In this chapter, Rehoboam becomes king and all the northern tribes rebel against him.
This whole chapter exists as a response to a missing piece in Chronicles. Like I discussed in the previous chapter, Chronicles leaves out almost the entirety of 1 Kings 11, which describes Solomon committing idolatry in the later parts of his life due to the influence of his foreign wives. 1 Kings 11:11-13 explains that the LORD would take away the kingdom from Solomon because of his sins, but not during his lifetime and also leaving one tribe to his descendants for the sake of David. Because Chronicles wants to present Solomon in a more positive light, it leaves out the record of his sin and the corresponding explanation for why the kingdom is being divided during the lifetime of his son. This leaves us with the description of the rebellion against Rehoboam, but without the moralizing that we found in Kings.
This chapter is the beginning of the royal succession narrative, which continues all the way to the end of 2 Chronicles. It should be viewed in terms of the three principles that we identified in 2 Chronicles 7 when God spoke to Solomon. In case my readers have forgotten, the three themes were God's promise to forgive Israel (i.e. Judah) if they repented of their sins, to establish Solomon (and his descendants) if they walk in David's ways, and that he would destroy Judah and cast them out of the land if they worship other gods. Since the Chronicler does not want to impugn Solomon's character, we are left with God's response (tearing away the kingdom) without quite knowing the reason why. That said, verse 15 even says that Jeroboam is made king in response to a prophecy of Ahijah, which is included in 1 Kings 11:29-39, but not in Chronicles. This once again shows that the author of Chronicles, and perhaps his intended readers, were familiar with the Kings narrative even while the Chronicler is reshaping it for his own purposes. Verse 15 itself is copied from 1 Kings 12:15, but it makes a lot less sense here in Chronicles with the context of the prophecy itself removed from the text.
In any case, this chapter is definitely an instance of the second principle, because we know from elsewhere that Solomon drifted into idolatry and now the kingdom is being dis-established from his descendants as a result. A single tribe is left to him as a consequence of David's faithfulness, but most of the tribes leave. This is due to a prophecy of Ahijah, and the foolishness of Rehoboam, but even more so it's due to the justice of God punishing Solomon's idolatry. At least, that is the moral explanation for what is happening.
On the more practical side, it appears that the people are rebelling against the "heavy burden" of Solomon (v. 4). It's pretty clear this is a reference to the numerous building projects enacted by Solomon, and while the text in Chronicles clarifies that the forced laborers were all foreigners (2 Chronicles 2:17-18, 2 Chronicles 8:9-10), but from this chapter it is evident that the heavy burden has fallen on the native Israelites as well. It's clear that this is a widespread perception, and it's also clear that the people moved to challenge Rehoboam early in his reign when he would be in the weakest position to resist them. Think about it; the people were under a heavy burden during all the years of Solomon's reign, and yet we have no evidence that they ever complained to him about it, probably because it would have been suicidal. When Solomon took over as king from David, he inaugurated his reign by murdering a bunch of David's enemies, and "thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon" (1 Kings 2:46). If Rehoboam had time to consolidate his rule, establish his officers and commanders throughout the country, and generally dig into the bureaucratic infrastructure of the nation, then he would be positioned to fight off any challenge and the people would lose any effective leverage to negotiate with him. This is why the people didn't complain during the reign of Solomon and why they are complaining now.
I think it's interesting that the people called for Jeroboam to come back; funny enough, 1 Kings 11:28 tells us that Solomon appointed Jeroboam over the forced labor of the house of Joseph (i.e. the northern tribes). We don't know exactly what kind of reputation Jeroboam might have had with the people, but we can reasonably speculate that he must have applied (or argued for) a lighter burden on the people because the people called for him to represent them before Rehoboam regarding the very same matter of the forced labor. Regardless of the reason why, it's clear that Jeroboam was regarded favorably by the northern tribes because afterwards they make him king.
We also see the emergence of a generational gap here. Rehoboam has two sets of advisors: the elders who advised his father Solomon and the young men who grew up with him. The elders advise him well, and the young men advise him foolishly, but Rehoboam listens to the young men instead of the elders. This was foolish, but the loss of the kingdom was unavoidable because "this turn of events was from God" (v. 15). I do think this shows the importance of listening to the wisdom of elders, especially for young people who don't have as much experience.
In verse 16, the people see that the king is not taking care of them and will only look after his own tribe, Judah, and so they cease to obey any king from the house of David.
In verse 18, we again see forced labor being the contentious issue. Rehoboam sends out Adoniram, perhaps to punish the people and perhaps expecting that the people would continue to obey the masters they were familiar with. Since the people had been performing forced labor for so long, maybe they would continue to obey out of habit. Rehoboam discovers that his ploy would not work when the people stone Adoniram to death, breaking off the last vestige of their obedience to the king.
