22/05/2014

PM May 22nd 2 Chronicles 4

May 22nd 2 Chronicles 4

Solomon furnishes the Temple

1: Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. 2: Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. 3: And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast. 4: 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. 5: And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths. 6: He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand,and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. 7: And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. 8: He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold. 9: Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. 10: And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south. 11: And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God; 12: To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars; 13: And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars. 14: He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases; 15: One sea, and twelve oxen under it. 16: The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass. 17: In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah. 18: Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out. 19: And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set; 20: Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold; 21: And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold; 22: And the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.

2 Chronicles 5

1: Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.

The ark to the Temple

2: 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 Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 3: Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. 4: And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. 5: And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. 6: Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. 7: And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: 8: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. 9: And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. 10: There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. 11: And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: 12: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) 13: It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; 14: So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

2 Chronicles 6 Solomon’s speech

1: Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 2: But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever. 3: And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood. 4: And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying, 5: Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel: 6: But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel. 7: Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 8: But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart: 9: Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name. 10: The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 11: And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.

Solomon’s prayer

12: And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: 13: For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven, 14: And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: 15: Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. 16: Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. 17: Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David. 18: But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! 19: Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: 20: That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. 21: Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. 22: If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; 23: Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. 24: And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; 25: Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. 26: When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; 27: Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance. 28: If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be: 29: Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: 30: Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) 31: That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. 32: Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; 33: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from 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, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. 34: If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; 35: Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. 36: If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; 37: Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; 38: If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: 39: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. 40: Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 41: Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. 42: O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

Today we read of Solomon furnishing the Temple and brining in the Ark of the Covenant. Then we have the speech of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple and his prayer. The furniture of the temple included

The altar of brass. It was 26ft x 26ft and 13ft high.
The molten sea (A great bath made in one cast which meant that there
could be
no leaks) 13ft across from lip to lip. 6ft 6” high. It stood
on 12 oxen made of brass.
12 smaller lavers or bathes for the washing of the priests.
10 candlesticks of gold.
10 tables
100 basins of gold

There were many other implements for temple service.

When everything was finished they were all brought into the temple by Solomon. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel to inspire them to bring in the Ark of the Covenant to the temple. When the Ark was brought into the temple the staves were drawn out indicating that the Ark had finally found its home. Inside the Ark was just the slabs of stone on which were written the commandments of God. The trumpets sounded and the choir sang in perfect harmony. They praised the LORD for his enduring mercy. Then the temple was filled with a cloud. No man was able to stand in the presence of the LORD. Then Solomon made a speech. First he explained in a sentence what the building of the temple had all been about. It was a temple in which the Lord would live forever. Then he blessed the whole congregation of Israel. Then the entire congregation stood before the Lord. Then he blessed the LORD God of Israel. He said that the LORD chose David to be his king and Jerusalem to be his place on earth. He recounted what the LORD said to his father that he had done well wanting to build the temple but the task would be given to his son. Now he says God has done what he directed us to do. Then Solomon turned from speaking to praying. He knelt and opened his arms with his hands toward heaven saying. There is no God like you because you keep your covenant and show mercy to your servants who live before you with full open minds. You have kept your word to David right up to this day. Now keep your promise to David by forever providing a king from his royal line. Can God live in the Temple? Even the whole universe cannot contain him. Look on us and listen to us your people and when you hear our confession forgive us our sin. Hear from heaven giving justice and judgment to your people. And when you discipline your people and shut the sky to rain. Because they have sinned against you and when they call on you and confess your name and turn from their sin when you punish them then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your people. And if there is a drought, a disease and blasting, mildew, locusts and caterpillars and if enemies come into the land and if the people become sick and when every man turns in desperation to you. Will you hear them in your heaven and forgive them and judge every man according to his deeds. Because you know what is in his mind. Grant that your people might fear you and walk in your ways all their lives in the land you gave to our fathers. And if they go to war deliver them and if they sin (because all men sin) and if you send an enemy to carry them away into foreign lands, and if they think about why they are there and if they cry to you saying we have sinned and done wicked things and if they return to you with all their minds and soul in the land of captivity then hear in heaven and forgive them. So ever keep your eyes and ears open to your people and may we always keep our ears open to you. And so Solomon finished his prayer. In this prayer we have such a clear OT theology of the Old Mosaic Covenant. What did Christ found when he came to his people? He found a nation sick, dying and full of every disease, with the Roman legion dominating the countryside. They were far from their God and Christ called on then to turn to the Lord their God.


  • Make a note of the various items of furniture for the Temple
  • Analise the Prayer of Solomon
  • What difference do you notice between OT theology and NT theology?

No comments:

Post a Comment