1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 3-4

These are corresponding chapters concerning the construction of the palace and the metal furnishings of the temple.

Solomon's palace was huge and made of stone and cedar. There was so much cedar that it was nicknamed the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. We can tell Solomon was wise because his wife (Pharaoh's daughter) had her own room.

Solomon brought in Huram from Tyre to make all the metal objects for the temple. He made a lot of decorative objects for use in the temple including 10 bronze water carts that were ornamented with lions, palm trees, and cherubim. Huram cast 2 massive bronze pillars with 200 pomegranates hanging from chains .

King David would have been proud.

1 Kings 5-6; 2 Chronicles 2-3

Solomon asks Hiram, king of Tyre, for help to build the temple. Hiram was a friend of his father King David. Hiram is delighted about this and sends timber and artisans to build the temple. A massive public works project begins employing thousands of people.

The temple's frame outside was made of stone and the inside was lined with cedar planks. This was in turn overlaid with gold. Numerous cherubim adorned the walls and two particular ones were in the holy of Holies, in parallel to the inner sanctum of the tent.

All the stone work was done at the quarry so no chisels were used at the temple sight. This stands out to me as incredible. That means each individual piece was designed well in advanced off-sight. Why do this? I'm not sure, but it does remind me of several anecdotes where God wanted an altar made from uncut stones.

The temple's construction began in the 4th year of Solomon's reign and was finished in the 11th.

God again speaks to King Solomon. God is happy to reside in this new temple so long as Solomon follows God.

1 Kings 3

Solomon marries the daughter to the pharaoh of Egypt and solidifies an alliance. So, the slavery and Exodus from Egypt has been turned on its head and now Egypt sees Israel as having some political importance.

Solomon is still young. He worships God, but he still worships in the high places.

God appears to him in a dream and asks him what he wants. His reply - a discerning heart to know right from wrong. It is commonly assumed that he has asked for wisdom. I'm not sure if this is the exact same thing. God's response implies that it is not. God will grant him this discerning heart, but also wisdom, riches, and glory and will also extend his life if he follow God.

Immediately after in the test comes the famous example of Solomon's wisdom. I picture this probably happening relatively soon after this dream/promise from God. In other words, my hunch is Solomon is a teenager when he deals with this problem.

Two women who live in the same home gave birth to children at around the same time. One rolls over while sleeping and accidentally kills her child. The mother of the deceased then swapped out the dead child with the living one from the bed of the other woman. Then, she D

denies this happened. This comes before Solomon. He hears the story and both women claim the living child as her own.

Solomon asks for a sword so that the living child can be cut in two and both women will get a piece of the living child. The child's real mother asks for the child to be given to the other woman while the other woman agrees with Solomon's sentence. Solomon then hands the living child to the woman who protested its killing.

Like I said, I think this happened relatively early in Solomon's reign when he was still young. Hearing a pronouncement like this from a teenager would have been very powerful and increased his fame as a wise ruler, which the text does state is what happened.

It also provides credibility for a young king who had a contested ascension to the throne.

1 Kings 2

Solomon seems inclined to let Adonia and his co-conspirators live. He had gotten a promise from Adonia behave.

Adonia tries again. He gets Bathsheba to ask Solomon if Adonia could marry Abishag (the young girl that tended to David). This sets Solomon off and he thinks that Adonia is after the throne. During the initial exchange between Adonia and Bathsheba, he even states that the throne was his, but then God gave it to Solomon.

How much of what Adonia says he believes himself is open for debate, but it makes you wonder how arrogant he is that he is plotting for the throne again. To his credit though, he was the oldest living son of David and in many other monarchies, that would make him the heir.

Not here.

Solomon is angered and has Adonia immediately put to death. He does not do the killing himself, but has his hit man Benaiah do it. Afterwards, Solomon orders the execution of Joab. The stated reason is because Joab killed two innocent people - Abner and Amassa. Although Joab is guilty of their murders, i think that Solomon was predisposed to let Joab live. Then, Adonia's plotting changed things and now Solomon wants to knock those who sided with Adonia.