In any case, the kingdom is divided by the hand of God and the northern tribes largely vanish from the Chronicles narrative at this point. In the next chapter, we will learn about the rest of Rehoboam's kingship.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Monday, August 22, 2016
Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 9
In this chapter, Solomon meets the queen of Sheba and after other events his life is concluded.
This chapter copies a significant amount of material from 1 Kings 10, which has two main sections. It first tells us the story of Solomon's meeting with the queen of Sheba, and then it tells us about Solomon's great wealth and power. This chapter also concludes with a brief account of Solomon's death, which is taken from 1 Kings 11:41-43.
The first question I find myself asking about this chapter is, how does it fit with the larger themes and narrative in Chronicles? To me, this chapter feels similar to 2 Samuel 21-24, which were a sort of appendix with miscellaneous stories from David's life. I feel like these are a handful of miscellaneous stories from Solomon's life that don't really play much into the larger narrative of Chronicles like the temple project.
I think to some extent, this chapter could be seen as glorification of Solomon (which is another one of the themes of Chronicles), and perhaps it can be seen as a depiction of God's blessing over Solomon in response to Solomon's devotion to God in the previous chapter. Since the Chronicler is certainly trying to emphasize the connection between faithfulness to God and material blessing (consistent with Deuteronomy), perhaps we could see Solomon's wisdom and his blessing as a fulfillment of the promise that God made to "establish" him. But like I said, I feel like this is a fairly weak association and I mostly think these are stories about Solomon that just don't fit anywhere else so we get them here at the end.
The next question we should ask is what differences exist between the narrative in Chronicles and the same stories from 1 Kings? The answer is, very few. Some of the numbers are different but the vast majority of the text is the same. There is one important difference which is that Chronicles leaves out the entirety of 1 Kings 11:1-40. This is a major change, because that part of Kings is extremely critical of Solomon. In it, we are told that Solomon had many foreign wives, which was forbidden by the Law (and Kings paraphrases from Exodus 34:12-16 which essentially forbids foreign wives). Then we are told that because Solomon was led on to worship other gods by his wives, the LORD raised up enemies to fight against Solomon and would "tear the kingdom from you" (1 Kings 11:11). It's a long and harshly critical section and Chronicles omits it entirely. This is definitely part of Chronicles long-standing pattern of idealizing Solomon (as well as David).
Other than that, I think the main theme of this chapter is just to show us how amazing is Solomon's kingdom. There is a particular emphasis on exotic luxury items. We can also see that much of Solomon's wealth was based on long distance trading in partnership with Hiram, and the queen of Sheba herself appears to have arrived as part of a substantial trading expedition. Some of the different elements mentioned: the fine spices and precious stones (v. 9), gold, exotic wood (almugwood, v. 10), ivory, apes and baboons (v. 21), the chariots imported from Egypt (v. 28) and many other things.
As I said elsewhere, this is the apex of Israel's power and wealth in the bible. David defeated all of their national enemies and now Solomon is reaping the benefits, using the slave labor as well as the peace to build the temple and many other structures and monuments, and he is financing it all through long distance, international trade, as well as accruing luxury goods. All of this enhances Solomon's prestige and we see that in the queen's response when she is overwhelmed at all of Solomon's amazing stuff. Since Chronicles leaves out all the negative stuff about Solomon, we are left with an entirely positive picture of his reign.
In the next chapter, we will nonetheless see Israel fracture into two nations, the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The rest of Chronicles will be entirely devoted to the history of the southern kingdom, Judah.
This chapter copies a significant amount of material from 1 Kings 10, which has two main sections. It first tells us the story of Solomon's meeting with the queen of Sheba, and then it tells us about Solomon's great wealth and power. This chapter also concludes with a brief account of Solomon's death, which is taken from 1 Kings 11:41-43.
The first question I find myself asking about this chapter is, how does it fit with the larger themes and narrative in Chronicles? To me, this chapter feels similar to 2 Samuel 21-24, which were a sort of appendix with miscellaneous stories from David's life. I feel like these are a handful of miscellaneous stories from Solomon's life that don't really play much into the larger narrative of Chronicles like the temple project.
I think to some extent, this chapter could be seen as glorification of Solomon (which is another one of the themes of Chronicles), and perhaps it can be seen as a depiction of God's blessing over Solomon in response to Solomon's devotion to God in the previous chapter. Since the Chronicler is certainly trying to emphasize the connection between faithfulness to God and material blessing (consistent with Deuteronomy), perhaps we could see Solomon's wisdom and his blessing as a fulfillment of the promise that God made to "establish" him. But like I said, I feel like this is a fairly weak association and I mostly think these are stories about Solomon that just don't fit anywhere else so we get them here at the end.
