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All right, Second Chronicles chapter one is where we are starting a new book study tonight. And Second Chronicles continues right where First Chronicles left off. In fact, one and two Chronicles in a Hebrew Bible is really just one book. It's all combined. It's called in Hebrew, Devre Hayamim. Devre Hayamim means in English words of the days. Now, we have in our English Bibles translated that Chronicles, because 1st and 2nd Chronicles Chronicles Jewish history from the time of Adam through the period of the Kings. And it was written primarily for the Jews who had been kept in captivity for 70 years in Babylon and have now, through the edict of King Cyrus, been allowed to return to their homeland. But for 70 years, most of those Jews were born in Babylon, had never been to the land of their forefathers, and thus they didn't have a real working understanding of their own Jewish history. So Chronicles was written, and most Bible scholars believe, by Ezra, although his name is not given as a byline to this book. So we don't know for sure who wrote it, but it was a chronicle of their own Jewish history, like a handbook, so that these Jews going back to their homeland, or I should say for the most part for the very first time to their homeland, would have an idea of their own Jewish history from the period of Adam through the kings. Now, Chronicles, interestingly, only chronicles the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah. It's a very similar book to 1 and 2 kings. First and second kings Chronicles the kings of both the north and the south of Israel and Judah. But Chronicles only records the kings of the south of Judah. And where chronicles here in 2 Chronicles 1 begins is where 1 Chronicles 29 left off, which was the coronation of Solomon, the son of David, as the next king of Israel. So David hands off the throne to his son Solomon just before he dies. It is a smooth transition of power and Solomon is now king. Now, how old he is varies by different biblical scholars. Josephus, the first century historian who was a Roman and he was hired by the Romans to write Jewish history. Josephus records that Solomon was 14 years old when he became king. But other than Josephus, most Bible scholars believe he was somewhere between 15 and 18 years of age when he is crowned as king of Israel. So here he is a teenager over the most powerful kingdom on the planet at this particular time. So when we start into Second Chronicles, this is a continuation of the beginning of Solomon's reign. We will read about Solomon's life and reign in the first nine chapters of Second Chronicles. He dies in chapter nine. It is A abbreviated version of his life and of his reign. Interestingly, the writer of Chronicles, again perhaps Ezra, we don't know for sure, leaves out the low points of Solomon's life. He only records for us the highlights of Solomon's life. There is no mention in chronicles about Solomon's 700 wives and 300 concubines. There is no mention of the idolatry that he engaged in as a result of the influence of those foreign wives. First Kings 11 tells us that explicitly. There is also no mention of what followed the idolatry that he engaged in, which was the sacrifice of children in the valley of Hinnom. All of that is left out. The primary highlight of Solomon's life in these nine chapters of two Chronicles is about how God used him to build the temple. That's primarily what we're going to read in the next several chapters here. But that's where we left off. And here's the continuation of this story. 2nd Chronicles 1:1. Now Solomon, the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and exalted him exceedingly. And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers houses. Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. All right, pause there. Just a word of clarification. So it says that Solomon goes to the high place of Gibeon. Gibeon was located about five and a half miles northwest of Jerusalem. The reason he went there was because before Solomon built the temple, the tabernacle was located in Gibeon. Now remember, if you were with us in First Chronicles, Solomon's father David had taken one article from the Tabernacle there in Gibeon and brought it to Jerusalem because he wanted worship to be central to the nation of Israel. And that was the article of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred of all the objects or articles that were within the Tabernacle of God. Also called here the Tent of Meeting. It was called the Tent of Meeting because you would go there to meet with God. The Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred of all the objects or articles in the Tabernacle because it was the very place where the presence of God would dwell. The Bible says that the presence of God would hover between the cherubim. So it was a very sacred object. And David brought it to Jerusalem to make worship central, to make sure that God was central to this nation. So that one article was in Jerusalem under a special tent that David had made. But otherwise the sacrifices still occurred in Gibeon until Solomon actually builds this temple. That is the place of sacrificial worship in Gibeon, as I said, about 5 1/2 miles northwest of Jerusalem. So Solomon is going to go there because he's this young king and he wants to begin on the right foot. He wants to worship the Lord by making sacrifices to the Lord. He wants to make offerings to the Lord to show his praise to the Lord. So he goes to Gibeon and he takes there with him others there of Israel. And verse 4 it says, But David had brought up the Ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. Now, the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the Lord Solomon. And the assembly sought him there, that is, sought the Lord there. And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. Okay, he's being serious here. A thousand burnt offerings. It was the slaughter of animals for the offering to the Lord. And notice verse 7 says, and on that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, ask