King David, although he wasn't allowed to actually build the 1st Temple, initiated the collection of the materials for it starting with a vision God gave him of the Temple and the Altar of Burnt Offering. The Altar of Burnt Offering was where the animals were offered as sacrifices to the LORD. King David then instructed that the foreigners in Israel be put to forced labour to start construction of the temple especially cutting the stones for it. King David also collected iron for nails in the doors and as fasteners in other places of the Temple or House of the LORD and collected much brass for the House of the LORD as well. David also collected much cedar wood from cedar trees brought from the Zidonians or Phoenicians and from Tyre in what is now Lebanon which was possible because of his alliance with Hiram king of Tyre at that time. David envisioned a magnificent building for the House of the LORD or 1st Temple that would later be called Solomon's Temple that would be glorious and well-known throughout the nations. He started to prepare for it in his lifetime as an encouragement to his son Solomon to finish the building after David died. The scripture later says God didn't allow King David to actually build or dedicate this 1st temple because he was a man of war. However ascripture later on in Ezekiel 37:25 and chapter 40 to 48 of Ezekiel shows that the LORD will ultimately grant David his desire to be involved with His house by allowing David a major part in the Millennial or Messianic Kingdom Temple. David will be the Prince who will offer some of the sacrifices then and there. The scripture reference of King David's initial gathering of some of the materials for the 1st temple and his vision of glory to the LORD through the finished temple in 1 Chronicles 22 is as follows:
Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt-offering for Israel. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. And David prepared iron in abudance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death. 1 Chronicles 22:1-5
King David started his instructions to Solomon for the 1st Temple, later called Solomon's Temple, with some of the different parts of the temple such as the porch, the houses, the treasuries, the chambers and the place of the mercy seat which was the holy of holies. All these instructions were given according as the Holy Spirit had revealed to David. King David also instructed Solomon in all God had revealed for His will on how the service of the Temple should be conducted. This included the courses of the priests and how or which ones of them were to handle or perform services with vessels of the Temple. King David also supplied Solomon with the gold and silver for the vessels or furniture of the Temple, both for major articles like the candlesticks and tables of shewbread of which I think there were 10 of each in Solomon's Temple and the altar of incense. King David also supplied Solomon with silver and gold for the cherubim that covered the mercy seat and smaller vessels such as bowls, cups and basins or other articles. Although David gave the right weight of gold or silver for all these vessels, Solomon still had to use these materials to fashion all these articles into the proper shapes to be ready for the priests to lead worship of the LORD in the 1st Temple. David was encouraging Solomon to proceed with this as well by completing or providing as much of the work as possible so Solomon would not be overwhelmed but instead be encouraged to complete the work already begun. David said, like Moses before him with the Tabernacle, that the LORD had shown him the pattern or design of all these articles for vessels of the Temple and he was in this chapter conveying that knowledge to Solomon. This knowledge was that the LORD had appointed to complete preparations and building of the 1st or Solomon's Temple on Mount Moriah or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Most of these vessels, although in some cases not as many copies of them have been prepared carefully, prayerfully and scripturally by The Temple Institute. The Temple Institute is leading the effort by Jewish people to build the 3rd temple that will be in place in the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel but unfortunately will be desecrated by the Antichrist in the 2nd half of the tribulation. The scripture reference of King David of Israel conveying the instructions for the design and materials for vessels of the 1st Temple to his son and successor as king of Israel is as follows:
Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, 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. He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, 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: Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver: And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. 1 Chronicles 28:11-19
One thing I personally have always found intriguing in God's word the Holy Bible, since I first read it, is that especially in the Old Testament there are a number of extra-biblical books mentioned. Generally these are in the historical books of the Old Testament such as Joshua to 2 Chronicles. They usually mention that some of the acts of certain kings or other leaders of Israel are recorded in these books as well as the better known books of our current Bible. One such verse mentioning two of these books or prophets not usually thought of as being part of our current edition of God's word the Holy Bible is in 1 Chronicles 29. A verse in this chapter mentions that the events in the life of king David are written in the writings of the seers or prophets Samuel, Gad and Nathan. Of course there are not books in our current Bible or Word of God named after Gad or Nathan but there are after Samuel. Of course these books are 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. 