The next question we should ask is what differences exist between the narrative in Chronicles and the same stories from 1 Kings? The answer is, very few. Some of the numbers are different but the vast majority of the text is the same. There is one important difference which is that Chronicles leaves out the entirety of 1 Kings 11:1-40. This is a major change, because that part of Kings is extremely critical of Solomon. In it, we are told that Solomon had many foreign wives, which was forbidden by the Law (and Kings paraphrases from Exodus 34:12-16 which essentially forbids foreign wives). Then we are told that because Solomon was led on to worship other gods by his wives, the LORD raised up enemies to fight against Solomon and would "tear the kingdom from you" (1 Kings 11:11). It's a long and harshly critical section and Chronicles omits it entirely. This is definitely part of Chronicles long-standing pattern of idealizing Solomon (as well as David).
Other than that, I think the main theme of this chapter is just to show us how amazing is Solomon's kingdom. There is a particular emphasis on exotic luxury items. We can also see that much of Solomon's wealth was based on long distance trading in partnership with Hiram, and the queen of Sheba herself appears to have arrived as part of a substantial trading expedition. Some of the different elements mentioned: the fine spices and precious stones (v. 9), gold, exotic wood (almugwood, v. 10), ivory, apes and baboons (v. 21), the chariots imported from Egypt (v. 28) and many other things.
As I said elsewhere, this is the apex of Israel's power and wealth in the bible. David defeated all of their national enemies and now Solomon is reaping the benefits, using the slave labor as well as the peace to build the temple and many other structures and monuments, and he is financing it all through long distance, international trade, as well as accruing luxury goods. All of this enhances Solomon's prestige and we see that in the queen's response when she is overwhelmed at all of Solomon's amazing stuff. Since Chronicles leaves out all the negative stuff about Solomon, we are left with an entirely positive picture of his reign.
In the next chapter, we will nonetheless see Israel fracture into two nations, the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The rest of Chronicles will be entirely devoted to the history of the southern kingdom, Judah.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 8
In this chapter, Solomon builds many other cities and infrastructure throughout Israel.
To begin, as with so many other parts of 2 Chronicles, this chapter also has strong parallels in the text of 1 Kings. For this chapter, it is a parallel text to 1 Kings 9:10-28. There are a few differences but the majority of the text is similar and it has the same general structure. This chapter has two main sections: Solomon's continued construction activities (v. 1-11), Solomon's religious devotion (v. 12-16). Verses 17-18 tell one other brief story about Solomon's partnership with Hiram in long distance trade.
I see the first section (Solomon's construction projects) as being a natural extension of the temple project. Basically, Solomon is a strong and wealthy ruler and Israel as a nation is quite successful as well. As part of that, we see in v. 7-8 that Solomon is conscripting vast numbers of non-Israelites for his building projects. Of course, we knew that from when he built the temple (2 Chronicles 2:17-18), but the point is that when you have 150,000 conscripted workers, you don't have them just make the temple and them stop. You have them keep building you stuff because why not? All of the infrastructure, organization and planning that went into making the temple can be easily redirected to other construction projects when the temple is finished, and that is exactly what Solomon does. Ignoring the religious justification, all of these building projects enhance Solomon's prestige and have military and economic benefits as well (the temple doesn't but these other projects do). It's only natural that he would keep building. The general picture we can take away from this is that Solomon is a very successful and powerful ruler. He has all of the trappings of a strong king including monumental construction projects and lots of slave labor. This is one of the high points in Israel's political history.
The second section (Solomon's religious devotion) is a response to God's promise in the previous chapter. In 2 Chronicles 7:17-18, God says that he would establish Solomon's kingdom if Solomon walks faithfully in the same way as his father David. What I take away from this chapter is that the Chronicler is saying yes, Solomon did walk in his fathers ways and was an honorable and devoted king. 1 Kings 11 certainly gives us a different picture of Solomon, claiming that he married foreign women who "turned his heart away after other gods" (1 Kings 11:4). 1 Kings 9 does record Solomon going to make offerings at the temple three times a year, but it does not include the additional details that we see in verses 13-16. Verse 13 establishes Solomon's faithfulness towards the commands of Moses, and verses 14-15 establish Solomon's faithfulness towards the commands of David. If we view Moses as being the architect of the tabernacle and David as the architect of the temple, then Solomon is a person who is faithful to both the old and the new patterns.
Out of these two sections, we can draw several patterns.
The first is idealization of Solomon as a ruler. This is something I've touched on multiple times when going through Chronicles, which is that Chronicles has a general tendency towards omitting the stories that make David or Solomon look bad and including extra details that tend to make them look good. In this chapter, it shows up by the emphasis on Solomon's religious devotion that is notably more detailed than the parallel description in Kings, and by omitting the record of Solomon's later idolatry.
The second is the continuation of the temple building project. This chapter is a transition between the temple narrative to the royal succession narrative, and it does that by describing the remainder of Solomon's life before moving on to the next generation. It specifically describes his building projects which are related to the temple project for the reasons I described above. We also see the temple project continuing in Solomon's faithful devotion to the annual sacrifices and his adherence to David's division of the priests and Levites. Basically what this shows is that after the temple was completed, Solomon continued to perpetuate the religious rituals that were mandated at the temple by both Moses and David. Solomon's faithfulness in the perpetual rituals is a natural extension of Solomon's faithfulness in building the temple in the first place.