what shall I give you? So this is like a blank check. And God says to Solomon, what do you want? I'll give you whatever you ask. Now, at this time in Solomon's life, it's believed that this is a couple years into his reign. So he's now probably 18 to 20 years of age. And the Lord appears to him when he goes to Gibeon, there to offer these sacrifices to the Lord and just says, ask what shall I give you? And notice Solomon's answer. In verse 8, Solomon said to God, you have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. Now, O Lord God, let your promise to David my father be established. For you have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude now. And here's his Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people. For who can judge this great people of yours. All right, just a couple of things to point out there. That phrase there in verse 10, that I may go out and come in that was an expression that basically meant to fulfill my duties. He says, lord, I want to be able to fulfill my duties. And he says, who can judge this great people of yours? The word judge there in Hebrew is shaphet. And shaphet can mean govern or to rule. So he knows his responsibility is heavy. And so he's like, you know, I don't know how I'm going to be able to judge or rule or govern this people of yours. Please note that Solomon didn't own these people. These were God's people. It bugs me, just in a personal way, when I hear pastors talk about the congregations where they pastor as my people. My. My flock. No, it's God's flock. There you are God's people. I just have the privilege of pastoring you under his lordship. But Solomon realizes these are not my people. These are God's people. And he says, and I lack. Because he realizes his youth and inexperience, he goes, I lack an ability to rightly govern or rule or lead these people. So what does he ask for? He asks for wisdom and knowledge. He says, lord, I need wisdom, and I need knowledge from above that I might fulfill my duties to govern this great people of yours. And notice what God says to him in response. Verse 11. And then God said to Solomon, because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life, but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king. Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you, and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like. So Solomon humbly asks for wisdom and knowledge. And really not for any selfish reason, but because he just wants to be faithful, to do what God has called him to do, and he wants to honor God this way. And so God in response, says, okay, I'm going to give you wisdom and knowledge, but I'm also going to give you the things you didn't ask for. He says, you could have asked for all these other things, but because you didn't, in your humility, on top of giving you wisdom and knowledge, I will give you riches and wealth and. And honor. And so Solomon is just a blessed man. God is giving him more than he's asked for. But notice here, I'm sorry to say the chapter does not end well. Already, already it says, so Solomon came to Jerusalem from the high place that was at Gibeon from before the tabernacle of meeting and reigned over Israel. Verse 14. And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. And also verse 15. The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones. And he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and from Kiveh. Now we know where Egypt is. Kiveh is a region which on a map today would be southeastern Turkey. In ancient times, it was called Cilicia. In fact, the apostle Paul was from the region of Cilicia. The apostle Paul was really on a map today, Turkish, because Tarsus is where Paul was from, is in the province of Cilicia. So it's southern Turkey. So Solomon is going to get horses from southeastern Turkey and from Egypt. Just make note of all this, okay? Silver and gold, abundant like stones. He's getting horses from Egypt and from Turkey. It says in the rest of verse 16. The king's merchants bought them in Kiva at the current price. And they also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot and for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150. Thus, through their agents notice this. Through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. All right, let me explain to you why this chapter goes bad, okay? Because there is a specific guideline that God gave to Moses for the future kings of Israel. Because God knew, because God knows everything, that the Israelites would eventually want a king. Like the foreign nations around them. That was not God's divine design. The divine design of governance was a theocracy that God wanted to govern his people. But they wanted to cast off God, and they wanted an earthly king. So God will say to them, basically, okay, you want an earthly king? I'll give you an earthly king. We'll see how that goes for you. And so Saul gets selected as the first king. Then we have David, and now we have Solomon. But God had given specific instructions to Moses. We're talking, like 500 years before Solomon about what a king should do and not do. And among the instructions that God gave, and it's recorded in Deuteronomy 17. I'll just read it. You don't need to turn. Deuteronomy 17. I'll read verses 14 to 17. Listen to what God said. When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you and possess it and dwell in it, and say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me, you shall surely set a king over you, whom the Lord your God chooses one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you. You may not set a foreigner over you who was not your brother. By the way, the founding fathers of America took that verse as why the President of the United States must be a naturally born citizen and not a foreigner to our country. From that verse right there. That you may not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother. Verse 16. But he shall not listen to this. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. For the Lord has said to you, you shall not return that way again. Neither shall you multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold, for for himself Solomon's going to break all those. And we haven't even gotten out of the first chapter. Now, what does that say here we draw principles from these chapters. Everybody. Here's the first one from chapter one. When God gives you his best, don't respond by giving your worst or being your worst. Solomon was given a blank check. This is God's best. I'll give you whatever you want, you ask for it. Solomon, in his humility, said, give me wisdom and knowledge, that's all I want, because I want to be faithful to govern the people that you've entrusted to my career. God says, I'll give you wisdom and knowledge and I'll give you riches. I'll give you everything else you didn't even ask for. And then Solomon, instead of taking God's best and being careful, he resorts to being the worst. That is, he disobeys God and the basic elements of the instruction of the law of God through Moses In Deuteronomy, chapter 17, what does he do? Well, he goes back to Egypt and he gets horses. He makes silver, like stones. Silver and gold as plentiful as stones. And this doesn't record it. Like I said, Chronicles doesn't mention. But he's going to take multiple wives. And notice back here in 2 Chronicles 1 at the end, where it says that he had these agents who would then export the horses to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. So he's getting into this trade aspect and he's, you know, imposing these really heavy tariffs and he's going, you know, back and forth horse tariffs and he's. And he's like trading horses, okay? And so probably what Solomon is thinking is, well, I'm not really technically violating Deuteronomy chapter 17, because I don't want to accumulate all these horses for myself. I'm going to Egypt for the purpose of trade. I'm going to get some horses. I'm going to trade them with the king of Hittites, the king of Syria. Let me tell you what ends up happening, though, okay? He goes to Egypt to get some horses, and before you know it, he's going to end up getting a wife in Egypt, too, the daughter of Pharaoh. And then once he has a wife from Egypt, he thinks to himself, no big deal if I get other wives from other countries. And so he goes and he gets other wives from other countries. Nothing wrong with intermarrying between different nations or cultures. The problem is, these were pagan women who did not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That was why he was never to take foreign wives. And he does that. And then in Kings, it tells us in chapter 11 of First Kings that His wives led his heart astray. So then he starts to build them little temples to their gods in Israel. And then if that wasn't bad enough, then he starts to indulge in child sacrifice to those gods. And how did it start? Because he went to Egypt to get some horses. That's how it always starts. Everybody, this is an important principle. Big sins start with little compromises, right? And I put big sins in quotes because, you know, what defines a big sin? But it starts with little compromises. You know, example, like, affairs don't just happen. There are little compromises along the way. There are little compromises in our lives that lead to bigger sins and bigger consequences. Because it all starts with just, I'm just getting a few horses. Yeah, but before you know it, you're going to be sacrificing children. No, seriously. That's the course that Solomon took from just buying horses to sacrificing children in the Valley of Hinnom, all because he violated God's word. And when God gave him his best, he started being his worst. And he compromised in little ways that led to greater sins. We haven't even gotten out of chapter one. So this is like an example of how God can bless us and we squander it. You know, he asked for wisdom, but he didn't walk in it. God can give you things and you squander it. And that's what Solomon did. So his life is really a tragic story that, again, the writer of Chronicles doesn't chronicle all those details, but we know it because of the rest of scripture in 1 and 2 Kings. Let's get into chapter 2. The time we have left. Here it says, and then Solomon determined to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal house for himself. And Solomon selected 70,000 men to bear burdens to be the laborers, 80,000 to quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 to oversee them. And then Solomon sent to Hiram, king of Tyre. Now, Tyre is Lebanon, so he has some good foreign diplomacy here with Hiram, King of Tyre. And he sends him this letter. And this is what he wrote. As you have dealt with David, my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. Behold, I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him to burn before him sweet incense for the continual showbread for the burnt offerings morning and evening on the Sabbaths, on the new moons and on the set feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel. And the temple which I build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. But who is able to build him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? And who am I then, that I should build him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before him? Therefore, here's his ask. Send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father, provided. Now the people of Tyre, which is Lebanon today, it's a city in Lebanon. They were well known historically for their skilled workers and their artisans and their craftsmen, and they're silversmiths and goldsmiths. And so he knows this, that they are better than what he has. So he's asking Hiram if he can hire these guys also. Verse 8, he says, also send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon. And indeed, my servants will be with your servants to prepare timber for me in abundance for the temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful. And then verse 10, he says what he's going to pay him. And indeed I will give to your servants, the woodsman who cut timber, 20,000 cores