kingship. It is the story of the rise and fall of kingdoms, of high promise and abject failure, of tragedy and yet of hope.”

¹ When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. ² So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.”

As medical treatments go, not as bad as leeches . . .

Strange as this may sound to us, it was proper because it was a recognized medical treatment in the ancient world, mentioned by the ancient Greek doctor Galen. When Josephus describes this in his Antiquities of the Jews, he says that this was a medical treatment and he calls the “servants” in 1 Kings 1:2 “physicians.”

–David Guzik

³ Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴ The woman was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her.

She-of-the-unfortunate-name becomes, no doubt, David’s concubine and part of his household.

⁵ Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.”

2 Samuel 3:2-5 describes the sons of David and lists Adonijah as the fourth son. We know that two of the three sons older than Adonijah are dead (Amnon and Absalom), and it seems that the other older son (Chileab) either also died or was unfit to rule because he is never mentioned after 2 Samuel 3:3. As the oldest living son of David, Adonijah would likely be considered the heir to the throne.

So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ (His father had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)

A son too handsome for his own good . . . and again David’s failings as a father reap sad consequences.

Proverbs 29:17 (ESV)

Discipline your son, and he will give you rest;
he will give delight to your heart.

⁷ Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support. ⁸ But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David’s special guard did not join Adonijah.

Joab (David’s chief general) and Abiathar (the high priest of Israel) both supported Adonijah, without any record of them asking the King David or, more importantly, asking the Lord.

⁹ Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, ¹⁰ but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.

— and some very important people are not invited!

¹¹ Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it? ¹² Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.

. . . because a new king often kills all his rivals.

¹³ Go in to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: “Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴ While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and add my word to what you have said.”

David will get a one-two punch: one son is claiming to be king while David, still the king, is still alive, and the other son must be made king quickly!

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. ¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed down, prostrating herself before the king.

“What is it you want?” the king asked.

¹⁷ She said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the LORD your God: ‘Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. ¹⁹ He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. ²⁰ My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his ancestors, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals.”

²² While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. ²³ And the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground.

²⁴ Nathan said, “Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? ²⁵ Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶ But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. ²⁷ Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

David Makes Solomon King

²⁸ Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.

²⁹ The king then took an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, ³⁰ I will surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”

As feeble as David is physically, he is strong in this situation, and takes definitive action immediately. He will abdicate his throne and place Solomon upon it.

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”

³² King David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, ³³ he said to them: “Take your lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon. ³⁴ There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”

Prophet, priest, and king all working together. What a great idea!

³⁶ Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. ³⁷ As the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. ³⁹ Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.

These were the days before armored Cadillacs for heads of state in parades!

⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, “What’s the meaning of all the noise in the city?”

⁴² Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.”

⁴³ “Not at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king’s mule, ⁴⁵ and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds with it. That’s the noise you hear. ⁴⁶ Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. ⁴⁷ Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!’ And the king bowed in worship on his bed ⁴⁸ and said, ‘Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.’”

⁴⁹ At this, all Adonijah’s guests rose in alarm and dispersed.

Oops — the party abruptly ends!

⁵⁰ But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar.

The altar was a place of sanctuary and safety against vengeance.

⁵¹ Then Solomon was told, “Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’”

⁵² Solomon replied, “If he shows himself to be worthy, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die.” ⁵³ Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, “Go to your home.”

Virtually his first act:  Solomon shows mercy.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven,” written in England in 1834 and played at the wedding of the future Queen Elizabeth in 1947. So this hymn has a doubly royal heritage! Lyrics below.

1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

2 Praise him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!

3 Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!

4 Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

_________________________

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

King Solomon.     https://apologista.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/solomon.jpg

leeches.    http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040628/040628_leeches_hmed.standard.jpg

discipline your son . . .    https://marilyndevonish.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Parent-with-child-in-the-sunset.jpg

It’s a party.    https://www.freeclipartnow.com/holidays/party/its-a-party.jpg.html

ka-pow.    https://kerfufflenews.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/ka-pow-pop-art_wallpaper.jpg

Prophet, priest, and king.     http://davidmacadam.blogspot.com/2011/03/habit-fit-for-kings-importance-of-daily.html

Presidential Cadillac.     http://theamazoeffect.blogspot.com/2011/04/by-presidential-edict-cadillac-one.html

3225.) 1 Chronicles 29

A 1962 Israeli gold coin shows King David.  This coin is a collector’s item; it has no legal tender value.

1 Chronicles 29 (New Living Translation)

Gifts for Building the Temple

¹ Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals—it is for the Lord God himself! ²Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble.

³ “And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. ⁴ I am donating more than 112 tons of gold from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings ⁵ and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?”

from The Hungry Heart:  Daily Devotions from the Old Testament
by Jan Carlberg

King David poured his resources—wealth, wisdom, relationships, and experience—into building God’s house. Then love overtook zealous planning and giving, and David dug into his personal treasuries. Nothing was too good for his God! Gold and silver spilled out to overlay the walls of the temple. Having led by example, King David turned to his people and asked, “Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?” David could ask the question because he had answered with his life.

How have your personal treasures been affected by your love for God?

⁶ Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. ⁷ For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. ⁸ They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the Lord under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. ⁹ The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and King David was filled with joy.

2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV)

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

David’s gift is more than simply a gesture of great generosity. It amounts to a forfeit of an important visible guarantee of his personal security. In an age when many people channel large proportions of their substance into safeguarding their future David’s example here is salutary. Jesus too took up the theme of voluntary vulnerability in a number of his sayings — Matthew 16:24-26, for example:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? Or what can you give in exchange for your soul?”

