This week, we shall continue the
study of 2 Chronicles of the Old Testament.
(1) 6:22-23—Wronging One’s Neighbor (civil justice)
a. When one is accused of wrong doing against his neighbor (as referred to in Exod. 22:6-12) and upon denial, comes before the temple, what did Solomon ask God to do?
b. Would God necessarily condemn or vindicate immediately? Why or why not?
c. How important was this prayer to Solomon and the people?
(2) 6:24-25—Defeat with some taken captive (as referred to in Lev. 26:17; Deut. 28:25)
a. Do you think every time they were defeated it was necessarily because of their sin?
b. Solomon details the necessary acts of repentance in v. 24: Which of these acts of repentance is the hardest to do?
c. What did Solomon ask God to do?
d. How important was this prayer to Solomon and the people?
(3) 6:26-27—Drought (as referred to in Lev. 26:19; Deut. 11:17; 28:23)
a. Do you think drought can still be a consequence of our sin?
b. What would repentance entail?
c. What did Solomon ask God to do?
d. How important is this prayer for us today?
(4) 6:28-31—Plague and Natural Disasters (as referred to in Lev. 26:19, 20, 26; Deut. 28:20-22)
a. How many would it take to intercede for the entire nation?
b. What is the prerequisite for this intercessor? (v. 29a; see also 1 Ki. 8:38)
c. What did Solomon ask God to do?
d. What is the purpose of God’s forgiveness? (v. 31)
e. How and for whom may you apply this prayer today?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) 6:32-33—Foreign Worshipper (as referred to in Num. 15:14-16)
a. Why did Solomon choose to pray for foreign worshippers at this dedication ceremony?
b. What reason did Solomon give for God to hear the foreigner’s prayer? (v. 33)
c. How does this reflect his agreement with Isaiah 56:7 and Mark 11:17?
d. How does this reflect the desire of God in His covenant with Abraham? (Gen. 22:18)
(2) 66:34-35—Going to War
a. What condition was attached to such a war? (v. 34)
b. How important was it?
c. What did Solomon ask God to do?
(3) 6:36-39—In Captivity (as referred to in Lev. 26:33, 44; Deut. 28:45ff, 64ff; 30:1-5)
a. From the words he said, do you think Solomon anticipated their exile? (v. 36)
b. Since they will be in exile in a foreign land, how can they pray in the temple? (v. 38)
c. Where did Solomon expect God to hear their prayers? (v. 39)
d. What did he ask God to do?
e. Can you remember who prayed exactly according to the request of Solomon while Israel was in exile? (See Dan. 9)
(4) 6:40-42—End of Solomon’s Prayer:
a. As Solomon concluded his intercession, what was the basis of his confidence that God would open His eyes to see and His ears to hear their prayers? (v. 42b)
b. Why did he call the temple “God’s resting place”? (v. 41)
c. How did he express his wish for the priests? (v. 41) What does it mean?
d. Solomon did ask God not to reject His anointed one, meaning himself:
- Would God reject him?
- Why or why not?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
7:1-3—God Accepts Solomon’s Prayer
(1) What did Solomon ask for at the end of his prayer? (6:41)
(2) How did the Lord answer his prayer in no uncertain terms? (7:1-2)
(3) How did the people respond to God’s epiphany? (7:3)
(4) What future event might it remind you of? (e.g. Philippians 2:9-12)
7:4-10—The Dedication of the Temple
(5) It is helpful to remember that the 7th month was a significant month for festivals: With the 1st day being the Festival of Trumpets, the 10th day the Day of Atonement and the 15th–21st days the Festival of the Tabernacles. It appears that they celebrated the feast for the dedication of the temple for “seven days” (i.e. 8th to14th), and the Festival (of the Tabernacles) for seven days more (i.e. 15th–22nd days), the 8th day (after the Festival) was the day they held a sacred assembly:
a. How lavish was the sacrifice made to the dedication of the temple? (vv. 5, 7)
b. It is safe to assume that the Lord did not send fire down to consume these cattle and sheep so sacrificed: Did it make these sacrifices less meaningful and acceptable? Why or why not?
c. The focal point of the celebration was obviously the temple (and God Himself) and secondarily the king who built it. How does the whole passage end in v. 10?
d. What did the whole experience of the dedication of the temple mean to
- The people?
- The priests?
- King Solomon?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) When and why did the Lord first appear to Solomon? (1:7 and 1 Ki. 3)
(2) Direct answer to Solomon’s prayer:
a. Vv. 12, 15-16: God has chosen this temple:
- What is meant by “consecrating” this temple? (v. 16)
- What is meant by “My eyes and my heart will always be there”? (v. 16)
- Was Solomon’s prayer of dedication just wishful thinking on his part then?
b. How did the Lord respond to Solomon’s seven intercessions in 6:22-39? (vv. 13-14)
c. God’s answer in v. 14 is often used as our prayer for our own land: Do you think it is equally applicable to our time? Why or why not?
(3) What was the additional personal blessing that God promised Solomon? (v. 18) How much, do you think it meant to Solomon?
(4) What conditions did God put on His blessings? (v. 17) Why?
(5) What curses would befall him and his people should he or his descendants turn away from the Lord? (vv. 19-22)
(6) Why did God choose to warn him at this point?
(7) What eventually would happen to Solomon? (1 Ki. 11:4)
(8) What eventually would happen to the people and the temple? (2 Chr. 36:15-20)
(9) “All who pass by” (v. 21) obviously refers to the Gentiles: What would they say? How would they (including you) know?
(10) Since God has already affirmed His delight of Solomon and his building of the temple by filling the temple with glory and sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice (7:1-3), from the words by the Lord, why do you think He chose to appear and speak to Solomon again?
