Study Desk

He is obeying my laws and commands now. If he continues to obey them, I will make his kingdom strong forever.'"

Solomon, you must understand this. The Lord has chosen you to build the Temple as his holy place. Be strong and finish the job."

Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for building the Temple and the courtyard around the Temple. They included its buildings, its storerooms, its upper rooms, its inside rooms, and the place where the people's sins were removed.

David also said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and brave, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or leave you until all the work for the Temple of the Lord is finished.

Then Solomon sat on the Lord 's throne as king and took his father David's place. Solomon was very successful, and all the people of Israel obeyed him.

David died when he was old. He had lived a good, long life and had received many riches and honors. His son Solomon became king after him.

Those writings tell what David did as king of Israel. They tell about his power and what happened to him and to Israel and to all the kingdoms around them.

Solomon, David's son, became a powerful king, because the Lord his God was with him and made him very great.

Solomon answered, "You have been very kind to my father David, and you have made me king in his place.

He imported horses from Egypt and Kue; his traders bought them in Kue.

I will build a temple for worshiping the Lord my God, and I will give this temple to him. There we will burn sweet-smelling spices in his presence. We will continually set out the holy bread in God's presence. And we will burn sacrifices every morning and evening, on Sabbath days and New Moons, and on the other feast days commanded by the Lord our God. This is a rule for Israel to obey forever.

Then Hiram king of Tyre answered Solomon with this letter: "Solomon, because the Lord loves his people, he chose you to be their king."

His mother was from the people of Dan, and his father was from Tyre. Huram-Abi is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and with purple, blue, and red thread, and expensive linen. He is skilled in making engravings and can make any design you show him. He will help your craftsmen and the craftsmen of your father David.

Solomon counted all the foreigners living in Israel. (This was after the time his father David had counted the people.) There were one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred foreigners in the country.

Huram also made bowls, shovels, and small bowls. So he finished his work for King Solomon on the Temple of God:

Solomon also made all the things for God's Temple: the golden altar; tables which held the bread that shows God's people are in his presence;

Finally all the work Solomon did for the Temple of the Lord was finished. He brought in everything his father David had set apart for the Temple—all the silver and gold and other articles. And he put everything in the treasuries of God's Temple.

The only things inside the Ark were two stone tablets that Moses had put in the Ark at Mount Sinai. That was where the Lord made his agreement with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

Those who blew the trumpets and those who sang together sounded like one person as they praised and thanked the Lord . They sang as others played their trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments. They praised the Lord with this song: "He is good; his love continues forever." Then the Temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud.

"Now the Lord has kept his promise. I am the king now in place of David my father. Now I rule Israel as the Lord promised, and I have built the Temple for the Lord , the God of Israel.