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offered willingly to the Lord; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. That is invariably the experience of believers: The more they give and the more willingly they give for the kingdom of the Lord, for its spread at home and abroad, the more pleasure they themselves have of their action. A congregation in which this spirit prevails is happy above others and usually will show much more spiritual life than one in which the work of the Lord is carried on with an unwilling heart, even if the quota is reached.

DAVID'S THANKSGIVING.-V. 10. Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation, in a spontaneous overflow of delight and gratitude at seeing the willing response of the people with regard to the favorite project of his life. And David said, Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. It was a sincere cry: All glory be to God on high! V. 11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, the shining beauty of the Lord's wonderful essence stood out at this time; for all that is in heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, that is, the sovereignty, and Thou art exalted as Head above all. V. 12. Both riches and honor come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all, all worldly wealth being really a gift of His gracious hand; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all. V. 13. Now, therefore, our God, we thank Thee, as the Giver of all good gifts, and praise Thy glorious name, literally, "the name of Thy glory"; it is wonderful

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their money at God's disposal for this purpose. V. 17. I know also, my God, that Thou triest the heart and hast pleasure in uprightness, a mere outward show of piety without true willingness of the heart being an abomination to Him. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now have I seen with joy Thy people which are present here to offer willingly unto Thee, the same spirit of cheerful willingness prompted both the king and the people. V. 18. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, this same spirit of cheerful willingness, and prepare their heart unto Thee, establishing them in faith in Jehovah alone; v. 19. and give unto Solomon, my son, a perfect heart to keep Thy commandments, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace for the which I have made provision, the great Temple, the total sum gathered for which has been estimated from a little less than five billion dollars to five times that V. 20. And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord, your God, in thanking Him for His goodness shown that day. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshiped the Lord and the king, not praying to the latter, but honoring him as the Lord's representative. V. 21. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord, both in atoning for the transgressions of the past and in establishing the right relationship between themselves and God, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel; v. 22. and did eat and drink before the Lord, in the sacrificial meal connected with their offerings, on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon, the son of David, king the second time, the first crowning having taken place rather suddenly upon Adonijah's conspiracy, 1 Kings 1, 35, and anointed him unto the Lord to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest, the degradation of the other high priest, Abiathar, of the line of Ithamar, dating from this time. V. 23. Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord, Jehovah Himself always being considered as the real Ruler of the nation, as king instead of David, his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him, he reigned over a united kingdom. V. 24. And all the princes, the hereditary chieftains, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of King David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king,

and glorious in itself, and the purpose of our praise is to keep it most glorious above all. V. 14. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? The very willingness to serve the Lord with the gifts of our hands is a blessing of His grace. For all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee. We are merely God's stewards, in charge of goods which He entrusts to us for the few brief years of our earthly existence. In reality all the goods of which we proclaim ourselves the proud owners are God's alone, and He will hold us responsible for their administration. V. 15. For we are strangers before Thee and sojourners, as were all our fathers, the uncertainty and vanity of this earthly life being its most conspicuous feature. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. Note how strongly the otherworldliness of the true religion is emphasized. V. 16. O Lord, our God, all this store that we have prepared to build Thee an house for Thine holy name cometh of Thine hand and is all Thine own; they were merely carrying out the duties of their stewardship in placing

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by the ceremony of putting their hand under the king's extended hand, and kissing the back of it. V. 25. And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel; the two rulers before him had had little of the majestic and magnificent splendor which characterized Solomon. - The book now closes with a summary of the reign of David. V. 26. Thus David, the son of Jesse, reigned over all Israel. V. 27. And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years, in round numbers; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. V. 28. And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor, glory among the

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people of his own nation and abroad; and Solomon, his son, reigned in his stead. V. 29. Now, the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of Samuel, the seer, the historical account written by that prophet, and in the book of Nathan, the prophet, and in the book of Gad, the seer, v. 30. with all his reign and his might, his military exploits, his brave deeds, and the times that went over him and over Israel and over all the kingdoms of the countries, all those with whom he came into hostile. contact or with whom he had a friendly intercourse. Like David, the believers are gathered to the number of perfected saints, to the great number of those whose souls await the resurrection of the last Great Day.

THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES."

CHAPTER 1.

Solomon's Piety, Wisdom, and Wealth. SOLOMON AT GIBEON.-V. 1. And Solomon, the son of David, was strengthened in his kingdom, he was generally and gladly acknowledged as the ruler of the nation, and the Lord, his God, was with him and magnified him exceedingly, giving him a distinction and a splendor which set him apart and made for proper reverence on the part of his subjects. V. 2. Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, as represented in the usual way, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the rulers of the tribes, the hereditary chieftains, the chief of the fathers, that is, of the father-houses. V. 3. So Solomon and all the congregation with him, in the second year of his reign, 1 Kings 3, 4, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the Tabernacle of the Congregation of God, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, had made in the wilderness, Ex. 25 and 26. This was still the official Sanctuary of the people, although the place for the Temple had been selected and the ark was resting under the Tabernacle of David in Jerusalem. V. 4. But the ark of God, which for many years had not been at Gibeon, had David brought up from Kirjath-jearim to the place which David had prepared for it, 2 Sam. 6, 2. 17; for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. V. 5. Moreover, the brazen altar that Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of

1) For introductory remarks, see the introduction to the First Book of Chronicles.

Hur, had made, Ex. 31, 2, he put before the Tabernacle of the Lord, it still had its position before this legal Sanctuary of the nation; and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it, considering it their duty to present their offerings on the legally appointed altar. V. 6. And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar before the Lord which was at the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it, this great sacrifice being made, of course, by the hands of the priests. V. 7. In that night did God appear unto Solomon, in a dream or vision, and said unto him; Ask what I shall give thee. Cp. 1 Kings 3, 5. V. 8. And Solomon said unto God, the chief points of his prayer only being given here, Thou hast showed great mercy unto David, my father, a free acknowledgment of God's unmerited grace and mercy, and hast made me to reign in his stead. V. 9. Now, O Lord God, let Thy promise unto David, my father, be established; for Thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude, a task of ruling which was beyond any man's natural ability. V. 10. Give me, now, wisdom and knowledge, the latter including a deep and correct insight and understanding of affairs and business of the nation, that I may go out and come in before this people, in his entire public activity, in his relation to them as ruler; for who can judge this Thy people that is so great? Such a spirit of meekness and humility in a prayer, appealing to our heavenly Father as ignorant, inexperienced children, is well-pleasing to Him. At the same

time, our prayer may rightly remind the Lord of all His promises. V. 11. And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor, all gifts which the average Oriental monarch would have placed ahead of all others, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life, but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself that thou mayest judge My people, over whom I have made thee king, and who were in a very particular sense God's own people, v. 12. wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee, and I will give thee riches and wealth and honor such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. God granted Solomon much more than he had asked for, thus giving him a proof of His merciful bounty. The Lord hears the prayers of His children if they are made according to His will, especially such as pertain to spiritual gifts and benefits. Moreover, He often blesses His children also in temporal things, in matters pertaining to this life. If we but first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all other things shall be added to us, Matt. 6, 33.

SOLOMON'S IMMENSE WEALTH.-V. 13. Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the Tabernacle of the Congregation, where he had served the Lord by his special act of worship, and reigned over Israel, after having publicly offered praise and thanks to the Lord before the Ark of the Covenant. V. 14. And Solomon gath

ered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, who were trained to fight in chariots as well as on horseback, which he placed in the chariot cities, such as were especially designated for that purpose, and with the king at Jerusalem. V. 15. And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, on account of the great masses of the precious metals which he acquired in the course of time, and cedar-trees made he as the sycomoretrees that are in the vale for abundance, the sycomore-fig tree being one of the most common in the valleys toward the southeast. V. 16. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, for the horses of that country were very highly valued, being as fine as Arabian steeds, but larger and more powerful, and linen yarn, the fine, silklike byssus of Egypt; the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price, or, "they fetched a troop for a certain price," delivered to certain established markets. V. 17. And they fetched up and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver (almost four hundred dollars) and an horse for an hundred and fifty (not quite one hundred dollars); and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria, thereby establishing a lucrative business, by their means. Thus the gracious promises of God to Solomon were literally fulfilled, even as they invariably are to this day. It is but for us to trust in Him with childlike confidence, and we shall not be ashamed.