The third pattern is Solomon's response to God's command. We see Solomon faithfully obeying in David's footsteps, thereby ensuring that he would have a everlasting kingdom in accordance with God's promise. In the language of Kings and Chronicles, "walking in the ways of his father David" is a kind of benchmark for whether a certain king was good or bad. Those who follow the ways of David are "established" (2 Chron 7:18) and those who don't are cast out or punished or whatever is the opposite of being "established". I mentioned that this "walking in the ways of your father David" is going to be one of the major themes of Chronicles, and as it relates to king Solomon, the Chronicler wants to make it clear that Solomon obeyed the LORD in the same way as his father, and that Solomon was a godly ruler. The book of Kings is a bit more circumspect on Solomon's reign, but also has a largely-positive outlook on Solomon as a ruler.
In the next chapter, Solomon's life story concludes with his encounter with the queen of Sheba.
To begin, as with so many other parts of 2 Chronicles, this chapter also has strong parallels in the text of 1 Kings. For this chapter, it is a parallel text to 1 Kings 9:10-28. There are a few differences but the majority of the text is similar and it has the same general structure. This chapter has two main sections: Solomon's continued construction activities (v. 1-11), Solomon's religious devotion (v. 12-16). Verses 17-18 tell one other brief story about Solomon's partnership with Hiram in long distance trade.
I see the first section (Solomon's construction projects) as being a natural extension of the temple project. Basically, Solomon is a strong and wealthy ruler and Israel as a nation is quite successful as well. As part of that, we see in v. 7-8 that Solomon is conscripting vast numbers of non-Israelites for his building projects. Of course, we knew that from when he built the temple (2 Chronicles 2:17-18), but the point is that when you have 150,000 conscripted workers, you don't have them just make the temple and them stop. You have them keep building you stuff because why not? All of the infrastructure, organization and planning that went into making the temple can be easily redirected to other construction projects when the temple is finished, and that is exactly what Solomon does. Ignoring the religious justification, all of these building projects enhance Solomon's prestige and have military and economic benefits as well (the temple doesn't but these other projects do). It's only natural that he would keep building. The general picture we can take away from this is that Solomon is a very successful and powerful ruler. He has all of the trappings of a strong king including monumental construction projects and lots of slave labor. This is one of the high points in Israel's political history.
The second section (Solomon's religious devotion) is a response to God's promise in the previous chapter. In 2 Chronicles 7:17-18, God says that he would establish Solomon's kingdom if Solomon walks faithfully in the same way as his father David. What I take away from this chapter is that the Chronicler is saying yes, Solomon did walk in his fathers ways and was an honorable and devoted king. 1 Kings 11 certainly gives us a different picture of Solomon, claiming that he married foreign women who "turned his heart away after other gods" (1 Kings 11:4). 1 Kings 9 does record Solomon going to make offerings at the temple three times a year, but it does not include the additional details that we see in verses 13-16. Verse 13 establishes Solomon's faithfulness towards the commands of Moses, and verses 14-15 establish Solomon's faithfulness towards the commands of David. If we view Moses as being the architect of the tabernacle and David as the architect of the temple, then Solomon is a person who is faithful to both the old and the new patterns.
Out of these two sections, we can draw several patterns.
The first is idealization of Solomon as a ruler. This is something I've touched on multiple times when going through Chronicles, which is that Chronicles has a general tendency towards omitting the stories that make David or Solomon look bad and including extra details that tend to make them look good. In this chapter, it shows up by the emphasis on Solomon's religious devotion that is notably more detailed than the parallel description in Kings, and by omitting the record of Solomon's later idolatry.
The second is the continuation of the temple building project. This chapter is a transition between the temple narrative to the royal succession narrative, and it does that by describing the remainder of Solomon's life before moving on to the next generation. It specifically describes his building projects which are related to the temple project for the reasons I described above. We also see the temple project continuing in Solomon's faithful devotion to the annual sacrifices and his adherence to David's division of the priests and Levites. Basically what this shows is that after the temple was completed, Solomon continued to perpetuate the religious rituals that were mandated at the temple by both Moses and David. Solomon's faithfulness in the perpetual rituals is a natural extension of Solomon's faithfulness in building the temple in the first place.
The third pattern is Solomon's response to God's command. We see Solomon faithfully obeying in David's footsteps, thereby ensuring that he would have a everlasting kingdom in accordance with God's promise. In the language of Kings and Chronicles, "walking in the ways of his father David" is a kind of benchmark for whether a certain king was good or bad. Those who follow the ways of David are "established" (2 Chron 7:18) and those who don't are cast out or punished or whatever is the opposite of being "established". I mentioned that this "walking in the ways of your father David" is going to be one of the major themes of Chronicles, and as it relates to king Solomon, the Chronicler wants to make it clear that Solomon obeyed the LORD in the same way as his father, and that Solomon was a godly ruler. The book of Kings is a bit more circumspect on Solomon's reign, but also has a largely-positive outlook on Solomon as a ruler.
