2 Chronicles 3-4

2 Chronicles 3-4

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 3: Solomon Builds a Temple

                Solomon begins the construction of the temple on the threshingfloor or Ornan. He begin construction on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

                In this chapter we learn again about the dimensions of the temple which could be found in previous books and chapters of the Old Testament. It mentions that Solomon used many precious stones and gold of Parvaim. He made images of cherubims and overlaid them with gold. Solomon also made a veil for the temple made of purple and crimson and all manner of fine linen. In the inner sanctuary he made chains and put a hundred pomegranates on the chains. The pillars of the temple on the left he called Boaz and on the right hand he called Jachin.

Chapter 4: Solomon’s Temple
               

                Solomon makes a molten altar of brass and a molten sea of brass (this is the baptismal font) which had oxen underneath it, 3 looking north, 3 looking west, 3 looking south and three looking east. The sea (baptismal font) rested upon their back and represent the twelve tribes of Israel. (the picture below is the baptismal font in the Salt Lake City, Utah LDS Temple.

                He made 10 lavers (washing stations), 10 candlesticks of Gold and 10 tables and put 5 on the right and 5 on the left. The baptismal font was set on the right side of the east end against the south. Everything in the temple was of gold.

2 Chronicles 1-2

2 Chronicles 1-2

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 1: Solomon Chooses Wisdom

                Solomon was strengthened in his kingdom and the Lord magnified him exceedingly. Solomon gathers up all the captains, princes and governors of Israel to go with him to a place at Gibeon, which was a tabernacle of the congregation that Moses had built in the wilderness. The ark of God was brought up to Kirjath-jearim and the brazen altar was brought before the tabernacle, and there Solomon offered a thousand sand burn offerings upon it.

                God comes to Solomon and asks him to ask Him for anything. Solomon asks God for wisdom and knowledge so he can better judge and lead the Lord’s people. God was very pleased with Solomon asking for knowledge and wisdom over riches and fame, and tells Solomon that his wish is granted and because he had asked for only knowledge and wisdom, he would also give him riches. So Solomon is given much wisdom, knowledge and riches!

Chapter 2: Solomon Builds a Temple

                Solomon begins to organize his labor force to build the temple. He gets men to get stone in the mountain, and men to oversee their work. He also contacts Huram in Tyre to get cedars to build the temple. Huram also supplies him with men to work in gold, silver, brass and iron. In trade, Solomon agrees to provide Hurman with his servants, if he lends some of his servants back. 

Summary of 1 Chronicles

Summary of 1 Chronicles

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

1 Chronicles 1-2: Genealogy of Adam/The Sons of Israel
1 Chronicles 3-4: David's Sons/Descendants of Judah
1 Chronicles 5-6: Descendants of Reuben/The Sons of Levi
1 Chronicles 7-8: Sons of Issachar/Descendants of Benjamin
1 Chronicles 9-10: Inhabitants of Jerusalem/Saul Dies
1 Chronicles 11-12: David King of Hebron/David's Mighty Men
1 Chronicles 13-14: The Ark of the Lord/David Marries Wives and Becomes Famous

1 Chronicles 15-16: David Prepares the Ark of the Lord/People Sacrifice and Praise the Lord
1 Chronicles 17-18: Covenant Between David and God/David Subdues all the adversaries of Israel
1 Chronicles 19-20: Ammonites plan War Against Israel/Ammonites are Overcome
1 Chronicles 21-22: David Numbers Israel/Solomon Is to Build the Temple
1 Chronicles 23-24: Solomon is Made King/Sons of Aaron and Levi Divided
1 Chronicles 25-26: Levite Singers and Musicians/Levites Assigned as Porters
1 Chronicles 27-29: Officers who served the King/Solomon to Build the Temple/Solomon Reigns as King

Summary of 1 Chronicles:

The book of 1st Chronicles is a book of Narrative History, and Genealogies. The author appears to be the prophet Ezra who wrote it in circa 430 B.C. It covers the events from 1000 to 960 B.C. Key personalities are King David and Solomon. This book parallels some of 2 Samuel, and therefore describes similar events. It was written after the exile, its purpose was to encourage the remnant that had come out of the Babylonian captivity. It begins with the ancestry of the nation’s past, but it is not chronological.

Chapter 1-9, the book begins with Adam and runs through the genealogies of Israel It continues through all the 12 tribes of Israel, then King David, and the priestly line. The descendants teach the history of the nation, extending from God's creation all the way through the exile in Babylon. "Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" And God granted him that he requested" (4:10).

