Study Desk

He said, "O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven or on earth. You keep Your promises and show loving-kindness to Your servants who walk with You with all their hearts.

So now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep Your promise which You made to Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You will never be without a man to sit on the throne of Israel. But your sons must be careful to walk in My Law, as you have done.'

So now, O Lord, God of Israel, let Your Word be made sure which You have spoken to Your servant David.

"But is it true that God will live with man on the earth? See, heaven and the highest heaven cannot hold You. How much less can this house hold You which I have built!

But respect the prayer of Your servant and what he asks of You, O Lord my God. Listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays to You.

"Now, O my God, I ask You, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears listen to the prayer given in this place.

Now rise up, O Lord God. Go to Your resting place, You and the special box of Your power. O Lord God, let Your religious leaders be dressed in saving power. Let those who belong to You be filled with joy in what is good.

O Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your chosen one. Remember Your loving-kindness to Your servant David."

King Solomon gave a gift of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people set apart the house of God.

Then they will say, ‘It is because they turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers, Who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They have taken other gods, and worshiped them and served them. So the Lord has brought all this trouble on them.'"

By the law of David his father, Solomon chose the religious leaders for their different duties. He chose the Levites for their duties of praise and helping the religious leaders for each day's needs. And he chose who should be the gate-keepers at each gate. For David the man of God had said that this must be done.

Praise be to the Lord your God Who was pleased with you! He set you on His throne as king for the Lord your God. Your God loved Israel and would have them last forever. So He made you king over them to do what is fair and right and good."

And all the kings of the earth wanted to be with Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put into his heart.

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are written in the words of Nathan the man of God. They are written in the holy words of Ahijah the Shilonite. And they are written in the special dreams of Iddo, the man who tells what will happen in the future, about Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

So the king did not listen to the people. God made this happen so that He might make His Word come true which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

Those from all the families of Israel who set their hearts on following the Lord God of Israel came after them to Jerusalem. They came to give gifts in worship to the Lord God of their fathers.

Then Shemaiah the man of God came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, "The Lord says, ‘You have left Me. So I have left you to Shishak.'"

The acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are written in the writings of Shemaiah the man of God and of Iddo the man who told what would happen in the future. Wars were always being fought between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by an agreement of salt?