In the next chapter, Solomon's life story concludes with his encounter with the queen of Sheba.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 7
In this chapter, God answers Solomon's prayer for the dedication of the temple.
Around half of this chapter is copied from 1 Kings, equivalent to the passage between 1 Kings 8:62-66 and 1 Kings 9:1-9. It's the same general flow but a lot of details are different, which I will cover briefly later.
At a high level, this chapter has two main parts. The first part is verses 1-10, which discusses the celebratory festival in dedication of the temple, and the second part is verses 11-22 which contains God's response to Solomon's prayer.
Beginning with verses 1-3, fire comes down from heaven and consumes the burnt offering. This is not recorded in the book of Kings. In fact, this is the second time in the book of Chronicles that we have seen fire falling from heaven, and the second time it is not recorded in the book of Kings. The other reference in Chronicles was 1 Chronicles 21:26, when David offered a sacrifice on the threshing floor of Araunah. In this case, it's possible the Chronicler is trying to allude to Leviticus 9:23-24. In that passage, Aaron is offering a sacrifice as part of his ordination as high priest, and when the offering is performed, it says that fire from God's presence goes out and consumes the offering. This is not the same event as the dedication of the tabernacle, so I don't think it's exactly a parallel in the same way that so many other aspects of Chronicles parallels the construction of the tabernacle in Exodus.
More importantly, we should be looking to see how this fits into the larger narrative of Chronicles. Basically, the previous chapter concluded the dedication of the temple. This is after many, many chapters describing all of these things that David and Solomon were doing for the LORD. This chapter, then, contains God's response to David and Solomon and the temple project as a whole. In both the first and second part, I would characterize God's response as unreserved approval. "The king and all the people offered sacrifices" (v. 4), and God responds by sending fire down from heaven onto their offering. The answer to Solomon's prayer comes in the second half of this chapter.
Meanwhile, with all the people gathered in Jerusalem in the seventh month, they take this as an opportunity to celebrate the Day of Atonement and the feast of Tabernacles, which both occur during this time frame. Verse 9 clarifies this because it says they celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days, and then the festival (of Tabernacles) for seven more days. Since the Law mandates that all able-bodied people of Israel should go to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles, timing the dedication of the altar to occur just before the festival was likely deliberate and certainly more convenient than doing them at separate times.
After all the celebrations were concluded and all the people returned home, the LORD visits Solomon privately at night to bring him the answer to his prayer. This is the second half of the chapter.
I see the LORD's response to Solomon as being directed at his prayer. In particular, in 2 Chronicles 6:26-31, Solomon asks the LORD to forgive his people if they ever sin and are afflicted by drought, famine or plague, and the LORD addresses that in verses 13-15 by basically saying yes, he will answer those prayers of repentance if they pray towards the temple. Furthermore, God offers a conditional promise to uphold Solomon's "royal throne" if he follows God's Law like David did, which is perhaps in response to Solomon's prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:16-17,42.
On the other hand, in verses 19-22, the LORD promises to cast Israel out of their inheritance and even to destroy the temple itself if the people go off to worship other gods, and for some reason God's response does not contain a promise that he would "uphold their cause" like what Solomon asked for in 2 Chronicles 6:39.
I think if I had to characterize God's response, I would say we got something pretty similar to Deuteronomy, especially Deut 28. We see God offering blessings to Solomon and Israel if they obey the Law. He promises to forgive them if they repent of their sins, but also promises to cause them harm in many different ways if they sin, up to the ultimate punishment of banishment from the promised land. I think this is very similar to the blessings and curses paradigm that is expressed in Deut 28, but with a much stronger expression of God bringing healing whenever Israel repents of their sin. In fact, I would say that verses 19-22 are very similar to Deut 29:22-28, except that Chronicles adds references to the desolation of the temple, while Deuteronomy just focuses on the desolation of the land.
In the previous chapter I said that Solomon's prayers are an expression of what he thinks the temple is there for, and more generally what he thinks about how he and the people should relate to God. This chapter is the converse: God's response to Solomon is a statement about how God thinks Israel and Solomon should relate to him. God's response contains three core elements, which I have already briefly described above.
First, he says that when Israel is punished for sinning, they should pray and repent and God would forgive them and bring healing. We have already seen this principle in action many times (throughout the book of Judges, for instance), but here the LORD is stating it plainly.
Second, God says that if Solomon walks in the same ways as his father David, he will receive the same promise as David, that his throne would be established forever. In short, Solomon's legacy and his status before God cannot be based on David's faithfulness: Solomon must also be faithful to God to receive the same reward. This is basically a statement of justice, of similar character to Deut 24:16, but in the opposite direction: Solomon will not be rewarded by God for something that he didn't do.
