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Steve Webb: We will have run the race well. Second Chronicles chapter one. Solomon Son of David

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strengthened his hold on his kingdom, the Lord his God was

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with him and highly exalted Him. Then Solomon spoke to all Israel

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to the commanders of 1000s, and of hundreds to the judges, into

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every leader in all Israel, the heads of the families, Solomon

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and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that was

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in Debian because God's tent of meeting which the Lord servant

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Moses had made in the wilderness was there. Now David had brought

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the ark of God from key Earth grm, to the place he had set up

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for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem, but he

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put the bronze altar which Bezaleel son of Uriah son of her

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had made in front of the Lord's tabernacle, Solomon in the

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assembly inquired of him there. Solomon offered sacrifices there

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in the Lord's presence on the bronze altar. At the Tent of

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Meeting, he offered 1000 burnt offerings on it. That night God

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appeared to Solomon had said to him, ask, What should I give

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you? And Solomon said to God, you have shown great and

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faithful loved my father, David, and you have made me king in his

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place. Lord God, let your promise to my father now come

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true, for you have made me King over a people as numerous as the

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dust of the earth. Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I

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may lead these people for who can judge this great people of

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yours. God said to Solomon, since this was in your heart,

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and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for

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the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested

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long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom

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and knowledge, that you may judge my people over whom I have

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made you king, wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I

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will also give you riches, wealth and glory, unlike what

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was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to

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those after you. So Solomon went to Jerusalem from a high place

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that was in Debian, in front of the tent of meeting, and he

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reigned over Israel. Solomon accumulated 1400, chariots and

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12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities,

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and with the king in Jerusalem. The King made silver and gold as

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common in Jerusalem is stones, and he made cedar as abundant as

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Sycamore in the Judea and foothills. Solomon's horses came

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from Egypt in QE, the king's traders would get them from QE

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at the going price. A chariot could be imported from Egypt for

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15 Pounds of silver, and a horse for about four pounds. In the

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same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites,

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and to the kings of Aram through their agents.

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Second Chronicles chapter two. Now Solomon decided to build a

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house for the name of the Lord in a royal palace for himself.

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So Solomon assigned 70,000 men to carry loads and 80,000 men to

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quarry stone in the mountains and 3600 to supervise them. Then

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Solomon sent word to hear him the king of Tyre saying, as you

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dealt with David, my father, and sent him cedars, to build him a

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house to dwell in, so do for me, Behold, I am about to build a

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house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to him, to

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burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out the Showbread

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continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening on

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Sabbath, and on new moons, and on the appointed feasts of the

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Lord our God, this being required forever in Israel. The

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house which I'm about to build will be great for greater desire

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God than all the gods, but who was able to build a house for

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him for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain

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him. So who am I that I should build a house for him, except to

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burn incense before him? Now send me a skilled man to work in

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gold, silver, brass and iron, and in purple, crimson and

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violet fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings to work

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with a skilled men whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom

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David my father provide it send me also cedar, Cypress and algum

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timber from Lebanon for I know that your servants know how to

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cut timber of Lebanon. And indeed my servants will work

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with your servants to prepare timber in abundance for me for

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the house which I am about to build will be great and

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wonderful. Now behold, I will give to your servants the

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woodsmen who cut the timber 20,000 cores of crushed wheat

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and 20,000 cores of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000

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baths of oil. Then here I am king of Tyre answered in a

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letter sent to Solomon, because the Lord loves his people he has

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made you king over them. Then here I am, continued, bless it

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be the Lord the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth

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who has given King David A wise son, endowed with discretion and

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understanding who will build a house for the Lord and a royal

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palace for himself. Now I am sending you I'm a by a skilled

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man endowed with understanding the son of a Dan ICT woman and

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aterian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze,

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iron, stone and wood, and in purple, Violet, linen and

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crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of

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engravings and to execute any design which may be assigned to

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him to work with your skilled men, and with those of my Lord

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David your father. Now then let my Lord send to His servants

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wheat and barley oil and wine of which he has spoken. We will cut

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whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on

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rafts by sea to Joppa so that you may carry it up to

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Jerusalem. Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land

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of Israel following the census which his father David had taken

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in 153,600 were found, he appointed 70,000 of them to

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carry loads and 80,000 to quarry stones in the mountains and 3600

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supervisors to make the people work.

