2 Ch. 12: Shishak Attak

2 Chronicles 12:10 "So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace."

Well, Rehoboam had gotten strong, but turned away from God. And this chapter shows what happens. With the covenant broken, there were any number of horrible things that could have happened, but in this case, God uses Shishak, Egypt's king, as His hand of judgement on Rehoboam and Israel. 

Shishak brings a powerful army, and ends up taking some cities. When Shemaiah the prophet hits Rehoboam with some knowledge about why this is happening, he humbles himself. Because of this sudden attack of common spiritual sense, the LORD spares Israel from utter annihiliation, which Shishak could have easily brought. Instead, Israel would become subject to Shishak, which meant serving him, paying tribute to him, and following his laws.

Why? So that Israel "may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands." So I wonder how life was going to change for the Israelites. Shishak would not subject himself to God. But even Rehoboam probably didn't treat the Israelites as his slaves, he was loyal to them purely from a national point of view at least. Good luck Israel.

Also, its interesting that the gold shields placed in the temple by Solomon were plundered, and replaced with bronze. Semi precious, but no where near as beautiful or permanent as the gold ones. Not only that, the bronze shields were not just there for decoration, they were used in combat. Can you imagine that? They tried to make things back the way they were, but it just wasn't right. They could not match the original intent, once the original precious items were taken. Even when they were sort of replaced, they weren't even used the way they were originally intended. In no way could the replacements measure up.

2 Ch. 11: Rehoboam's Unstable

2 Chronicles 11:16-17 "Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their fathers. They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, walking in the ways of David and Solomon during this time."

Well, here Rehoboam gets into the more horrible things of his reign. He wants badly to pick a fight with Israel, who had split off to form their own kingdom, but God tells Rehoboam though the prophet Shemaiah that its not a good time. For civil war. Go figure. God didn't want Israelites killing Israelites at this juncture in the game.

That probably didn't make Rehoboam happy. So obsessed was he with military stuff, that he used his pent-up energy to reinforce and supply all these towns so that Israel  wouldn't easily be able to crush him. Despite having the far greater numbers.

Rehoboam spent a bunch of time on military buildup and misleading priests and people who allowed themselves to be misled by misled priests to offer sacrifice to graven images. Nice guy. But interesting that none of this helped Israel. It was those who continued to offer their sacrifices to the LORD that strengthened the kindom, even though their ruler was a reprobate psycho. It's encouraging news for those disatisfied with their current elected leaders. Or leaders-elect.

2 Ch. 10: Rehoboam's a Jerk

2 Chronicles 10:14 "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions."

Well, here's some more on Rehoboam. He was the guy whose legacy lasted a long time. For not good things. He started out his reign with a serious misstep in judgement by ignoring sound advice from the elders of Israel. Where he could have ruled with kindness, he instead ruled with idiotic advice from his boyhood friend. Isn't that how it goes? You and your friend make trouble as kids, and then you all of a sudden think he's qualified to give you advice on running a country? No. 

He claimed that he would be worse than his dad (Solomon) on the people, but the people didn't just roll over and take it. And I don't recall Solomon being that bad of a guy to the Israelites. They stoned the guy he sent to be in charge of them, and caused him to flee. Yeah. Way to go Rehoboam. 

He had no mandate. Obviously.

Further reading: (1 Kings 12, entry)

2 Ch. 9: Solomon Dies

2 Chronicles 9:30 "Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years."

Interesting. The rest of Solomon's reign...his life is summed up in the 30 or so verses of chapter 9. It is a review, I suppose. So we're briefened up. The visit from Sheba, a description of his wealth, and then his death. That's all we got here.

I did not know that the queen of Sheba (unnamed here) left with more crap than what she came and gave to Solomon. 1 Kings 10 did not mention that. What an amazing thing. Bringing something that is your best to someone, only to have that someone give you far more.

And Solomon is rich. Richer than anyone you can think of. Richer than Joel Osteen, as hard as that maybe to believe.

2 Ch. 8: Solomon Does Stuff

2 Chronicles 8:16 "All Solomon's work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid until its completion. So the temple of the LORD was finished."

But Solomon didn't just sit around building the temple his whole time in office. He was a busy man, most of all busy not fighting wars (although there was one city he had to "capture"). Apparently he was a man of peace. Which was why God charged him with building the temple. 

