2 Chronicles 6:36-39

Situation 7: *Exile because of *sin by *Israel’s people

Nobody is perfect. Nobody is without *sin (Romans 3:23). And the *LORD is always angry against *sin. When *Israel’s people *turn from the *LORD, he will allow their enemies to defeat them. And he will cause their enemies to take them from their country into *exile (Leviticus 26:33).

In the countries of their *exile, they will *repent of their *sin. They will *turn again to the *LORD, their God. They will pray towards the country that the *LORD gave to their *ancestors. They will pray in the direction of Jerusalem. Their prayers will be toward the *LORD’s *temple.

Solomon asks the *LORD to hear their prayers from his home in heaven. He asks the *LORD to forgive them. He asks the *LORD to do what is right for them.

The problems that Solomon prayed about here happened. This book records the way that the people in *Israel and Judah *turned away from the *LORD. It tells how the people went into *exile (36:16-21). And it ends when Cyrus king of Persia calls them to return to their country (36:23).

Verse 40 The record of this prayer of Solomon has a longer end in 1 Kings 8:50-51. But here he asks again that the *LORD will hear the prayers of the people.

Verse 41 These words are the same as in Psalms 132:8-9. David was probably the author of that Psalm. He may have written it when he brought the *ark to Jerusalem. That was about 40 years before this. At that time, David brought the *ark from the house of Obed Edom. He put it in the tent that he had prepared for it (1 Chronicles 16:1).

The ‘place’ of the *LORD in the *temple was the most holy place. That was the place where the *ark remained. And that was where the *LORD would meet with the chief priest. Psalms 132:14 tells us that the *LORD chose to live there. It would be his resting place.

Solomon then asks God to dress the priests with *salvation (Psalms 132:9). (In other words, to make his priests completely holy.) The priests had special clothes. They made these clothes out of pure white *linen. But here Solomon does not mean the actual clothes. Instead, he uses those clothes as a word picture for the priests’ inner thoughts and attitudes. As the clothes are completely clean and pure, so the priests should give themselves completely to the *LORD. Solomon asks that the priests will be completely holy as priests to the *LORD. Then they could serve the *LORD properly. They would then bring *salvation to the people. So, the people would have delight in the goodness of the *LORD.

Verse 42 Solomon now prays on his own behalf. He is the king whom God appointed to rule over his (God’s) people, *Israel. Solomon refers to the promises that God made to David. He asks God to be kind to him because of David his father (Psalms 132:10-12).

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.
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.
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.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
dedication ~ the ceremony when you dedicate something to God.
dedicate ~ to give to God in a special way.
cubit ~ The usual cubit was about 21 inches (53 centimetres). The old cubit was a little less than 18 inches (46 centimetres).
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.
locust ~ an insect that eats agricultural crops.
grasshopper ~ an insect.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.
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.
salvation ~ rescue from *sin or from enemies.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
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.
linen ~ a type of material that is like cotton. Linen is a very good quality material.