The Message (MSG)

The Temple Construction Begins

1 Solomon gave orders to begin construction on the house of worship in honor ofGodand a palace for himself.

2 Solomon assigned seventy thousand common laborers, eighty thousand to work the quarries in the mountains, and thirty-six hundred foremen to manage the workforce.

3-4 Then Solomon sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs, the same kind you sent David my father for building his palace. I’m about to build a house of worship in honor ofGod, a holy place for burning perfumed incense, for setting out holy bread, for making Whole-Burnt-Offerings at morning and evening worship, and for Sabbath, New Moon, and Holy Day services of worship—the acts of worship required of Israel.

5-10 “The house I am building has to be the best, for our God is the best, far better than competing gods. But who is capable of building such a structure? Why, the skies—the entire cosmos!—can’t begin to contain him. And me, who am I to think I can build a house adequate for God—burning incense to him is about all I’m good for! I need your help: Send me a master artisan in gold, silver, bronze, iron, textiles of purple, crimson, and violet, and who knows the craft of engraving; he will supervise the trained craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem that my father provided. Also send cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon; I know you have lumberjacks experienced in the Lebanon forests. I’ll send workers to join your crews to cut plenty of timber—I’m going to need a lot, for this house I’m building is going to be absolutely stunning—a showcase temple! I’ll provide all the food necessary for your crew of lumberjacks and loggers: 130,000 bushels of wheat, 120,000 gallons of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”

11 Hiram king of Tyre wrote Solomon in reply: “It’s plain thatGodloves his people—he made you king over them!”

12-14 He wrote on, “Blessed be theGodof Israel, who made heaven and earth, and who gave King David a son so wise, so knowledgeable and shrewd, to build a temple forGodand a palace for himself. I’ve sent you Huram-Abi—he’s already on his way—he knows the construction business inside and out. His mother is from Dan and his father from Tyre. He knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, in purple, violet, linen, and crimson textiles; he is also an expert engraver and competent to work out designs with your artists and architects, and those of my master David, your father.

15-16 “Go ahead and send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine you promised for my work crews. We’ll log the trees you need from the Lebanon forests and raft them down to Joppa. You’ll have to get the timber up to Jerusalem yourself.”

17-18 Solomon then took a census of all the foreigners living in Israel, using the same census-taking method employed by his father. They numbered 153,600. He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 to work the quarries in the mountains, and 3,600 as foremen to manage the work crews.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/2-7ef74dd4d2e69dd3b3f324264e719ee4.mp3?version_id=97—

1-4 So Solomon broke ground, launched construction of the house ofGodin Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, the place whereGodhad appeared to his father David. The precise site, the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, had been designated by David. He broke ground on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his rule. These are the dimensions that Solomon set for the construction of the house of God: ninety feet long and thirty feet wide. The porch in front stretched the width of the building, that is, thirty feet; and it was thirty feet high.

4-7 The interior was gold-plated. He paneled the main hall with cypress and veneered it with fine gold engraved with palm tree and chain designs. He decorated the building with precious stones and gold from Parvaim. Everything was coated with gold veneer: rafters, doorframes, walls, and doors. Cherubim were engraved on the walls.

8-9 He made the Holy of Holies a cube, thirty feet wide, long, and high. It was veneered with six hundred talents (something over twenty-two tons) of gold. The gold nails weighed fifty shekels (a little over a pound). The upper rooms were also veneered in gold.

10-13 He made two sculptures of cherubim, gigantic angel-like figures, for the Holy of Holies, both veneered with gold. The combined wingspread of the side-by-side cherubim (each wing measuring seven and a half feet) stretched from wall to wall, thirty feet. They stood erect facing the main hall.

14 He fashioned the curtain of violet, purple, and crimson fabric and worked a cherub design into it.

15-17 He made two huge free-standing pillars, each fifty-two feet tall, their capitals extending another seven and a half feet. The top of each pillar was set off with an elaborate filigree of chains, like necklaces, from which hung a hundred pomegranates. He placed the pillars in front of The Temple, one on the right, and the other on the left. The right pillar he named Jakin (Security) and the left pillar he named Boaz (Stability).

