Through the Bible – Day 119

Bible text(s)

1 Kings 4

Solomon's officials

1-6Here is a list of Solomon's highest officials while he was king of Israel:

    Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
    Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were the secretaries;
    Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud kept the government records;
    Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander;
    Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
    Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the regional officers;
    Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and the king's adviser;
    Ahishar was the prime minister;
    Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labour.

7Solomon chose twelve regional officers, who took turns bringing food for him and his household. Each officer provided food from his region for one month of the year. 8These were the twelve officers:

The son of Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.

9The son of Deker was in charge of the towns of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan.

10The son of Hesed was in charge of the towns of Arubboth and Socoh, and the region of Hepher.

11The son of Abinadab was in charge of Naphath-Dor and was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.

12Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of the towns of Taanach and Megiddo. He was also in charge of the whole region of Beth-Shan near the town of Zarethan, south of Jezreel from Beth-Shan to Abel-Meholah to the other side of Jokmeam.

13The son of Geber was in charge of the town of Ramoth in Gilead and the villages in Gilead belonging to the family of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh. He was also in charge of the region of Argob in Bashan, which had sixty walled towns with bronze bars on their gates.

14Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of the territory of Mahanaim.

15Ahimaaz was in charge of the territory of Naphtali and was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath.

16Baana son of Hushai was in charge of the territory of Asher and the town of Bealoth.

17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of the territory of Issachar.

18Shimei son of Ela was in charge of the territory of Benjamin.

19Geber son of Uri was in charge of Gilead, where King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan had lived.

And one officer was in charge of the territory of Judah.

The size of Solomon's kingdom

20There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.

21Solomon ruled every kingdom between the River Euphrates and the land of the Philistines down to Egypt. These kingdoms paid him taxes as long as he lived.

22Every day, Solomon needed five thousand litres of fine flour, ten thousand litres of coarsely-ground flour, 23ten grain-fed cattle, twenty pasture-fed cattle, one hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, and geese.

24Solomon ruled the whole region west of the River Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and he was at peace with all the countries around him. 25Everyone living in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, was safe as long as Solomon lived. Each family sat undisturbed beneath its own grapevines and fig trees.

26Solomon had forty thousand stalls of chariot horses and twelve thousand chariot soldiers.

27Each of the twelve regional officers brought food to Solomon and his household for one month of the year. They provided everything he needed, 28as well as barley and straw for the horses.

Solomon's wisdom

29Solomon was brilliant. God had blessed him with insight and understanding. 30-31He was wiser than anyone else in the world, including the wisest people of the east and of Egypt. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Mahol's three sons, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. Solomon became famous in every country around Judah and Israel. 32Solomon wrote three thousand wise sayings and composed more than a thousand songs. 33He could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34Kings all over the world heard about Solomon's wisdom and sent people to listen to him teach.

1 Kings 5

Building and dedication of the Jerusalem temple

Solomon asks Hiram to help build the temple

(2 Chronicles 2.1-16)

1King Hiram of Tyre had always been friends with Solomon's father David. When Hiram learnt that Solomon was king, he sent some of his officials to meet with Solomon.

2Solomon sent a message back to Hiram:

3Remember how my father David wanted to build a temple where the LORD his God could be worshipped? But enemies kept attacking my father's kingdom, and he never had the chance. 4Now, thanks to the LORD God, there is peace in my kingdom and no trouble or threat of war anywhere.

5The LORD God promised my father that when his son became king, he would build a temple for worshipping the LORD. So I've decided to do that.

6I'd like you to send your workers to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. I will pay them whatever you say and will even make my workers help them. We both know that your workers are more experienced than anyone else at cutting timber.

7Hiram was so happy when he heard Solomon's request that he said, “I am grateful that the Lord gave David such a wise son to be king of that great nation!” 8Then he sent back his answer:

I received your message and will give you all the cedar and pine logs you need. 9My workers will carry them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. They will tie the logs together and float them along the coast to wherever you want them. Then they will untie the logs, and your workers can take them from there.

To pay for the logs, you can provide the grain I need for my household.

10Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and pine logs he needed. 11In return, Solomon gave Hiram two thousand tonnes of wheat and four hundred thousand litres of pure olive oil each year.

12The LORD kept his promise and made Solomon wise. Hiram and Solomon signed a treaty and never went to war against each other.

Solomon's workers

13Solomon ordered thirty thousand people from all over Israel to cut logs for the temple, 14and he put Adoniram in charge of these workers. Solomon divided them into three groups of ten thousand. Each group worked one month in Lebanon and had two months off at home.

15He also had eighty thousand workers to cut stone in the hill country of Israel, seventy thousand workers to carry the stones, 16and over three thousand assistants to keep track of the work and to supervise the workers. 17He ordered the workers to cut and shape large blocks of good stone for the foundation of the temple.

