April 26th
1 Kings, 6
Solomon
builds the Temple
1: And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth
year after the children of Israel
were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the
month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the
LORD. 2: And the house which
king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and
the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. 3: And the porch before the temple of
the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of
the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. 4: And for the house he made windows
of narrow lights. 5: And
against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls
of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made
chambers round about: 6: The
nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad,
and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he
made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the
walls of the house. 7: And the
house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was
brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron
heard in the house, while it was in building. 8: The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the
house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of
the middle into the third. 9:
So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and
boards of cedar. 10: And then
he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on
the house with timber of cedar. 11:
And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, 12: Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou
wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my
commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I
spake unto David thy father: 13:
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people
Israel. 14: So Solomon built
the house, and finished it. 15:
And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor
of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside
with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. 16: And he built twenty cubits on the
sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even
built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. 17: And the house, that is, the
temple before it, was forty cubits long. 18:
And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all
was cedar; there was no stone seen. 19:
And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the
covenant of the LORD. 20: And
the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in
breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure
gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. 21: So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he
made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it
with gold. 22: And the whole
house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the
whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. 23: And within the oracle he made two
cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. 24: And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five
cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing
unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. 25: And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were
of one measure and one size. 26:
The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
27: And he set the cherubims
within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so
that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub
touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the
house. 28: And he overlaid the
cherubims with gold. 29: And he
carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims
and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. 30: And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and
without. 31: And for the
entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts
were a fifth part of the wall. 32:
The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of
cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and
spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees. 33: So also made he for the door of
the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. 34: And the two doors were of fir
tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the
other door were folding. 35:
And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered
them with gold fitted upon the carved work. 36: And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone,
and a row of cedar beams. 37:
In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the
month Zif: 38: And in the
eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house
finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of
it. So was he seven years in building it.
1 Kings, 7
Solomon’s
other projects
1: But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years,
and he finished all his house. 2:
He built also the house of the forest
of Lebanon; the length
thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the
height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams
upon the pillars. 3: And it was
covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars,
fifteen in a row. 4: And there
were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. 5: And all the doors and posts were
square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks. 6: And he made a porch of pillars;
the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and
the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before
them. 7: Then he made a porch
for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was
covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. 8: And his house where he dwelt had
another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also
an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this
porch. 9: All these were of
costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws,
within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the
outside toward the great court. 10:
And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten
cubits, and stones of eight cubits. 11:
And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars. 12: And the great court round about
was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the
inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house. 13: And king Solomon sent and fetched
Hiram out of Tyre.
14: He was a widow's son of the
tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled
with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he
came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
Solomon
builds the Temple
porch
15: For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits
high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about. 16: And he made two chapiters of
molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one
chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:
17: And nets of checker work,
and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the
pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter. 18: And he made the pillars, and two
rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon
the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter. 19: And the chapiters that were upon
the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits. 20: And the chapiters upon the two
pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the
network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the
other chapiter. 21: And he set
up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and
called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and he called
the name thereof Boaz. 22: And
upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars
finished.
Furnishing
for the Temple
23: And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim
to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a
line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. 24: And under the brim of it round about there were knops
compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were
cast in two rows, when it was cast. 25:
It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking
toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward
the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were
inward. 26: And it was an hand
breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with
flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. 27: And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length
of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height
of it. 28: And the work of the
bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the
ledges: 29: And on the borders
that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the
ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain
additions made of thin work. 30:
And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four
corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at
the side of every addition. 31:
And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth
thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also
upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. 32: And under the borders were four
wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height
of a wheel was a cubit and a half a cubit. 33: And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot
wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes,
were all molten. 34: And there
were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters
were of the very base itself. 35:
And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and
on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the
same. 36: For on the plates of
the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and
palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round
about. 37: After this manner he
made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. 38: Then made he ten lavers of brass:
one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon
every one of the ten bases one laver. 39:
And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side
of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over
against the south. 40: And
Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of
doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD: 41: The two pillars, and the two
bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two
networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the
pillars; 42: And four hundred
pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one
network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars; 43: And the ten bases, and ten lavers
on the bases; 44: And one sea,
and twelve oxen under the sea; 45:
And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which
Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass. 46: In the plain of Jordan did the
king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. 47: And Solomon left all the vessels
unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the
brass found out. 48: And
Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the
altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was, 49: And the candlesticks of pure
gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the
flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, 50: And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the
spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the
doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house,
to wit, of the temple. 51: So
was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And
Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the
silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the
house of the LORD.
