Study Desk

"Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already.

commanding them to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon. They went there because that was where the Tent of the Lord 's presence was located, which Moses, the Lord 's servant, had made in the wilderness.

I intend to build a great temple, because our God is greater than any other god.

Yet no one can really build a temple for God, because even all the vastness of heaven cannot contain him. How then can I build a temple that would be anything more than a place to burn incense to God?

in preparing large quantities of timber, because this temple I intend to build will be large and magnificent.

King Hiram sent Solomon a letter in reply. He wrote, "Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.

All the priests present, regardless of the group to which they belonged, had consecrated themselves. And all the Levite musicians—Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, and the members of their clans—were wearing linen clothing. The Levites stood near the east side of the altar with cymbals and harps, and with them were 120 priests playing trumpets. The singers were accompanied in perfect harmony by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, as they praised the Lord singing: "Praise the Lord , because he is good, And his love is eternal." As the priests were leaving the Temple, it was suddenly filled with a cloud shining with the dazzling light of the Lord 's presence, and they could not continue the service of worship.

"When your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you and then when they turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness,

"When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you and then when they repent and face this Temple, humbly praying to you,

Rise up now, Lord God, and with the Covenant Box, the symbol of your power, enter the Temple and stay here forever. Bless your priests in all they do, and may all your people be happy because of your goodness to them.

Because the Temple was full of the dazzling light, the priests could not enter it.

Solomon consecrated the central part of the courtyard, the area in front of the Temple, and then offered there the sacrifices burned whole, the grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar which he had made was too small for all these offerings.

because I have chosen it and consecrated it as the place where I will be worshiped forever. I will watch over it and protect it for all time.

People will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt. They gave their allegiance to other gods and worshiped them. That is why the Lord has brought this disaster on them.'"

Solomon moved his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, from David's City to a house he built for her. He said, "She must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, because any place where the Covenant Box has been is holy."

Praise the Lord your God! He has shown how pleased he is with you by making you king, to rule in his name. Because he loves his people Israel and wants to preserve them forever, he has made you their king so that you can maintain law and justice."

The Levites abandoned their pastures and other land and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because King Jeroboam of Israel and his successors would not let them serve as priests of the Lord .

When the Lord saw this, he spoke again to Shemaiah and said to him, "Because they admit their sin, I will not destroy them. But when Shishak attacks, they will barely survive. Jerusalem will not feel the full force of my anger,

Because he submitted to the Lord , the Lord 's anger did not completely destroy him, and things went well for Judah.

He did what was evil, because he did not try to find the Lord 's will.