18Solomon's and Hiram's men worked with men from the city of Gebal, and together they got the stones and logs ready for the temple.

1 Kings 6

The outside of the temple is completed

1Solomon's workers started building the temple during Ziv, the second month of the year. It had been four years since Solomon became king of Israel, and four hundred and eighty years since the people of Israel left Egypt.

2The inside of the LORD's temple was twenty-seven metres long, nine metres wide, and thirteen and a half metres high. 3A four and a half metre porch went all the way across the front of the temple. 4The windows were narrow on the outside but wide on the inside.

5-6Along the sides and back of the temple, there were three levels of storage rooms. The rooms on the bottom level were just over two metres wide, the rooms on the middle level were over two and a half metres wide, and those on the top level were just over three metres wide. There were ledges on the outside of the temple that supported the beams of the storage rooms, so that nothing was built into the temple walls.

7Solomon did not want the noise of hammers and axes to be heard at the place where the temple was being built. So he made the workers shape the blocks of stone at the quarry.

8The entrance to the bottom storage rooms was on the south side of the building, and stairs to the other rooms were also there. 9The roof of the temple was made out of beams and cedar boards.

The workers finished building the outside of the temple. 10Storage rooms just over two metres high were all around the temple, and they were attached to the temple by cedar beams.

11The LORD told Solomon:

12-13If you obey my commands and do what I say, I will keep the promise I made to your father David. I will live among my people Israel in this temple you are building, and I will not desert them.

14So Solomon's workers finished building the temple.

The inside of the temple is furnished

15The floor of the temple was made out of pine, and the walls were lined with cedar from floor to ceiling.

16The most holy place was in the back of the temple, and it was nine metres square. Cedar boards standing from floor to ceiling separated it from the rest of the temple. 17The temple's main room was eighteen metres long, and it was in front of the most holy place.

18The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.

19The sacred chest was kept in the most holy place. 20-22This room was nine metres long, nine metres wide, and nine metres high, and it was lined with pure gold. There were also gold chains across the front of the most holy place. The inside of the temple, as well as the cedar altar in the most holy place, was covered with gold.

23Solomon had two statues of winged creatures made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was four and a half metres tall 24-26and four and a half metres across. They had two wings, and the wings were just over two metres long. 27Solomon put them next to each other in the most holy place. Their wings were spread out and reached across the room. 28The creatures were also covered with gold.

29The walls of the two rooms were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. 30Even the floor was covered with gold.

31-32The two doors to the most holy place were made out of olive wood and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. The doors and the carvings were covered with gold. The door frame came to a point at the top.

33-34The two doors to the main room of the temple were made out of pine, and each one had two sections so they could fold open. The door frame was shaped like a rectangle and was made out of olive wood. 35The doors were covered with gold and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures.

36The inner courtyard of the temple had walls made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams.

37Work began on the temple during Ziv, the second month of the year, four years after Solomon became king of Israel. 38Seven years later the workers finished building it during Bul, the eighth month of the year. It was built exactly as it had been planned.

1 Kings 4:1-6:38CEVOpen in Bible reader

Luke 19

Jesus enters Jerusalem

28When Jesus had finished saying all this, he went on towards Jerusalem. 29As he was getting near Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples on ahead. 30He told them, “Go into the next village, where you will find a young donkey that has never been ridden. Untie the donkey and bring it here. 31If anyone asks why you are doing that, just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”

32They went off and found everything just as Jesus had said. 33While they were untying the donkey, its owners asked, “Why are you doing that?”

34They answered, “The Lord needs it.”

35Then they led the donkey to Jesus. They put some of their clothes on its back and helped Jesus get on. 36And as he rode along, the people spread clothes on the road in front of him. 37When Jesus was setting off down the Mount of Olives, his large crowd of disciples were happy and praised God because of all the miracles they had seen. 38They shouted,

“Blessed is the king who comes

in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven

and glory to God.”

39Some Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, make your disciples stop shouting!”

40But Jesus answered, “If they keep quiet, these stones will start shouting.”

41When Jesus came closer and could see Jerusalem, he cried 42and said:

Today your people don't know what will bring them peace! Now it is hidden from them. 43Jerusalem, the time will come when your enemies will build walls around you to attack you. Armies will surround you and close in on you from every side. 44They will level you to the ground and kill your people. Not one stone in your buildings will be left on top of another. This will happen because you did not see that God had come to save you.

Jesus in the temple

45When Jesus entered the temple, he started chasing out the people who were selling things. 46He told them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be a place of worship.’ But you have made it a place where robbers hide!”

47Each day, Jesus kept on teaching in the temple. So the chief priests, the teachers of the Law of Moses, and some other important people tried to have him killed. 48But they could not find a way to do it, because everyone else was eager to listen to him.

Luke 19:28-48CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.26.9
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