And his Incarnation left us with the supreme example of faithfulness to the challenge. The gospel calls into jeopardy not only the “fringe benefits” or the “little luxuries” of life, but its centre and substance. Often the extent to which we are prepared to put at risk our material well-being is a measure of the seriousness with which we take our discipleship.

–J. G. McConville

David’s Prayer of Praise

¹⁰Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! ¹¹ Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. ¹² Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

Did Jesus have these verses in the back of his mind when he gave the disciples the Lord’s Prayer? For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.

¹³ “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! ¹⁴ But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! ¹⁵ We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.

Hebrews 11:13-16   (CEB)

All of these people died in faith without receiving the promises, but they saw the promises from a distance and welcomed them. They confessed that they were strangers and immigrants on earth.  People who say this kind of thing make it clear that they are looking for a homeland.  If they had been thinking about the country that they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return to it.  But at this point in time, they are longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God isn’t ashamed to be called their God—he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁶ “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
¹⁸ “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. ¹⁹ Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”

²⁰ Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.

________________________

Music:

“See to it that our love for you, Lord, never changes” (verse 18).  HERE  is Chris Rice’s beautiful hymn, “Come to Jesus.”  A fitting song as we read the last chapter of the book of 1 Chronicles!

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall…so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory’s side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

________________________

Solomon Named as King

Solomon became king around 970 BCE.

²¹ The next day they brought 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 male lambs as burnt offerings to the Lord. They also brought liquid offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel. ²²They feasted and drank in the Lord’s presence with great joy that day.

And again they crowned David’s son Solomon as their new king. They anointed him before the Lord as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as priest. ²³ So Solomon took the throne of the Lord in place of his father, David, and he succeeded in everything, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty to King Solomon. ²⁵ And the Lord exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him.

The major difference of the Chronicles account from the Samuel-Kings account of the transition from David to Solomon is the strong focus on the temple. Everything else is subordinated to this. We hear nothing of the tussle between David’s sons over the succession, nor of the moral weakness of David, nor of Solomon’s own brutal suppression of his enemies. The transition is clean and the issues are clear.

–Philip E. Satterthwaite and J. Gordan McConville

Summary of David’s Reign

²⁶ So David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷ He reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. ²⁸He died at a ripe old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. Then his son Solomon ruled in his place.

²⁹ All the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in The Record of Samuel the Seer, The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Record of Gad the Seer. ³⁰ These accounts include the mighty deeds of his reign and everything that happened to him and to Israel and to all the surrounding kingdoms.

from the Life Application Bible:

First Chronicles vividly illustrates the importance of maintaining a relationship with God, particularly as illustrated by the life of David. Few men or women in the Bible were as close to God as David was. His daily contact with God increased his capacity to worship and strengthened his desire to build God’s temple. David’s life shows us the importance of staying close to God—through studying and obeying his Word and communicating with him daily. Second Chronicles, on the other hand, reveals how quickly our lives can deteriorate (spiritually, mentally, and socially) when we fail to stay well grounded in God.

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

King David coin.    http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/images/1962israel100shekelobv400.jpg

offering plate.    https://www.desotocountynewsroom.com/2018/07/15/a-pastors-perspective-lets-get-real-about-tithing/

the heart of giving.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/2cor8-theheartofgiving.jpg

Our Father in heaven.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/ourfatherinheaven.jpg

Love the Lord your God.    http://holdontoyourfaith.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/lovethelordmk12-30_fs1.jpg?w=640&h=505

3224.) 1 Chronicles 28

“Building the Temple” by Darlene Slavujac, 1992.

1 Chronicles 28 (New Living Translation)

David’s Instructions to Solomon

David summoned all the officials of Israel to Jerusalem—the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the army divisions, the other generals and captains, the overseers of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the other brave warriors in the kingdom.

ALL those people whose names we have been reading for the past several chapters! They have come to Jerusalem to see David relinquish his ideas and plans for the temple to his son Solomon. 

² David rose to his feet and said: “My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a temple where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it, ³but God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple to honor my name, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood.’

It is a poignant and powerful moment. Can you hear the longing in David’s voice? He had wanted so much to build the temple himself. I think of what David said when he bought the land, the threshing floor, for the temple — “I will not give to God that which cost me nothing.” Letting Solomon have the joy of building God’s house is costing David something, and not just money.

⁴ “Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, has chosen me from among all my father’s family to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen the tribe of Judah to rule, and from among the families of Judah he chose my father’s family. And from among my father’s sons the Lord was pleased to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ And from among my sons—for the Lord has given me many—he chose Solomon to succeed me on the throne of Israel and to rule over the Lord’s kingdom. ⁶ He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will build my Temple and its courtyards, for I have chosen him as my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ And if he continues to obey my commands and regulations as he does now, I will make his kingdom last forever.’

The torch is passed.

⁸ “So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel—the Lord’s assembly—I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance.

This charge is given to all the leaders who have come for the occasion, and through them, to all the people of Israel. David says, Be careful — take your faith in the Lord seriously! Obey all the commands — know what the Word of God says and do it! 

⁹ “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰ So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”

David is pleading with his son to follow the Lord closely and not to make the same kinds of mistakes he himself had made. Yet David’s very words foreshadow Solomon’s faith:  he will seek the Lord, and then he will forsake the Lord. He will serve the Lord not with his whole heart, as David his father had, but with a half-heart.

¹¹ Then David gave Solomon the plans for the Temple and its surroundings, including the entry room, the storerooms, the upstairs rooms, the inner rooms, and the inner sanctuary—which was the place of atonement. ¹² David also gave Solomon all the plans he had in mind for the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple, the outside rooms, the treasuries, and the rooms for the gifts dedicated to the Lord. ¹³ The king also gave Solomon the instructions concerning the work of the various divisions of priests and Levites in the Temple of the Lord. And he gave specifications for the items in the Temple that were to be used for worship.

Considered together, David did almost everything for the building of the temple except actually build it. He gave Solomon security, a location, the land, money, materials, supervisory staff, workers, and an organized team to run the temple.

–David Guzik

¹⁴ David gave instructions regarding how much gold and silver should be used to make the items needed for service. ¹⁵ He told Solomon the amount of gold needed for the gold lampstands and lamps, and the amount of silver for the silver lampstands and lamps, depending on how each would be used. ¹⁶ He designated the amount of gold for the table on which the Bread of the Presence would be placed and the amount of silver for other tables.

¹⁷ David also designated the amount of gold for the solid gold meat hooks used to handle the sacrificial meat and for the basins, pitchers, and dishes, as well as the amount of silver for every dish. ¹⁸ He designated the amount of refined gold for the altar of incense. Finally, he gave him a plan for the Lord’s “chariot”—the gold cherubim whose wings were stretched out over the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant.

Lots of gold! 

¹⁹ “Every part of this plan,” David told Solomon, “was given to me in writing from the hand of the Lord.”

²⁰ Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly. ²¹ The various divisions of priests and Levites will serve in the Temple of God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer, and the officials and the entire nation are at your command.”

“Do not talk about it; do not sit down, and dream over the plans, and think how admirable they are, and then roll them up; but, ‘Be strong and of good courage, and do it.’”

–Charles Haddon Spurgeon

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is Hillsong and “Dwell in Your House Forever.”

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Slavujac.     http://www.biblicalartist.net/originaloils.html

torch.    https://evidentpoint.blog/2019/04/17/the-academic-ebook-experience/#jp-carousel-885

half heart.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/half-heart.png

blueprint.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/blueprint.jpg

Git-r-done.    https://oneinjesus.info/2010/07/a-different-way-to-do-teen-ministry-campus-ministry-church-on-gittin-r-done/

3223.) 1 Chronicles 27

1 Chronicles 27 (New Living Translation)

Military Commanders and Divisions

¹This is the list of Israelite generals and captains, and their officers, who served the king by supervising the army divisions that were on duty each month of the year.

David’s army was divided into units of twelve, with one group of the twelve on alert each month of the year. This was an effective way to keep troops always ready and the inactive troops regularly trained.

Each division served for one month and had 24,000 troops.

I will illustrate the Israelite divisions with pictures and accounts of US Army divisions, for two reasons. 1)  For ten years I was an Army wife and I have the utmost respect for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States military. 2) I hope these pictures and accounts will help us see all these (endless!) lists of (odd!) names as real people, with mothers and fathers who loved them, and children at home.

² Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was commander of the first division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the first month. ³ He was a descendant of Perez and was in charge of all the army officers for the first month.

Big Red One. The First Infantry Division is the oldest continuously active division in the US Army today. The division has fought in WWI, WWII, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Bosnia/Kosovo, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Korean War, the division was stationed in Germany. Since 2006, they have been stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.

⁴ Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah, was commander of the second division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the second month. Mikloth was his chief officer.

The current primary mission of the 2nd Infantry Division is the defense of South Korea in the initial stages of an invasion from North Korea until other American units can arrive. There are approximately 17,000 soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Division. Unlike any other division in the Army, this division is made up partially of Korean soldiers, called KATUSAs (ka-TWO-ses) (Korean Augmentation to US Army).

⁵ Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest was commander of the third division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the third month. ⁶ This was the Benaiah who commanded David’s elite military group known as the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was his chief officer.

Members of the U.S. Army’s Third Infantry Division Governorate Support Team stationed in Baghdad, Iraq, are shown holding the “Go Discovery” banner they signed to show their support for NASA’s Return to Flight. Based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, the Third Infantry Division was the first conventional U. S. unit to enter Baghdad during the 2003 invasion; they have now served multiple tours there.

⁷ Asahel, the brother of Joab, was commander of the fourth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fourth month. Asahel was succeeded by his son Zebadiah.

The 4th Infantry Division is a modular division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado, with three  brigade combat teams and a combat aviation brigade. It is a very technically advanced combat division in the U.S. Army. The division is known as the Ivy Division—a play on words of the Roman numeral IV or 4.

⁸ Shammah the Izrahite was commander of the fifth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fifth month^.
9 Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa was commander of the sixth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the sixth month.
¹⁰ Helez, a descendant of Ephraim from Pelon, was commander of the seventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the seventh month.
¹¹ Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah, was commander of the eighth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eighth month.
¹² Abiezer from Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin was commander of the ninth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the ninth month.
¹³ Maharai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophah, was commander of the tenth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the tenth month.

The 10th Mountain Division is a light infantry division of the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. It is a subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps and the only division-sized element of the U.S. Army to specialize in fighting under harsh terrain and weather conditions. The division retains the “mountain” designation for historical purposes. Since 2001, the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) has been the most deployed unit in the US military.

¹⁴ Benaiah from Pirathon in Ephraim was commander of the eleventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eleventh month.
¹⁵ Heled, a descendant of Othniel from Netophah, was commander of the twelfth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the twelfth month.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “Onward, Christian Soldiers”  by organist Diane Bish and the St. Andrews Miami Bagpipe Band. Yes!

_________________________

Leaders of the Tribes

¹⁶ The following were the tribes of Israel and their leaders:

These leaders are neither priests nor military; they are administrators of the civil order.