He did a lot of rebuilding and establishing of cities around the kingdom, and their all listed. David, because of the wars, probably didn't have time to devote to domestic policy. David was used to create the kingdom, and expand it. Solomon came along and straightened everything up.

Solomon used the HACPHAJ for his slaves, and used Israelites as his fighting men and officials. His "peace corps" as it were.

Then he brings in this wife from Egypt, but she's not allowed to be anywhere the ark of the covenant has been, including the palace. So, she got her own palace. Why this wasn't an indicator that he shouldn't have an Egyptian wife, I don't know. Or he ignored it, or she was just too fine-looking.

Even Biblical kings think with their wangs apparently.

At the end of the chapter, I don't know why Solomon had some men sail somewhere and get some gold. I don't know if he had to conquer it, or take it as tribute...Doesn't say. But I know Solomon has gold that came from someone else.

2 Ch. 7: God Responds

2 Chronicles 7:12 "Then the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice."

 Fire from heaven has got to be an incredible sight to behold. Can you imagine? What was it, physically? Just a bolt of lightning? That's ok, I suppose. There's a certain power in lightning, but real honest fire from heaven? I imagine just a steady column of flame roaring down from the sky, deafening. Brilliant white flame, some touches of orange, a few feet across...I don't know. I could speculate all day long on what that might have looked like. But it was enough fire to consume the ridiculous amount of sacrifices the people had brought.

It was an amazing time of celebration. The trumpets were blowing, people were singing. Emotions had to be running high. Two weeks this party went on. I can only handle being around my fellow congregants at church for a few hours a week.

Back behind the scenes though, God confers with Solomon.

God tells Solomon that, yes, He will be a God of deliverance, of forgiveness, and will establish Solomon's kingdom. Conditional on keeping the covenant. So the big celebration and the song and dance going on is all well and good, but God's decrees must be kept. Otherwise the deliverance will turn to captivity. Forgiveness will turn to culpability. And the kingdom of Israel will be short-lived.

2 Ch. 6: Solomon's Prayer

2 Chronicles 6:18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!"

Solomon prays to God in this chapter, and its a prayer laden with wisdom and humility. His requests are not selfish. He asks for correction and healing and restoration for Israel's people when they blow it. Because it was bound to happen (we already know it will) and Solomon was a man who knew his history, and knew his people were prone to miss God's mark.

I like how Solomon himself is in awe of the sort of oddity that God has wrought. A temple, a place on earth where he would dwell. He would come and be among these unholy people, despite the fact that the highest heavens could not contain him. And here we have this little patch of property, tiny in comparison even to the city of Jerusalem in which it was built. Solomon doesn't really dwell on the fact, and is more concerned about what God will do in spite of this ungraspable concept of God on Earth.

Solomon covers a lot in his prayer, pre-emptively praying for numerous situations that may arise that could be painful for Israelites, and would require God's grace in restoration.

They include wronging one's neighbor (first and foremost), defeat by an enemy, times of famine and drought, and sin and repentance, including the idea that there is no one who does not sin.

If that is true, every single person stands under judgment.

An interesting read, and a little more detailed than what was in 1 Kings 8.

2 Ch. 5: Return of the Ark

2 Chronicles 5:7 "The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim." 

Now that the construction of the temple was complete, there was still one item missing. The ark, of course. It had since made it's return to Israel after being in captivity, and was now ready to be installed in the temple. 

And it was a giant celebration, and there were so many sacrifices that the number couldn't be counted...they lost track of how much they sacrificed. Which makes me wonder quietly to myself...when was the last time I lost track of myself in prayer or something like that with God? It admittedly doesn't happen often. If ever.

These cherubim were built in the temple with their wings touching the walls and each other. I always pictured the ark having cherubim wings already on it (Exodus 25 says as much). Maybe they broke off? Also, and I've covered this...the only thing remaining in the ark at this point are the stone tablets of the law. No mention of the jar of manna or Aaron's stick.

At this point, I want to remember the point of the ark. It was the actual place where God was present. The presence of God was between the wings. There God met with Moses and talked to him. It was Israel's symbol. Carried into battle. Kidnapped as collateral. Taken as plunder. Now the ark had a permanent home in Solomon's Temple, and God gave a pretty intense sign, filling the temple with his glory so that the priests couldn't do anything or see anything. It was God's glory that made the priests useless at this point.

