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2 Chronicles 1 - Concise Bible - Commentary

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2 Chronicles 1

1 And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.

2 Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers.

3 So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.

4 But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjath-jearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.

5 Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.

6 And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.

7 In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.

8 And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead.

9 Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.

10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?

11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:

12 wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.

13 Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel.

14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

15 And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.

16 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

17 And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.

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2 Chronicles 1

SOLOMON’S REIGN

HIS PRAYER AND ITS ANSWER (2Ch 1:1-3)

With verses three and four compare 1 Chronicles 16, and especially 1Ch 16:37-40. The tabernacle at Gibeon was the legal place for worship, but the threshing-floor on Matthew Moriah was chosen by David for the reason given (1Ch 21:29). A comparison with the corresponding place in 1 Kings will show how this account is abbreviated as the matter was not necessary to the author’s purpose.

HIS POWER AND WEALTH (2Ch 1:14-17)

This record is given in Kings near the close of the reign, but inserted here as a proof of the instant fulfillment of God’s promise.

HIS CONSTRUCTION AND DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE (2 Chronicles 2-7)

Huram is the same with whom we have previously met. The two houses (2Ch 2:1) are the temple and Solomon’s palace. The description of the temple here differs in several particulars from that in Kings. For example, this is more particular as to the plan of the building but less so as to the time when it began; this speaks of the arrangement of the building and its furnishings in an unbroken narrative, but that has two interruptions; this arranges the objects differently and describes with more fullness in some cases, etc. But remember what has been said about the Holy Spirit as the real author of Scripture, and His right to use such liberty to emphasize certain facts or impress certain lessons as He desires. This does not take into account errors of copyists to which reference also has been made.

Here the location of the temple is named for the first time (2Ch 3:1, compare Gen 22:2). Moriah means “land of the appearing of the Lord.” Note the reference to the brazen scaffold (2Ch 4:13) not given in Kings, the additional words at the close of Solomon’s prayer (2 Chron. 4:40-42), and the fuller account of the divine acceptance of the temple (2Ch 7:1-10).

The large number of oxen and sheep offered in sacrifice is astounding (7:5), but Josephus in his Jewish Wars says that even in Roman times, 256,000 passover lambs were slain at Jerusalem within a few hours. A current commentator reminds us that these colossal offerings and festivals are no more astonishing to us than the magnitude of our steam or railway trade, or of modern warfare would be astonishing to the ancients.

HIS EARTHLY END (2 Chronicles 8-9)

In the first of these chapters we have brief notes of events recorded more at length in 1 Kings, for example: the building of certain cities, the palace for the daughter of the Egyptian king, the navigation to Ophir, etc. The comments upon these in that book occupy as much space as seems relatively necessary.

In the next chapter the story of the Queen of Sheba is very much as in 1 Kings.

QUESTIONS

1. Where was the tabernacle of Moses at this period?

2. Who is the real author of this book, and how does that fact bear on the differences in its record as compared with 1 Kings?

3. How may other differences be explained?

4. Tell what you know of the history of Matthew Moriah?

5. Give a later parallel to the large number of sacrifices at the dedication of the temple.




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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge Univ. Press & BFBS
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