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CHAPTER 2.

Solomon Obtains the Assistance of Huram. SOLOMON'S MESSAGE TO HURAM. - V. 1. And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the Lord, he made arrangements to carry out the last wishes of his father, and an house for his kingdom, a royal palace to display all his wealth and power. V. 2. And Solomon told out, raised by conscription, threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, in the actual erection of the Temple, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, in preparing the stones and the lumber, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. This preliminary note indicates at once the magnitude of the undertaking. V. 3. And Solomon sent to Huram (or Hiram), the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David, my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, 1 Chron. 14, 1, even so deal with me, he was anxious to have the friendly relationship with all that it implied continue. V. 4. Behold, I build an

house to the name of the Lord, my God, to dedicate it to Him, set it aside for His worship, and to burn before Him sweet incense, literally, "to perfume before His face sweet spices," as it was done in the morning and the evening worship, Ex. 25, 6, and for the continual showbread, which was always placed on the special table in the Holy Place, Ex. 25, 30, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord, our God, Num. 28, 29; 1 Chron. 23, 31. This is an ordinance forever to Israel, and therefore the Temple he proposed to build must be a solid and permanent building, made of the most durable materials. V. 5. And. the house which I build is great; for great is our God above all gods; its magnificence should, in a way, express the incomparable greatness of the true God. V. 6. But who is able to build Him an house, that is, one in which He would actually dwell, in which He would be enclosed as the heathen idols

were in their shrines, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I, then, that I should build Him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before Him? So the purpose of the Temple was merely to be that of serving as a house where Jehovah's worshipers might sacrifice to His honor. V. 7. Send me now, therefore, a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, an artist familiar with the work in all precious metals, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, true purple, scarlet-red, and hyacinth being the three dyes in whose preparation the Tyrians were most skilful, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David, my father, did provide. This last craft probably included not only engraving in stone, but also wood-carving and even embroidery of figures in needlework. In all these arts the superintendent desired by Solomon should excel. V. 8. Send me also cedar-trees, firtrees, that is, cypresses, and algum-trees, sandal-wood, out of Lebanon, the last-named, though not growing in the mountains, being procured by Huram as an article of commerce; for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon, for that was one of the chief industries of the country. And, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, v. 9. even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great, literally, "great and wonderful." V. 10. And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures (about one hundred and sixty thousand bushels) of beaten wheat, roasted grain in this form being a staple article of food in the Orient, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths (about 1,300,000 gallons) of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. The reference here is not to the yearly contribution which Solomon sent to Tyre during the construction of the Temple, 1 Kings 5, 25, but to the food for the laborers in the mountains. Solomon, as a wise king, counted the cost first before he began the work of construction, but he also went forward with all energy after being assured on this point.

HURAM'S KIND ANSWER.-V. 11. Then Huram, the king of Tyre, having received Solomon's message delivered to him in the form of a letter, answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the Lord hath loved His people, He hath made thee king over them; for wise and good kings are a gift of His merciful goodness. V. 12. Huram said moreover, Blessed be the Lord God of

Israel, with whose worship he was evidently familiar, having accepted the true God in faith, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, not a dead knowledge, but one which readily adjusted itself to any situation, that might build an house for the Lord and an house for his kingdom. V. 13. And now I have sent a cunning man, an artist such as Solomon desired accompanied the embassy to Jerusalem, endued with understanding, of Huram, my father's, the master's name itself being Huram, like that of the king, 1 Kings 7, 13, v. 14. the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device, to work out any pattern, which shall be put to him with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David, thy father. The artist selected by Huram not only met all the requirements of Solomon, but even exceeded them. V. 15. Now, therefore, the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants; v. 16. and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will bring it to thee in floats, huge rafts, by sea to Joppa, along the shores of the Mediterranean; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem, the distance which the lumber had to be hauled over land being some thirty miles. V. 17. And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, the members and descendants of heathen nations in the midst of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David, his father, had numbered them, 1 Chron. 22, 2; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred. V. 18. And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, both to hew stones and to fell timber, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a-work, this being the total number, of which three thousand were non-Israelites, the others, both of the lower and of the higher rank, being Israelites. Note: Solomon is a type of Christ, who also built a great temple to the Lord, not of wood and stone and precious metals, but of believers in His blood. And all servants of Christ are called to assist in erecting this wonderful temple of the Lord.