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/3-949b7f93351ad63a2a89cdfb44357cf7.mp3?version_id=97—

Temple Furnishings

1 He made the Bronze Altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and ten feet high.

2-5 He made a Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet high, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim, there were two parallel bands of something like bulls, ten to each foot and a half. The figures were cast in one piece with the Sea. The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. All the bulls faced outward and supported the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or a lily. It held about 18,000 gallons.

6 He made ten Washbasins, five set on the right and five on the left, for rinsing the things used for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The priests washed themselves in the Sea.

7 He made ten gold Lampstands, following the specified pattern, and placed five on the right and five on the left.

8 He made ten tables and set five on the right and five on the left. He also made a hundred gold bowls.

9 He built a Courtyard especially for the priests and then the great court and doors for the court. The doors were covered with bronze.

10 He placed the Sea on the right side of The Temple at the southeast corner.

11-16 He also made ash buckets, shovels, and bowls.

And that about wrapped it up: Huram completed the work he had contracted to do for King Solomon:

two pillars;

two bowl-shaped capitals for the tops of the pillars;

two decorative filigrees for the capitals;

four hundred pomegranates for the filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree);

ten washstands with their basins;

one Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

miscellaneous buckets, forks, shovels, and bowls.

16-18 All these artifacts that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for The Temple ofGodwere made of burnished bronze. The king had them cast in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used.

19-22 Solomon was also responsible for the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God:

the gold Altar;

the tables that held the Bread of the Presence;

the Lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to be lighted before the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies;

the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs (all solid gold);

the gold wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers;

the gold doors of The Temple, doors to the Holy of Holies, and the doors to the main sanctuary.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/4-e873d5fe40f39f2c0b19c980871f515c.mp3?version_id=97—

1 That completed the work King Solomon did on The Temple ofGod. He then brought in the holy offerings of his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God’s Temple.

Installing the Chest

2-3 Bringing all this to a climax, Solomon got all the leaders together in Jerusalem—all the chiefs of tribes and the family patriarchs—to move the Chest of the Covenant ofGodfrom Zion and install it in The Temple. All the men of Israel assembled before the king on the feast day of the seventh month, the Feast of Booths.

4-6 When all the leaders of Israel were ready, the Levites took up the Chest. They carried the Chest, the Tent of Meeting, and all the sacred things in the Tent used in worship. The priests, all Levites, carried them. King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel were there before the Chest, worshiping and sacrificing huge numbers of sheep and cattle—so many that no one could keep track.

7-10 The priests brought the Chest of the Covenant ofGodto its place in the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. The outspread wings of the cherubim formed a canopy over the Chest and its poles. The ends of the poles were so long that they stuck out from the entrance of the Inner Sanctuary, but were not noticeable further out—they’re still there today. There was nothing in the Chest itself but the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb whereGodmade a covenant with Israel after bringing them up from Egypt.

11-13 The priests then left the Holy Place. All the priests there were consecrated, regardless of rank or assignment; and all the Levites who were musicians were there—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their families, dressed in their worship robes; the choir and orchestra assembled on the east side of the Altar and were joined by 120 priests blowing trumpets. The choir and trumpets made one voice of praise and thanks toGod—orchestra and choir in perfect harmony singing and playing praise toGod:

Yes! God is good!

His loyal love goes on forever!

13-14 Then a billowing cloud filled The Temple ofGod. The priests couldn’t even carry out their duties because of the cloud—the glory ofGod!—that filled The Temple of God.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/5-0a4c912fa59aea716ff35bd9a8d2ae28.mp3?version_id=97—

Solomon’s Dedication and Prayer

1-2 Then Solomon said,

Godsaid he would dwell in a cloud,

But I’ve built a temple most splendid,

A place for you to live in forever.

3 The king then turned to face the congregation that had come together and blessed them:

4-6 “Blessed beGod, the God of Israel, who spoke personally to my father David. Now he has done what he promised when he said, ‘From the day I brought my people Israel up from Egypt, I haven’t set apart one city among the tribes of Israel in which to build a temple to honor my Name, or chosen one person to be the leader. But now I have chosen both a city and a person: Jerusalem for honoring my Name and David to lead my people Israel.’

7-9 “My father David very much wanted to build a temple honoring the Name ofGod, the God of Israel, butGodtold him, ‘It was good that you wanted to build a temple in my honor—most commendable! But you are not the one to do it. Your son, who will carry on your dynasty, will build it for my Name.’

