1C28

David gathers everyone for an important address.

1C28:5,6 “...He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne ,,,Solomon ...shall build My house and My courts...”

1C28:8 "... observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever...”

1C28:9 “... know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever...”

He will let you find Him? Yes, God is in charge of this, too.

David gives the plans to Solomon.

1C28:11- The temple, the workers, the utensils, the lampstands, the altar.

1C28:20 “... Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished...”

What are we passing on to the next generation?

1C29

Giving for the right reasons.

1C29:1 “... the temple is not for man, but for the Lord God...”

1C29:9 “... the people ...offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart...”

Recognizing reality.

1C29:14,15 “... all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You ... For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, ..”

1C29:17 "...I know, ...that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, ...”

Change of leadership.

1C29:25 “... The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him royal majesty which had not been on any king before him in Israel...”

   2 CHRONICLES

2C1

Offering at the bronze altar at the tent of meeting.

2C1:6 Solomon offers 1000 burnt offerings.

Encountering and interacting with God.

2C1:7-19 God appears, Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge.

2C1:12 God grants him that, and much more.

2C2

Solomon organizes the building of the temple.

2C2:2 Assigns 80,000 to quarry, 70,000 to carry, 3,600 to supervise.

2C2:11 King of Tyre (Huram) assists.

2C3

Mount Moriah.

Gen.22:1,2 Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah.

2C3:1 “...Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in 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...” [Following the judgment for the illegal census]

Moriah is a north-south range of mountains.

The exposed bedrock on Mount Moriah is referred to by Jews today as "Even ha-Shetiyah", which in Hebrew means, "the foundation stone".

Zion, The City of David, Jerusalem.

Zion, a city on the southern slope that David made his capital.

Jerusalem sits upon three mountains - Mt. Zion, Mt Moriah, and the Mount of Olives. This spot is the where the temple of Solomon was built. Later, the temple of Zerubbabel, when Israel returned from its exile. Later, King Herod lavishly expanded before Jesus day.

The Arabs refer to Moriah as; "Kubbat es-Sakhra", or the stone of foundation. Inscribed on the western side of the Dome of the Rock Mosque is this statement; "The rock of the Temple from the Garden of Eden".

Where was the Son of God sacrificed?

What role does this area play in end-time events?

2C4

Furnishings of the temple:

2C4:1 Bronze altar, 2C4:2 Metal sea, 2C4:6 Wash basins, 2C4:7 Golden lampstands, 2C4:8 Tables, 2C4:9 Court and great court, 2C4:19 Golden altar, tables with Bread of Presence.

2C5

The work is finished.

2C5:5 Levites bring up the ark containing the two tablets.

The Glory of God.

2C5:6 Sacrifices - too many to count.

2C5:12-14 “... Levitical singers ...with cymbals, harps and lyres, ...blowing trumpets ...with one voice to praise ...the glory of the Lord filled the house of God...”

1. Sacrifice what is valued.

2. Lift up praise.

3 The Glory of The Lord comes.

2C6

Solomon’s prayer of dedication.

2C6:3 “... the king ...blessed all ...while all ...Israel was standing...”

2C6:13 “... Solomon ...knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven...”

2C6:21-42 Asks God to hear and forgive in all situations that the people find themselves (sin against neighbors, defeated by enemy, no rain, famine, pestilence, blight, mildew, foreigners) - when they pray.

2C7

The Shekinah Glory.

2C7:1 “...fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering...”

2C7:2 “...the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house...”

2C7:3 “...All ...bowed down on the pavement ...worshiped ...gave praise...”

Many sacrifices, feasting, rejoicing.

2C7:5 22,000 oxen, 120,000 sheep. That’s a lot to sacrifice.

2C7:8-10 “...observed the feast ...for seven days ...he sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy of heart...”

God’s promise and warning.

2C7:13,14 “...If I shut up the heavens ...or I command the locust to devour ...or I send pestilence ...and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land...”

We use the passage as if we’re in a spot and need God’s attention.

It’s really saying that the spot we’re in is a direct result of God’s interaction in the affairs of men. Our part. God’s part.

2C7:19,20 “... “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments ...and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot you ...and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight ...”

2C8

Cities built, workers enslaved.

2C8:2-6 “...he built the cities...”

2C8:7,8 Descendants of those whom Israel had not destroyed were made slaves for his work.

Started out doing things according to God’s script.

2C8:12-13 “...Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built before the porch; and did so according to the daily rule, offering them up according to the commandment of Moses, for the sabbaths, the new moons and the three annual feasts - the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths...”

2C9

The Queen of Sheba is impressed..

2C9:6,7 “... I did not believe their reports until I came and my eyes had seen it. ...You surpass the report that I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom...”