1 and 2 Samuel together cover all the life of King David and some before that in 1 Samuel. However as I found out partly from some of my reference sources I thin including the Ryrie Study Bible and Unger's Bible Dictionary the last part of 1 Samuel and all of 2 Samuel cover the period of King David's life after Samuel died so Samuel could not have written those parts of the books bearing his name. Specifically 1 Samuel 25:1 mentions that Samuel died and 1 Samuel 28:3 mentions that Samuel was dead (that he had already died by that time). However both 1 Samuel 25 and 28 are during the time of King David as well as the following part of 1 Samuel and all of 2 Samuel even though Samuel was then already dead. It is the thought also of some conservative Bible scholars such as Mr. (Dr.) Ryrie and Unger that these later parts of the books named after Samuel were instead written by Gad and by Nathan and put under Samuel's name probably by a later Jewish scribe. The scripture reference in 1 Chroncles 29 that mentions that Gad and Nathan as well as Samuel recorded events in the life of King David and that would correspond to 1 Kings 1 and 2 just after the end of 2 Samuel and that indicate much of the books of Samuel were recorded by Gad and Nathan rather than Samuel is the following:
Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries. 1 Chronicles 29:26-30
In the latter part of the reign of King Saul of Israel when Saul was trying to kill David for jealousy David hid himself for a while with the Phillistines of Gath under Achish in the latter part of 1 Samuel 21. On his way back to Judah David hid himself in the cave of Adullam in Judah and some of David's family joined him there. Also many people who were some, about 400, of the outcasts of society joined David probably thinking he would be more merciful to them if he became King of Israel. David then brought some of his family to Moab on the other side of the Jordan River to stay there until he received more clear direction from God for his life and the possible next steps for him to be king of Israel. David then returned to the hold or the cave of Adullam. Then God gave a prophecy to David through the prophet Gad (the seer). Gad told David by the LORD to not stay any longer in the cave of Adullam but to instead go into the land of Judah. David followed Gad's advice right away but King Saul heard about this and then started plans to come against David with Saul's soldiers to try to kill David. This prophecy of Gad in the life of David was before the death of Samuel as mentioned in 1 Samuel 25 so it could have been written in 1 Samuel by either Samuel or Gad. The scripture reference from 1 Samuel 22 of David on his process to become King of Israel receiving a message from the LORD through His prophet Gad for David to leave the cave of Adullam that was given before the death of Samuel and that could have been written in 1 Samuel by either Gad or Samuel is as follows:
David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold (cave). And the prophet God said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth. 1 Samuel 22:1-5
In 2 Sameul 24 the scene is near the end of the life and rule of King David over Israel and he numbers or takes a census of the people of Israel. This would include a census of the men of Israel that were of age to go to war against their enemies. In taking this census without God's permission David was showing more faith in the strength of his own armies rather than in God and the real strength behind Israel. God then sent the prophet Gad to David to offer him a choice of three different judgments of God for his sin. That this event was near the end of David's life and well after the death of the prophet Samuel between 1 Samuel 25 and 28 means that this event must have been written in 2 Samuel 24 by the prophet Gad not Samuel. Other material in the latter part of 1 Samuel and all of 2 Samuel that were all after the death of Samuel would also be written by the prophets Gad or Nathan not Samuel according to the scripture from 1 Chronicles 29 above. David chose the judgment of three days of pestilence or plague on the land and people of Israel as the judgment of God mentioned by God's prophet Gad because David felt it was better to suffer a judgment only at the hand of God rather than involving other people such as Israel's enemies. After this plague or pestilence had run its course God told King David through his prophet Gad to make an altar to the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
This offering was to offer dedication to God and show David's sorrow for his sin of carrying out the census and to get more fully restored to God. Jebus was the Canaanite name for Jerusalem that was not yet then in the possession of Israel because the Jebusites were quite strong in resisting the military attempts of Israel to take it. However, shortly after this incident God was able to use King David to take the city by force for Israel. This is when Jerusalem became Israeli territory around 1000 BC. The threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite that David bought as king of Israel for Israel and that was on Mount Moriah. The location of this threshingfloor on Mount Moriah shortly after this became the site of Solomon's Temple then later on the second Jewish Temple first by Zerubbabel after the Babylonian captivity and then restored by King Herod. This restoration of the second temple by King Herod was shortly before the coming into this world of Israel's Redeemer and the Saviour of the world the Lord Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth. This location is known now as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and will be the site of the third or tribulation temple by agreement of the Antichrist or Man of Sin or he that causes the abomination of desolation with Israel. This agreement will first let Israel resume their Levitical worship of God there and then the Antichrist will break the agreement with Israel and the Antichrist will force the people then on the world to worship him and the dragon (Satan the Devil) or be killed until the Lord Jesus Christ defeats them and this ungodly world system and those still holding to it at Jesus' second coming at the end of the tribulation.