Tribe — Leader
Reuben — Eliezer son of Zicri
Simeon — Shephatiah son of Maacah
¹⁷ Levi — Hashabiah son of Kemuel
Aaron (the priests) — Zadok
¹⁸ Judah — Elihu (a brother of David)
Issachar — Omri son of Michael
¹⁹ Zebulun — Ishmaiah son of Obadiah
Naphtali — Jeremoth son of Azriel
²⁰ Ephraim — Hoshea son of Azaziah
Manasseh (west) — Joel son of Pedaiah
²¹ Manasseh in Gilead (east) — Iddo son of Zechariah
Benjamin — Jaasiel son of Abner
²²Dan — Azarel son of Jeroham

These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³ When David took his census, he did not count those who were younger than twenty years of age, because the Lord had promised to make the Israelites as numerous as the stars in heaven. ²⁴ Joab son of Zeruiah began the census but never finished it because the anger of God fell on Israel. The total number was never recorded in King David’s official records.

Officials of David’s Kingdom

²⁵ Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the palace treasuries.
Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the regional treasuries throughout the towns, villages, and fortresses of Israel.
²⁶ Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the king’s lands.
²⁷ Shimei from Ramah was in charge of the king’s vineyards.

vineyard in Galilee

Zabdi from Shepham was responsible for the grapes and the supplies of wine.
²⁸ Baal-hanan from Geder was in charge of the king’s olive groves and sycamore-fig trees in the foothills of Judah.
Joash was responsible for the supplies of olive oil.

²⁹ Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle on the Sharon Plain.
Shaphat son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys.

³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.
Jehdeiah from Meronoth was in charge of the donkeys.

from Whispers of His Power,
by Amy Carmichael

1 Chronicles 27:30 — And over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite.

Jehdeiah’s name meant “Union of Jah.” I once had a letter from a man who was trying to run a big political organization in India. He said he had sympathy with Paul, who wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:32 that he had fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, but he was quite sure it was still harder to fight with asses.

I am glad that we do not have to fight with asses, but we certainly have to look after them sometimes. I wonder if Jehdeiah found comfort in his name? Work like his needs patience, firmness, kindness, and these good things are not naturally in us. John 15:5, WITHOUT ME ye can do nothing, is a word all who have to do with asses understand.  But WITH ME—that is the secret. God in us can be patient and kind, even with poor asses.

God make all of us who have to do with asses His Jehdeiahs.

³¹ Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the king’s flocks of sheep and goats.

All these officials were overseers of King David’s property.

³² Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a wise counselor to the king, a man of great insight, and a scribe. Jehiel the Hacmonite was responsible for teaching the king’s sons. ³³ Ahithophel was the royal adviser. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend.

“Hushai’s post of ‘king’s friend’ (cf. 2 Samuel 15:37) may have begun on an informal and personal basis; but it became an official advisory position (cf. 1 Kings 4:5).”
–David F. Payne

³⁴ Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king’s army.

So we see that David has prepared his country with excellent leadership for both war and peace. 

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

armor of God.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/armor-of-god1.jpg

First Division patch.    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tpr0tQtPGf4/Sb_pcpLzayI/AAAAAAAAAcM/mkH_or5kX-E/s1600-h/BigRedOne.jpg

Second Division.    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3217/2751194831_2595462343.jpg

Go Discovery.    http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/images/content/116319main_banner-lg.jpg

Ivy Division.     https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2016/05/12/1834-1-chronicles-27/1chron34-ivy-division/

10th Mountain Division on patrol.    http://cdn.wn.com/pd/90/1f/39fc8c5be1ea3b93e77851e0d93c_grande.jpg

vineyard in Israel.   http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2014/04/07/ca14,12,991,671/20140407RecanatiUpperGalileeVineyard-2.jpg

olive oil.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/oliveoil.jpg

cattle in the Golan.    http://ferrelljenkins.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/golan_cattle305t.jpg

donkeys in Alma Park Zoo, Brisbane. By Nick Craven of York.    http://pradeepnkg.blogspot.com/2014/01/fun-interesting-facts-about-donkey.html

sheep and goats in Spain.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/stoppingforsheepandgoats.jpg

3222.) 1 Chronicles 26

1 Chronicles 26 (New Living Translation)

Duties of the Gatekeepers

John 10:1-3 (NIV)

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

¹These are the divisions of the gatekeepers:

From the Korahites, there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Abiasaph. ² The sons of Meshelemiah were Zechariah (the oldest), Jediael (the second), Zebadiah (the third), Jathniel (the fourth), ³ Elam (the fifth), Jehohanan (the sixth), and Eliehoenai (the seventh).
⁴ The sons of Obed-edom, also gatekeepers, were Shemaiah (the oldest), Jehozabad (the second), Joah (the third), Sacar (the fourth), Nethanel (the fifth), ⁵ Ammiel (the sixth), Issachar (the seventh), and Peullethai (the eighth). God had richly blessed Obed-edom.
⁶ Obed-edom’s son Shemaiah had sons with great ability who earned positions of great authority in the clan. ⁷ Their names were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. Their relatives, Elihu and Semakiah, were also very capable men.
⁸ All of these descendants of Obed-edom, including their sons and grandsons—sixty-two of them in all—were very capable men, well qualified for their work.
⁹ Meshelemiah’s eighteen sons and relatives were also very capable men.

Oh, to be counted among them, as “very capable” men and women in service to our God! I could write a long list of capable people who have taught me much about the Christian life. Take some time to thank God for such people in your life — and take the time (with the help of the Holy Spirit guiding you) to BE such a person.

¹⁰ Hosah, of the Merari clan, appointed Shimri as the leader among his sons, though he was not the oldest. ¹¹ His other sons included Hilkiah (the second), Tebaliah (the third), and Zechariah (the fourth). Hosah’s sons and relatives, who served as gatekeepers, numbered thirteen in all.