2C9:9 “... she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones...”

2C9:12 “... Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire ...”

Extravagance?

2C9:15 200 large shields, 300 shields of beaten gold.

2C9:17-20 A throne of ivory and gold, six gold steps up, of ivory and gold. All drinking vessels were of gold.

2C9:21 “... once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks...”

2C9:25 “... Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen ...”

But it was ultimately fleeting, and then over.

2C9:31 “... And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place...”

2C10

Rehoboam pays more attention to peers than elders.

2C10:8 “..But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him...”

2C10:15 “... So the king did not listen to the people ...a turn of events from God that the Lord might establish His word, which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

2C10:16-19 The king didn’t listen, lost the trust and loyalty of people and “...Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day...”

2C11

God intervenes to avoid civil war.

2C11:2-4 “... But the word of the Lord came ...Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not go up or fight against your relatives; return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me....”

Jeroboam sets up his own priests for the high places.

2C11:15 “... He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and for the calves which he had made...”

Rehoboam’s family.

2C11:20 “... Rehoboam ...had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.…”

2C12

Prosperity -- to carelessness -- to captivity.

2C12:1 “...When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the Lord...”

2C12:5 “...Thus says the Lord, 'You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you...”

Humility -- deliverance -- but lessons to learn

2C12:6 “...So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The Lord is righteous.”...”

2C12:7 “... the Lord saw that they humbled themselves ... so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of deliverance...”

2C12:8 “...But they will become his slaves so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries..."

The world’s way and God’s way are NOT the same.

Why was Rehoboam’s reign considered evil?

2C12:14 “...He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord...”

On what do we set our hearts?

2C13

The civil war now starts.

2C13:3 “... there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah began the battle with ...400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 chosen men ...”

2C13:12 “... do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you will not succeed..."

2C13:15-18 “... then it was that God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah ...God gave them into their hand. Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain ...the sons of Judah conquered because they trusted in the Lord, the God of their fathers.

2C14

Asa begins his reign.

2C14:2-5 “...Asa did good and right ...he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim ...removed the high places ...the kingdom was undisturbed ...”

2C14:8-13 When his army of 300,000 faced an Ethiopian army of 1 million, “... Asa called to the Lord his God ...O Lord ...we trust in You, and in Your name ...So the Lord routed the Ethiopians ...”

2C14:1 Says the land was undisturbed for 10 yrs. But we’ll see in 2C16:12,13 that he reigned for 41 years and that his trust shifted during his last 6 years.

2C15

A warning. A reality for all time?

2C15:2 “...Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you...”

2C15:7 “...do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work..."

Serious reforms. Serious sacrifices.

2C15:8-15 “... he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land ...from the cities ...restored the altar of the Lord ...sacrificed to the Lord ...700 oxen and 7,000 sheep ...They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; ...the Lord gave them rest on every side...”

2C15:16 ”... He also removed Maacah, ...from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it ...”

2C15:19 “...And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign...” Pretty good situation up to year 35.

Can bad and good coexist?

2C15:17 “...the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa's heart was blameless all his days...”

2C16

In his 36th year, Asa’s trust shifts.

2C16:1-6 He pays Ben-hadad of Aram to defeat Baasha

2C16:7-9 “...you have relied on the king of Aram ...not relied on the Lord “...you have acted foolishly ...from now on you will surely have wars...”

2C16:10 He put the seer in prison and started oppressing people.

2C16:12 “... In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians....”

Need to look Is God, not the world, for support.

2C16:9 “...For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His...”

How can one’s heart be completely His?

2C17

Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, reigns well.

2C17:1-6 “... The Lord was with Jehoshaphat ...he ...did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments ...He took great pride in the ways of the Lord and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah....”

2C17:9 “...They taught in Judah, having the book of the law of the Lord with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people…”

2C18

Jehoshaphat partners with Ahab.

2C18:3 Discuss going up against Ramoth-gilead.

2C18:11 “...All the prophets were ...saying ...the Lord will give it into the hand of the king...” False prophets say what people want to hear

2C18:14-16 “. Micaiah ...said ...I saw all Israel scattereed...” True prophets are harder to come by, and much less popular.

Jehoshaphat is tying himself to a man who is being thwarted in the spiritual dimension. Things are happening beyond normal human perception that are directed by God against an evil king. What company do we keep?

2C18:28-34 Ahab is disguised, Jehoshaphat is exposed. Jehoshaphat is spared, and Ahab is killed.

2C19

Jehu scolds Jehoshaphat for aligning with Ahab.

2C19:1-3 But acknowledges “...you have set your heart to seek God...”

Have we set our hearts correctly?

Judges must judge rightly.