10-11 “And now you see the promise completed.Godhas done what he said he would do; I have succeeded David my father and now rule Israel; and I have built a temple to honorGod, the God of Israel, and have secured a place for the Chest that holds the Covenant ofGod, the covenant he made with the people of Israel.”

12-16 Before the entire congregation of Israel, Solomon took his position at the Altar ofGodand stretched out his hands. Solomon had made a bronze dais seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high and placed it inside the court; that’s where he now stood. Then he knelt in full view of the whole congregation, stretched his hands to heaven, and prayed:

God, O God of Israel, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below, who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and unfailingly loves them while they sincerely live in obedience to your way. You kept your word to David my father, your promise. You did exactly what you promised—every detail. The proof is before us today!

Keep it up,God, O God of Israel! Continue to keep the promises you made to David my father when you said, “You’ll always have a descendant to represent my rule on Israel’s throne, on the one condition that your sons are as careful to live obediently in my presence as you have.”

17 OGod, God of Israel, let this all happen—

confirm and establish it!

18-21 Can it be that God will actually move into our neighborhood? Why, the cosmos itself isn’t large enough to give you breathing room, let alone this Temple I’ve built. Even so, I’m bold to ask: Pay attention to these my prayers, both intercessory and personal, OGod, my God. Listen to my prayers, energetic and devout, that I’m setting before you right now. Keep your eyes open to this Temple day and night, this place you promised to dignify with your Name. And listen to the prayers that I pray in this place. And listen to your people Israel when they pray at this place.

Listen from your home in heaven

and when you hear, forgive.

22 When someone hurts a neighbor and promises to make things right, and then comes and repeats the promise before your Altar in this Temple,

23 Listen from heaven and act;

judge your servants, making the offender pay for the offense

And set the offended free,

dismissing all charges.

24-25 When your people Israel are beaten by an enemy because they’ve sinned against you, but then turn to you and acknowledge your rule in prayers desperate and devout in this Temple,

Listen from your home in heaven;

forgive the sin of your people Israel,

return them to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.

26-27 When the skies shrivel up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, but then they pray at this place, acknowledging your rule and quit their sins because you have scourged them,

Listen from your home in heaven,

forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel.

Then start over with them;

train them to live right and well;

Send rain on the land

you gave as inheritance to your people.

28-31 When disasters strike, famine or catastrophe, crop failure or disease, locust or beetle, or when an enemy attacks their defenses—calamity of any sort—any prayer that’s prayed from anyone at all among your people Israel, their hearts penetrated by disaster, hands and arms thrown out for help to this Temple,

Listen from your home in heaven, forgive and reward us:

reward each life and circumstance,

For you know each life from the inside,

(you’re the only one with such inside knowledge!),

So they’ll live before you in lifelong reverence and believing

obedience on this land you gave our ancestors.

32 And don’t forget the foreigner who is not a member of your people Israel but has come from a far country because of your reputation—people are going to be attracted here by your great reputation, your wonderworking power—and who come to pray to this Temple.

33 Listen from your home in heaven

and honor the prayers of the foreigner,

So that people all over the world

will know who you are and what you’re like,

And live in reverent obedience before you,

just as your own people Israel do,

So they’ll know that you personally

make this Temple that I’ve built what it is.

34-35 When your people go to war against their enemies at the time and place you send them and they pray toGodtoward the city you chose and The Temple I’ve built to honor your Name,

Listen from heaven to what they pray and ask for

and do what is right for them.

36-39 When they sin against you—and they certainly will; there’s no one without sin!—and in anger you turn them over to the enemy and they are taken captive to the enemy’s land, whether far or near, but repent in the country of their captivity and pray with changed hearts in their exile, “We’ve sinned; we’ve done wrong; we’ve been most wicked,” and turn back to you heart and soul in the land of the enemy who conquered them, and pray to you toward their homeland, the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you chose, and this Temple I have built to the honor of your Name,

Listen from your home in heaven

to their prayers desperate and devout;

Do what is best for them.

Forgive your people who have sinned against you.

40 And now, dear God, be alert and attentive to prayer, all prayer, offered in this place.

41-42 Up,God, enjoy your new place of quiet repose,

you and your mighty covenant Chest;

Dress your priests up in salvation clothes,

let your holy people celebrate goodness.

