Study Desk

Joab son of Zeruiah began the census but never finished it because the anger of God fell on Israel. The total number was never recorded in King David's official records.

"And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple.

God said to Solomon, "Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people—

"This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods.

King Hiram sent this letter of reply to Solomon: "It is because the Lord loves his people that he has made you their king!

The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

then hear from heaven and judge between your servants—the accuser and the accused. Pay back the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence.

"If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn back and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple,

"If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them,

The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it.

Solomon then consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the Lord 's Temple. He offered burnt offerings and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar he had built could not hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrificial fat.

Then at the end of the celebration, Solomon sent the people home. They were all joyful and glad because the Lord had been so good to David and to Solomon and to his people Israel.

"And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord , the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why he has brought all these disasters on them.'"

Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne as king to rule for him. Because God loves Israel and desires this kingdom to last forever, he has made you king over them so you can rule with justice and righteousness."

The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the Lord as priests.

Because they were unfaithful to the Lord , King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign.

The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah's leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, "This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak."

Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord 's anger was turned away, and he did not destroy him completely. There were still some good things in the land of Judah.

So Judah defeated Israel on that occasion because they trusted in the Lord , the God of their ancestors.

Asa told the people of Judah, "Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God, and he has given us peace on every side." So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion.