2 CHRONICLES LESSON 8


     We will begin this lesson in II Chronicles 8:1 "And it came to
pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house
of the LORD, and his own house,"

     This is, probably, at the 24th year of his reign as king. He did
not begin the house of the LORD, until 4 years after he began to
reign. He was 7 years building the house of the LORD. It was actually
20 years after he began the work on the temple and his own house, that
everything was completed.

     II Chronicles 8:2 "That the cities which Huram had restored to
Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to
dwell there."

     Hiram had acquired 20 cities from Solomon in payment for the
cedars he had provided for the buildings in Jerusalem. Hiram had never
been pleased with these cities, and now, it appears that he had given
them back to Solomon. They were pretty worthless in the condition they
were in. Solomon, now, takes them and restores them for the people. We
are not told whether Solomon gave Hiram something else in place of the
cities, or not.

     II Chronicles 8:3 "And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and
prevailed against it."

     This is either a city, or an area at the border of Lebanon.

     II Chronicles 8:4 "And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all
the store cities, which he built in Hamath."

     Now, we see why he had done this. He is safeguarding his borders.
This Tadmor was built about 140 miles northeast of Damascus. The store
cities were scattered throughout the territory.

     II Chronicles 8:5 "Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-
horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;"

     These were both in the land of Ephraim. These two cities were
allotted to the Kohathite Levites. They were well fortified. It is
almost as if he was building outskirt cities, to keep the enemy from
ever making it into Jerusalem.

     II Chronicles 8:6 "And Baalath, and all the store cities that
Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the
horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in
Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion."

     We discussed, in an earlier lesson, that the way to have peace is
by having a very strong army that is well equipped,. then, let the
enemies know of this strength. This is what Solomon was doing. He was
showing strength in the outer areas. Baalath was in the land of Dan.
These store cities were for several purposes. They were out posts to
keep the enemies away. They were, also, a place to collect the tribute
and taxes for Solomon. Solomon was the wealthiest man that ever lived,
so he could equip his men with the finest chariots and other things
they needed. He, also, had the wealth to build all of the well
fortified cities.

     II Chronicles 8:7  "[As for] all the people [that were] left of
the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites,
and the Jebusites, which [were] not of Israel," II Chronicles 8:8
"[But] of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom
the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay
tribute until this day."

     Solomon allowed them to live, but under the condition they would
pay tribute to him. They were bondservants to Solomon. Many of them
were allowed to live in their homes they had before, there was a tax
levied upon everything they did, however.

     II Chronicles 8:9 "But of the children of Israel did Solomon make
no servants for his work; but they [were] men of war, and chief of his
captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen."

     The children of Israel were thought of as brethren of Solomon.
They held the important positions such as leaders. The army was made
up of Israelites. They had no hired soldiers. He gave a rank of
captain to those he could.

     II Chronicles 8:10 "And these [were] the chief of king Solomon's
officers, [even] two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the
people."

     These 250 men were over the soldiers of Israel. They were not the
rulers over the servants. The different tribes were represented in
these 250. These were the men that would lead them to war, if there
was a war. At that time, they were occupied with keeping the peace.

     II Chronicles 8:11  "And Solomon brought up the daughter of
Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for
her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king
of Israel, because [the places are] holy, whereunto the ark of the
LORD hath come."

     Solomon had married an Egyptian woman. She was not a Hebrew. When
Solomon experienced the presence of God in the temple in Jerusalem, he
realized that the city of Jerusalem was the city of God. Solomon built
this Egyptian wife a house, which was located out of Jerusalem. He
realized she was not a believer in the One True God.

     II Chronicles 8:12 "Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the
LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch,"

     We know that there were daily sacrifices to the LORD. Solomon saw
that the animals for the sacrifices were available and ready. This
altar seemed to be at the entrance of the porch. This altar was a
brasen altar.

