2 Chronicles 1:1-17

2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people

Solomon rules *Israel

2 Chronicles Chapter s 1 to 9

Ian Mackervoy

About this book

The two books of Chronicles were one book ­until there was a translation into the *Greek language. The men who translated the book divided it into two. This was because the length of it would fit more easily on two *scrolls. That ancient translation is called the Septuagint; its date is about 280 *BC.

We do not know who wrote the book of Chronicles. But the writer lived after the *exile. Probably he lived at the same time as Ezra. This was in the 5th century *BC.

The purpose

The *Israelites had come back to their country after 70 years in *exile. The writer wanted to encourage them. He wanted to give them hope for the future. So, in his book, he showed how the *LORD was in control through all their history. And now the *LORD had brought them back to their own country. The *LORD wanted them to rebuild his *temple and to serve him. Then the *LORD would establish again the *kingdom called Israel. This *kingdom would include people from all 12 *tribes of Israel.

Contents

This second book continues the history of Israel through the rule of King Solomon. It carefully describes how Solomon built the *temple. Israel split into two *kingdoms during the rule of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Two *tribes accepted Rehoboam as their king. They became the *kingdom called Judah. The other 10 *tribes refused to accept Rehoboam as their king. They became the *kingdom called Israel. This book records the history of Judah until the time of the *exile in Babylon. It finishes with the return of the *Jews to Jerusalem after the *exile.

(The notes at the start of our commentary on 1 Chronicles explain more about the books.)

The structure of 2 Chronicles

Solomon rules *Israel	1:1-9:31
The start of Solomon’s rule	1:1-17
Solomon builds the *temple	2:1-7:22
Preparations for the *temple	2:1-18
Construction of the *temple	3:1-4:22
The *dedication of the *temple	5:1-7:22
Solomon’s *kingdom	8:1-9:31
What Solomon did	8:1-18
The fame and wealth of Solomon	9:1-31
The *Kingdom called Judah	10:1-36:23
The division of the *kingdom	10:1-11:23
The rulers of Judah	12:1-36:16
Rehoboam	12:1-16
Abijah	13:1-14:1a
Asa	14:1b-16:14
Jehoshaphat	17:1-20:37
Jehoram	21:1-20
Ahaziah	22:1-9
Athaliah	22:10-23:21
Joash	24:1-27
Amaziah	25:1-28
Uzziah	26:1-23
Jotham	27:1-9
Ahaz	28:1-27
Hezekiah	29:1-32:33
Manasseh	33:1-20
Amon	33:21-25
Josiah	34:1-35:27
Jehoahaz	36:1-4
Jehoiakim	36:5-8
Jehoiachin	36:9-10
Zedekiah	36:11-16
The *exile	36:17-23

Solomon rules *Israel – 2 Chronicles 1:1-9:31

Chapter 1

The start of Solomon’s rule – 2 Chronicles 1:1-17

v1 David’s son Solomon made himself strong over his *kingdom. The *LORD his God was with him. And the *LORD made him very great.

v2 Solomon spoke to all the people in *Israel. He spoke to the officers who were over groups of 1000 men. He spoke to the officers who were over groups of 100 men. He spoke to the judges and to all the leaders in *Israel. And he spoke to the heads of the families. v3 Then Solomon and all these people went to the town called Gibeon. They went to the place for *worship there. The tent where God met with his people was there. Moses, the *LORD’s servant, had made this tent in the desert. v4 But David had brought God’s *ark from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. David had made a place for it and he had set up a tent for it in Jerusalem. v5 However, the *bronze *altar that Bezalel had made was in Gibeon in front of the *LORD’s tent. (Bezalel was the son of Uri. Uri was the son of Hur.) So Solomon and the people inquired of the *LORD there. v6 Solomon went up to the *bronze *altar in front of the *LORD. The *altar was in front of the holy tent. And he burnt 1000 *sacrifices on the *altar.

v7 That night, God appeared to Solomon and he spoke to Solomon. ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give to you’, he said.

