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First Reading: 1 Kings Chapter 7 and 81 Kings 7
1 And Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.
2 For he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was a hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
3 And it was covered with cedar above over the forty and five beams, that were upon the pillars; fifteen in a row.
4 And there were beams in three rows, and window was over against window in three ranks.
5 And all the doors and posts were made square with beams: and window was over against window in three ranks.
6 And he made the porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits; and a porch before them; and pillars and a threshold before them.
7 And he made the porch of the throne where he was to judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor.
8 And his house where he was to dwell, the other court within the porch, was of the like work. He made also a house for Pharaoh's daughter (whom Solomon had taken to wife), like unto this porch.
9 All these were of costly stones, even of hewn stone, according to measure, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside unto the great court.
10 And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
11 And above were costly stones, even hewn stone, according to measure, and cedar-wood.
12 And the great court round about had three courses of hewn stone, and a course of cedar beams; like as the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and the porch of the house.
13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill, to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
15 For he fashioned the two pillars of brass, eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits compassed either of them about.
16 And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.
17 There were nets of checker-work, and wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital.
18 So he made the pillars; and there were two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars: and so did he for the other capital.
19 And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily-work, four cubits.
20 And there were capitals above also upon the two pillars, close by the belly which was beside the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about upon the other capital.
21 And he set up the pillars at the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.
22 And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work: so was the work of the pillars finished.
23 And he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and the height thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.
24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops which did compass it, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about: the knops were in two rows, cast when it was cast.
25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was set upon them above, and all their hinder parts were inward.
26 And it was a handbreadth thick: and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it held two thousand baths.
27 And he made the ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.
28 And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had panels; and there were panels between the ledges;
29 and on the panels that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and upon the ledges there was a pedestal above; and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.
30 And every base had four brazen wheels, and axles of brass; and the four feet thereof had undersetters: beneath the laver were the undersetters molten, with wreaths at the side of each.
31 And the mouth of it within the capital and above was a cubit: and the mouth thereof was round after the work of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also upon the mouth of it were gravings, and their panels were foursquare, not round.
32 And the four wheels were underneath the panels; and the axletrees of the wheels were in the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their felloes, and their spokes, and their naves, were all molten.
34 And there were four undersetters at the four corners of each base: the undersetters thereof were of the base itself.
35 And in the top of the base was there a round compass half a cubit high; and on the top of the base the stays thereof and the panels thereof were of the same.
36 And on the plates of the stays thereof, and on the panels thereof, he graved cherubim, lions, and palm-trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths round about.
37 After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one form.
38 And he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths; and every laver was four cubits; and upon very one of the ten bases one laver.
39 And he set the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south.
40 And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he wrought for king Solomon in the house of Jehovah:
41 the two pillars, and the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars;
42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars;
43 and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases;
44 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea;
45 and the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: even all these vessels, which Hiram made for king Solomon, in the house of Jehovah, were of burnished brass.
46 In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.
47 And Solomon left all the vessels `unweighed', because they were exceeding many: the weight of the brass could not be found out.
48 And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of Jehovah: the golden altar, and the table whereupon the showbread was, of gold;
49 and the candlesticks, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, of pure gold; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;
50 and the cups, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, `to wit', of the temple, of gold.
51 Thus all the work that king Solomon wrought in the house of Jehovah was finished. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated, `even' the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.
1 Kings 8
1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers' `houses' of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion.
2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
4 And they brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; even these did the priests and the Levites bring up.
5 And king Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.
6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.
7 For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
8 And the staves were so long that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle; but they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.
9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when Jehovah made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah,
11 so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah.
12 Then spake Solomon, Jehovah hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
13 I have surely built thee a house of habitation, a place for thee to dwell in for ever.
14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood.
15 And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who spake with his mouth unto David thy father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,
16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.
17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.
18 But Jehovah said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart:
19 nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.
20 And Jehovah hath established his word that he spake; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and have built the house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.
21 And there have I set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
22 And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;
23 and he said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keepest covenant and lovingkindness with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart;
24 who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day.
25 Now therefore, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
27 But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded!
28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day;
29 that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place whereof thou hast said, My name shall be there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place.