(11) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
After the description of how Solomon finished his most important projects, the building of the Lord’s temple and the palace complex, the Bible gives us a glimpse into the other military and commercial activities of Solomon:
8:1-6—Fortification of Cities in the Outskirt
(1) How long was Solomon’s reign? (9:30) What might be the significance that he spent most of his energy during the first half of his reign in these two building projects?
(2) Solomon originally gave Hiram the 20 towns in Galilee only to have him mockingly call them “the land of Kabul”—meaning good for nothing (1 Ki. 9:11-13). It appears that Hiram had returned these cities to Solomon who then rebuilt them. What was the reputation of Galilee which lasted not only to the time of the writing of the Books of the Kings, but all the way to Jesus’ time? (See Jn. 7:3, 41, 52.)
(3) The towns fortified by Solomon (in vv. 3-6 as supplemented by 1 Ki. 9:15-19) were basically cities in the outskirts from Hazor (in the far north), Megiddo (in the northwest coast), Gezer, to Lower Beth Horon and Baalath (along the southwest coast) and Tamar (in the extreme south, near Edom). According to 1 Chr. 8:4-6, they were reinforced for defense purposes, stationed with chariots and horses: What picture is being painted by this account?
8:7-10—Using of Foreign Laborers
(4) What was the importance of the emphasis that in these projects of re-fortification, only non-Israelites were used as forced labor? (see Deut. 20:11; Lev. 25:39)
8:11—Moving of Pharaoh’s Daughter
(5) What was the reason of moving his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, away from the City of David into her own palace? Do you admire Solomon’s intention? Why or why not?
8:12-16—Enforcement of Public Worship at the Temple
(6) How important was it for the nation that Solomon enforce all regulations concerning the offering of sacrifices?
(7) Would it necessarily guarantee the faithfulness of the people to the Lord? Why or why not?
8:17-18—Solomon’s Other Activities
(8) In concluding the account of the various projects of Solomon, what does the account of vv. 17-18 serve to reflect? (you may wish to consult the Note below)
(9) What is the main message to you today, and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
While Israel had never been known for its naval superiority, in the time of Solomon, he was able to take advantage of his alliance with Hiram to build a respectable fleet, achieving stability in land (with the fortified cities) and sea (with the fleet). This too, reflected the wisdom of Solomon over his predecessors and successors. The mining of gold from Ophir (location uncertain to these days, but likely situated in Southern Arabia) also reflected his wealth, as 16 to 17 tons of gold was quite substantial in value!
9:1-9, 12—Visit by the Queen of Sheba
(1) What had prompted the Queen of Sheba to visit
Solomon? (v. 1; see also additional information in 1 Ki. 10:1)
(2) How did the Queen of Sheba (see Note below) know of Solomon’s “relationship to the Lord” as 1 Kings 10:1 says?
(3) Do people know of “your relationship to the Lord”? Why or why not?
(4) Why did she come to ask “hard questions”? (v. 1)
a. To prove Solomon wrong? Or
b. To learn from him?
(5) Do people come to ask you “hard questions” about your faith? What might be their intention?
(6) What were the things that had caused the queen to be “overwhelmed”? (v. 4)
(7) If you were the queen of Sheba, would you also be overwhelmed? Why?
(8) The queen mentioned about Solomon’s achievements and wisdom (vv. 5-6).
a. What is “wisdom” as defined by the Bible? (Prov. 9:10)
b. Among the two things mentioned by the queen, what might be the more important to a person?
c. Is achievement a must for a person ...
- To bring glory to God in his or her life, to prove that he or she is pleasing to the Lord? Or to change the society?
- Why or why not?
d. According to the queen:
- What was the cause of the happiness of Solomon’s people and officials? (v. 7)
- What was the source of Solomon’s success and purpose? (v. 8)
(9) What does this passage about Queen of Sheba serve to illustrate?
9:10-11—Trade-Pact with King Hiram
(10) What was this “bracketed” section concerning King Hiram about?
(11) Why is it inserted within the narrative of the visit of queen of Sheba? (Note the last sentence in v. 11.)
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
While Josephus opines that Sheba is Ethiopia, many scholars think that it refers to Sabeans, an Arabian tribe living in North Arabia.
9:13-28—The Splendor of Solomon
(1) Gold was obviously the most precious metal and this passage highlights the extravagant use of gold by Solomon:
a. His annual revenue in terms of gold was about 25 tons: How much might it be in today’s value? (1 ton is 2,240 lbs)
b. How many ornamental shields, big and small did he have? (likely for a parade or special occasion)
c. What else were made of gold in his royal household?
d. Was his wealth necessarily a reflection of God’s glory?
(2) The awesomeness of Solomon’s power was reflected by the following:
a. His one-of-a-kind throne:
- What was it made of?
- What might the two lions on the armrests and the twelve lions on the steps stand for?
b. His military power:
- How many chariots and horses did he have?
- Where were they imported from?
- How does this passage reflect the dominance of Solomon over the region?
(3) The wisdom of Solomon:
a. What was the evidence of Solomon’s wisdom? (vv. 22-23)
b. How might Solomon use such opportunities to bring glory to God?
9:29-31—The Death of Solomon
(4) Although the Chronicler does not highlight the failures of Solomon in his account, Solomon’s sin was known to all (1 Ki. 11). Given the splendor of Solomon in terms of wealth, power and wisdom, consider the following:
a. What might great wealth do to a person?
b. What might immense power do to a person?
c. What might the possession of great wisdom do to a person?
d. Which of the three above, in your opinion, presented the greatest temptation to Solomon?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?