With their deaths, he does cool off a bit still takes care of the plotters.

Joab allows Abiathar (the head priest who sided with Adonia) to live, but he is removed from his role as priest. This fulfills the prophecy way back with Eli (remember Samuel's mentor) to remove Eli's household as priests.

He has Shimei to remove forever Jerusalem. If he ever leaves Jerusalem, he will die. OK, not a bad deal. Solomon does not want to kill people. He gives them second chances, but that's it. Three years later, Shimei's slaves escape and Shimei leaves Jerusalem to find them. Solomon has him killed.

Psalms 79-83

Psalm 79 - Asaph calls on God to rise up and smack down Israel's enemies. The psalm has a sense of desperation as if Israel has had to endure invasion for some time.

Psalm 80 - this is similar to psalm 79, but Asaph calls on God to return to Israel. The psalm has an overall theme of being abandoned by God and as result, the enemies mock Israel.

Psalm 81 - this one seems to answer to the question raised in psalms 79 and 80- why has God abandoned Israel? In psalm 81, the question is answered. The psalm is written by Asaph but narratively taking the perspective of God, it says that God told Israel not to follow other gods, but God let them go according to their own hearts.

Psalm 82 - another by Asaph. It begins with an interesting imagery, in particular God is presiding over a heavenly assembly. It quickly turns to a focus on protecting and helping the needy and poor.

Psalm 83 - this might be the last by Asaph. In it, he asks God to rise up against the concerted plotting by Israel's enemies. It specifically names a number of enemies, many of whom we saw in the wars of David: Philistines, Edom, and Ammon.

Psalms 75-78

Psalm 75 - another one by Asaph. God is judge. No one can exalt oneself, but it is God who exalts a person.

Psalm 76 - another by Asaph. God provides victory and is to be feared.

Psalm 77 - another by Asaph. This one praises God for redeeming the Israelites and God's work at the hands of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 78 - another by Asaph. This one is very unique in that it recounts the history of the Israelites from their time in Egypt. It recounts a good portion of the plagues individually and even suggests that it was a "band of angels" not a single individual one, that was responsible for slaying the firstborn. It also recounts some of the events of the Exodus, including the Red Sea, water from rock, and then calls manna the "bread of angels". It jumps from the Exodus to generally touching the conquest to end with praising David as God's chosen shepherd for Israel.

Psalms 50, 73-74

Psalm 50 - this was written by Asaph and is very different than any other psalm thus far. After an intro, the psalm is written from God's perspective. God has no need of bulls, but rather wants thankfulness and the fulfillment of vows. Then in the days of trouble, God will come.

Psalm 73 - another psalm by Asaph. This is more similar to the many of the ones by David in that it contrasts wickedness from God. Asaph outlines the importance of having God to be the center, despite that "my flesh and my heart may fail".

Psalm 74 - this is also written by Asaph. Here, Asaph calls for intervention from God against the wicked. It reminds me of the psalms of David in which it sounds like David's enemies have run amuck in Israel. Asaph calls on God and reminds God that God is creator of all the universe and hence, how foolish it is to mock God.

It also mentions by name the "Leviathan". We'll see a lot more about the Leviathan in Job, but verse 14 gives a clue the Leviathan is not a literal, tangible creature - the Leviathan has multiple heads. There is a debate whether the Leviathan is a physical creature and some people suggest that it is a crocodile. There is a similar debate about the other creature mentioned in Job, the Behemoth, for instance if it was a dinosaur or hippopotamus. If all you read was Job, then that idea would have more traction. But if the Leviathan has multiple heads, then i don't think so. Personally, I think the Leviathan is a spiritual creature and actually has a probable new testament reference as the multi-headed dragon that appears from the ocean in Revelation.

But more on that when I get to Job.