30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and when thou hearest, forgive.
31 If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he come `and' swear before thine altar in this house;
32 then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33 When thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house:
34 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.
35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them:
36 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting `or' mildew, locust `or' caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
38 what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, `or' by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:
39 then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)
40 that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
41 Moreover concerning the foreigner, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake;
42 (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thine outstretched arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house;
43 hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calleth to thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by my name.
44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them, and they pray unto Jehovah toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name;
45 then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
46 If they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive unto the land of the enemy, far off or near;
47 yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly;
48 if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:
49 then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause;
50 and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them;
51 (for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron);
52 that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto thee.
53 For thou didst separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.
54 And it was so, that, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto Jehovah, he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven.
55 And he stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56 Blessed be Jehovah, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant.
57 Jehovah our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us;
58 that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.
59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh unto Jehovah our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require;
60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah, he is God; there is none else.
61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before Jehovah.
63 And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered unto Jehovah, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah.
64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too little to receive the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings.
65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.
66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had showed unto David his servant, and to Israel his people.
Second Reading: Psalms Chapter 89
Psalms 89
1 I will sing of the lovingkindness of Jehovah for ever: With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; Thy faithfulness wilt thou establish in the very heavens.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant:
4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, And build up thy throne to all generations. Selah
5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Jehovah; Thy faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies can be compared unto Jehovah? Who among the sons of the mighty is like unto Jehovah,
7 A God very terrible in the council of the holy ones, And to be feared above all them that are round about him?
8 O Jehovah God of hosts, Who is a mighty one, like unto thee, O Jehovah? And thy faithfulness is round about thee.
9 Thou rulest the pride of the sea: When the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; Thou hast scattered thine enemies with the arm of thy strength.
11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: The world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
12 The north and the south, thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name.
13 Thou hast a mighty arm; Strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne: Lovingkindness and truth go before thy face.
15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: They walk, O Jehovah, in the light of thy countenance.
16 In thy name do they rejoice all the day; And in thy righteousness are they exalted.
17 For thou art the glory of their strength; And in thy favor our horn shall be exalted.
18 For our shield belongeth unto Jehovah; And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy saints, And saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant; With my holy oil have I anointed him:
21 With whom my hand shall be established; Mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not exact from him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 And I will beat down his adversaries before him, And smite them that hate him.
24 But my faithfulness and my lovingkindness shall be with him; And in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand also on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.
27 I also will make him `my' first-born, The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My lovingkindness will I keep for him for evermore; And my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 If his children forsake my law, And walk not in mine ordinances;
31 If they break my statutes, And keep not my commandments;
32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes.
33 But my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant will I not break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David:
36 His seed shall endure for ever, And his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, And `as' the faithful witness in the sky. Selah
38 But thou hast cast off and rejected, Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.
39 Thou hast abhorred the covenant of thy servant: Thou hast profaned his crown `by casting it' to the ground.
40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; Thou hast brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All that pass by the way rob him: He is become a reproach to his neighbors.
42 Thou hast exalted the right hand of his adversaries; Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
43 Yea, thou turnest back the edge of his sword, And hast not made him to stand in the battle.
44 Thou hast made his brightness to cease, And cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: Thou hast covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? `How long' shall thy wrath burn like fire?
47 Oh remember how short my time is: For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men!
48 What man is he that shall live and not see death, That shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, Which thou swarest unto David in thy faithfulness?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; How I do bear in my bosom `the reproach of' all the mighty peoples,
51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Jehovah, Wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.
52 Blessed be Jehovah for evermore. Amen, and Amen. Psalm 90 A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
SUPER HEROES OF THE BIBLE
JOHN THE APOSTLE
John and James the sons of Zebedee were called by Jesus early in his ministry to be his disciples. John was one of the three who was with Jesus on the mountain when he was transfigured. It is believed to be John who speaks of himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved as he reclined next to Jesus at the last supper. It was John who raced with Peter to see the empty grave and it was John who was the first to recognize the risen Christ as they were fishing. John was inspired to write the Gospel of John and the three Letters of John. He also received the visions recorded in the book of Revelation. His writings concerning Jesus are filled with a theme of the love of God and the love of Jesus:
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