of ground wheat, 20,000 cores of barley, 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil. Those are all different wet and dry measurements. Then Hiram, king of Tyre, answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon. And there's his answer. And I like the way he starts his response. He says, because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them. And Hyrum also said, blessed be the Lord God of Israel who made heaven and earth, for he has given King David a wise son endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal house for himself. Here's why I like the way that Hyrum starts this letter. Because we don't know that Hyrum was a believer, but he talks like one. And it is believed that he is probably simply showing respect to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because he had this long standing relationship with Solomon's father, David. But otherwise Hiram is a pagan king in a pagan country. But it still says to us how influential David's life was and now subsequently Solomon's life, such that Hyrum is giving thanks and praise to the God of the Bible. And that just stuck out to me. So here's another principle here from chapter two. Let your words and your witness always draw others to the Lord, because Hyrum was watching and maybe we'll see him in heaven. I don't know if this is a statement that he professes faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or if he's just showing respect, but either way, he's doing this because of the influence of David's life and now Solomon's life, that he's giving this kind of praise to the Lord. Well, his letter continues in verse 15, or rather 13. And now I have sent a skillful man endowed with understanding. His name is Huram, my master craftsman. And notice this verse 14. He's the son of a woman of the daughters of Daniel, and his father was a man of Tyre. What is that telling us? It tells us that Huram had a Jewish mother and a Gentile father. His mother was a daughter of Dan. That's the tribe of Dan. Now, Dan was the very northern part of Israel, so right at the border of Lebanon. So apparently, you know, being in close proximity, Hurrahm's father was from Tyre. His mother was there as a Jew, a daughter of. Of Dan, of the tribe of Dan. So he's got a Jewish mother and a Gentile father. But he's skilled, it says he's skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him with your skillful Men and with the skillful men of my Lord David, your father. And now, therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil and the wine which my Lord has spoken of, the let him send to his servants. And we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need. We will bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem. So this is interesting. They would load these, and Lebanon was known, and still is known, for the great cedars of Lebanon. And they would cut these great trees and put them on barges, and then they would float them down because Tyre is a port city. And so they would put it on these barges and sail it south down to Joppa, which was the port city at this particular time. Now, Joppa would serve as the port city for a couple thousand years until 1930. Until 1930. Now, Joppa today is known as Jaffa, and it's part of the suburban area of Tel Aviv. But Joppa stopped being a port City in 1930. Tel Aviv then became the port city. But then soon after that, in 1965, Tel Aviv stopped being a port city and they moved it to the central part of Israel, to Ashdod. Today, Israel has three port cities. The very north of Israel is Haifa. The mid part of Israel is Ashdod. And then the very southern part of Israel that hits the tip of the Red Sea is Eilat. Those are the three port cities of Israel today. But back in this day, Joppa was the place. Remember, Joppa was also the place where Jonah got on a boat because it was a port city. That's where he ran from God because he didn't want to go to the Ninevites. So Hiram says, we'll put all this on barges. We'll sail it down to the port city of Joppa. Then you'll have to transport it in interior to Jerusalem. And it says, and then Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel. And the set after the census in which David, his father, had numbered them and they were found to be 150,600. And he made. Now notice how this chapter ends the way the chapter began. And he made 70,000 of them bearers of burdens, 80,000 stone cutters in the mountain, and 3,600 overseers to make the people work. So now we know where he got his constriction conscripted labor force. They were the aliens in the country. He took 150,000 aliens. So we're going to put you to work. I don't know. Maybe there's a lesson there. Everybody, we're going to put you to work, and you're going to help to build the Temple of the Lord. But in a bigger picture, I want you to notice how not just the hands of Jews would make the temple, but the hands of foreigners would be conscripted as hired labor force to build the Temple of the Lord. Because God is a God of all people. So it's kind of an interesting thing there where he incorporates the labor of aliens or foreigners who are in the country. Because the temple is going to be built for the God of the universe, who is a God for all people, not just the Jews alone. So next week we have our Passover service. We'll pick it up here in two weeks. But let's pause here for tonight. And then for those of you who want to be baptized, we'll make our way out to the courtyard. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this time tonight in your word. And we ask, Lord, that we would be mindful of these principles for our own lives, especially this last one. May our words and our witness be a good reflection of you in our world. That others, like Hyrum, would look on to our lives and would listen to our words and be drawn to you. Lord, may our lives be a constant testimony of Jesus Christ. So we thank you for this time together in your word. Bless now those who are going to be baptized. And we just give you the praise and the glory and the honor in Jesus name, Amen. And amen.