God used the prophet Gad to give prophecies mentioned in the books of Samuel near the beginning and near the end of David's reign as king of Israel. The scripture reference from 2 Samuel 24 of God sending the prophet Gad to King David to give a choice of judgment to David and to Israel for David's faith in men (David's armies) more than God near the end of David's life and well after the death of Samuel and that must have been written by the prophet Gad not Samuel in 2 Samuel 24 is as follows:
And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy (your) servant; for I have done very foolishly. For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or tht there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men. And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. 2 Samuel 24:10-25
Although King David had prepared the material and conveyed the instructions given to him by the Holy Spirit to build the 1st Temple, at the beginning of his reign in this chapter, Solomon later finally gets around to actually building the furniture or major vessels of the temple. The first of the articles of furniture that is mentioned that Solomon built was the altar of brass which is also called the brazen altar or altar of sacrifice. Brass in the Bible speaks of judgment and the thought here is that it was necessary to have shedding of blood of the animals on the brazen altar to avert God's judgment for their sins. This of course points to the perfect sacrifice that only can take away our sins of God's Messiah Jesus of Nazareth. This altar was twenty cubits long or thirty feet or about ten metres long by twenty cubits or thirty feet or about ten metres broad by ten cubits or fifteen feet or about five metres high. Solomon also made a molten sea of ten cubits or fifteen feet or about five metres from brim or edge to edge and of a height of five cubits or seven and a half feet or two and a half metres with a round rim. Solomon made twelve oxen of metal (brass) that were holding up the brazen sea with three pointing each of north, east, south and west with their behinds pointing inward. The thickness of this sea was the breadth of a hand and it was decorated with flowers and lilies. It could hold three thousand baths or at about 8 gallons to a bath about twelve thousand gallons or about fifty thousand litres of water. This brazen sea was used for the priests to wash themselves in to be ritually pure for their priestly duties such as offering the sacrifices. Solomon also made ten lavers, five on one side and five on the other for the priests to wash the animals they were about to offer as burnt offerings on the altar of brass. All these articles, the brazen sea, the altar of sacrifice and the lavers were in the courtyard of the temple outside the actual building of the temple as in the tabernacle and the second temple or Herod's temple. This will most likely be the case also in the third temple that groups that The Temple Institute and The Temple Mount Faithful of Orthodox Jews are now trying to build on The Temple Mount in Jerusalem. These items in the courtyard of the temple meant they didn't require as much holiness or separation to the LORD to approach or use as in items inside the temple or the holy place or of course in the holy or holies or the oracle. Solomon also made ten candlesticks of gold and placed them in the temple on the left side and on the right. These would give the only light inside the holy place as there were there no windows to give natural light from the sun although supernatural light would be received in the most holy place when the Shekinah glory of the LORD came to reside there after the temple's dedication to the LORD. Solomon also made the ten tables of shewbread which was to provide some food for the priests and they were also placed in the temple or holy place five on the left side and five on the right. They were also made of gold which speaks of worship. Finally in verse 19 it says Solomon also made the golden altar which was also known as the altar of incense. This was also placed inside the holy place of the Temple and was used to offer incense to the LORD which was symbolic of offering prayer to the LORD in heaven. This was also made of gold to symbolize worship. All these articles except the brazen sea which I don't think will be made this time or the brazen altar which will be made again but hasn't yet been made. These other articles have already been made according to Old Testament specifications under the Law of Moses by the Temple Institute. These articles have been made for the Third Temple which will be built soon and can be viewed on their web site at www.templeinstitute.org in the gallery section. The scripture reference in 2 Chronicles 4 of Solomon making the articles of furniture for the 1st temple or Solomon's temple for the temple in Jerusalem is as follows:
Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of a brim of a cup, with flowers and lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths. He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt-offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold. ... And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set; 2 Chronicles 4:1-8, 19