And don’t,God, back out on your anointed ones,

keep in mind the love promised to David your servant.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/6-4279fd152326207fa5e73139bf465f59.mp3?version_id=97—

The Temple Dedication

1-3 When Solomon finished praying, a bolt of lightning out of heaven struck the Whole-Burnt-Offering and sacrifices and the Glory ofGodfilled The Temple. The Glory was so dense that the priests couldn’t get in—Godso filled The Temple that there was no room for the priests! When all Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the Glory ofGodfill The Temple, they fell on their knees, bowed their heads, and worshiped, thankingGod:

Yes! God is good!

His love never quits!

4-6 Then the king and all Israel worshiped, offering sacrifices toGod. King Solomon worshiped by sacrificing 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep at the dedication of The Temple. The priests were all on duty; the choir and orchestra of Levites that David had provided for singing and playing anthems to the praise and love ofGodwere all there; across the courtyard the priests blew trumpets. All Israelites were on their feet.

7-10 Solomon set apart the central area of the courtyard in front ofGod’s Temple for sacred use and there sacrificed the Whole-Burnt-Offerings, Grain-Offerings, and fat from the Peace-Offerings—the Bronze Altar was too small to handle all these offerings. This is how Solomon kept the great autumn Feast of Booths. For seven days there were people there all the way from the far northeast (the Entrance to Hamath) to the far southwest (the Brook of Egypt)—a huge congregation. They started out celebrating for seven days, and then did it for another seven days, a week for dedicating the Altar and another for the Feast itself—two solid weeks of celebration! On the twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon dismissed his congregation. They left rejoicing, exuberant over all the goodGodhad done for David and Solomon and his people Israel.

God’s Confirmation

11 Solomon completed building The Temple ofGodand the royal palace—the projects he had set his heart on doing. Everything was done—success! Satisfaction!

12-18 Godappeared to Solomon that very night and said, “I accept your prayer; yes, I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I’m alert day and night to the prayers offered at this place. Believe me, I’ve chosen and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I’ve set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I’ll back your kingly rule over Israel—make it a sure thing on a sure foundation. The same covenant guarantee I gave to David your father I’m giving to you, namely, ‘You can count on always having a descendant on Israel’s throne.’

19-22 “But if you or your sons betray me, ignoring my guidance and judgments, taking up with alien gods by serving and worshiping them, then the guarantee is off: I’ll wipe Israel right off the map and repudiate this Temple I’ve just sanctified to honor my Name. And Israel will be nothing but a bad joke among the peoples of the world. And this Temple, splendid as it now is, will become an object of contempt; tourists will shake their heads, saying, ‘What happened here? What’s the story behind these ruins?’ Then they’ll be told, ‘The people who used to live here betrayed theirGod, the very God who rescued their ancestors from Egypt; they took up with alien gods, worshiping and serving them. That’s what’s behind this God-visited devastation.’”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/7-26f37644f4b568ca8fc42a36fbe13dda.mp3?version_id=97—

More on Solomon

1-6 At the end of twenty years, Solomon had quite a list of accomplishments. He had:

built The Temple ofGodand his own palace;

rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given him and colonized them with Israelites;

marched on Hamath Zobah and took it;

fortified Tadmor in the desert and all the store-cities he had founded in Hamath;

built the fortress cities Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, complete with walls, gates, and bars;

built Baalath and store-cities;

built chariot-cities for his horses.

Solomon built impulsively and extravagantly—whenever a whim took him. And in Jerusalem, in Lebanon—wherever he fancied.

7-10 The remnants from the original inhabitants of the land (Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites—all non-Israelites), survivors of the holy wars, were rounded up by Solomon for his gangs of slave labor. The policy is in effect today. But true Israelites were not treated this way; they were used in his army and administration—government leaders and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. They were also the project managers responsible for Solomon’s building operations—250 in all in charge of the workforce.

11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to a house built especially for her, “Because,” he said, “my wife cannot live in the house of David king of Israel, for the areas in which the Chest ofGodhas entered are sacred.”

12-13 Then Solomon offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings toGodon the Altar ofGodthat he had built in front of The Temple porch. He kept to the regular schedule of worship set down by Moses: Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual feasts of Unraised Bread (Passover), Weeks (Pentecost), and Booths.

