thy son, he shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father, the relationship thus being typical of that obtaining with Christ, to whom the entire prophecy, 2 Sam. 7, 12 ff., pointed forward. V. 7. Moreover, I will establish his kingdom forever if he be constant, full of determination and strength, to do My commandments and My judgments, both those pertaining to all mankind in general and those intended for Israel in particular, as at this day. V. 8. Now, therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, all members of which would naturally look up to the leaders of the people for guidance, and in the audience of our God, who, as they all knew, was present in this assembly, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord, your God, with great earnestness and zeal, that ye may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever. Earthly blessings are still given by the Lord in return for civil righteousness, and to believers their works of faith in this respect are counted as good works. Note: Like David, Christ also, whose type David was, was selected from among His brethren, but anointed with the Holy Ghost above His brethren, the members of the human family.

SPECIAL ENCOURAGEMENT ADDRESSED TO SOLOMON.-V. 9. And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, who had so often helped David out of his troubles, and serve Him with a perfect heart, with undivided allegiance, and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts, wherefore a mere hand- and lipservice cannot deceive Him. If thou seek Him, desiring His inner acquaintance in true love and service, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever, this being the manner employed by the Lord to this day; He wants heart-service, not mere head-knowledge. V. 10. Take heed, now, watch closely, mark well; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the Sanctuary, to serve as a place dedicated to the Lord; be strong and do it. V. 11. Then David gave to Solomon, his son, the pattern, the model, or sketch, of the porch, that immediately before the Sanctuary, or Temple proper, and of the houses thereof, all the buildings of the Temple, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, those flanking the Sanctuary, used as storerooms for the vestments of the priests and other precious things, and of the inner parlors thereof, the portico before the Sanctuary and the Holy Place, and of the place of the mercy-seat, the Most Holy Place, v. 12. and the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of all that his spirit had in thought, of everything that was in his Popular Commentary, Old Test., I.

mind, which he had caused the architects and draftsmen to sketch and to model, of the courts of the house of the Lord, that of the priests and that of the people, and of all the chambers round about, also those used for the assembling of the ministers in charge and for living quarters, of the treasuries of the house of God, where the regular income of the Temple was placed, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things, where special freewill gifts, especially of precious metals, were placed: v. 13. also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, as David had determined them, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord. Cp. chap. 23-26. V. 14. He gave, or rather, stated, of gold by weight for things of gold, giving the weight or amount of the precious metal to be used in making the various vessels and appointments, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service; v. 15. even the weight for the candlesticks of gold and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick and for the lamps thereof, these being intended for use in the Sanctuary, and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick, these silver candlesticks probably being used in the courts and chambers. The lamps of the candlesticks are mentioned separately because they were daily filled with oil and placed in the cup- or blossom-shaped containers on the arms of the candlesticks. V. 16. And by weight he gave, or stated, gold for the tables of showbread, the one table for this bread here being included with the stands for the candlesticks, for every table, and likewise silver for the tables of silver, for the stands which held the silver candlesticks; v. 17. also pure gold for the flesh-hooks, the forks used in cooking the pieces of the sacrifices, and the bowls, the sprinkling-bowls used so much in sacrificial worship, and the cups, the covered cans, or tankards, used in drink-offerings; and for the golden basins he gave gold by weight for every basin, stating how much should be used in each instance; and likewise silver by weight for every basin of silver; v. 18. and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight, to cover the entire frame-work of acacia-wood; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubim, the mercyseat being called so on account of the fact that the cherubim were represented with their wings extended as if moving rapidly, that spread out their wings, and covered the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. V. 19. All this, said David, the Lord made me 44

understand in writing by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. It is probable that David, in a vision, saw the entire edifice, with all its separate buildings and appointments, so clearly that he was enabled to have the sketches and the models made exactly as they had appeared to him at that time. V. 20. And David said to Solomon, his son, taking up his admonition once more where he stopped when showing the models, Be strong and of good courage and do it; fear not nor be dismayed, the entire trend of the address showing unflinching confidence and steadfast determination; for the Lord God, even my God, the one whom David had served so faithfully all his life, I 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. V. 21. And, behold, the courses

of the priests and the Levites, who were surely also represented in the assembly on that day, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God; and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man for any manner of service, the skilled artisan as well as the ordinary craftsman or workman; also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment; of this David was convinced from his acquaintance with them all and from the cheerful loyalty they had shown him for more than thirty years, except in the matter of the rebellion of Absalom. It is well-pleasing to God and serves as a great encouragement to His servants if all men, great and small, stand together for the purpose of building His kingdom on earth, no matter what special business may be at hand.