In the previous paragraph I mentioned Solomon's preparations of most of the large vessels or pieces of furniture for the 1st temple in Jerusalem. However Hiram (Huram) King of Tyre also helped Solomon make other items for the temple. Some of the larger parts of the temple structure made at this time by Hiram and Solomon and their workers were the court of the priests and the great court or I think outer court or court of the Gentiles and doors for these courts. These doors at the gates of the courts were made of brass. The sea or sea of brass on the 12 oxen was set on the right side of the east end which is in the direction of the Mount of Olives away from the city of Jerusalem proper towards the south. Huram (Hiram) also made the pots (for the sacrifices) and the shovels (for such things as removing the ashes from the altar of sacrifice) and the basons (for such things as catching the blood from the animal sacrifices). Hiram finished all this work. Copies of all these types of articles have also been finished recently by The Temple Institute for the next or third temple that is soon to be built in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. Unfortunately this 3rd temple in the 2nd half of the tribulation will be taken over by the Antichrist to get the world to worship him there. The temple worship including animal sacrifices by the Jews in the 1st half of the tribulation will however point the way to the temple worship in the Millennial or Messianic Kingdom including animal sacrifices which will then be a reminder of Jesus the Messiah's one sacrifice on the cross to take away all our sins. Jesus will be in the holy of holies in the Messianic Kingdom Temple as in the last chapters of Ezekiel and Zechariah 14. These small vessels of the temple for the Third Temple can be seen at the Temple Institute's web site at www.templeinstitute.org under the Gallery section. Huram (Hiram) also finished building and decorating the two pillars that would stand outside Solomon's Temple called Jachin and Boaz. The tops of chapiters of the pillars would be decorated with wreathes and pomegranites. As mentioned earlier Hiram also built the lavers and sea above the oxen for Solomon and the God of Israel or the LORD and the house of the LORD. Most if not all these articles as well as the fleshhooks for handling the animal sacrifices were made of brass. This brass was obtained from the clay ground in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredathah which was about half way up the Jordan Valley between the Dead Sea (then called the Sea of the Arabah) and the Sea of Galilee (then called the Sea of Chinnereth). Solomon, with the help of Hiram King of Tyre, made a great quantity of these vessels of brass beyond what could be easily measured. The scripture reference from 2 Chronicles 4 of the preparation of Solomon with the help of Hiram King of Tyre and their men for the small vessels and larger structure of the temple in things made of brass for Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem is as follows:
Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south. And Huram (Hiram) made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God; To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars; And four hundred pomegranites on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranites on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars. He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases; One sea, and twelve oxen under it. The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah. Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out. 2 Chronicles 4:9-18
With all the description in the preceding chapter of the furniture and vessels of the temple, the work that Solomon made for preparing for the temple was finished. Solomon then brought in all the vessels that his father king David had dedicated for the temple made of silver and gold and put them in the place for treasures of the house of God (the temple). Then Solomon gathered all the leading people of Israel and her tribes to witness the next event in preparing the temple. This was to bring up the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat out of Zion or the City of David which was just south of Mount Moriah and the current location of the Temple Mount to Mount Zion which is the location also of Solomon's Temple. The ark of the covenant was brought to the city of David by David and some priests 2 Samuel 6:12-23. At this time all the men of Israel gathered in a feast called by Solomon on the seventh month, I believe on the Feast of Tabernacles which starts on the 15th day of the seventh month. Then the priests or religious officials took the Ark of the Covenant from Zion and the tabernacle and its vessels from Gibeon near Jerusalem 2 Chronicles 1:2-6 and brought them to the location of Solomon's Temple. At this time the priests sacrificed an abundance of sheep and oxen before the Ark of the Covenant on the location of Solomon's Temple on Mount Moriah to dedicate it to the LORD. Then the priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant into its place in the house of the LORD into the Holy of Holies at the back of the Temple. It is mentioned the only thing in the Ark of the Covenant was the two tables of the covenant or Ten Commandments that God wrote on stone in Moses' presence for the people of Israel and to some extent for the whole human race. The scripture reference in 2 Chronicles 5 of Solomon conducting the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant into the Holy of Holies in Solomon's Temple on Mount Zion or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in preparation of the LORD coming down with the presence of his glory into the Holy of Holies is as follows:
Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb (Sinai), when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. 2 Chronicles 5:1-10
As part of the dedication of Solomon's Temple, the priests came out of the holy of holies after bringing in the Ark of the Covenant joined with the Levites in praising the LORD outside the Temple by the altar of sacrifice with musical instruments. The Levitical singers joined in one accord in thanking and praising the LORD for who he is and his blessings including his mercy to the people of Israel in cooperation with the priests and Levites praising the LORD with musical instruments. After this and after all the elements of the temple were installed including the ark of the covenant and after the initial sacrifices on the location of Solomon's Temple the LORD showed his blessing by coming down from heaven and filling Solomon's Temple with the glory of His presence. The LORD's glory continued to dwell in the 1st Temple or House of the LORD in the holy of holies for most of its history except the time just before God gave up Jerusalem and the Temple there to the Babylonians because of the forsaking of the LORD by the people of Judah and their idolatry, immorality and other sins. The scripture reference in 2 Chronicles 5 of the praising and thanking of the LORD by the priests and Levites, after the preparation of the temple and all its vessels and the initial sacrifices that resulted in the LORD's glory filling the House of the LORD or Solomon's Temple is as follows:
And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harp, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding the trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to made one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God. 2 Chronicles 5:11-14
According to especially scriptures like John 4:23-24 believers in this age of the Church or Holy Spirit are commanded to pray to God and have access to him from any place on earth or elsewhere. However when God was dealing with Israel in the Old Testament especially since the time of the building of Solomon's Temple the Israelites were urged to pray from or towards the location of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Especially after the church is caught up to heaven soon and the LORD again deals with the Jewish people as his witness to the world or the nations, God's command to pray towards the Temple Mount or Mount Zion and the soon rebuilt temple there will probably be in effect again. Even in the second half of the tribulation when the Antichrist will be defiling the Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount or Mount Zion this injunction could still be in effect. The Jews would then be expected to look beyond this false religious and political leader to the Messianic Kingdom when the true Messiah the Lord Jesus of Nazareth and the Shekinah glory of the LORD or God the Father inhabit the Messianic Kingdom Temple. In this chapter, 2 Chronicles 6, in a dedication prayer of King Solomon of Solomon's Temple to the LORD he mentions a number of specific cases for which God would especially honour prayers of the children of Israel or even Gentiles joined to Israel and their God as follows. If a man sinned against his neighbour, especially with an oath, and the oath came before the temple, God is urged to bring justice on the wicked and liberty for the victim. If the people of Israel are defeated by one of their enemies such as the neighbouring countries because of the children of Israel's sins, God promised to bring the people of Israel into the land if they confess their sins and pray towards the temple. If their is no rain because the sin of the people of Israel and the people of Israel pray towards the temple and confess God's name and turn from their sin the LORD is besought of Solomon to lead them in the right way and give them sufficient rain. If there is a plague of disease, mold or insects or besieging of the cities of Israel by their enemies Solomon beseeches the LORD to hear the children of Israel. This would also be when they pray towards the location of Solomon's Temple on Mount Zion or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem that the people Israel might reverently fear the LORD and walk in his ways. Also for the stranger, non-Jew or Gentile who prays towards the location of Solomon's temple on the Temple Mount the LORD is urged to hear them. Solomon pleads that God hears the Gentiles' paryers to the temple that they might know the God of Israel is the true and living God and that the temple and temple mount is called by his name. Finally Solomon beseeches the LORD to hear from heaven to the prayers the Jews or children of Israel make towards Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple on the Temple Mount or Mount Zion when the children of Israel go to war against their enemies and maintain their, the Jews, cause. Finally Solomon beseeches the LORD that if the children of Israel or the Jews sin against the LORD or God the Father and they are delivered over to their enemies and are brought captive to their lands, which of course is very much the situation for the majority of Jewish people in the world today, that God would hear them. It was Solomon's desire that the Jews or children of Israel in the foreign lands return to the LORD with all their heart and pray towards the land of Israel, Jerusalem and the location of the Temple Mount where Solomon's Temple stood that the LORD was asked to hear the prayers of the Jews, maintain their cause and forgive his people the children of Israel. The scripture reference in 2 Chronicles 6 of Solomon's prayer beseeching the LORD to hear the prayers towards the location of Solomons' Temple especially of the children of Israel or of strangers in the land of Israel that honour the God of Israel and grant them their requests and deliverance from their problems is as follows:
If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance. If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be: Then what prayer or what supplication soever be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all the people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have done wickedly; If thou return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. 2 Chronicles 6:22-39
Jeroboam was one of King Solomon of Israel's high ranking soldiers in his army. Near the end of the time of Solomon's reign and life, Jeroboam rose up against Solomon especially because of the expenses of King Solomon's work in urban renewal in Millo and the city of David which is also called Zion and was the former location of the Jebusite stronghold. This would most likely cause high taxes for the people of Israel along with Solomon's many other building projects. King Solomon had rewarded Jeroboam for his ambition by setting him in authority over part of his people and kingdom especially of the house of Joseph (Manessah and Ephraim). At that time Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem and he was met by Ahijah, a prophet of Solomon, by the roadside. Jeroboam was at that time wearing a new garment. Ahijah took the new garment and cut it in twelve pieces and urged Jeroboam to take ten of the pieces. Ahijah then said from the LORD that the LORD had taken the kingdom of Israel from Solomon and given ten tribes to Jeroboam. However the LORD promised he would maintain one extra tribe besides Judah for Solomon's descendants for the sake of God's promise to King David and for Jerusalem's sake that God still wanted to have as His capital at least of the southern kingdom of Judah. The LORD said he would take the ten tribes from the line of Solomon because he had forsaken the LORD with his wives and other people in his government and people and worshipped false gods and goddesses. These false gods and goddesses include Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians (Phoenicians) which was a version of the mother goddess and Chemosh the god of the Moabites (part of present day Jordan), and Milcom or Molech the god of the children of Ammon (part of Jordan for which Amman the capital of Jordan is named after). God also said Solomon and his household hadn't kept his commandments as King David had before him. The scripture reference from 1 Kings 11 of the LORD raising up Jeroboam against King Solomon and giving him 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because of King Solomon's idolatry and lack of obedience to God and His Word and commandments is as follows:
And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite (member of the tribe of Ephraim) of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon buit Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken me, and worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. 1 Kings 11:26-33
Although the LORD promised to tear the ten tribes from Solomon and his household and give it to Jeroboam, the LORD here qualifies this in that he wouldn't do this while Solomon was still alive for the sake of King David and David's obedience to God's commandments. The LORD says however that he will take the ten tribes from rule of Solomon's son and king them to Jeroboam and leave one (extra) tribe to Solomon's son and descendants to rule. These two tribes later became called the house or kingdom of Judah while the ten northern tribes became called the house or kingdom of Israel. This was the case for the remainder of their time as independent nations before they became subject to Gentile rulers starting with the Babylonians and Assyrians. The LORD promised Jeroboam that if he obeyed God's commandments and did that which was right in his sight as David had done he would give him a sure house or secure dynasty as he had done to David for his faithfulness. God also promised he would do this to afflict the house of David but that this wouldn't last forever. In the Messianic Kingdom Israel and Judah will again be one Kingdom under David's greater son the Messiah that I and other Christians think will be Jesus of Nazareth. The current nations of Israel although not a kingdom is a reestablished nation of Israel under one ruler rather than separate states of Judah and Israel as in the latter part of their independence before they were made subject to Gentile (non-Jewish) rulers and nations starting with Babylon and Assyria. Jeroboam then fled to Egypt when he heard Solomon sought to slay him because of his intention to take ten of the tribes from his house. As we learn later in God's Word - the Holy Bible Jeroboam forfeited a sure house or secure dynasty because he set up unauthorized altars and worship centers in the northern kingdom as alternative to God's one authorized location of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem to worship the LORD. For this Jeroboam is mentioned in the Old Testament as the man that made Israel (the northern Kingdom) to sin because these worship centers also later became centers of idolatry that eventually caused the LORD to give the northern kingdom of Israel into the hands of the Assyrians. The scripture reference in 1 Kings 11 of the LORD promising a lasting dynasty to Jeroboam after the days of Solomon if Jeroboam obeyed the LORD and Solomon seeking to kill Jeroboam is as follows:
Howbeit (however) (the LORD says) I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. 1 Kings 11:34-40