Third, God says that if the people turn away from him, not only will he uproot them from the land (like mentioned in Deut 29:22-28), but he will also reject the temple and make it "a heap of rubble". What this means is that God's approval of the temple and his favor over Israel is not unconditional. The essential elements of the Law of Moses still apply, which means that if Israel sin egregiously they will be kicked out of hte land in spite of the temple. If I may paraphrase from Star Wars, God is not altering the deal. Building the temple has not changed any of the fundamental characteristics of the covenantal relationship between Israel and God, and the overhanging threat of expulsion from the land is one of the central elements of the covenant.
In conclusion, even though we have reached the end of the temple narrative, the book of Chronicles does not end here. In fact, it continues for another 29 chapters. One might wonder how the narrative about the kings of Judah to follow relates to the temple narrative that we are just finishing, and the answer is in the three elements that I just explained. These three principles of how God relates to Israel are exemplified in the narrative to follow, and we will see all three of them expressed in different ways. During periods of sin, Judah will crumbles; during periods of repentance, they will be exalted; and in the dark conclusion when they turn away from the LORD with finality, they will be cast out of the promised land and taken to exile in Babylon. Meanwhile, the kings of Judah who follow in the ways of David will be established in the same covenant as David.
Meanwhile, in the next chapter, we will read about Solomon's other accomplishments during his lifetime.
Around half of this chapter is copied from 1 Kings, equivalent to the passage between 1 Kings 8:62-66 and 1 Kings 9:1-9. It's the same general flow but a lot of details are different, which I will cover briefly later.
At a high level, this chapter has two main parts. The first part is verses 1-10, which discusses the celebratory festival in dedication of the temple, and the second part is verses 11-22 which contains God's response to Solomon's prayer.
Beginning with verses 1-3, fire comes down from heaven and consumes the burnt offering. This is not recorded in the book of Kings. In fact, this is the second time in the book of Chronicles that we have seen fire falling from heaven, and the second time it is not recorded in the book of Kings. The other reference in Chronicles was 1 Chronicles 21:26, when David offered a sacrifice on the threshing floor of Araunah. In this case, it's possible the Chronicler is trying to allude to Leviticus 9:23-24. In that passage, Aaron is offering a sacrifice as part of his ordination as high priest, and when the offering is performed, it says that fire from God's presence goes out and consumes the offering. This is not the same event as the dedication of the tabernacle, so I don't think it's exactly a parallel in the same way that so many other aspects of Chronicles parallels the construction of the tabernacle in Exodus.
More importantly, we should be looking to see how this fits into the larger narrative of Chronicles. Basically, the previous chapter concluded the dedication of the temple. This is after many, many chapters describing all of these things that David and Solomon were doing for the LORD. This chapter, then, contains God's response to David and Solomon and the temple project as a whole. In both the first and second part, I would characterize God's response as unreserved approval. "The king and all the people offered sacrifices" (v. 4), and God responds by sending fire down from heaven onto their offering. The answer to Solomon's prayer comes in the second half of this chapter.
Meanwhile, with all the people gathered in Jerusalem in the seventh month, they take this as an opportunity to celebrate the Day of Atonement and the feast of Tabernacles, which both occur during this time frame. Verse 9 clarifies this because it says they celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days, and then the festival (of Tabernacles) for seven more days. Since the Law mandates that all able-bodied people of Israel should go to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles, timing the dedication of the altar to occur just before the festival was likely deliberate and certainly more convenient than doing them at separate times.
After all the celebrations were concluded and all the people returned home, the LORD visits Solomon privately at night to bring him the answer to his prayer. This is the second half of the chapter.
I see the LORD's response to Solomon as being directed at his prayer. In particular, in 2 Chronicles 6:26-31, Solomon asks the LORD to forgive his people if they ever sin and are afflicted by drought, famine or plague, and the LORD addresses that in verses 13-15 by basically saying yes, he will answer those prayers of repentance if they pray towards the temple. Furthermore, God offers a conditional promise to uphold Solomon's "royal throne" if he follows God's Law like David did, which is perhaps in response to Solomon's prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:16-17,42.
On the other hand, in verses 19-22, the LORD promises to cast Israel out of their inheritance and even to destroy the temple itself if the people go off to worship other gods, and for some reason God's response does not contain a promise that he would "uphold their cause" like what Solomon asked for in 2 Chronicles 6:39.
I think if I had to characterize God's response, I would say we got something pretty similar to Deuteronomy, especially Deut 28. We see God offering blessings to Solomon and Israel if they obey the Law. He promises to forgive them if they repent of their sins, but also promises to cause them harm in many different ways if they sin, up to the ultimate punishment of banishment from the promised land. I think this is very similar to the blessings and curses paradigm that is expressed in Deut 28, but with a much stronger expression of God bringing healing whenever Israel repents of their sin. In fact, I would say that verses 19-22 are very similar to Deut 29:22-28, except that Chronicles adds references to the desolation of the temple, while Deuteronomy just focuses on the desolation of the land.