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Second Chronicles chapter three. Then Solomon began to build the

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house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord

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had appeared to his father David, at the place that David

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had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite he

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began to build on the second day in the second month of the

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fourth year of his reign. Now these are the foundations which

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Solomon laid for building the house of God. The length in

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cubits according to the old standard was 60 cubits and the

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width 20 cubits. The porch which was in front of the house was as

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long as the width of the house 20 cubits and the height 120.

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And inside he overlaid it with pure gold. He overlaid the main

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room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and

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ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he adorned

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the house with precious stones, and the gold was gold from our

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van. He also overlaid the house with gold, the beams the

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thresholds and its walls and its doors, and he carved cherub him

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on the walls. Now he made the room of the Holy of Holies. Its

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length across the width of the house was 20 cubits, and its

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width was 20 cubits, and he overlaid it with fine gold

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amounting to 600 talents. The weight of the nails was 50

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shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with

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gold. Then he made two sculpture cherub him in the room of the

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Holy of Holies and overlaid them with gold. The wingspan of the

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cherub him was 20 cubits, the wing of one of five cubits

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touched the wall of the house, and its other wing of five

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cubits touched the wing of the other cherub, the wing of the

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other cherub of five cubits touched the wall of the house.

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And its other wing of five cubits was attached to the wing

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of the first cherub. The wings of these cherub him extended 20

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cubits and they stood on their feet facing the main room. He

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made the veil of violet, purple, crimson and find linen and he

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worked cheering him on it. He also made two pillars for the

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front of the house 35 cubits high, and the Capitol and the

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top of each was five cubits. He made chains in the inner

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sanctuary and placed them on the tops of the pillars, and he made

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100 pomegranates and placed them on the chains. he erected the

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pillars in the front of the temple, one on the right and the

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other on the left, and named the one on the right Jaken and the

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one on the left Boaz. Second Chronicles chapter four. Solomon also made a bronze altar

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30 feet long, 30 feet wide and 15 feet high. Then he cast a

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great round basin 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the sea.

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It was seven and a half feet deep and about 45 feet in

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circumference. It was encircled just below its rim by two rows

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of figures that resembled oxen. There were about six oxen per

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foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the

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basin. The sea was placed on a base of 12 bronze oxen all

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facing outward, three faced North three faced East West,

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three faced south and three faced East and the sea rested on

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them. The walls of the sea were about three inches thick and its

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rim flared out like a cup and resembled a Water Lily Blossom,

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it could hold about 16,500 gallons of water. He also made

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10 smaller basins for washing the utensils for the burnt

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offerings. He said five on the south side and five on the

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north, but the priests washed themselves in the sea. He then

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cast 10 Gold lampstands according to the specifications

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that had been given, and he put them in the temple, five

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replaced against the south wall and five replaced against the

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north wall. He also built 10 tables and placed them in the

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temple five along the south wall and five along the north wall.

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Then he molded 100 Gold basins. He then built a courtyard for

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the priests and also a large outer courtyard. He made doors

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for the courtyard entrances and overlaid them with bronze. The

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great bronze basin called the sea was placed near the

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southeast corner of the temple Hyrum a by also made the

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necessary washbasins shovels and bowls. So at last Hyrum a by

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completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make

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for the temple of God, the two pillars, the two bowl shaped

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capitals on top of the pillars, the two networks of interwoven

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chains that decorated the capitals, the 400 pomegranates

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that hung from the chains on the capitals to rows of pomegranates

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for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on