2 Ch. 4: Fashioned by Hand

2 Chronicles 4:5 "It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths."

So by now you're probably wondering what exactly was a part of this temple? What went in it? That is, if you missed 1 Kings 7 (entry). But what caught my awe most of all was this "sea." Basically a large basin for washing. It was a fair-sized pool made out of bronze. 15 feet across, 7.5 feet deep. And it was a handbreadth in thickness. That's a lot of bronze. It also sat on 12 bulls...presumably representing the tribes? I don't know.

But what was the point of this basin? To wash off the blood? To make things clean? It was a huge tub of water that made stuff clean. It had to be big, think of the business it got with the sacrifices. I wonder how often they had to change the water. And how they got the water to it. And how did they empty it? What a process, can you imagine having to go through all that?

Awesome.

2 Ch. 3: Temple of Soul

2 Chronicles 3:1 "Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David."

Last time Solomon built a temple was 1 Kings 6 (entry). I remember realizing how small the thing was in comparison to the temple, but anyway...it didn't have to be huge. I don't believe it was used for "church" the way we perceive traditional church now. I'm no historian, but I get the idea most common folk never even ventured into the temple. Maybe they did, but it seems to me like its for the priests.

Lots of gold. But then, gold was abundant in Solomon's time. Just about everything in there was gold, or overlaid with gold, like a rapper's mouth. It was probably a sight to behold. 

Today, wouldn't you find this display rather pretentious? I don't know, maybe since I don't have the money to overlay my house and it's furnishings with gold, I find it a bit off-putting. A bit too glorious for me. But if I did see it, I admit I would be in awe of the power and the wealth it would take to assemble such a découpage. Then I would be put off. But one would definitely come before t'other.

And I would guess that a nomadic people (for a long part of their history, at least) wouldn't often see such use of gold and wealth. Other than idols, I wonder how much gold they saw.

Also, one of the pillars is named Boaz. This is quite a while after Ruth's Boaz. I wonder if that was part of the thought process.

2 Ch. 2: Solomon's Temple Plans

2 Chronicles 2:6 "But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?"

Wow. Even with David's plans and preparations, there was still a lot that had to be done, and Solomon is squarely in the middle of it. It's a big responsibility, and the gravity of it doesn't escape Solomon, as he admits in verse 6. 186,000 men are conscripted to build what isn't exactly a gigantic building. It sounds like a lot of men, but consider their roles...traveling, cutting stones, cutting trees, hauling stuff, finishing stuff. And it was done in shifts. So I think it would be a mistake to think there were 186,000 men on the jobsite building the temple.

But as was said, this wasn't just any temple. It was the housing place for the LORD of lords. So perfection was absolutely necessary. Solomon asks Hiram king of Tyre for a craftsman skilled in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving. Hiram sends Solomon Huram-Abi, a craftsman skilled in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving. You'd think there'd be specialists in this at this point in time. And specialists in the nation of Israel. They were sure good at graven images (Oh, snap!).

2 Ch. 1: Solomon's in Charge

2 Chronicles 1:15 "The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills."

This is the story of where Solomon asks God for wisdom, and then God grants it to him, and then some. A similar narrative to that of 1 Kings 3 (entry).

Its interesting that Solomon is described as walking according to that statutes set forth by David, but Solomon continues to use the high places. And God still speaks to Solomon, and is willing to come to him in spite of this. And what was wrong with the multiple high places? Couldn't it be like, Temple of God: Gibeon campus...and so on? Did it give the appearance that there was more than one God?

Solomon is given incredible wealth and wisdom, and it is described fairly well here in 2 Chronicles 1. But I can't get over the description in verse 15. He made silver and gold as common as stones. Can you imagine? Not being able to walk down the street without tripping over gold nuggets? Had to be an amazing time to be an Israelite. But my mind, with it's rudimentary understanding of economics, realizes that with an increased supply comes decreased demand, and a devaluing of the ... gold. Is it cynical to think that this is an allegory for the dissatisfaction with physical riches? Or is it a wondrous description of the wealth God chooses to bestow on those who love Him and keep His commands?

