Recap

So far in 1-2 Chronicles we’ve read through the introductory genealogies, king David’s reign and started king Solomon's reign. While separate books in our Bible 1-2 Chronicles tell one story, giving a recap of the Old Testament from Adam to the Jews' return from exile.

We read through the opening chapters of the book dedicated to the genealogies of God's people. These covered from Adam to David, focusing on Judah, the tribe of the royal family, Levi, the tribe of the priests, and Benjamin, the tribe of the first king Saul. There were also genealogies of the people who returned from exile.

As we moved into the section of the book focused on David, we saw the author use David as a model for what an ideal future king will look like. David was described as a shepherd of God's people, and a military ruler who united the tribes, led them to defeat their enemies, and established peace. He built up God's city and brought God's presence in. He served, in part, as a priest. 

There were parallels with Moses as David prepared the design for the temple, gathered its resources, and organised the Levites and the priests. Moses encouraged Joshua to take courage and lead well, and David does the same for his son Solomon. When the people were suffering, his desire was to take on this suffering himself. In all this, David modelled what an ideal king should be.

He then turned to his son Solomon and encouraged and challenged him. Solomon was to be the future king that David hadn't been, and David had done everything he could to set Solomon up well. We'd read how God described Solomon as his son. In his final role as king, David made an offering to the new temple out of his personal wealth, and encouraged the people to do the same. He then stepped back to allow Solomon to be king. 

Starting 2 Chronicles, Solomon immediately set himself apart from other kings, asking God not for wealth or power, but wisdom. This is a king that isn't focused on their own success. Instead, this king is all about making sure that their people are led well and prosper. Because of this, God granted Solomon the wisdom that he asked for, and the wealth and success that he hadn't.

Solomon then got started on the temple, securing more stone and wood for the huge building. Then with all the resources together, Solomon built the temple, with a design that drew a lot of inspiration from the Tabernacle. 

2 Chronicles 5-8

Now that the temple is finished, it's time to bring everything into it. First Solomon brought in all the gold and riches that his father had dedicated to the temple, and then he went to get the Ark of the Covenant. Learning from the mistakes of David before him, Solomon made sure that the right people were carrying the Ark, and that there were sacrifices to honour God every step of the way.

Remember, the Ark represents God's presence. The priests brought the Ark into the Holy of Holies, the most central place in the temple, and then came out with praise, celebrating God and his goodness. At that, the cloud of God's presence fell on the whole temple. God had entered his new home.

Solomon turns to the people and blesses them. He reminded them how God had always wondered from place to place with the Tabernacle. But David had planned to give God a permanent home. God approved David's idea, but told him that it would be his son who built the temple. And now all that has happened, and God has a permanent home where he can dwell with his people. God kept his promise to David.

Then Solomon begins to pray. He thanks God for keeping his promise and asks him to continue to do so. To keep his descendants on the throne. Then Solomon prays over the temple. As great as this temple is, it can never hold the fullness of God. Even all of heaven struggles to do that. But God has chosen to place some of his presence in this temple, and so Solomon asks God to be faithful to that.

Solomon lists various different situations where the people have sinned, and things have got bad for them. In each situation, Solomon asks that if they realise the error of their ways and come to this temple to repent, may God forgive them and rescue them from their trouble. In short, now that God has entered this temple, may he always dwell with his people and forgive them when they repent.

As Solomon finishes his prayer, fire falls from heaven and fills the temple. The fire signals a number of things. First, like the cloud before it, the fire is evidence of God's presence. Second, the fire purifies the temple, making it fully holy for God to dwell in. But thirdly, fire from heaven is often a sign from God that he has heard and answered someone's prayer (see 1 Chronicles 21:26; 1 Kings 18:38; Leviticus 9:24).

The people bow down in worship and then celebrate God. They make many more offerings and sacrifices to him and then feasted for seven days. Then God comes to Solomon to answer his prayer personally.

God tells Solomon that whenever the people are suffering or struggling due to poor harvests or oppression, if they will humble themselves, admit their sin and return to him, God will forgive and rescue them. Likewise, Solomon should make sure that he and his descendants keep themselves humble and close to God.

But God warns Solomon if either the people or their king refuse to humble themselves and refuse to repent of their sin, he will remove them from their land and destroy this temple that he has committed himself to.

Then comes some of Solomon's accomplishments as king. He built the temple, but he also built many cities to store the wealth of Israel in. Any of Israel's enemies who refused to leave the land, Solomon put to work to help build these cities. He established all the roles for the temple that David had organised. He also established great trade routes that provided even more wealth for Israel.

Psalm 70

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of lament psalm. Just. There is very little complaint in the psalm, so some would argue that it is a psalm of petition instead. I would argue the complaint is implicit in the request.

Psalm 70:1-3 - A request

Psalm 70:4 - A declaration of trust

Psalm 70:5 - A complaint, trust, and request

The psalmist opens with a call to God to deliver them. They have enemies who seek their life, and so the psalmist asks that God deals with them. Put them to shame just as they have tried to shame the psalmist.

Next, the psalmist declares their trust in God as they encourage others to seek God and rejoice in him.

Finally, the psalmist makes their final request. They are poor and needy, so they ask God to help them. They already know that God is their deliverer, so they ask that God deliver them soon.

The psalm serves as a model for quick prayers of lament. It shows how, at times when you feel at a loss for words because life is hard, you weave together your complaint, request, and trust into a simple short prayer.