In the previous chapter I said that Solomon's prayers are an expression of what he thinks the temple is there for, and more generally what he thinks about how he and the people should relate to God. This chapter is the converse: God's response to Solomon is a statement about how God thinks Israel and Solomon should relate to him. God's response contains three core elements, which I have already briefly described above.
First, he says that when Israel is punished for sinning, they should pray and repent and God would forgive them and bring healing. We have already seen this principle in action many times (throughout the book of Judges, for instance), but here the LORD is stating it plainly.
Second, God says that if Solomon walks in the same ways as his father David, he will receive the same promise as David, that his throne would be established forever. In short, Solomon's legacy and his status before God cannot be based on David's faithfulness: Solomon must also be faithful to God to receive the same reward. This is basically a statement of justice, of similar character to Deut 24:16, but in the opposite direction: Solomon will not be rewarded by God for something that he didn't do.
Third, God says that if the people turn away from him, not only will he uproot them from the land (like mentioned in Deut 29:22-28), but he will also reject the temple and make it "a heap of rubble". What this means is that God's approval of the temple and his favor over Israel is not unconditional. The essential elements of the Law of Moses still apply, which means that if Israel sin egregiously they will be kicked out of hte land in spite of the temple. If I may paraphrase from Star Wars, God is not altering the deal. Building the temple has not changed any of the fundamental characteristics of the covenantal relationship between Israel and God, and the overhanging threat of expulsion from the land is one of the central elements of the covenant.
In conclusion, even though we have reached the end of the temple narrative, the book of Chronicles does not end here. In fact, it continues for another 29 chapters. One might wonder how the narrative about the kings of Judah to follow relates to the temple narrative that we are just finishing, and the answer is in the three elements that I just explained. These three principles of how God relates to Israel are exemplified in the narrative to follow, and we will see all three of them expressed in different ways. During periods of sin, Judah will crumbles; during periods of repentance, they will be exalted; and in the dark conclusion when they turn away from the LORD with finality, they will be cast out of the promised land and taken to exile in Babylon. Meanwhile, the kings of Judah who follow in the ways of David will be established in the same covenant as David.
Meanwhile, in the next chapter, we will read about Solomon's other accomplishments during his lifetime.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 6
In this chapter, Solomon dedicates the temple with a prayer.
This is a fairly long chapter and it has a lot of material. Even though there is considerable overlap with 1 Kings 8 (which I previously discussed here), I think it's important enough to the Chronicles narrative that I want to take a more detailed look here.
This chapter has two main sections. In the first section (verses 1-11), Solomon addresses the gathered people of Israel who have come for the dedication. In the second section (12-42), Solomon prays to the LORD on behalf of the people and on behalf of the temple.
The first section contains Solomon's statement of intent. It explains why he built the temple, giving several reasons. Solomon begins in verses 1-2, explaining that the LORD will "dwell in a dark cloud" and that he built a temple for the LORD to dwell forever. I'm not sure if there is a connection between these two points. Certainly the "dark cloud" metaphor is present in other places in the bible. For instance, Deuteronomy 4:11 says that Mount Sinai was covered "with black clouds and deep darkness", which accompanied the LORD's presence when he met with Moses. Deut 5:22 says essentially the same thing, and 2 Samuel 22:12 (which is part of a Psalm of David) says that the LORD "made darkness his canopy", which in context means that the LORD descended to the earth in the midst of a thunderstorm. I think this is possibly connected to the temple in the sense of concealment; the temple helps to enclose the LORD's presence so that his holiness might be hidden from us.
Now, my readers may be wondering why the LORD would seek to conceal his presence. One might suppose that the LORD wishes to be dwell amongst his people, seeing them and being seen by them, so that he might have fellowship with them in a more direct way. If the LORD is dwelling in darkness and clouds, or hidden away in the holy place of a temple that is excluded to 99% of Israel's populace, then in some sense it feels like the LORD is trying to make himself inaccessible to his people. To a person who is seeking God, it may be frustrating that God would conceal himself. We may even question the LORD's intentions and wonder if he is trying to make us fail in our pursuit of him.
The LORD is indeed seeking to conceal himself, but he explains the reason why in Exodus 33:18-23. In that passage, Moses is in the midst of a powerful encounter with the LORD. Moses is on Mount Sinai, having just received the ten commandments and the orders for the construction of the tabernacle. He is surrounded by fire, clouds and earthquakes, and he has secured the LORD's presence in their journey to the promised land. In this moment, Moses asks for an even greater thing, to behold the glory of the LORD. The LORD grants his request, but with one major exception: Moses is not permitted to see God's face, "for no one may see me and live". This is the first point: God's glory must be concealed because anyone who is not properly sanctified would be harmed by God's glory.