1 Ch. 29: The Giving Tree

1 Chronicles 29:9 "The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly."

David, even in his final moments as king is leading by example. He knew he couldn't take it with him. "It" being a loooooooooot of stuff. Gold and silver, precious stones and...iron. He gave it all for the temple as his last act. He also gave up the pride and credit that would have come with the construction of the temple. He gave that up.

The people, seeing David's giving, gave of themselves freely and generously too, in response to David's challenge in verse 5. 

There is a great recognition by everyone here that these things that they gave - the precious metals and jewels - came from God, and it was by His grace that He gave them ("we have given you only what comes from your hand"). I suppose that speaks to the wealth of the people of the time...everyone just had all this gold and silver and precious jewels...God must have made them very rich. It's incredible to think of the spiritual health of the people that God would have rewarded them according to his covenant, and that the people would have praised God for it.

David is described as having lived to a "good old age," and having "enjoyed long life." I don't see how long his life was, but this suggests that a long life is a good thing with ear to the LORD. Some people don't want to get old. I don't know...I'm only 30ish, and I have no concept of what a long life is. Long life doesn't appear to be enjoyable. Maybe for kings.

1 Ch. 28: Prepare to Launch

1 Chronicles 28:10 "Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."

David calls an assembly. Whenever the leader of Israel calls for an assembly, it's big time. The last time all of Israel assembled, it was when David was bringing the ark back home. So whats the big deal here? Transfer of power. David was by my estimation the greatest and most revered king of Israel, and he was here now to pass the lampstand to Solomon. 

And David issues a challenge to Solomon, a challenge passed from good leaders to their progeny. "Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever." David has prepared everything...the materials, the manpower, and then the son who will put it in motion. Solomon has everything he needs for a successful reign on the throne, and his first act will be to build the temple of the LORD. That is kind of noteworthy. How many people before Solomon went to war first, and established their power that way? Here Solomon is charged with the temple. A complete reversal, and establishment of a new system. 

The situation here evokes images of a person carefully launching his boat in the water, or releasing a dove.

1 Ch. 27: Who's In Charge?

1 Chronicles 27:23 "David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky."

This chapter lists all the stuff David put people in charge of. First we have the divisions of the army. How many? Guess. No peeking. Oh yeah. 11. No. Wait. 1, 2, 3...12. 12 Divisions of 24,000 men. 12 months. And the system they had for figuring these divisions was that each serviceman would serve one month at a time. Each monthly division had its own line of command, as expected.

Month 1 - Jashobeam son of Zabdiel

Month 2 - Dodai the Ahohite

Month 3 - Benaiah son of Jehoiada

Month 4 - Asahel (brother of Joab), the runner guy.

Month 5 - Shamhuth the Izrahite

Month 6 - Ikkesh the Tekoite

Month 7 - Helez the Pelonite

Month 8 - Sibbecai the Hushathite

Month 9 - Abiezer the Anathothite

Month 10 - Maharai the Netophathite

Month 11 - Benaiah the Pirathonite

Month 12 - Heldai the Netophathite

Neat huh?

Each of the 12 tribes had their own "officer." I don't know if that means military officer (with the context, that sounds right) or representative...senator...I don't know for sure.

The number of the people, as ordered by David, led to the problems described in 2 Samuel 24, where God was upset at the counting. Later on in 1 Chronicles, it talks about how Joab's heart wasn't in it, and he didn't even finish the counting. He knew it was a bad idea.

Then its interesting that God had David put overseers over just about everything from the fields, to the fig and sycamore trees to the storehouses to the king's own sons. Everything had a person in charge of it to make sure things were going well, and to be an extension of the king. It's delegation.

1 Ch. 26: Gatekeepers and Treasurers

1 Chronicles 26:5 "Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh and Peullethai the eighth. (For God had blessed Obed-Edom.)"

Well, another list of names. These are the guys who guarded the gates, and were responsible for the treasury. But I don't want to skip over verse 5. It says God blessed Obed-Edom. You'll remember that this is the fella who took the ark into his home, after David freaked out. At that time, I wondered just how Obed-Edom was blessed. Children apparently are a blessing. They are treasured enough to be a blessing. A promise. Probably not just so you have more guys to work the field, but also that they are a miracle of creation.