14-15 He followed the practice of his father David in setting up groups of priests carrying out the work of worship, with the Levites assigned to lead the sacred music for praising God and to assist the priests in the daily worship; he assigned security guards to be on duty at each gate—that’s what David the man of God had ordered. The king’s directions to the priests and Levites and financial stewards were kept right down to the fine print—no innovations—including the treasuries.

16 All that Solomon set out to do, from the groundbreaking of The Temple ofGodto its finish, was now complete.

17-18 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. Hiram sent him ships and with them veteran sailors. Joined by Solomon’s men they sailed to Ophir (in east Africa), loaded on fifteen tons of gold, and brought it back to King Solomon.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/8-648c19044654fa456d6751f62a417800.mp3?version_id=97—

1-4 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s reputation and came to Jerusalem to put his reputation to the test, asking all the tough questions. She made a showy entrance—an impressive retinue of attendants and camels loaded with perfume and much gold and precious stones. She emptied her heart to Solomon, talking over everything she cared about. And Solomon answered everything she put to him—nothing stumped him. When the queen of Sheba experienced for herself Solomon’s wisdom and saw with her own eyes the palace he had built, the meals that were served, the impressive array of court officials, the sharply dressed waiters, the cupbearers, and then the elaborate worship extravagant with Whole-Burnt-Offerings at The Temple ofGod, it all took her breath away.

5-8 She said to the king, “It’s all true! Your reputation for accomplishment and wisdom that reached all the way to my country is confirmed. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself; they didn’t exaggerate! Such wisdom and elegance—far more than I could ever have imagined. Lucky the men and women who work for you, getting to be around you every day and hear your wise words firsthand! And blessed be yourGodwho has taken such a liking to you, making you king. Clearly,God’s love for Israel is behind this, making you king to keep a just order and nurture a God-pleasing people.”

9-11 She then gave the king four and a half tons of gold and sack after sack of spices and precious stones. There hasn’t been a cargo of spices like the shipload the queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon. The ships of Hiram also imported gold from Ophir along with fragrant sandalwood and expensive gems. The king used the sandalwood for fine cabinetry in The Temple ofGodand the royal palace, and for making harps and dulcimers for the musicians. Nothing like that shipment of sandalwood has been seen since.

12 King Solomon, for his part, gave the queen of Sheba all her heart’s desire—everything she asked for. She took away more than she brought. Satisfied, she returned home with her train of servants.

13-14 Solomon received twenty-five tons of gold annually. This was above and beyond the taxes and profit on trade with merchants and traders. All kings of Arabia and various and assorted governors also brought silver and gold to Solomon.

15-16 King Solomon crafted two hundred body-length shields of hammered gold—about fifteen pounds of gold to each shield—and about three hundred small shields about half that size. He stored the shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

17-19 The king made a massive throne of ivory with a veneer of gold. The throne had six steps leading up to it with an attached footstool of gold. The armrests on each side were flanked by lions. Lions, twelve of them, were placed at either end of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom.

20 King Solomon’s chalices and tankards were made of gold, and all the dinnerware and serving utensils in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver; silver was considered common and cheap in the time of Solomon.

21 The king’s ships, manned by Hiram’s sailors, made a round trip to Tarshish every three years, returning with a cargo of gold, silver, and ivory, apes and peacocks.

22-24 King Solomon was richer and wiser than all the kings of the earth—he surpassed them all. Kings came from all over the world to be with Solomon and get in on the wisdom God had given him. Everyone who came brought gifts—artifacts of gold and silver, fashionable robes and gowns, the latest in weapons, exotic spices, horses, and mules—parades of visitors, year after year.

25-28 Solomon collected horses and chariots. He had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen in barracks in the chariot-cities and in Jerusalem. He ruled over all the kings from the River Euphrates in the east, throughout the Philistine country, and as far west as the border of Egypt. The king made silver as common as rocks and cedar as common as the fig trees in the lowland hills. He carried on a brisk horse-trading business with Egypt and other places.