From chapters 10-29, there is a review from King Saul’s death with the Philistines, through King David's reign, including the preparation for the building of the new temple, which Solomon would build, "David also told his son Solomon, 'Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or terrified. The LORD God, my God, will be with you. He will not abandon you before all the work on the LORD's temple is finished" (28:20). The book ends with Solomon's reigning as king of Israel.

1 Chronicles 27-29

1 Chronicles 27-29

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 27: Officers who served the King

                 David’s army was divided into units of twelve, with one group of the twelve on alert each month of the year. By doing this, they found an effective way of always keeping the troops ready and the inactive troops regularly trained.

Over the first first month was; Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were 24,000.The children of Perez was the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month.

Over the second month was; Dodai an Ahohite, and of his course was Mikloth also the ruler: in his course were 24,000.

Over the third month was; Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course was 24,000. Benaiah, who was mighty among the thirty, and above the thirty: and in his course was Ammizabad his son.

Over the fourth month was; Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course was 24,000.

Over the fifth month was; Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his course was 24,000.

Over the sixth month was; Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

Over the seventh month was; Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course was 24,000.

 Over the eighth month was; Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

Over the ninth month was; Abiezer the Anetothite, of the Benjamites: and in his course was 24,000.

 Over the tenth month was; Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course was 24,000.

Over the eleventh month was; Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course was 24,000.

Over the twelfth month was; Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course was 24,000.

Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah: Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, Zadok: Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael: Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel: Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah: Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner: Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.

And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah: And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub: And over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: over the increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite. And over the olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in the low plains was Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash; And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys wasShaphat the son of Adlai: Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David’s.

Chapter 28: Solomon to Build the Temple

                David assembled all of the princes of Israel and the princes of the tribes and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by their month.

                David stands and says; “… Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and  had made ready for the building: But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war and hast shed blood.” (1 Chronicles 28:2-3). But he continues on to say that he was chosen to be the father of the one chose to build that house. This is Solomon. Solomon will build the house of the Lord. David says to Solomon; “…Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

                David further counsels Solomon to take heed and build the sanctuary for the Lord. He says; “…be strong, and do it.” (1 Chronicles 28:10)

                David continues to give Solomon the blue prints for the construction and gives him all the resources that he will need in preparing and going forth with the construction.

                He continues to speak with Solomon; “…Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.” (1 Chronicles 28:20)

Chapter 29: Solomon Reigns as King

                Everyone in Israel makes generous offerings of Gold, Silver, Iron, Time, etc. to the construction of the house of the Lord. David blesses and praises the Lord and instructs the people. David dies and Solomon reigns as the king. In verse 29 the chapter mentions the books of both “Samuel” and “Gad” which we no longer have today. Which is another example of why the Bible is not complete.

1 Chronicles 25-26

1 Chronicles 25-26

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 25: Levite Singers and Musicians

                David and the captains of the host are separated to assist the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, so they can prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the workers were:

The sons of Asaph; Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah

The sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah.

The sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth:

 Everyone was there for a song in the house of the Lord with cymbals, psalteries, and harps and they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.

The first lot came to Joseph, the second to Gedaliah, the third to Zaccur, thefourth to Izri, the

 fifth to Nethaniah, the sixth to Bukkiah, the seventh to Jesharelah, the eighth to Jeshaiah, the ninth to Mattaniah, the tenth to Shimei, the eleventh to Azareel, the twelfth to Hashabiah, the thirteenth to Shubael, the fourteenth to Mattithiah, the fifteenth to Jeremoth, the sixteenth to Hananiah, the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, the eighteenth to Hanani, the nineteenth to Mallothi, the twentieth to Eliathah, the 21^st to Hothir, the 22^nd to Giddalti, the 23^rd to Mahazioth, the 24^th to Romamti-ezer.

Chapter 26: Levites Assigned as Porters

Concerning the divisions of the porters:

 Of the Korhites was Meshelemiah the son of Kore.

The sons of Meshelemiah were; Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Elioenai the seventh.

The sons of Obed-edom were; Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethaneel the fifth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth.

 The sons of Shemaiah; Othni, Rephael, Obed, Elzabad, Elihu, and Semachiah.

 All of the sons of Obed-edom were able men for strength.

Meshelemiah had 18 sons and brethren who were strong me.

 Also Hosah, had sons; Simri the chief, Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth:  and all the sons of Hosah were thirteen.

 Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men, having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the Lord. And they cast lots:

The eastward lot fell to Shelemiah. The northward lot to Zechariah, southward to Obed-edom, westward to Shuppim, eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day and toward Asuppim, two and two. At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.

And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things.

The sons of Jehieli; Zetham, and Joel his brother, were over the treasures of the house of the Lord.

And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler of the treasures.

And his brethren by Eliezer; Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son.

Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated.

Out of the spoils won in battles did they dedicate to maintain the house of the Lord.

And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated;and whosoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomith, and of his brethren.

Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges.

And of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, men of valour, a thousand and seven hundred, were officers among them of Israel on this side Jordan westward in all the business of theLord, and in the service of the king.

Among the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even among the Hebronites, according to the generations of his fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valour at Jazer of Gilead.

And his brethren, men of valour, were two thousand and seven hundred chief fathers, whom king David made rulers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king.

1 Chronicles 23-24

1 Chronicles 23-24

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 23: Solomon is Made King

                When David was old and ready to return to his heavenly father he made his son Solomon king over the land. David then gathered up all the princes in Israel, and the priests with the Levites and had them all numbered, which was 38,000 men, of which 24,000 men were charged with working in the house of the Lord and 6,000 were officers and judges. 4,000 were porters and 4,000 praised the Lord with instruments.

                David divided them up into groups; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Of the Gershonites were: Laadan, and Shimei.

The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel.

The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran.

The sons of Shimei were:  Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second.

The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

The sons of Amramwere ; Aaron and Moses. Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.

 The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer.

The sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had noother sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

The sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.

The sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

The sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second.

 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.

And Eleazar died, and had only daughters, and the sons of Kish married them.

The sons of Mushi; Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upward.

Chapter 24: Sons of Aaron and Levi Divided

The divisions of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest’s office.

David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, Ahimelech, and the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices of service.

The sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar; were they divided.

Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.They were divided by lot.

 7 Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses, the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel, the 21^st to Jachin, the 22^nd to Gamul, the 23^rd to Delaiah, and the 24^th to Maaziah.

And the rest of the sons of Levi were these:  the sons of Amram; Shubael: the sons of Shubael; Jehdeiah.

Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah;  was Isshiah.

Of the Izharites; Shelomoth: of the sons of Shelomoth; Jahath.

And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth.

Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah: of the sons of Michah; Shamir.

The brother of Michah was Isshiah: of the sons of Isshiah; Zechariah.

The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi: the sons of Jaaziah; Beno.

The sons of Merari by Jaaziah; Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

Of Mahli came Eleazar, who had no sons.

Concerning Kish: the son of Kish was Jerahmeel.

The sons also of Mushi; Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. 

1 Chronicles 21-22

1 Chronicles 21-22

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 21: David Numbers Israel

                David commands that a census be taken, to "number" Israel. This is prompted however by Satan who has his own reasoning for doing things. God allows this temptation to move David into numbering Israel because God wants to chastise David. So why was it so bad to "number" Israel? In these times a man would "number" only what belonged to him. David did not own Israel or its people, God does. If God were to command a "numbering" of his people, then the motive would be service to the Lord and doing as He had commanded. However in this instance David was only concerned with protecting and putting his trust in a "multitude" of hosts, or in other words putting his trust in numbers of a manmade army over the trust of God.

                In our daily lives we can see this happen to us on a daily basis. How often do we put our trust in something manmade or putting our trust in another man (or woman) over God? I would say quite often. We must put our trust in God. That, however, does not mean that we are free to do as we please, or to simply sit back and say that we are putting our trust in God, without any actions! To trust, or have faith in God, we must ACT. We must do all that we can in following the commandments and working hard for what we feel is right, and then and only then will the hand of God be shown in our lives.

                Joab objects to the numbering and asks David to reconsider his foolish ways. Joab knew that David's reasoning was built up in pride, wanting to know how powerful he was, perhaps to conquer a neighboring nation. In Samuel 24:4 we read that it was not only Joab who objected to the numbering, but also the captains of the army, but David however prevails in his desire to number Israel, and he was immediately sorry for doing so.

                Joab comes back to David with the census complete and finds that there are 1.3 million fighting men among the twelve tribes, which is a small portion of the 6 million people living in Israel. Although Joab did not count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, for fear that God would strike them down and all that would remain would be those who were not numbered. God would have struck down all of Israel, but God had already done so with the deeply afflicted heart of David. David, wasn't perfect, but when he knew that he had sinned his heart was very sensitive to sin and therefore was very remorseful of his ways. David admits that he has been foolish and asks God for, forgiveness.