The People's Willingness and David's Thankfulness.

THE OFFERING OF THE PRINCES AND OF THE PEOPLE. - V. 1. Furthermore, David the king said unto all the congregation, assembled before him in its representatives, Solomon, my son, whom alone God hath chosen, and not one of the other sons who had attempted to gain the crown for themselves, is yet young and tender, still a young and inexperienced man, for this was before the Lord had endowed him with extraordinary wisdom, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God, and therefore it must be decidedly out of the ordinary in every respect. V. 2. Now, I have prepared with all my might, with all the effort he could summon, for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, either sardonyx or beryl, and stones to be set, glistering stones, of a very dark glancing color, such as carbuncles or rubies, and of divers colors, mottled like agates, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. V. 3. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, because his whole heart and mind was set on the fulfilment of this desire of his life, I have of mine own proper good, of his own private fortune, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, in addition to the precious metals set aside from the spoils of the various wars, v. 4. even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, celebrated for its purity, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to over

lay the walls of the houses withal, this amount being estimated at $40,000,000: v. 5. the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers, the craftsmen and silversmiths. And who, then, is willing to consecrate his service, literally, "to fill his hand," this day unto the Lord? The meaning is that every one following the king in his voluntary offering would be making a free-will sacrifice to Jehovah. Each believer, a priest to the Lord, would thus worship by presenting his sacrifice in person. V. 6. Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, inspired by the appeal of the king, offered willingly, they executed their priestly privilege in offering liberally, v. 7. and gave for the service of the house of God, as their contribution for its erection and equipment, of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, rather, darics, the author here using the name of a Persian coin with which he had become familiar during the exile to designate a smaller amount in weight, and of silver ten thousand talents, the total amount in precious metals being over $60,000,000, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. V. 8. And they with whom precious stones were found gave them, literally, "whatever was found along with it of precious stones they gave," to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite, who had charge of the treasuries of the Temple, chap. 26, 21. V. 9. Then the people rejoiced for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart, a heart which did

not secretly begrudge the gift, they

offered willingly to the Lord; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. That is invariably the experience of believers: The more they give and the more willingly they give for the kingdom of the Lord, for its spread at home and abroad, the more pleasure they themselves have of their action. A congregation in which this spirit prevails is happy above others and usually will show much more spiritual life than one in which the work of the Lord is carried on with an unwilling heart, even if the quota is reached.

DAVID'S THANKSGIVING.-V. 10. Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation, in a spontaneous overflow of delight and gratitude at seeing the willing response of the people with regard to the favorite project of his life. And David said, Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. It was a sincere cry: All glory be to God on high! V. 11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, the shining beauty of the Lord's wonderful essence stood out at this time; for all that is in heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, that is, the sovereignty, and Thou art exalted as Head above all. V. 12. Both riches and honor come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all, all worldly wealth being really a gift of His gracious hand; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all. V. 13. Now, therefore, our God, we thank Thee, as the Giver of all good gifts, and praise Thy glorious name, literally, "the name of Thy glory"; it is wonderful and glorious in itself, and the purpose of our praise is to keep it most glorious above all. V. 14. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? The very willingness to serve the Lord with the gifts of our hands is a blessing of His grace. For all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee. We are merely God's stewards, in charge of goods which He entrusts to us for the few brief years of our earthly existence. In reality all the goods of which we proclaim ourselves the proud owners are God's alone, and He will hold us responsible for their administration. V. 15. For we are strangers before Thee and sojourners, as were all our fathers, the uncertainty and vanity of this earthly life being its most conspicuous feature. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. Note how strongly the otherworldliness of the true religion is emphasized. V. 16. O Lord, our God, all this store that we have prepared to build Thee an house for Thine holy name cometh of Thine hand and is all Thine own; they were merely carrying out the duties of their stewardship in placing

sum.