v8 Solomon answered, ‘You have been very kind to my father David. And you have made me king in his place. v9 Now, *LORD God, do as you promised to my father David. You have made me king over a group of people who seem as many as the dust of the earth. v10 Give to me wisdom and knowledge so that I can lead these people. Nobody can govern this great nation without your help, because these people belong to you.’

v11 God said to Solomon, ‘You have not asked for wisdom and knowledge. You have not asked for wealth or riches. You have not asked for honour or for the death of your enemies. You have not asked for a long life. But you have asked for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people, because I have made you king over them. And that is what you wanted. v12 Therefore, I will give to you wisdom and knowledge. Also, I will give to you wealth, riches and honour. You will have more of these than any king who has lived before you. And you will have more of these than any king who will live after you.’

v13 So, Solomon left the place for *worship at Gibeon. He went from the tent where God met with his people. And he went back to Jerusalem. There he ruled over *Israel.

v14 Solomon gathered *chariots and horses. He had 1400 *chariots and 12 000 horses. He kept them in special *chariot cities and with him in Jerusalem. v15 Solomon made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. He made *cedar as plentiful as *sycamore trees in the low country. v16 He imported horses from Egypt and from Kue. His merchants bought them in Kue at a good price. v17 The *chariots came from Egypt. A *chariot cost 600 *shekels of silver and a horse cost 150 *shekels of silver. Also they sold horses and *chariots to all the kings of the people called Hittites and the people from Aram.

Verse 1 King David died in 970 *BC. A short time before his death, he made Solomon king of all *Israel. David made sure that all the leaders of *Israel would support the new king (1 Chronicles 29:22-24).

So, when his father died, Solomon established his rule. God had chosen him to be king. And God made him to be a great king.

Verses 2-6 In the second year of his rule, Solomon spoke to the leaders of all *Israel. Then they went with him to Gibeon. Gibeon was about 7 miles (11 kilometres) to the north and west of Jerusalem. They went to give *sacrifices to the *LORD.

The holy tent that Moses made for the *worship of God was there. That tent was where the *LORD met with his people. In front of that tent, there was the *bronze *altar (Exodus 25:40 and Exodus chapter 26). God told Moses to make the tent while the *Israelites were in the desert. The *temple that Solomon built had the same basic design as that tent.

A man called Bezalel had made the *bronze *altar. God chose him to make many things for the holy tent. Bezalel had the skill to work with all kinds of metals, stone and wood. He made this *altar with a hard wood and he covered it with *bronze (Exodus 38:1-2).

God’s *ark had been in the holy tent. Later, the *Israelites took the *ark with them into a battle against the *Philistines. The *Israelites lost the ark in the battle. The *Philistines took the *ark to their own country. But the *LORD punished the *Philistines because they had taken the *ark. So, they sent it back to *Israel. The *ark remained in the town called Kiriath Jearim for a long time. Then King David brought the *ark to Jerusalem. There, he made a special place and a tent for the *ark. So, at that time, there were two places for the *worship of God. These were at the *ark in Jerusalem and at the holy tent in Gibeon.

Solomon came to Gibeon. There he burnt 1000 *sacrifices on the *altar. Solomon probably used the priests to give the *sacrifices on his behalf. Zadok was the chief priest in Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39).

Verse 7 After Solomon gave the *sacrifices, he stayed for the night in Gibeon. God appeared to him in a dream. And God told him to ask for what he wanted.

Verses 8-9 God had made promises to David about Solomon. He promised that a son of David would be the next king (1 Chronicles 17:11). And God chose Solomon as that king (1 Chronicles 28:5). Solomon knew that he was king because of God’s kindness to his father David. But that was just a part of God’s promises to David. So, Solomon asked God to complete those promises. God promised to make Solomon’s *kingdom strong. God promised that always there would be a king from David’s family. The *throne (rule) of Solomon would last for all time. (That would happen by means of David’s *descendants who would rule God’s people – especially the *Lord Jesus.) And God promised to be as a father to David’s son (1 Chronicles 17:11-14).

God gave to Solomon a special relationship like that of a son to his father. God called *Israel his son (Exodus 4:22-23). In that passage, it meant that God considered *Israel’s people as a son. Now the relationship was with a person in the family of David. In the Psalms, there is the promise of the Son of God who would come in the future (Psalms 2:7; Psalms 89:27). That Son of God is the *Lord Jesus. And because of Jesus, all people who believe in him become children of God (John 1:12).

