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First Reading: 1 Kings Chapter 5 and 61 Kings 5
5:1 Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple
(2 Chron 2)
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they
had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David.
2 Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:
3 You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the LORD
his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until
the LORD put his foes under the soles of his feet. 4 But now the LORD my God
has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.
5 And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as
the LORD spoke to my father David, saying, "Your son, whom I will set on
your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name." 6 Now
therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants
will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according
to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut
timber like the Sidonians.
7 So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly
and said,
Blessed be the LORD this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great
people!
8 Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:
I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire
concerning the cedar and cypress logs. 9 My servants shall bring them down from
Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate
to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And
you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household.
10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire.
11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household,
and twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.
12 So the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him; and there was peace
between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.
13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor
force was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand
a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram
was in charge of the labor force. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand who carried
burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 besides
three thousand three hundred from the chiefs of Solomon's deputies, who supervised
the people who labored in the work. 17 And the king commanded them to quarry
large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple.
18 So Solomon's builders, Hiram's builders, and the Gebalites quarried them;
and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.
1 Kings 6
6:1 Solomon Builds the Temple
(2 Chron 3:1-14)
And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children
of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's
reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began
to build the house of the LORD. 2 Now the house which King Solomon built for
the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty
cubits. 3 The vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the house was twenty cubits
long across the width of the house, and the width of the vestibule extended
ten cubits from the front of the house. 4 And he made for the house windows
with beveled frames.
5 Against the wall of the temple he built chambers all around, against the walls
of the temple, all around the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. Thus he made
side chambers all around it. 6 The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the
middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made
narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would
not be fastened into the walls of the temple. 7 And the temple, when it was
being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer
or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
8 The doorway for the middle story was on the right side of the temple. They
went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.
9 So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams
and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple,
each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.
11 Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying: 12 "Concerning this
temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments,
keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with
you, which I spoke to your father David. 13 And I will dwell among the children
of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel."
14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15 And he built the inside walls
of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling
he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with
planks of cypress. 16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the
temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the
inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. 17 And in front of it the temple sanctuary
was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental
buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.
19 And he prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of
the covenant of the LORD there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long,
twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and
overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple
with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary,
and overlaid it with gold. 22 The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until
he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold the entire altar
that was by the inner sanctuary.
23 Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits
high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub
five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25
And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and
shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub.
27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner room; and they stretched out the
wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the
wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each
other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and
outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.
30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer
sanctuaries.
31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the
lintel and doorposts were one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were of olive
wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers,
and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm
trees. 33 So for the door of the sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood,
one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of cypress wood; two panels
comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door.
35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid
them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.
36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar
beams.
37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the
month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the
eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all
its plans. So he was seven years in building it.
Second Reading: John Chapter 9
John 9
9:1 A Man Born Blind Receives Sight
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples
asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he
was born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the
works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent
Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I
am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the
saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said
to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent).
So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind
said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"
9 Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him."
He said, "I am he."
10 Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"
11 He answered and said,"A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and
I received sight."
12 Then they said to him, "Where is He?"
He said, "I do not know."
13 The Pharisees Excommunicate the Healed Man
They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath
when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked
him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay
on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."
16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because
He does not keep the Sabbath."
Others said,"How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there
was a division among them.
17 They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because
He opened your eyes?"
He said,"He is a prophet."
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received
his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.
19 And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born
blind? How then does he now see?"
20 His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and
that he was born blind; 21 but by what means he now sees we do not know, or
who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for
himself." 22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews,
for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ,
he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, "He
is of age; ask him."
24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him,"Give God
the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner."
25 He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.
One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see."
26 Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open
your eyes?"
27 He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do
you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?"
28 Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses'
disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not
know where He is from."
30 The man answered and said to them,"Why, this is a marvelous thing, that
you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know
that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does
His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that
anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from
God, He could do nothing."
34 They answered and said to him,"You were completely born in sins, and
are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.
35 True Vision and True Blindness
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said
to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"
36 He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"
37 And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking
with you."
38 Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him.
39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those
who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said
to Him, "Are we blind also?"
41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now
you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
I KINGS
Part 2 of 2
After Solomon died, Rehoboam his son became king. However, the people were weary of the burdens of a wealthy king and under the influence of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, the ten northern tribes rebelled. From this time forward there were two kingdoms: the northern and the southern. The kings of the southern tribes (Judah and Benjamin) followed the lineage of David. Some of these kings were faithful to God. The kings of the northern kingdom from the beginning were wicked and unfaithful. Jeroboam set up idols in Dan and Bethel (either ends of his kingdom) so that the people would not be tempted to go down to Judah and Jerusalem where the Temple of God was.
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