their money at God's disposal for this purpose. V. 17. I know also, my God, that Thou triest the heart and hast pleasure in uprightness, a mere outward show of piety without true willingness of the heart being an abomination to Him. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now have I seen with joy Thy people which are present here to offer willingly unto Thee, the same spirit of cheerful willingness prompted both the king and the people. V. 18. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, this same spirit of cheerful willingness, and prepare their heart unto Thee, establishing them in faith in Jehovah alone; v. 19. and give unto Solomon, my son, a perfect heart to keep Thy commandments, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace for the which I have made provision, the great Temple, the total sum gathered for which has been estimated from a little less than five billion dollars to five times that V. 20. And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord, your God, in thanking Him for His goodness shown that day. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshiped the Lord and the king, not praying to the latter, but honoring him as the Lord's representative. V. 21. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord, both in atoning for the transgressions of the past and in establishing the right relationship between themselves and God, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel; v. 22. and did eat and drink before the Lord, in the sacrificial meal connected with their offerings, on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon, the son of David, king the second time, the first crowning having taken place rather suddenly upon Adonijah's conspiracy, 1 Kings 1, 35, and anointed him unto the Lord to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest, the degradation of the other high priest, Abiathar, of the line of Ithamar, dating from this time. V. 23. Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord, Jehovah Himself always being considered as the real Ruler of the nation, as king instead of David, his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him, he reigned over a united kingdom. V. 24. And all the princes, the hereditary chieftains, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of King David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king,

692

by the ceremony of putting their hand under the king's extended hand, and kissing the back of it. V. 25. And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel; the two rulers before him had had little of the majestic and magnificent splendor which characterized Solomon. The book now closes with a summary of the reign of David. V. 26. Thus David, the son of Jesse, reigned over all Israel. V. 27. And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years, in round numbers; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. V. 28. And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor, glory among the

people of his own nation and abroad; and Solomon, his son, reigned in his stead. V. 29. Now, the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of Samuel, the seer, the historical account written by that prophet, and in the book of Nathan, the prophet, and in the book of Gad, the seer, v. 30. with all his reign and his might, his military exploits, his brave deeds, and the times that went over him and over Israel and over all the kingdoms of the countries, all those with whom he came into hostile contact or with whom he had a friendly intercourse. Like David, the believers are gathered to the number of perfected saints, to the great number of those whose souls await the resurrection of the last Great Day.

Solomon's Piety, Wisdom, and Wealth. SOLOMON AT GIBEON. - V. 1. And Solomon, the son of David, was strengthened in his kingdom, he was generally and gladly acknowledged as the ruler of the nation, and the Lord, his God, was with him and magnified him exceedingly, giving him a distinction and a splendor which set him apart and made for proper reverence on the part of his subjects. V. 2. Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, as represented in the usual way, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the rulers of the tribes, the hereditary chieftains, the chief of the fathers, that is, of the father-houses. V. 3. So Solomon and all the congregation with him, in the second year of his reign, 1 Kings 3, 4, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the Tabernacle of the Congregation of God, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, had made in the wilderness, Ex. 25 and 26. This was still the official Sanctuary of the people, although the place for the Temple had been selected and the ark was resting under the Tabernacle of David in Jerusalem. V. 4. But the ark of God, which for many years had not been at Gibeon, had David brought up from Kirjath-jearim to the place which David had prepared for it, 2 Sam. 6, 2. 17; for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. V. 5. Moreover, the brazen altar that Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of

1) For introductory remarks, see the introduction to the First Book of Chronicles.

Hur, had made, Ex. 31, 2, he put before the Tabernacle of the Lord, it still had its position before this legal Sanctuary of the nation; and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it, considering it their duty to present their offerings on the legally appointed altar. V. 6. And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar before the Lord which was at the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it, this great sacrifice being made, of course, by the hands of the priests. V. 7. In that night did God appear unto Solomon, in a dream or vision, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. Cp. 1 Kings 3, 5. V. 8. And Solomon said unto God, the chief points of his prayer only being given here, Thou hast showed great mercy unto David, my father, a free acknowledgment of God's unmerited grace and mercy, and hast made me to reign in his stead. V. 9. Now, O Lord God, let Thy promise unto David, my father, be established; for Thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude, a task of ruling which was beyond any man's natural ability. V. 10. Give me, now, wisdom and knowledge, the latter including a deep and correct insight and understanding of affairs and business of the nation, that I may go out and come in before this people, in his entire public activity, in his relation to them as ruler; for who can judge this Thy people that is so great? Such a spirit of meekness and humility in a prayer, appealing to our heavenly Father as ignorant, inexperienced children, is well-pleasing to Him. At the same

time, our prayer may rightly remind the Lord of all His promises. V. 11. And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor, all gifts which the average Oriental monarch would have placed ahead of all others, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life, but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself that thou mayest judge My people, over whom I have made thee king, and who were in a very particular sense God's own people, v. 12. wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee, and I will give thee riches and wealth and honor such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. God granted Solomon much more than he had asked for, thus giving him a proof of His merciful bounty. The Lord hears the prayers of His children if they are made according to His will, especially such as pertain to spiritual gifts and benefits. Moreover, He often blesses His children also in temporal things, in matters pertaining to this life. If we but first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all other things shall be added to us, Matt. 6, 33.

SOLOMON'S IMMENSE WEALTH.-V. 13. Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the Tabernacle of the Congregation, where he had served the Lord by his special act of worship, and reigned over Israel, after having publicly offered praise and thanks to the Lord before the Ark of the Covenant. V. 14. And Solomon gath

ered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, who were trained to fight in chariots as well as on horseback, which he placed in the chariot cities, such as were especially designated for that purpose, and with the king at Jerusalem. V. 15. And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, on account of the great masses of the precious metals which he acquired in the course of time, and cedar-trees made he as the sycomoretrees that are in the vale for abundance, the sycomore-fig tree being one of the most common in the valleys toward the southeast. V. 16. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, for the horses of that country were very highly valued, being as fine as Arabian steeds, but larger and more powerful, and linen yarn, the fine, silklike byssus of Egypt; the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price, or, "they fetched a troop for a certain price," delivered to certain established markets. V. 17. And they fetched up and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver (almost four hundred dollars) and an horse for an hundred and fifty (not quite one hundred dollars); and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria, thereby establishing a lucrative business, by their means. Thus the gracious promises of God to Solomon were literally fulfilled, even as they invariably are to this day. It is but for us to trust in Him with childlike confidence, and we shall not be ashamed.

Solomon Obtains the Assistance of Huram.

SOLOMON'S MESSAGE TO HURAM. — V. 1. And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the Lord, he made arrangements to carry out the last wishes of his father, and an house for his kingdom, a royal palace to display all his wealth and power. V. 2. And Solomon told out, raised by conscription, threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, in the actual erection of the Temple, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, in preparing the stones and the lumber, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. This preliminary note indicates at once the magnitude of the undertaking. V. 3. And Solomon sent to Huram (or Hiram), the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David, my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, 1 Chron. 14, 1, even so deal with me, he was anxious to have the friendly relationship with all that it implied continue. V. 4. Behold, I build an

house to the name of the Lord, my God, to dedicate it to Him, set it aside for His worship, and to burn before Him sweet incense, literally, "to perfume before His face sweet spices," as it was done in the morning and the evening worship, Ex. 25, 6, and for the continual showbread, which was always placed on the special table in the Holy Place, Ex. 25, 30, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord, our God, Num. 28, 29; 1 Chron. 23, 31. This is an ordinance forever to Israel, and therefore the Temple he proposed to build must be a solid and permanent building, made of the most durable materials. V. 5. And the house which I build is great; for great is our God above all gods; its magnificence should, in a way, express the incomparable greatness of the true God. V. 6. But who is able to build Him an house, that is, one in which He would actually dwell, in which He would be enclosed as the heathen idols