The scripture also suggests that gatekeepers were chosen not by birthright, but because they were capable men (v. 6-8). Guarding the temple (or the city?) was no job for slackers or the incompetant. It was an important job, and these men were probably selected. Nobody backed into the role.

Since there were only a couple guys on each of the gates, it was probably for security purposes. No invading army would have any trouble with a couple of guards.

So what's the point? Is this a sort of establishing of the system for how church is supposed to go? People all have their roles...

1 Ch. 25: Temple Musicians

1 Chronicles 25:1 "David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals."

Music was very important. So important that David had the army help him divide them up and put them in place. Music accompanied prophesying. Its interesting that there were 288 people with the responsibility. That's 12+12x12. Did it "happen" to be that way? Or did they decide to have that number? 

Harps, lyres and cymbals...strings and percussion! Yes!

1 Ch. 24: The Number of the Priest

1 Chronicles 24:3 "With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelech a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering."

Ministering at the temple was a big responsibility, and it needed a big staff. There were 24 families ready to serve, and they drew lots for an order of service. Then there's a genealogy of the priests, which is important. It's good to know who did what. Why? I'm not sure. But there are the names.

1 Ch. 23: Gershon, Kohath and Merari

1 Ch. 23: "the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service."

David's winding it down, and making some more preparations for the temple. The Levites, who had been responsible for the care and transportation of all the elements that made up the tabernacle, were numbered. They were part of three distinct groups, sons of Levites: The Gershonites, the Kohathits, and the Merarites. In verse 3, it says Levites age 30 and older were counted, while in verse 24, it talks about Levites age 20 and older. Contradiction? I thought so at first, but there's a distinction...Those 30 and older were counted from the entire tribe, numbering 38,000. Those 20 and older were those who served in the temple. At least that's how I read it.

Now that the tabernacle was done away with, and a permanent temple was in place, the Levites could cross that off their list...the hassle with the takedown and assembly of the tent all the time. But they still had their responsibilities to serve inside the temple. It was a new thing for them. 

The wandering tabernacle days were over. This temple is where God would be always.

1 Ch. 22: Build Here, Build Now

1 Chronicles 22:8 "But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight."

Because of David's fear of the angel of the LORD at Gibeon, he decides to place the temple right there on the threshing floor of Araunah.

But God told David it wouldn't be his job to build the temple. Of course. And my impression from previous readings (2 Sa 7, entry) was that David had accomplished what God had him to do, according to God's will. David was not going to get the entirety of the glory. It was essentially a "because I said so" type of thing. While that may not be incorrect, it's not the whole story. 1 Chronicles 22 reveals that God does give a more concrete reason, at least one understandable by man. The reason is that David has shed much blood on the earth in God's sight, at least that is what he tells Solomon. 

Why would that be the reason? God charged David to shed that blood (blood that was not innocent), gave him the go-ahead. Wouldn't it sort of be a self-fulfilling prophecy? Did God (in addition to using David as an extension of His hand of judgment) intend for that to be a reason? From what I have read about God, there are no accidents. Why would God, a God of redemption by blood, not want David building the temple? What was the purpose of the temple going to be? A place where God would come and meet Israel, personally. The temple would reflect God's holiness and perfection. Bloodshed is violent, dirty and a different mindset. Perhaps it was this difference in purpose and mindset that exempted the Levites from military service so they could focus on the priesthood. David was a military leader, and a Judahite, and therefore was unfit for priestly things. I don't recall Solomon having a military record, and in fact, his reign was rather peaceful. It was cosmically not David's role. How could it be?

In spite of David's not being allowed to build the actual temple, he still goes ahead with making the preparations for materials and labor, citing Solomon's inexperience in these matters. David basically set up everything, short of laying the cornerstone. All Solomon had to do was set it in motion. Was Solomon offended? I don't know. He seems like a humble guy at first. He realized he didn't know anything, which was his reason for asking God for wisdom at the start of his regin in 1 Kings 3. But you could see how he would be. "My dad doesn't think I can handle it, so he set it all up for me." But David wasn't like that. David's blessings on his son at the end of the chapter reveal that David believes in Solomon, and has everything he could possibly give his son.