The united kingdom of Israel had separated into two kingdoms after the reign of King Solomon in about 1000 BC. Rehoboam led Judah and Benjamin which included Jerusalem. The remainder of Israel became the northern kingdom which continued to be called Israel and was at first led by Jeroboam. Jeroboam was called "the man who made Israel to sin". This was because he set up false worship centres in the northern or Israelite cities among the ten tribes in Dan and Bethel with golden calves and alternatives to keep people from going down to Jerusalem to worship God. This later led to much more idolatry and kept the northern kingdom and its kings from wholeheartely following God and eventually to God's judgment of them by the Assyrians in 722 BC. Hoshea was the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel that was comprised of the ten tribes. When Hoshea frantically tried to seek political help from the king of Egypt, the king of Assyria lost patience with him and invaded the ten tribes of Israel and carried them away east into the Assyrian Empire. The king of Assyria first besieged Samaria the capital of the northern kingdom for three years and finally it fell. Then Shalmaneser king of Assyria carried Israel or the ten tribes to Assyria including to the places of Halah and Habor by the river of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes which were by the northern reaches of the Euphrates River. However the members of the ten tribes of Israel were later by the Persians driven further eastward including in the area that is now northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Pathans or Pushtuns that populate that area are most likely the bulk of the descendants of the ten tribes of Israel and have many customs as well as appearance similiar to the Israelites and the Law of Moses through the Pushtun legal code the Pushtunwali. Some places that could preserve these place names in 2 Kings 17 are the Khyber pass for Habor and the Afghan city of Herat for Halah and the Gozan river could be Rud (river)Jazan and Peshawar is said to be derived from Pesh-hibur or from pass of Habor. These people also confess they are some of the ten tribes of Israel and there are scriptures in the Bible saying these ten tribes will return to Judaism and the land of Israel in the last days before the coming (again) of the Messiah. The scripture reference of the end of the northern kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel by their defeat by the Assyrian king Shalameneser in 722 BC and their being carried east away into the Assyrian empire is as follows:
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him. Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents. And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 2 Kings 17:1-6
In 2 Kings 17 the writer of the book of kings describes the final exile of the northern 10 tribes and their defeat at the hands of the Assyrians and the reasons in God's sight for his allowing the defeat of the northern kingdom of Israel some of his chosen earthly people at the hands of a pagan nation. One of the reasons God gives that he allowed the Israelites to go into exile was that the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel named Jeroboam made idols, golden calves, in places called Dan and Bethel so that the people of the northern kingdom wouldn't go to Jerusalem to the temple to worship God in the place he appointed and so the people of the northern kingdom wouldn't be tempted to come back under the leadership of the line of King David. These golden calves were idols and were never put away by any of the following kings of the northern kingdom and brought the northern kingdom into continuing disfavour with God. This is what God called through the writer of kings a great sin because it took away from their worship of the one true God. These idols later became intertwined with worship of the pagan god Baal and led the Israelites even further away from the one true God. The scripture reference in 2 Kings 17 of the great sin of idolatry of the golden calves in Bethel and Dan that Jeroboam set up and that continued through the history of the northern kingdom until God's judgment of them through the Assyrians is as follows:
And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. ... And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of the spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; 2 Kings 17:16, 20-22
One of the few other times an event is called a great sin in the Bible is the earlier incident with an idol which was also a golden calf which the entire nation of Israel made and worshipped with Aaron Moses' brother. They made this idol to represent God because they lost faith in God when they didn't have revelation of him or of his appointed leader while Moses was meeting with God on Mount Sinai. God still doesn't like us to use a representation of him to worship him and would still consider that an idol. Although the Israelites also committed immorality in conjuction with the golden calf worship and that would also displease God it is the idolatry with the golden calf that most offended God as it was taking away from his chosen earthly people the Israelites direct worship of Him as their God. Moses pleaded for God's mercy for the Israelites that had sinned in that incident but God in that case didn't have mercy as he considered it quite a grave sin in departing from worshipping Him alone. God then sent a plague for the Israelites who had worshipped this golden calf. The scripture reference of this other great sin that the Israelites did that also happened to be idolatry in Exodus 32 is as follows:
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. ... And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. Exodus 32:30-33, 35.
For more information, comments, question or advice contact Doug at Contact Spirit and Truth Ministries
New Spirit and Truth Ministries Homepage