1 Kings, 8
The
Ark brought into the Temple
1: Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the
chief of the fathers of the children of Israel,
unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might
bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
2: And all the men of Israel
assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which
is the seventh month. 3: And
all the elders of Israel
came, and the priests took up the ark. 4:
And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the
congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those
did the priests and the Levites bring up. 5: And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that
were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and
oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. 6: And the priests brought in the ark
of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to
the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. 7: For the cherubims spread forth
their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark
and the staves thereof above. 8:
And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the
holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they
are unto this day. 9: There was
nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at
Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10: And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the
holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11: So that the priests could not
stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled
the house of the LORD.
Solomon
speaks to the people
12: Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in
thick darkness. 13: I have
surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in
for ever. 14: And the king
turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the
congregation of Israel stood;) 15:
And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto
David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16: Since the day that I brought
forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of
Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to
be over my people Israel. 17:
And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of
the LORD God of Israel. 18: And
the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an
house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. 19: Nevertheless thou shalt not build
the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build
the house unto my name. 20: And
the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room
of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and
have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 21: And I have set there a place for
the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers,
when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
Solomon’s
prayer
22: And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the
presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward
heaven: 23: And he said, LORD
God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath,
who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all
their heart: 24: Who hast kept
with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also
with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. 25: Therefore now, LORD God of
Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying,
There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so
that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast
walked before me. 26: And now,
O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest
unto thy servant David my father. 27:
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of
heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? 28: Yet have thou respect unto the
prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto
the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: 29: That thine eyes may be open
toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said,
My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy
servant shall make toward this place. 30:
And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel,
when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling
place: and when thou hearest, forgive. 31:
If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to
cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house: 32: Then hear thou in heaven, and do,
and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head;
and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. 33: When thy people Israel be smitten
down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn
again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee
in this house: 34: Then hear
thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again
unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. 35: When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they
have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name,
and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy
servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein
they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy
people for an inheritance. 37:
If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew,
locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of
their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38: What prayer and supplication
soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every
man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39: Then hear thou in heaven thy
dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his
ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts
of all the children of men;) 40:
That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou
gavest unto our fathers. 41:
Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh
out of a far country for thy name's sake; 42: (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong
hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this
house; 43: Hear thou in heaven
thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee
for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy
people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is
called by thy name. 44: If thy
people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send
them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and
toward the house that I have built for thy name: 45: Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their
supplication, and maintain their cause. 46:
If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be
angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away
captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; 47: Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither
they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the
land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done
perversely, we have committed wickedness; 48: And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all
their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray
unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city
which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: 49: Then hear thou their prayer and
their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50: And forgive thy people that have
sinned against thee and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed
against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive,
that they may have compassion on them: 51:
For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out
of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: 52: That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy
servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them
in all that they call for unto thee. 53:
For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be
thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou
broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.
Solomon’s
charge to the people
54: And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of
praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before
the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to
heaven. 55: And he stood, and
blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56: Blessed be the LORD, that hath
given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there
hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand
of Moses his servant. 57: The
LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor
forsake us: 58: That he may
incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his
commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our
fathers. 59: And let these my
words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the
LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the
cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: 60: That all the people of the earth
may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. 61: Let your heart therefore be
perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his
commandments, as at this day.
Sacrifices
and Celebrations
62: And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice
before the LORD. 63: And
Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD,
two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the
king and all the children of Israel
dedicated the house of the LORD. 64:
The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the
house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings,
and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before
the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and
the fat of the peace offerings. 65:
And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel
with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven
days and seven days, even fourteen days. 66:
On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went
unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD
had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
In
Chapters 6, 7 & 8 we read of the building of the temple by King Solomon.
First he builds the temple and then the porch. And then he furnishes the temple
and the Ark of the Covenant is brought to the temple. Then we have the
dedication of the temple which begins with a speech by Solomon and a prayer of
dedication and then he gives a solemn charge to the people. Then he offers the
sacrifices and lastly the celebrations begin. It was 480 years after the children
of Israel came out of the land of Egypt before the temple was begun. It
took seven years to build it and three years to furnish it. That makes 490
years from the Exodus or 70 weeks of years 70x7=490 years. The period from
Abraham to the Exodus was also 490 years or seventy weeks of years. What
Solomon didn’t know was that another 490 years later it would be destroyed by
the Babylonians when Nebuchadnezzar took Judah captive. Solomon began
building in the 4th year of his reign. The dimensions of the temple
were as follows.
