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.
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