2C19:5-7 Judges were appointed, and warned “...you do not judge for man but for the Lord...be very careful what you do...”

I wonder how many judges understand their responsibility.

2C20

Judah is invaded by Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites.

2C20:3 Jehoshaphat calls for a national fast.

Pray, Listen, Bow, Trust

2C20:5-13 Prays, with the nation standing before the Lord, admitting “...we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You...”

2C20:14-17 “...the battle is not yours but God’s ...stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf...”

2C20:18 “...Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord...”

2C20:20 “...put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established...”

The Lord brings victory.

2C20:22,23 “... they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes ...so they were routed. ...they helped to destroy one another...”

2C20:29 “...the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands...”

But

2C20:35-37 Jehoshaphat again allies himself with a king of Israel and is thwarted by God.

Reading about those times can be wearisome. Not much has changed in 2500 years. Is God still desiring more than we give Him?

Action verbs from this weeks reading -:setting, seeking, ordering, restraining, cleaning, returning, worshiping, encouraging.

How are we doing?

2C21

Jehoram, firstborn of Jehoshaphat, reigns 8 years.

2C21:4 “...killed all his brothers with the sword...”

2C21:6 “...Ahab’s daughter was his wife ... He did evil in the sight of the Lord...”

2C21:11 “... Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray...”

Elijah had a message from the Lord for Jehoram.

2C21:14-15 “...behold, the Lord is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives and all your possessions with a great calamity; and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.'... "

2C21:18-20 “...the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable sickness. Now it came about in the course of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died in great pain. And his people made no fire for him like the fire for his fathers. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years; and he departed with no one's regret, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings...”

Does God smite people with disease?

Ex.15:26 “...I will put none of the diseases on you...” There was an IF - “...give earnest heed ...do what is right ...give ear...”

1 Pet.2:24 “...and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed...”

Isaiah 53:4,5 “...Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed...”

Does the scourging of Christ insure our health? What is our part? What is God’s part?

2C22

The one year reign of Ahaziah.

2C22:3-4 “...He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly. He did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction…”

Destruction, of all but Joash.

2C22:10 “... when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah....”

2C22:11-12 “...Jehoshabeath, ...took Joash ...hid him from Athaliah ...”

2C23

Joash becomes king as a 7 year old (2K11:21)

2C23:1-11 the crowning of Joash as king.

2C23:12-15 Athaliah cries “treason” and is put to death.

2C23:16 ”...Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord's people...”

2C24

Why was Joash a good king?

24:2 “... Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest...” He had good counsel.

There was corruption among the priests.

2C24:4-7 The priests are lax in collecting to repair the house of the Lord

2C24:7 “... the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and ...used the holy things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.”.

Money collected to repair the Temple.

2C24:8-11 A donation chest is set outside the gate, and they “...collected much money...”

2C24:13 “... the workmen labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they restored the house of God according to its specifications and strengthened it...”

Things went well for Joash until the death of Jehoida

2C24:17,18 “... after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king ...They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt...”

2C24:19-21 God sent prophets to bring them back, including Jehoida’s son, whom Joash has stoned.

2C24:25 His own servants kill him. He didn’t finish well!

2C25

How does one do right, but not with a whole heart?

2C25:1,2 “...Amaziah ...did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart...”

2C25:6 Amaziah hires 100,000 warriors from Israel.

2C25:7-8 “... a man of God came to him saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel ...”

2C25:9-10 Amaziah dismisses them with pay, believing that “...The Lord has much more to give you than this..."

The dismissed troops are a problem.

2C25:11-13 While Amaziah is out fighting the sons of Seir, the angry troops who had been dismissed plunder Judah.

Idolatry is a bigger problem.

2C25:14 “... Amaziah ...brought the gods of the sons of Seir, set them up as his gods, bowed down before them...”

2C25:15-16 Refuses to listen to the prophet God sends. “... the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel...”

2C25:26,27 “... From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord they conspired against him ...he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there...”

How do people bow to the gods of culture? Do we?

2C26

Uzziah reigns for 52 years.

2C26:5 “...He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him...”

What do we do with a phrase like this? We twist it around and focus on the prosperity. We seek prosperity, instead of seeking God.

2C26:15,16 “...In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong. But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense...”

Pride leads to doing things his way, not God’s.

2C26:18 “... It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, ...who are consecrated to burn incense. ...you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God.” But Uzziah ...was enraged; and ...leprosy broke out on his forehead ....”

2C26:20,21 “...the Lord had smitten him ...was a leper to the day of his death...”

2C27

Jotham reigns 16 years.

2C27:2 “... He did right in the sight of the Lord ...But the people continued acting corruptly...”

2C27:6 “... So Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God…”