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top of the pillars, the water carts holding the basins, the

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sea and the 12 oxen under it, the ash buckets, the shovels,

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the meat hooks, and all the related articles. Your ma buy

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made all these things of burnished bronze for the temple

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of the Lord, just as King Solomon had directed. The king

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had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan valley between

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Succoth and xiaofan. Solomon used such great quantities of

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bronze that its weight could not be determined. Solomon also made

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all the furnishings for the temple of God, the gold altar,

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the tables for the bread of the presence, the lampstands and

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their lamps of solid gold to burn in front of the Most Holy

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Place as prescribed. The flower decorations lamps and tongs all

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of the purest gold, the lamps, sniffers, bowls, ladles and

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incense burners, all of solid gold, the doors for the

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entrances to the most holy place, and the main room of the

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temple overlaid with gold

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Second Chronicles chapter five. So Solomon finished all his work

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on the temple of the Lord. Then he brought all the gifts his

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father David had dedicated the silver the gold in the various

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articles, and he stored them in the treasuries of the temple of

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God. Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem, the elders of Israel

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and all the heads of tribes, the leaders of the ancestral

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families of Israel, they were to bring the ark of the Lord's

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covenant to the temple from its location in the city of David

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also known as Zion. So all the men of Israel assembled before

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the king at the annual festival of shelters, which is held in

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early autumn, when all the elders of Israel arrived, the

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Levites picked up the ark, the priests and Levites brought up

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the Ark along with a special tent at all the sacred items

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that had been in it. There before the ark, King Solomon and

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the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats

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and cattle that no one could keep count. Then the priests

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carried the Ark of the Lord's covenant into the inner

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sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place and placed it

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beneath the wings of the chairman. The chair have them

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spread their wings over the ark, forming a canopy over the Ark

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and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their

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ends could be seen from the holy place which is in front of the

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most holy place, but not from the outside. They are still

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there to this day. Nothing was in the ark except the two stone

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tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the

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Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left

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Egypt. Then the priests left the holy place. All the priests who

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were present had purified themselves, whether or not they

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were on duty that day, and the Levites who are musicians asef

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HeMan. Jude, youth in and all their sons and brothers were

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dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the

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altar, playing cymbals liars and harps. They were joined by 120

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priests who were playing trumpets, the trumpeters and

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singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks

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to the Lord, accompanied by trumpets, symbols and other

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instruments. They raised their voices and praised the Lord with

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these words. He is good, his faithful love endures forever.

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At that moment, a thick cloud filled the temple of the Lord.

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The priests could not continue their service because of the

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cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the temple of

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God. Well, Solomon has now begun his reign as king, it seems that his

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first order of business was to strengthen his hold on the

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kingdom. in First Kings chapter two, we read that shortly before

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his father David died, he gave Solomon instructions on what he

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should do to accomplish this. And it looks like Solomon wasted

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no time. We read in chapter one that God was with him and highly

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exalted Him. God seems to be pleased with how Solomon began

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his reign, Solomon brought all of Israel together to make a

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very special sacrifice of 1000 bird offerings to God. And this

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seems to have been to show that he would seek God as a leader of

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the nation. That's a good thing, right? Well, that night, God

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came to Solomon in a dream. And he said, ask, What shall I give

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you? Of course, the implication is that he would have given

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Solomon anything that he asked for right? Can you imagine

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anything? Wow. Wouldn't it be great if God made that kind of

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offer to you? What would you ask for? But wait, he has made that

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offer? Don't believe me? Well, how about Matthew seven, seven,

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Ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find, knock

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and it will be open to you. And John 15 Seven, If you abide in

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Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire,

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and it shall be done for you. First, John 514. Now this is the

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confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything,

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according to His will, He hears us. Beloved, these promises

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apply to every believer. The question is, have we availed

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ourselves of them? We all know what Solomon's request was, he

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asked for wisdom and knowledge to lead Israel. Take note that

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he asked for both wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge without

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wisdom can be a very dangerous thing. For instance, it's one

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thing to know how to use a gun. But if I don't have the wisdom

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to know when to use it, that could be bad news. And after his

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request, God said, since this was in your heart, and you have

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not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those

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who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but

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you've requested for yourself, wisdom and knowledge that you

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may judge my people over whom I've made you, King, wisdom and

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knowledge are given you. I will also give you riches, wealth and

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glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you,

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or will be given to those after you. So Solomon made a good

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request, don't you agree? But did he make the best request?