Verse 10 Solomon asked God to give wisdom and knowledge to him. This was what David had asked the *LORD to give to Solomon. David’s prayer was that Solomon would obey God’s law (1 Chronicles 22:12). But Solomon asked for these gifts so that he could lead *Israel. It seems that he was very aware of his lack of experience. And his responsibility as king of *Israel was too much for him. He realised that he could not do it without the help of the *LORD.

Verses 11-13 Solomon had not asked for the things that one would expect. He did not ask for wealth or for possessions. He did not ask for honour or for fame. He did not ask for the strength to defeat his enemies. His desire was to rule well.

God gave to Solomon what he had asked. Solomon became famous because of his knowledge and his wisdom. In addition, God gave to Solomon what he had not requested. Solomon became extremely rich. His fame spread through the world that he knew at that time.

Also, God promised to give a long life to Solomon. But that promise depended on how he obeyed God’s laws (1 Kings 3:14). The writer of this book does not mention this promise. He records only what was good about this great king. Solomon did not continue to obey God’s laws all of his life. He was not as loyal to the *LORD as David had been (1 Kings 11:1-13).

Solomon returned to Jerusalem and from there he ruled over all *Israel.

Verses 14-15 The writer put these verses here to show the wealth of Solomon. The *LORD promised to make him wealthy. And Solomon did become wealthy. His military power showed something of this wealth. He had 1400 *chariots and 12 000 horses. Also, he caused precious metals to be common in Jerusalem. The people in that city were rich. *Cedar was an expensive wood that came from Lebanon. This wood had become as common as the wood that grew in the local forests.

Verses 16-17 Much of Solomon’s wealth came from trade with other countries. An example of that trade was the import and export of horses and *chariots. Solomon’s agents bought horses from Egypt and Kue. We are not certain where Kue was. But it was probably in the southern part of the country that we call Turkey. Solomon’s agents imported *chariots from Egypt. Then they sold horses and *chariots to the kings of two nations. The two nations were the people called Hittites and the people from Aram.

The horses from Egypt were especially large and strong. They were the most suitable type of horse to pull *chariots.

Solomon builds the *temple – 2 Chronicles 2:1-7:22

(UK) Greek ~ the language of the country called Greece. There is an ancient translation of the Old Testament in the Greek language.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the holy things that the writers wrote before Jesus’ birth.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
exile ~ people who have to live in a foreign country are in exile. Such a person is an exile. The exile means the time when the Jews were in exile.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
tribe ~ The 12 families of the sons of Jacob became the 12 tribes of *Israel.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
dedication ~ the ceremony when you dedicate something to God.
dedicate ~ to give to God in a special way.
ark ~ the ark of the LORD or the ark of God; the Bible also calls it the ark of God’s special promise. It was a wooden box with gold all over the outside and over the inside. It had two gold cherubim on the top. (see Exodus 25:10-22.) The *Israelites kept the ark in the most holy place, first in the LORD’s tent and then in the temple. The ark was a sign that God was with them (Exodus 25:22).
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
cherubim ~ special angels. Images of these were in the most holy place where they were over the ark. Isaiah and Ezekiel saw cherubim when they saw God’s glory.
temple ~ a special building for the *worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the *worship of the real God.
angel ~ a servant who brings messages from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an *altar. That was to say thank you to God. People also offered sacrifices when they asked God to forgive their *sins. Jesus died as a sacrifice for our *sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
chariot ~ a kind of cart that soldiers used to fight. Horses pulled it.
cedar ~ a kind of tree; or the wood from that tree.
sycamore ~ a tree.
shekel ~ equal to 0.4 ounces (11 grams) in weight.
Philistines ~ people who lived to the south and west of Judah. They were a nation that fought against the *Israelites.
throne ~ the special chair for the king. Sometimes this word is a word picture for the rule of that king and his descendants.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ someone with authority, such as the king.
cedar ~ a kind of tree; or the wood from that tree.