¹² These divisions of the gatekeepers were named for their family leaders, and like the other Levites, they served at the house of the Lord. ¹³ They were assigned by families for guard duty at the various gates, without regard to age or training, for it was all decided by means of sacred lots.

“A very important point is made by the inclusion of these groups, even though they might seem to represent a diversion from Chronicles’ main theme. As God’s people pay proper attention to their status as a worshipping community, the distinction between the sacred and the secular disappears. All tasks, whether mundane or specialized, ‘religious’ or ‘lay’, have value in the eyes of God.”

–Martin. J. Selman

¹⁴ The responsibility for the east gate went to Meshelemiah and his group. The north gate was assigned to his son Zechariah, a man of unusual wisdom. ¹⁵ The south gate went to Obed-edom, and his sons were put in charge of the storehouse. ¹⁶ Shuppim and Hosah were assigned the west gate and the gateway leading up to the Temple. Guard duties were divided evenly. ¹⁷ Six Levites were assigned each day to the east gate, four to the north gate, four to the south gate, and two pairs at the storehouse. ¹⁸ Six were assigned each day to the west gate, four to the gateway leading up to the Temple, and two to the courtyard.

¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the clans of Korah and Merari.

According to 1 Chronicles 23:5, there were some 4,000 gatekeepers, all of them Levites. They were responsible for many tasks:  keeping track of all the equipment and utensils used each day; ordering, receiving, and storing all the food supplies; ensuring all things were in order for the sacrifices; mixing the incense; caring for the furniture; receiving the gifts brought by the worshipers; and so on.

–David Guzik

Treasurers and Other Officials

“We give thee but thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be,
All that we have is thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from thee.”

²⁰ Other Levites, led by Ahijah, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the gifts dedicated to the Lord. ²¹ From the family of Libni in the clan of Gershon, Jehiel was the leader. ²²The sons of Jehiel, Zetham and his brother Joel, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

²³ These are the leaders that descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel:

²⁴ From the clan of Amram, Shebuel was a descendant of Gershom son of Moses. He was the chief officer of the treasuries. ²⁵ His relatives through Eliezer were Rehabiah, Jeshaiah, Joram, Zicri, and Shelomoth.
²⁶ Shelomoth and his relatives were in charge of the treasuries containing the gifts that King David, the family leaders, and the generals and captains and other officers of the army had dedicated to the Lord. ²⁷ These men dedicated some of the plunder they had gained in battle to maintain the house of the Lord. ²⁸ Shelomoth and his relatives also cared for the gifts dedicated to the Lord by Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah. All the other dedicated gifts were in their care, too.
²⁹ From the clan of Izhar came Kenaniah. He and his sons were given administrative responsibilities over Israel as officials and judges.
³⁰ From the clan of Hebron came Hashabiah. He and his relatives—1,700 capable men—were put in charge of the Israelite lands west of the Jordan River. They were responsible for all matters related to the things of the Lord and the service of the king in that area.
³¹ Also from the clan of Hebron came Jeriah, who was the leader of the Hebronites according to the genealogical records. (In the fortieth year of David’s reign, a search was made in the records, and capable men from the clan of Hebron were found at Jazer in the land of Gilead.) ³² There were 2,700 capable men among the relatives of Jeriah. King David sent them to the east side of the Jordan River and put them in charge of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were responsible for all matters related to God and to the king.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  The Kampen Boys Choir from the Netherlands sings “How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings” from the Brahms Requiem.

How lovely are thy dwellings, O Lord of Hosts!

My soul longeth, yea, fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, and swallow a nest where she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.

O Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer. I would rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand.

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Ps. 84:10.     http://media.salemwebnetwork.com/ecards/scripturecards/psalms84_10.jpg

gatekeeper.   https://scpeanutgallery.com/2014/02/24/morning-prayer-24-feb-john-101-10-gateway-to-life/

pot of gold.   http://www.halliecrawford.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/career-direction.png

3221.) 1 Chronicles 25

1 Chronicles 25 (New Living Translation)

Duties of the Musicians

David and the army commanders then appointed men from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God’s messages to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. Here is a list of their names and their work:

Traditional Jewish music used cymbals made of brass or bronze. Different sizes produced a higher or lower pitch.

Psalm 150:5 (ESV)

Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

² From the sons of Asaph, there were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. They worked under the direction of their father, Asaph, who proclaimed God’s messages by the king’s orders.

Twelve psalms are attributed to Asaph (Psalm 50 and Psalms 73 through 83).

³ From the sons of Jeduthun, there were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all. They worked under the direction of their father, Jeduthun, who proclaimed God’s messages to the accompaniment of the lyre, offering thanks and praise to the Lord.

This reconstruction of the “Silver Lyre” found in Ur (ca. 2800 BCE and now in the British Museum) illustrates the kind of lyre played in the royal courts in Abraham and Sarah’s hometown. It was originally covered with silver plating and had inlays of jewels and ivory.

Psalm 144:9-10 (NIV)

I will sing a new song to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
to the One who gives victory to kings,
who delivers his servant David.

⁴ From the sons of Heman, there were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶ All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the Lord. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God.

A harp is larger than a lyre, with more strings and a greater musical range. Often a lyre was tuned to a five-note (pentatonic) scale, while a harp was tuned to a seven note (do-re-mi) scale. Then again, the terms “harp” and “lyre” are sometimes used interchangeably.

Psalm 147:7 (KJV)

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving;
sing praise upon the harp unto our God.

Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. ⁷ They and their families were all trained in making music before the Lord, and each of them—288 in all—was an accomplished musician. ⁸ The musicians were appointed to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student.