29-31 The rest of Solomon’s life and rule, from start to finish, one can read in the records of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah of Shiloh, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat. Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. Solomon died and was buried in the City of David his father. His son Rehoboam was the next king.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/9-a9c914b5b29fa7cb88ee24b22533d0ec.mp3?version_id=97—

King Rehoboam

1-2 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king. Jeroboam was then in Egypt, where he had taken asylum from King Solomon; when he got the report of Solomon’s death, he came back.

3-4 Summoned by Israel, Jeroboam and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said, “Your father made life hard for us—worked our fingers to the bone. Give us a break; lighten up on us and we’ll willingly serve you.”

5 “Give me,” said Rehoboam, “three days to think it over; then come back.” So the people left.

6 King Rehoboam talked it over with the elders who had advised his father when he was alive: “What’s your counsel? How do you suggest that I answer the people?”

7 They said, “If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they’ll end up doing anything for you.”

8-9 But he rejected the counsel of the elders and asked the young men he’d grown up with who were now currying his favor, “What do you think? What should I say to these people who are saying, ‘Give us a break from your father’s harsh ways—lighten up on us’?”

10-11 The young turks he’d grown up with said, “These people who complain, ‘Your father was too hard on us; lighten up’—well, tell them this: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. If you think life under my father was hard, you haven’t seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I’ll beat you bloody with chains!’”

12-14 Three days later Jeroboam and the people showed up, just as Rehoboam had directed when he said, “Give me three days to think it over; then come back.” The king’s answer was harsh and rude. He spurned the counsel of the elders and went with the advice of the younger set: “If you think life under my father was hard, you haven’t seen the half of it: my father thrashed you with whips; I’ll beat you bloody with chains!”

15 Rehoboam turned a deaf ear to the people. God was behind all this, confirming the message that he had given to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah of Shiloh.

16-17 When all Israel realized that the king hadn’t listened to a word they’d said, they stood up to him and said,

Get lost, David!

We’ve had it with you, son of Jesse!

Let’s get out of here, Israel, and fast!

From now on, David, mind your own business.

And with that they left. Rehoboam continued to rule only those who lived in the towns of Judah.

18-19 When King Rehoboam next sent out Adoniram, head of the workforce, the Israelites ganged up on him, pelted him with stones, and killed him. King Rehoboam jumped in his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem as fast as he could. Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty ever since.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/10-953232d13644be8df488f285830ba980.mp3?version_id=97—

1 When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem he called up the men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 of their best soldiers, to go to war against Israel and recover the kingdom.

2-4 At the same time the word ofGodcame to Shemaiah, a holy man, “Tell this to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, along with all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, This isGod’s word: Don’t march out; don’t fight against your brothers the Israelites. Go back home, every last one of you;I’min charge here.” And they did it; they did whatGodsaid and went home.

5-12 Rehoboam continued to live in Jerusalem but built up a defense system for Judah all around: in Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron—a line of defense protecting Judah and Benjamin. He beefed up the fortifications, appointed commanders, and put in supplies of food, olive oil, and wine. He installed arms—large shields and spears—in all the forts, making them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were secure for the time.

13-17 The priests and Levites from all over Israel came and made themselves available to Rehoboam. The Levites left their pastures and properties and moved to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had dismissed them from the priesthood ofGodand replaced them with his own priests to preside over the worship centers at which he had installed goat and calf demon-idols. Everyone from all the tribes of Israel who determined to seek theGodof Israel migrated with the priests and Levites to Jerusalem to worship there, sacrificing to theGodof their ancestors. That gave a tremendous boost to the kingdom of Judah. They stuck with Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, loyal to the ways of David and Solomon for this period.

18-21 Rehoboam married Mahalath daughter of Jerimoth, David’s son, and Abihail daughter of Eliab, Jesse’s son. Mahalath bore him Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. Then he married Maacah, Absalom’s daughter, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. Maacah was Rehoboam’s favorite wife; he loved her more than all his other wives and concubines put together (and he had a lot—eighteen wives and sixty concubines who produced twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters!).

22-23 Rehoboam designated Abijah son of Maacah as the “first son” and leader of the brothers—he intended to make him the next king. He was shrewd in deploying his sons in all the fortress cities that made up his defense system in Judah and Benjamin; he kept them happy with much food and many wives.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/2CH/11-4ad4a2d1db9eda39b17d3e4e39340b27.mp3?version_id=97—