Length
60 cubits 80 ft
Breadth
20 cubits 15 ft
Height
30 cubits 22½ ft
The
Porch was
Length
20 cubits 15 ft
Breadth
10 cubits 7½ ft
In
the house he made narrow windows. And leaning into the wall all around he made
rooms on three stories. A winding stair led up to the upper floors. The entire
temple was made of stone and the stones were cut and worked off site. No sound
of a hammer was heard in all its construction. Then the Lord spoke to Solomon
saying that if he lived according to the statutes, judgments and commandments
then the LORD would keep his promises to him. (Under law the promises were
conditional on obedience) The Lord promised to be with Israel and not
forsake them. Inside the house the walls were panelled in cedar, no stone was
seen anywhere. The whole of the inside panelling was overlaid with gold. Inside
the most holy place Solomon made two angels in gold – 10 cubits or 7½ ft high.
The wings of the cherubim touch each other and they touched the walls each
side. On the walls all around he carved cherubim’s, palm trees and open
flowers. The floor was overlaid with gold. The door of the holy place was made
of Olive wood. The doors, door posts and lintel were all Olive. They also had
carvings of cherubim, palm trees and flowers and they were covered in gold. The
main doors of the temple were made of pine they were bi-fold doors on both
sides. They also had the same carvings and gold covering. Then we digress to
see what other projects Solomon also built. First he built a house for himself
which took thirteen years to build. It was bigger than the Temple. It was built of stone and cedar wood.
He also built a house for his Egyptian wife. Then we come back to the Temple. Solomon built a
porch for the temple. And he cast two pillars of brass 13½ ft high. And on top
of each pillar was a capitol of 3¾ ft high. The right pillar he called Jachin
and the left pillar he called Boaz. Then after seven years of building he had
to furnish it. The first thing he made was a large bath made of molten brass,
7½ ft across from lip to lip and 3¾ ft high. Underneath were twelve oxen three
facing the four points of the compass. The Bath was 4 inches thick and contained 12,000
gallons of water or 45½ cubic metres. Then we get a lot of instructions for
things that are hard to understand. All of these things were made of bright
brass. They were cast in the clay near to Succoth and Zarthan. When everything
was completed Solomon sent for the Ark of the Covenant and it was taken from the
Tabernacle into the most holy place and the slaves were removed. And then when
everyone had left the temple the glory of the LORD filled the place. No one
could stand there because of the glory of the LORD. Then Solomon told the Lord
what he had done and he turned and blessed the people. Then Solomon prayed.
This is perhaps the longest prayer in the Bible. He blessed God because he is
the covenant keeping God. Then he asked the Lord to keep the promises that he
made to his servant David. He said the heaven of heavens cannot contain you
much less this house which l have built. He said when any man prays toward this
house may his prayer be heard and forgive him of his sin. He says (And this is
pure law) When your people are beaten by their enemy because they have sinned
and when they turn again to you (repentance) and confess your name and pray and
plead to you in this place – then hear in heaven and forgive their sin and
bring them again into the land which you gave to their fathers. When the skies
are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned if they pray toward
this place and confess your name and turn from their sin when you afflict them,
then hear and give rain in the land. And Solomon goes on to describe the many
disciplines of the Lord. He speaks of disease, blasting, mildew, locust,
caterpillar, enemies, plague and sickness. (When Christ came he found the whole
nation sick and dying and groaning under a Roman yoke and called on Israel to turn
back to the Lord their God) Then he speaks over the next 490 years to a time
when Judah will be transported to another land he says when they return to you
with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies
then hear their prayer and bring them home. Then Solomon rose from off his knees
and stands before the people and brings a solemn charge to the people. He
blessed the LORD who had brought them out of Egypt and brought them into the
land. He said May the LORD be with us as he was with our Fathers. He says may
the LORD not leave us or forsake us. (How very different to the New Covenant in
which Jesus says I will never leave you or forsake you) And may all the earth
know that the LORD is God and that there is no other God. So be perfect before
the Lord and live in his laws and keep his commandments. Then Solomon offered
sacrifices before the LORD - 22,000 oxen, 120,000 sheep. Then Solomon held a
feast which lasted for 14 days and all the kings of the earth were invited.
Steve
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