⁹ The first lot fell to Joseph of the Asaph clan and twelve of his sons and relatives.
The second lot fell to Gedaliah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹⁰ The third lot fell to Zaccur and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹¹ The fourth lot fell to Zeri and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹² The fifth lot fell to Nethaniah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹³ The sixth lot fell to Bukkiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹⁴ The seventh lot fell to Asarelah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹⁵ The eighth lot fell to Jeshaiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹⁶ The ninth lot fell to Mattaniah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹⁷ The tenth lot fell to Shimei and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹⁸ The eleventh lot fell to Uzziel and twelve of his sons and relatives.
¹⁹ The twelfth lot fell to Hashabiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²⁰ The thirteenth lot fell to Shubael and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²¹ The fourteenth lot fell to Mattithiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²² The fifteenth lot fell to Jerimoth and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²³ The sixteenth lot fell to Hananiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²⁴ The seventeenth lot fell to Joshbekashah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²⁵ The eighteenth lot fell to Hanani and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²⁶ The nineteenth lot fell to Mallothi and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²⁷ The twentieth lot fell to Eliathah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²⁸ The twenty-first lot fell to Hothir and twelve of his sons and relatives.
²⁹ The twenty-second lot fell to Giddalti and twelve of his sons and relatives.
³⁰ The twenty-third lot fell to Mahazioth and twelve of his sons and relatives.
³¹ The twenty-fourth lot fell to Romamti-ezer and twelve of his sons and relatives.

_________________________

Music:

Today calls for harp music!  HERE  is a piece from Christ Church, Jerusalem, Israel. It isn’t hard to imagine yourself back in time, hearing similar music —

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Music Ministry.     https://stgregoryparish.org/liturgical-music-ministries

cymbals.    http://worship.encounterfl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/cymbals.jpg

lyre.     https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/15840001

harp.    https://khawsaawithang.blogspot.com/2016_05_18_archive.html

3220.) 1 Chronicles 24

The Levites cast lots to determine their “appointed order of ministry.”

1 Chronicles 24 (New Living Translation)

Duties of the Priests

¹ This is how Aaron’s descendants, the priests, were divided into groups for service. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons. So only Eleazar and Ithamar were left to carry on as priests.

Leviticus 10:1-2 tells the cryptic story of Aaron’s elder sons Nadab and Abihu. They brought “unauthorized fire” before the Lord and were struck dead.

³ With the help of Zadok, who was a descendant of Eleazar, and of Ahimelech, who was a descendant of Ithamar, David divided Aaron’s descendants into groups according to their various duties. ⁴ Eleazar’s descendants were divided into sixteen groups and Ithamar’s into eight, for there were more family leaders among the descendants of Eleazar.

⁵ All tasks were assigned to the various groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶ Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, acted as secretary and wrote down the names and assignments in the presence of the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the family leaders of the priests and Levites. The descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar took turns casting lots.

A Russian icon shows the angel appearing to Zechariah.

All these descendants! David divides them into groups so that everyone has a fair share of the work, especially the privileged work. The Hebrew calendar is lunar, with 48 weeks, so the 24 groups rotate evenly throughout the year. Each group served two weeks a year at the Temple and the remainder of the year in their hometowns. This system was still in place during the time of Jesus; Luke 1:5-9 tells us that Zechariah was on his shift at the temple when an angel appeared to him and told him he and Elizabeth would have a son, John.

⁷ The first lot fell to Jehoiarib.
The second lot fell to Jedaiah.
⁸ The third lot fell to Harim.
The fourth lot fell to Seorim.
⁹ The fifth lot fell to Malkijah.
The sixth lot fell to Mijamin.
¹⁰ The seventh lot fell to Hakkoz.
The eighth lot fell to Abijah.

Zechariah was a member of the Abijah division.

¹¹ The ninth lot fell to Jeshua.
The tenth lot fell to Shecaniah.
¹² The eleventh lot fell to Eliashib.
The twelfth lot fell to Jakim.
¹³ The thirteenth lot fell to Huppah.
The fourteenth lot fell to Jeshebeab.
¹⁴ The fifteenth lot fell to Bilgah.
The sixteenth lot fell to Immer.
¹⁵ The seventeenth lot fell to Hezir.
The eighteenth lot fell to Happizzez.
¹⁶ The nineteenth lot fell to Pethahiah.
The twentieth lot fell to Jehezkel.
¹⁷ The twenty-first lot fell to Jakin.
The twenty-second lot fell to Gamul.
¹⁸ The twenty-third lot fell to Delaiah.
The twenty-fourth lot fell to Maaziah.

¹⁹ Each group carried out its appointed duties in the house of the Lord according to the procedures established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the Lord, the God of Israel.

_________________________

Music:

We are commanded to love the Lord, to praise Him and honor Him. I think of all this preparation going on in these chapters, for generations, for hundreds of years — all to teach us how to receive the Son of God!  HERE  is one of my favorite groups, the Oslo Gospel Choir, to inspire us to worship our Savior with our whole heart! “His Name Will Shine.”

There is no salvation in any name but Jesus Christ
There is no salvation except in the name of the Lord
There is no salvation in any name but Jesus Christ
There is no salvation except in the name of the Lord

He heard my cry (He heard my cry and came to heal me)
He took my pain (He took my pain and he relieved me)
He filled my life (He filled my life and comforted me)
And his name will shine
Shine eternally

There is no salvation in any name but Jesus Christ
There is no salvation except in the name of the Lord

He came my way (He came my way and stopped to touch me)
He came to stay (He came to stay and he won’t leave me)
He made me whole (He made me whole and sanctified me)
And his name will shine
Shine eternally
Shine eternally

There is no salvation in any name but Jesus Christ
There is no salvation except in the name of the Lord
Except in the name of the Lord
There’s no salvation – Oh no
Salvation – oh there is no Salvation
In any other name
The name of Jesus Christ

_________________________

Family Leaders among the Levites

²⁰These were the other family leaders descended from Levi:

These names following are of men who were not descendants of Aaron, so they were not priests. But they were descendants of Levi, so they worked in the temple.