                God sends a messenger to David and gives him three options of Judgment to forgive his sin:

#1: 3 years of famine.

#2: 3 Months until you are defeated by your enemies.

#3: For 3 days a plague would engulf the land.

                God gave David these three options to test David's heart and wisdom:

#1: 3 years of famine would surely kill most of Israel, the wealthy and resourceful would survive by depending on neighboring nations for food.

#2: 3 Months until you are defeated by your enemies would surely mean the death of most of the soldiers, and would probably result in new enemies.

#3: For 3 days a plague would engulf the land, this would cause a great deal of death among all of Israel, no matter who; rich, poor, military...etc.

                David chooses to have 3 days of plagues. This is important, because had David chose war; his family and himself would have been protected. Had David chosen famine, his wealth would have sustained him. Therefore he humbled himself and accepted of God's punishment by choosing something that could ultimately effect himself and his loved ones. By choosing 3 days of plague he was also in the hands of God, whom he knew would be more merciful than man.

               

                The destroying angel comes and kills 70,000 men of Israel and as the destruction is happening, God steps back and relented of the disaster and commanded the angel to restrain from continuing. David seeing the destructions laments to God asking him why he had killed so many of his innocent sheep and had refrained from touching him. God then commands David to erect a altar to the Lord. So
David does as he is commanded.

               

                David goes to Ornan and asks him to build an altar where his threshingfloor stands. David buys the land for 600 shekels of God, the full price of the property. David offers peace and burnt offerings there, as a tribute to his understanding of God and his ways in destroying 70,000 of his sheep.

                David finally knows where the Lord wants his temple to be built, right there on the threshingfloor.

Chapter 22: Solomon Is to Build the Temple

                David is commanded to gather men who were foreigners in the land of Israel, which were about 70,000 slaves to build the temple of Solomon. David gathered the finest materials, cedar trees from Lebanon. The house of God would have to be magnificently built unto the Lord, so David made preparations for his son Solomon to continue building the temple after his death. David charges (gives blessing) to Solomon to complete this great work of building the House of the Lord after his death, in a sense if Solomon failed in building the temple, David failed as well. David warns Solomon to stay faithful to God and his word, in accomplishing the construction of the temple. David counsels Solomon to;

                "...be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed." (1 Chronicles 22:13)

                                This is something that we can all appreciate and place in our hearts in our daily activities. Life, after all, is tough. Our challenges we face on a day to day level are not easy ones, but if we put our trust in God and don't worry about the future or how something will come about, then we can have that courage and strength that we need to continue fighting towards our righteous individual dreams and desires.

                David prepares the construction by leaving Solomon in charge of a great deal of money and resources to ensure that the temple does get built and with all its magnificence. 

Why Do We Fail?

Why do we fail?

                We as humans in a general sense are very much competitive. We want to win. Who hates to lose? OR Fail? It is not in our nature, or at least not in our nature of wants, to fail. It is inevitable to succeed at everything! We are not perfect, so failure does cross our paths.

So why do we fail?

Is it possible, if we were to work hard to never taste failure? I would say no. But failure doesn't have to be a bad thing, it can be a great and wonderful thing!

As we look around in our current world, our country, our economy and our values. Everything seems to be crumbling around us, on a global scale! I personally have noticed recently that my current self is failing, or at least I feel like I have. It is tough to always keep a positive attitude, especially when life catches up to you and the world seems to demand more than what you have to offer.

I haven't been active in keeping a daily scripture study, my last scripture posting/reading was 16 days ago! The longest I have gone without reading my scriptures for over 1 year! Like I said, life catches up to you sometimes!

My question to the world, is this: Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Depreciated? Stressed? OR simply felt like you were a failure? If you have answered yes, then there is hope!

I was sitting in church yesterday, and it was one of those Sundays where you feel like God is directly speaking to you, through the members of the congregation. A scripture was referenced; "...For we walk by faith, not by sight..." (2 Corinthians 5:7) When the world seems to demand more from us than we have spiritually, physically, economically etc. We can put our faith in God. Trust Him. If we walk with faith, and we don't worry about knowing the future we will be better off.

For those who think that they can't do something, or feel like they are failing... we must remember that "...when I (we) am weak, then I (we) am (are) strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Don't give up! This is the message we must have in our head... DONT GIVE UP! No matter the difficulties, we must continue strong and move forward with hope and faith in our heart. I am going to work harder to becoming a more perfect person, are you with me?