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Let's think about this. Did he ask for a deep and abiding love

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for God and the desire to follow Him and lead the people in how

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to be devoted to God as his father had? Wouldn't this have

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been even better? Surely, as we've seen, David was a flawed

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man. But his love of God never waned. David ended his life

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still in love with God. As we shall see, this was not how

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Solomon ended his days. Solomon is thought to have been between

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20 and 25 years old when he took the throne. Tell me what

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generally happens to young people when they attain great

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wealth? Quite often, it ruins them. Perhaps it would have been

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better if Solomon had asked for a heart devoted to God, maybe

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that would have been the best request. Adam Clark who lived

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from 1762 to 1832, was a Methodist theologian and Bible

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scholar. And he wrote these words about Solomon, instead of

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being the wisest of men, did he not become more brutish than any

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man? Did he not even lose the knowledge of his Creator and

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worship the abominations of the Moabites Zanoni ins and so

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forth? And was not such idolatry a proof of the grossest

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stupidity. How few proofs does his life give that the gracious

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purpose of God was fulfilled in him? He received much, but he

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would have received much more had he been faithful to the

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grace given. No character in the sacred writings disappoints us

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more than the character of Solomon. Yes, God gave Solomon

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great blessings. But as is always the case, Solomon had to

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decide to follow God and make right decisions in his life.

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Tragically, he often chose wrongly, beloved, we may not

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have the greatest riches, the most wisdom or the deepest

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knowledge. But if we asked for and cultivated continual thirst

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to know and love God, when we reached the end of our days, we

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will have run the race. Well. I'd love to hear your thoughts

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go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 265. Tomorrow is Psalms

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Wednesday and we'll read chapters 114 through 116. Do you

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love the Psalms as much as I do? I love to read and pray along

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with the psalms of praise boost On this date in church history may 24 1930. Linguistic pioneer

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Frank C. Lubbock serving as a congregational missionary to the

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Philippines wrote in a letter, as one makes new discoveries

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about his friends by being with them, so one discovers the

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individuality of God if one entertains him continuously, and

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on this date in church history, May 24 1950. During its annual

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meeting in Boston, the northern Baptist Convention formally

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changed its name to the American Baptist Convention. And in 1972,

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the denomination renamed itself the American Baptist churches in

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the USA let's pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, how gracious and generous

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you are when we seek to know you better. You reveal yourself in

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your word, but also when you speak to us in the still small

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voice of the Holy Spirit. Help us Lord to be sensitive to that

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voice. Give us a continual never fading desire to know you and to

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follow you. I thank You, Lord for the Lifespring family and I

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asked you to bless them richly today. I pray this in Jesus

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name, amen. If you've got a prayer request or a praise that

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you'd like to share with the Lifespring family, go to prayer

21:23

dot Lifespring media.com. Comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 265.

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Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com thanks to the team

21:42

Kirsty Shanna San Pedro and Denise, by the way, be looking

21:45

for your newsletter this week. I just sent a short article to

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Gursky a few minutes ago talking about the cardiac ablation

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procedure that I'm going to be having later in the week, right.

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So be sure you're signed up at news dot Lifespring media.com.

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If you're interested, please do support the show with your time

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talent or treasure go to Lifespring media.com/support. If

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help the show keep going. I'm so glad we got to spend some time

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together today. Until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. My

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name is Steve Webb. Unknown: Bye