From the descendants of Amram, the leader was Shebuel.
From the descendants of Shebuel, the leader was Jehdeiah.
²¹ From the descendants of Rehabiah, the leader was Isshiah.
²² From the descendants of Izhar, the leader was Shelomith.
From the descendants of Shelomith, the leader was Jahath.
²³ From the descendants of Hebron, Jeriah was the leader, Amariah was second, Jahaziel was third, and Jekameam was fourth.
²⁴ From the descendants of Uzziel, the leader was Micah.
From the descendants of Micah, the leader was Shamir, ²⁵ along with Isshiah, the brother of Micah.
From the descendants of Isshiah, the leader was Zechariah.
²⁶ From the descendants of Merari, the leaders were Mahli and Mushi.
From the descendants of Jaaziah, the leader was Beno.
²⁷ From the descendants of Merari through Jaaziah, the leaders were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.
²⁸ From the descendants of Mahli, the leader was Eleazar, though he had no sons.
²⁹ From the descendants of Kish, the leader was Jerahmeel.
³⁰ From the descendants of Mushi, the leaders were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

These were the descendants of Levi in their various families. ³¹ Like the descendants of Aaron, they were assigned to their duties by means of sacred lots, without regard to age or rank. Lots were drawn in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the family leaders of the priests and the Levites.

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Levites cast lots.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/levites-cast-lots1.jpg?w=450

Nadab and Abihu consumed by flames.    http://venerable-bede.blogspot.com/2013/05/

Russian icon.     http://beingbob.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/angel-annunciation_to_zechariah.jpg

banner for the tribe of Levi.    http://www.shiloh-bc.org/images/pages/N355/Tribe_of_Levi_Symbol_.jpg

3219.) 1 Chronicles 23

These next chapters give us a picture of the people of God organized for a life of service. They show us that God is central in all of life.

1 Chronicles 23 (New Living Translation)

Duties of the Levites

¹ When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel.

David had other sons who might also claim the throne of Israel after his death, especially Adonijah. 1 Kings 1:31-40 describes in greater detail how David made sure that Solomon and not Adonijah took the throne after his death.

² David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites. ³ All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted,

Numbers 4:1-3 says a Levite takes his assigned responsibilities once he turns 30.

and the total came to 38,000. ⁴ Then David said, “From all the Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of the Lord. Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges. ⁵ Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have made.”

These 38,000 qualified Levites were divided into different duties.

To look after the work of the house of the Lord: The temple was a busy place constantly flowing with worshipers, sacrifice, and service unto God. It took many skilled people to take care of all the practical matters behind this activity.

 Officers and judges: The Levites were also the civil servants for the kingdom of Israel. Governmental records, decisions, and administration were all in the hands of the Levites.

 Gatekeepers: These had the responsibility for security, both in a practical and spiritual sense. They made sure that only those who were ready to serve and worship God could come to the temple and its associated building.

 Four thousand praised the Lord: These Levites had the job of worshiping God both with their voices and musical instruments. They did this both to honor God directly and also to encourage others to worship God.

–David Guzik

⁶Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites

⁷ The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of Gershon. ⁸ Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel. ⁹ These were the leaders of the family of Libni.
Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. ¹⁰ Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. ¹¹Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons.

The Kohathites

Aaron was the first high priest of Israel.

¹² Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
¹³ The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s presence, to serve the Lord, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.

A priestly job description:

(from the King James Bible) 

to sanctify the most holy things,
to burn incense before the LORD,
to minister unto him,
and to bless in his name for ever.

¹⁴ As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel, the family leader. ¹⁷ Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants.
¹⁸ The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader.
¹⁹ The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth).
²⁰The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second).

The Merarites

²¹ The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish.
²³Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to qualify for service in the house of the Lord. ²⁵ For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem. ²⁶ Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to place.”

David foresaw that the Temple which he was planning would require considerable personnel to maintain it it. The bringing of the ark to Jerusalem has inaugurated a new era in Levitical service, since the central Levitical duty presented in Numbers chapters 3-4 is the tending of the accoutrements of the now obsolete mobile sanctuary. David has divided the Levites on the one hand according to traditional family groupings (Gershom, Kohath, and Merari), and on the other according to their new functions, viz., officers and judges, gatekeepers and musicians.

–J. G. McConville

²⁷ In accordance with David’s final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service.

²⁸ The work of the Levites was to assist the priests, the descendants of Aaron, as they served at the house of the Lord. They also took care of the courtyards and side rooms, helped perform the ceremonies of purification, and served in many other ways in the house of God. ²⁹ They were in charge of the sacred bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check all the weights and measures. ³⁰ And each morning and evening they stood before the Lord to sing songs of thanks and praise to him.

³¹ They assisted with the burnt offerings that were presented to the Lord on Sabbath days, at new moon celebrations, and at all the appointed festivals. The required number of Levites served in the Lord’s presence at all times, following all the procedures they had been given.

Some of these jobs assigned to the Levites were menial. Every undertaking conceals a vast amount of unseen and unrecognized work for it to be successful. But all that work being done around the Temple, great and small, was glorious in God’s eyes. How careful are we in noticing the seemingly mundane work done by faithful people of God for the sake of our own safety, comfort, and well-being?

