Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 2 Chronicles
chapters 1 through 4. Chapter 1 Now Solomon the
son of David was strengthened in his kingdom,
and the Lord his God was with him and exalted
him exceedingly. And Solomon spoke to all Israel,
to the captains of thousands and of hundreds,
to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel,
the heads of the fathers' houses. Then Solomon
and all the assembly with him went to the high
place that was at Gibeon, for the tabernacle
of meeting with God was there, which Moses the
servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness.
But David had brought up the ark of God from
Kirjas -Jerim to the place David had prepared
for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.
Now the bronze altar that Bezarel the son of
Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before
the tabernacle of the Lord. Solomon and the assembly
sought him there. And Solomon went up there to
the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at
the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand
burnt offerings on it. On that night God appeared
to Solomon and said to him, Ask, what shall I
give you? And Solomon said to God, You have shown
great mercy to David my father, and have made
me king in his place. Now, O Lord God, let your
promise to David my father be established, for
you have made me king over a people like the
dust of the earth in multitude. Now give me wisdom
and knowledge that I may go out and come in before
this people, for who can judge this great people
of yours? Then God said to Solomon, Because this
was in your heart, and you have not asked riches
or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies,
nor have you asked long life, but have asked
wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may
judge my people, for whom I have made you king.
Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you, and
I will give you riches and wealth and honor,
such as none of the kings have had who were before
you, nor shall any after you have the like. So
Solomon came to Jerusalem from the high place
that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle
of meeting, and reigned over Israel. And Solomon
gathered chariots and horsemen. He had 1 ,400
chariots and 12 ,000 horsemen, whom he stationed
in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
Also the king made silver and gold as common
in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as
abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and
Keveh. The king's merchants bought them in Kaveh
at the current price. They also acquired and
imported from Egypt a chariot for 600 shekels
of silver and a horse for 150. Thus, through
their agents, they exported them to all the kings
of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. Chapter
2 Then Solomon determined to build a temple for
the name of the Lord and a royal house for himself.
Solomon selected 70 ,000 men to bear burdens.
eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains,
and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.
Then Solomon sent to Hiram king of Tyre, saying,
As you have dealt with David my father, and sent
him cedars to build himself a house to dwell
in, so deal with me. Behold, I am building a
temple for the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate
it to him, to burn before him sweet incense for
the continual showbread, for the burnt offerings
morning and evening. on the Sabbaths, on the
new moons, and on the set feasts of the Lord
our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.
And the temple which I build will be great, for
our God is greater than all gods. But who is
able to build him a temple, since heaven and
the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? Who
am I then that I should build him a temple except
to burn sacrifice before him? Therefore send
me at once a man skillful to work in gold and
silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson
and blue. who has skill to engrave with the skillful
men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom
David my father provided. Also send me cedar
and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for
I know that your servants have skill to cut timber
in Lebanon. And indeed my servants will be with
your servants to prepare timber for me in abundance,
for the temple which I am about to build shall
be great and wonderful. And indeed I will give
to your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber,
twenty thousand cores of ground wheat, twenty
thousand cores of barley, twenty thousand baths
of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. Then
Hiram king of Tyre answered in writing which
he sent to Solomon, Because the Lord loves his
people, he has made you king over them. Hiram
also said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
who made heaven and earth, for he has given King
David a wise son. endowed with prudence and understanding,
who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal
house for himself. And now I have sent a skillful
man endowed with understanding, Huram, my master
craftsman, the son of a woman of the daughters
of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilled
to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron,
stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and
crimson. and to make any engraving and to accomplish
any plan which may be given to him with your
skillful men and with the skillful men of my
lord david your father now therefore the wheat
the barley the oil and the wine which my lord
has spoken of let him send to his servants and
we will cut wood from lebanon as much as you
need we will bring it to you in rafts by sea
to joppa and you will carry it up to jerusalem
Then Solomon numbered all the aliens who were
in the land of Israel after the census in which
David his father had numbered them, and there
were found to be 153 ,600, and he made 70 ,000
of them bearers of burdens, 80 ,000 stonecutters
in the mountain, and 3 ,600 overseers to make
the people work. Chapter 3 Now Solomon began
to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on
Mount Moriah. where the Lord had appeared to
his father David at the place that David had
prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the
Jebusite, and he began to build on the second
day of the second month in the fourth year of
his reign. This is the foundation which Solomon
laid for building the house of God. The length
was sixty cubits by cubits according to the former
measure, and the width twenty cubits. And the
vestibule that was in front of the sanctuary
was twenty cubits long across the width of the
house, and the height was one hundred and twenty.
