Study Desk

Solomon answered: Lord God, you were always loyal to my father David, and now you have made me king of Israel.

God replied: Solomon, you could have asked me to make you rich or famous or to let you live a long time. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom and knowledge to rule my people.

I am building a temple where the Lord my God will be worshiped. Sweet-smelling incense will be burned there, and sacred bread will be offered to him. Worshipers will offer sacrifices to the Lord every morning and evening, every Sabbath, and on the first day of each month, as well as during all our religious festivals. These things will be done for all time, just as the Lord has commanded.

This will be a great temple, because our God is greater than all other gods.

No one can ever build a temple large enough for God—even the heavens are too small a place for him to live in! All I can do is build a place where we can offer sacrifices to him.

Praise the Lord God of Israel who made heaven and earth! He has given David a son who isn't only wise and smart, but who has the knowledge to build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

and said: Praise the Lord God of Israel! He brought his people out of Egypt long ago and later kept his promise to make my father David the king of Israel. The Lord also promised him that Jerusalem would be the city where his temple will be built, and now that promise has come true.

When my father wanted to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel,

The Lord has done what he promised. I am now the king of Israel, and I've built a temple for the Lord our God.

and prayed: Lord God of Israel, no other god in heaven or on earth is like you! You never forget the agreement you made with your people, and you are loyal to anyone who faithfully obeys your teachings.

There's not enough room in all of heaven for you, Lord God. How could you possibly live on earth in this temple I have built?

Lord God, hear us when we pray in this temple.

Then they will answer, "It was because the people of Israel rejected the Lord their God, who rescued their ancestors from Egypt, and they started worshiping other gods."

I praise the Lord your God. He is pleased with you and has made you king of Israel. God loves the people of this country and will never desert them, so he has given them a king who will rule fairly and honestly.

Year after year, other kings came to hear the wisdom God had given him. And they brought gifts of silver and gold, as well as clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

But some of the people from Israel wanted to worship the Lord God, just as their ancestors had done. So they followed the priests and Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord .

The Lord God of Israel has made a solemn promise that every king of Israel will be from David's family.

But we have not turned our backs on the Lord God! Aaron's own descendants serve as our priests, and the Levites are their assistants.

Two times every day they offer sacrifices and burn incense to the Lord . They set out the sacred loaves of bread on a table that has been purified, and they light the lamps in the gold lampstand every day at sunset. We follow the commands of the Lord our God—you have rejected him!

That's why God is on our side and will lead us into battle when the priests sound the signal on the trumpets. It's no use, Israelites. You might as well give up. There's no way you can defeat the Lord , the God your ancestors worshiped.