2 Chronicles 1 – The Gift Of Wisdom
2 Chronicles 2:1–5:1 – Building The Temple
2 Chronicles 5:2–7:22 – Dedication Of The Temple
Thoughts about serving others
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Solomon wisely choose to provide offerings to the Lord on the altar that Bezalel made, even before the he was given great wisdom before God. After offering “a thousand burnt offerings on it” (2 Chronicles 1:6), God appeared to Solomon and ask the famous question: “As for whatever you want me to give you” (1:7). Solomon’s reply, “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (1:10). Not only does Solomon desire the right gifts, he desires them for the right reasons and recognizes he’s been put in a position to govern God’s people (they’re not Solomon’s people). This seems most significant to me in comparison with David’s sin to conduct a census of his kingdom…not his, but God’s people. Always has been, always will be. Solomon was smart enough to see that and God honors him beyond his wildest imagination.
I often work on software projects, but almost always as a solo gig. It’s been nearly 15 years since I had someone working for me and thus I’ve learned to work alone. Having a team of developers requires a different set of skills. It’s a lot of effort to supervise work of others, even beyond just figuring out how to delegate the work. Solomon’s abilities are off-the-charts! He conscripted 70,000 carriers, 80,000 stonecutters and 3,600 foremen over them (2:2). That alone is incredible.
Solomon asks Hiram, the king of Tyre, to provide materials and most significantly, “a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving…” (2:7), you know, just your not-so-ordinary guy! Hiram sends Huram-Abi. Like Bezalel and Oholiab before him, Huram-Abi is selected as the lead artisan and work begins were David left off.
Note: Bezalel & Oholiab (from Exodus 35) are the gifted and talented artisans that God endowed with the ability to create the tabernacle and all the parts. Significantly, they were given abilities to work with their hands, but more than that, the ability to teach others (Exodus 35:34).
It never ceases to amaze me how such works were accomplished long before the Industrial Revolution. I’m sure that’s why there are so many people involved in the process, but it’s incredible to imagine nonetheless. The number of people involved would be like a football stadium full of dedicated workers–all on the same page of the plan, each day for many days. This is a logistical miracle, though it’s not spoken of in this manner.
Dedicating the temple was another extravagant undertaking with detailed preparations requiring organization and rehearsals. These must have been incredible times! It must have been a great honor to be in the choir as “the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: ‘He is good; his love endures forever'” (2 Chronicles 5:13). Wow! The vision is impressive to understate the obvious! “Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God” (5:14).
Solomon’s pray is quite encompassing. He even prays for the foreigner who comes to pray at the temple, that God would “hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel” (6:33). How cool is that!
In just a few short chapters, Solomon’s great work of the temple is accomplished and the glory is directed toward God, not so much Solomon. That is true wisdom. As I put my mind and hands to work today, Lord help me to give you the honor and glory in all things. Forgive me for wanting any recognition and give me wisdom beyond understanding to do your work, even today.