He overlaid the inside with pure gold. The larger
room he paneled with cypress, which he overlaid
with fine gold. And he carved palm trees and
chain work on it. And he decorated the house
with precious stones for beauty. And the gold
was gold from Parvim. he also overlaid the house
the beams and door posts its walls and doors
with gold and he carved cherubim on the walls
and he made the most holy place its length was
according to the width of the house twenty cubits
and its width twenty cubits he overlaid it with
six hundred talents of fine gold the weight of
the nails was fifty shekels of gold and he overlaid
the upper area with gold in the most high place
he made two cherubim fashioned by carving and
overlaid them with gold the wings of the cherubim
were twenty cubits in overall length one wing
of the one cherub was five cubits touching the
wall of the room and the other wing was five
cubits touching the wing of the other cherub
one wing of the other cherub was five cubits
touching the wall of the room and the other wing
also was five cubits touching the wing of the
other cherub the wings of these cherubim spanned
twenty cubits overall they stood on their feet
and they faced inward and he made the veil of
blue purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove
cherubim into it. Also he made in front of the
temple two pillars thirty -five cubits high,
and the capital that was on the top of each of
them was five cubits. He made wreath of chain
work, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them
on top of the pillars. And he made one hundred
pomegranates, and put them on the wreath of chain
work. Then he set up the pillars before the temple,
one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
He called the name of the one on the right hand
Jashin and the name of the one on the left Boaz.
Moreover, he made a bronze altar. Twenty cubits
was its length, twenty cubits its width, and
ten cubits its height. Then he made the sea of
cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the
other. It was completely round. Its height was
five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured
its circumference, and under it was the likeness
of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit,
all the way around the sea. The oxen were cast
in two rows when it was cast. It stood on twelve
oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking
toward the west, three looking toward the south,
and three looking toward the east. The sea was
set upon them, and all their back parts pointed
inward. It was a hand breadth thick, and its
brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like
a lily blossom. It contained three thousand baths.
He also made ten lavers, and put five on the
right side and five on the left, to wash in them,
such things as they offered for the burnt offering
they would wash in them, but the sea was for
the priests to wash in. And he made ten lampstands
of gold according to their design, and set them
in a temple, five on the right side and five
on the left. He also made ten tables and placed
them in the temple, five on the right side and
five on the left. And he made one hundred bowls
of gold. Furthermore, he made the court of the
priests and the great court and doors for the
court. And he overlaid these doors with bronze.
He set the sea on the right side toward the southeast.
Then Huram made the pots and the shovels and
the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work that
he was to do for King Solomon for the house of
God. the two pillars and the bowl -shaped capitals
that were on top of the two pillars, the two
networks covering the two bowl -shaped capitals
which were on top of the pillars, 400 pomegranates
for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates
for each network, to cover the two bowl -shaped
capitals that were on the pillars. He also made
carts and the lavers on the carts, one sea and
twelve oxen under it, also the pots, the shovels,
the forks, and all their articles, Huram his
master craftsman, made of burnished bronze for
King Solomon for the house of the Lord. In the
plain of Jordan, the king had them cast in clay
molds between Sukkot and Zereda, and Solomon
had all these articles made in such great abundance
that the weight of the bronze was not determined.
Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for
the house of God, the altar of gold, and the
tables on which was the showbread. The lampstands
with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in the
prescribed manner in front of the inner sanctuary,
with the flowers and the lamps and the wick trimmers
of gold, of purest gold, the trimmers, the bowls,
the ladles, and the censers of pure gold. As
for the entry of the sanctuary, its inner doors
to the most holy place, and the doors of the
main hall of the temple, were gold. I hope you
enjoyed today's reading as much as I did and
I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow to
continue on our journey. God bless you and have
a great day.