³² And so, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle and the Temple and faithfully carried out their duties of service at the house of the Lord.

_________________________

Music:

Songs of thanks and praise to God every morning and evening! Don’t you want to join them?  HERE  is “Bless the Lord, oh, my soul!” — Andrae Crouch style!

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Serve one another.    https://donsnotes.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/serve-one-another.jpg

Levite musicians.   https://anglicansablaze.blogspot.com/2014/01/r-c-sproul-jr-should-we-as-christians.html

Aaron.    http://www.edgarphillips.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/high-priest-1.jpg

Stand every morning.   https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0d/f0/22/0df0227aea593b9d6884d8fe39bb0bcd.jpg

3218.) 1 Chronicles 22

David gives the plans for the Temple to Solomon.

1 Chronicles 22 (New Living Translation)

¹ Then David said, “This will be the location for the Temple of the Lord God and the place of the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings!”

Preparations for the Temple

² So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel,

1 Kings 5:15-18 describes how these were actually put to work in the building of the temple in Solomon’s day, some 70,000 slaves.

and he assigned them the task of preparing finished stone for building the Temple of God.

dressing stone

³ David provided large amounts of iron for the nails that would be needed for the doors in the gates and for the clamps,

hand made iron nails

Earlier in Israel’s history, iron had been under the control of the Philistines. But since David had brought them under Israelite rule, now the iron itself and the skills to work it were available.

and he gave more bronze than could be weighed. ⁴He also provided innumerable cedar logs, for the men of Tyre and Sidon had brought vast amounts of cedar to David.

cedar logs

⁵ David said, “My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now.” So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death.

Just as David was not the man to build, Solomon was not the man to plan. The Temple will be a result of both men’s gifts and work. Truth to tell, all service to God is cooperative. That is why we are  called “the body of Christ” — many members working together. 

⁶ Then David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel.

David assures Solomon that the Lord and David both have chosen him to build the Temple:

⁷“My son, I wanted to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God,” David told him. ⁸ “But the Lord said to me, ‘You have killed many men in the battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood in my sight, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name. ⁹ But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign. ¹⁰ He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will secure the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

David reminds Solomon of the requirement of obedience to God and prays for Solomon’s wisdom as he builds and as he rules:

¹¹ “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the Temple of the Lord your God. ¹² And may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the Law of the Lord your God as you rule over Israel  ¹³ For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!

¹⁴ “I have worked hard to provide materials for building the Temple of the Lord—nearly 4,000 tons of gold, 40,000 tons of silver, and so much iron and bronze that it cannot be weighed. I have also gathered timber and stone for the walls, though you may need to add more. ¹⁵ You have a large number of skilled stonemasons and carpenters and craftsmen of every kind. ¹⁶ You have expert goldsmiths and silversmiths and workers of bronze and iron. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you!”

David is an example of someone who works in the background, who receives none or little credit for his work, but the job cannot be done without him.

· David gathered the materials for the temple

· David prepared some of those materials

· David won the peace with surrounding nations that Israel needed to build the temple

· David found and purchased the site to build the temple

· David established the plans for the temple

· David organized and commanded the administration and servants of the temple

Yet no one calls it “David’s temple.” It seems that all the credit, all the name, all the glory goes to Solomon. Even so, it doesn’t seem to have bothered David, because he was a man after God’s heart.

–David Guzik

¹⁷ Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to assist Solomon in this project. ¹⁸ “The Lord your God is with you,” he declared. “He has given you peace with the surrounding nations. He has handed them over to me, and they are now subject to the Lord and his people. ¹⁹ Now seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Build the sanctuary of the Lord God so that you can bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the Lord’s name.”

The Temple also has a dimension of witness for David and Solomon and the people of Israel. Verse 5 says it is to be “exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands.” An essential part of their raison d’etre as God’s people is to demonstrate before all the world that God alone is worthy of worship. The splendour of the Temple is not self-indulgent, nor dedicated to the greater glory of King Solomon—but a symbol, in a world in which such symbols were important, that the God of Israel was King over all the earth.

–J. D. McConville

_________________________

Music:

“You Are Worthy” is a phrase that has been on the lips of believers from David’s time till now.  We join  HERE  with the saints of all the ages, and the angels, and all creation, and especially the soloist, Juanita Bynum, in praising God’s name!

Any crown I’ve ever worn
I lay it down
Any praise I’ve ever gained
I give it all to You

For there’s nothing in this world
That can compare
For You alone are worthy
You alone are worthy

You are near to all who call
Upon Your name
Ever giving, ever loving
You remain the same

For You open up Your hand
And satisfy
I give You all the glory
Give You all the glory

You are worthy, oh Lord, of all honor
You are worthy to receive all praise
In Your presence I live and with all I have to give
I will worship You

I will worship you
Honor You
Glorify Your holy name
I will worship You
Honor You
Glorify Your holy name

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

David and Solomon.     http://www.ellenwhite.info/images/chapt-illus/PP/RH-DavidGivesTemplePlansToSolomon_DSC_0023.jpg

dressing stone.    http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/v_LAumupL2U/0.jpg

nails.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/iron-nails.jpg

cedar logs.     http://www.easygreen.net/cedar_logs/cedar_log_boom.jpg

body of Christ.    http://elvishjesusfreak.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/body-of-christ.jpg

picture of Solomon’s temple from an old manuscript.   http://epochalnisvet.cz/wp-content/uploads/Takto-z%C5%99ejm%C4%9B-vypadal-p%C5%AFvodn%C3%AD-jeruzal%C3%A9msk%C3%BD-chr%C3%A1m.jpg