     II Chronicles 8:13 "Even after a certain rate every day, offering
according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new
moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, [even] in
the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the
feast of tabernacles."

     There were three times a year that all the males had to appear at
the temple. The Feast of Unleavened Bread overlapped Passover. The
Feast of Weeks is the same as Pentecost. The Feast of Tabernacles was
right after the Feast of Trumpets. The offerings had been re-
established as they had been given to Moses on the way to the promised
land. Solomon had been instructed by David on the need to observe
these times.

     II Chronicles 8:14  "And he appointed, according to the order of
David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the
Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests,
as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses
at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded."

     It appears that, David had already set up the various duties of
the various families before his death. He was led by the writings of
Moses in his decisions he had made. Solomon did not change any of the
arrangements David had set up, because he knew David was a man of God.
We studied all of this in detail in an earlier lesson.

     II Chronicles 8:15 "And they departed not from the commandment of
the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or
concerning the treasures."

     All of this is covered in detail in 1 Chronicles chapter 24, 25
and 26. The king, mentioned here, is David. Each family of the Levites
were chosen for a specific ministry. This was re-established by David
before his death. Solomon honored the wishes of his father.

     II Chronicles 8:16 "Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto
the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was
finished. [So] the house of the LORD was perfected."

     This is showing that Solomon was focused in on the detailed
information David had left for him. He wanted the temple to be
perfect. He did not let up on the work for a moment, until everything
was exactly the way it had been planned.

     II Chronicles 8:17  "Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to
Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom."

     This was located near the Red Sea. David had conquered Edom, and
this area was, now, part of Israel. They were some of those who paid
tribute to Solomon.

     II Chronicles 8:18 "And Huram sent him by the hands of his
servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they
went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four
hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought [them] to king
Solomon."

     Solomon had built a navy. Hiram had sent sailors to help man the
ships. The following verses help clear this passage up. I Kings 9:26
"And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which [is]
beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom."
I Kings 9:27 "And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that
had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon."  I Kings 9:28
"And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred
and twenty talents, and brought [it] to king Solomon." There are 30
talents difference in the weight in the two Scriptures, but that is
unimportant. These Scriptures are speaking of the same thing.
Remember, a talent weighs 125 pounds, or 1,500 ounces. At the very
least this gold at $400.00 per ounce would figure. over
$252,000,000.00.  Solomon, indeed, was the wealthiest king {besides
Jesus} that ever lived on the earth.


































                      2 Chronicles 8 Questions


1.  How many years after Solomon began, did he finish the house of the
    LORD and his own house?
2.  What year of his reign would this have been?
3.  How many of these years was he building the LORD's house?
4.  What are the cities mentioned in verse 2?
5.  What does Solomon do to the cities to make them worthwhile?
6.  Why had he built the store cities?
7.  How is a good way to have peace?
8.  Baalath was in the land of _____.
9.  What were some of the purposes for the outer cities?
10. What people were left in the land, when their armies were
    defeated?
11. What did Solomon require of them?
12. What were the men of Israel required to do?
13. How many chief officers did king Solomon have?
14. What were they occupied with doing?
15. Why did Solomon build a house out of the city for Pharaoh's
    daughter?
16. What was this woman to Solomon?
17. The city of Jerusalem was the city of ______.
18. Where had Solomon built an altar for burnt offerings?
19. What was the altar made of?
20. What were the three times a year the males were required to
    worship in the temple?
21. What other times did Solomon offer sacrifices?
22. Unleavened Bread and __________ overlap.
23. The Feast of Weeks is the same as _________.
24. Feast of Tabernacles is just after what feast?
25. Who had allotted services for each family of the Levites, that
    Solomon honored?
26. What is said about the house of the LORD in verse 16?
27. Why was Edom part of Israel?
28. How much gold did they take from Ophir?
29. A talent weighs ______ pounds.
30. Approximately, how much would that shipment of gold be worth at
    $400.00 per ounce gold?