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CHAPTER 3.

The Building of the Temple. THE SANCTUARY PROPER.-V. 1. Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah, one summit of the range of hills which went under the general name of Zion, where the Lord appeared unto David, his father, rather, which was shown to his father David, namely, as the future site of the Temple, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, after the unfortunate census which David had arranged. V. 2. And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign, 1 Kings 6, 1. The rock platform which had formed the threshing-floor of Ornan, or Araunah, afforded room for the Sanctuary proper, but for the other buildings and the courts special foundations had to be prepared, all this requiring an immense amount of work. V. 3. Now, these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God, these are the fundamental proportions which he employed in erecting the Temple. The length by cubits after the first measure, the cubit of the old Mosaic standard, about twenty-one inches, was threescore cubits and the breadth twenty cubits, these being the proportions of the Sanctuary proper. V. 4. And the porch that was in the front of the house, a kind of covered area-way, or portico, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, the depth being ten cubits, 1 Kings 6, 3, and the height was an hundred and twenty, the effect being that of a tower or double tower, such as were used in other temples of ancient times: and he overlaid it within with pure gold, making it the most magnificent entrance of the ancient world. V. 5. And the Greater House, the Holy Place, he ceiled with fir-tree, he veneered it with cypress, noted for its ability to withstand every kind of weather, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm-trees and chains, garlands in the form of chased work cut in the panels of the wall. V. 6. And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty, that is, he paved the house with beautiful and costly marble; and the gold was gold of Parvaim, especially noted for its purity. V. 7. He overlaid also the house, on the inside, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold, either in heavy gilding or in plates, 1 Kings 6, 18. 29. 30, and graved cherubim on the walls. V. 8. And he made the Most Holy House, at the western end of the Sanctuary, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, the room thus forming a cubical space; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents,

estimated at $18,000,000. V. 9. And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold, these nails being used to fasten the gold plate to the wooden lining of the walls. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. The building of the Temple was a work of obedience and love, just as all our work for the Lord should be.

THE CHERUBIM, THE VEIL, AND THE PILLARS. V. 10. And in the Most Holy House he made two cherubim of image work, literally, "a work of imagery," that is, sculptured, fashioned according to a conventional design, and overlaid them with gold, 1 Kings 6, 28. V. 11. And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long, that is, the four wings of the two cherubim together; one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub, their wings touched in the center and on either side just reached the wall. V. 12. And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub, 1 Kings 6, 27. V. 13. The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits; and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward, literally, "toward the house," toward the Most Holy Place, for they were represented as guarding the ark. V. 14. And he made the veil, the heavy curtain hanging before the Most Holy Place, of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, of the same four fine materials of which the veil in the Tabernacle had been made, Ex. 26, 31, and wrought cherubim thereon, weaving their figures into the cloth. V. 15. Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, rather, eighteen, as the original Hebrew text undoubtedly had it, or their combined height is given without their bases, and the chapiter, the capital, that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. V. 16. And he made chains, garlands, as in the oracle, in the network of ornamental castings on or below the capitals, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains, so that there was an apple on every link of the chainlike ornament. V. 17. And he reared up the pillars before the Temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left, as entrance obelisks of a grandeur in keeping with the rich interior of the Sanctuary; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin and the name of that on the left Boaz. Cp. 1 Kings 7, 21. As at the time of the wilderness journey, so the Lord now had a resting-place in the midst of His people, where they might worship Him.

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