I think this is a really important point and I hardly have the time to fully address it. In many places, God is called an "all consuming fire". Fire can burn and destroy many things, and in the same way God's glory will destroy unprepared people. One similar example is Exodus 28:35. Aaron must wear this particular vest when he enters the holy place, "so that he will not die". Exodus 30:20 explains that the priests should wash before they enter the holy place "so that they will not die". There is a remarkable list of things the priests needed to do to enter the holy place and not die. Imagine if that presence were everywhere? People everywhere, who were not consecrated and holy, would have been swept away. We must be consecrated before we can enter the LORD's presence, and the process for how to become consecrated is laid out in the bible as well. It is possible for everyone, because God really does want to be with his people, but it is not instant and it's not cheap either. However, explaining the process of sanctification is beyond the scope of my commentary here so I will move on.
Solomon gives several other reasons he is building the temple. Solomon basically says that the LORD made two promises to David: to establish David's place on the throne of Israel and that his son would build the temple in Jerusalem. Therefore in verse 10, Solomon claims that both his own reign and the construction of the temple are fulfillments of the LORD's promises. Even though Solomon was the man building the temple, he says that the LORD was the one bringing it about, in accordance with his promise to David. Not only was it in fulfillment of a divine command, building the temple was also empowered and overseen by the LORD who "chose" it to happen (v. 6). Later, in verse 15, Solomon says "with your hand you have fulfilled it", referring to his promises to David. One could reasonably argue that includes building the temple as part of what the LORD "fulfilled".
That concludes the first section.
In the second section, Solomon kneels upon this peculiar "bronze platform" and prays for the temple (v. 13). This bronze platform is not mentioned in 1 Kings 8, and it's not clear to me why this is only mentioned in Chronicles.
I think some of the symbolism here is interesting. Solomon kneels and "spreads out his hands towards heaven" (v. 13). I just think it's so cool that people would raise their hands in prayer over 2,600 years ago. This image, of kneeling before the LORD in honor and raising one's hands in surrender, is still with us to this very day.
Afterwards, Solomon begins his prayer by reciting God's promise to David, and then he goes on to describe what is his understanding of the temple's purpose. Surprisingly, he doesn't talk at all about sacrifices or offerings, or any of the other common priestly functions in the temple. He doesn't say, "LORD, please regard the incense and consecrated bread, and the perpetual fire before you." Nearly the entirety of what Solomon asks is for the LORD to have regard towards prayers of mercy.
Starting in verse 19, Solomon asks the LORD to "have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his supplication... when they pray toward this place". The basic structure is for people to pray directed towards the temple, and then the LORD would hear from heaven and forgive [the sins that the people are praying about].
In verse 22, Solomon adds a justice element. When two people are in disagreement and one of them has sinned, both are to come and take an oath upon the altar and then the LORD will judge between them, striking down the wicked and upholding the innocent. I see this as quite similar to the role that Moses and the priests are supposed to fulfill, since in many other places it is written that the priests would judge over disputes amongst the people. It appears that in the same way, the LORD was expected to judge between disputes, perhaps the very serious or unclear disputes that the priests could not resolve.
In verse 24-31, Solomon lists several different kinds of curses that would fall on the people "because they have sinned against you", and asks that when the people repent and "pray toward this place" that the LORD would forgive and heal whatever is afflicting them. It is troubling imagery when the primary relationship that Solomon can envisage between Israel and God is for God to be smiting Israel while Israel is alternately sinning or repenting. And this is supposed to be Israel's golden age, too.
Verses 32-35 have two additional categories of prayer (foreigners and prayer for victory in battle), but verses 36-39 have the grand finale: when Israel sins and are exiled from their homeland, they are to pray towards their homeland, city and the temple, and then the LORD will forgive and "maintain their cause", whatever that means.
Solomon concludes in verses 41-42 with part of a Psalm of David, which is a modification compared to 1 Kings 8. In the book of Kings, Solomon concludes by extending his prayer (from v. 36-39) with references to Israel's deliverance from Egypt, perhaps as an archetype for Israel's deliverance from future captivity. In this case, the Chronicler wished to change the focus towards God's eternal promise to David's house, which may be part of Chronicles larger theme of David as an ideal ruler.
In any case, this has already gotten really long so I will stop here, but I would like to end by encouraging my readers to focus on the different purposes that Solomon imagined for the temple and the different kinds of prayer that he anticipated. When you look at your own relationship with God, consider what kind of dedication you would pray towards the temple in your own life. Is it characterized by sinning and repenting, like the Israelites, or something else?
In the next chapter, the dedication of the temple concludes with the LORD's dramatic appearance.
This is a fairly long chapter and it has a lot of material. Even though there is considerable overlap with 1 Kings 8 (which I previously discussed here), I think it's important enough to the Chronicles narrative that I want to take a more detailed look here.
This chapter has two main sections. In the first section (verses 1-11), Solomon addresses the gathered people of Israel who have come for the dedication. In the second section (12-42), Solomon prays to the LORD on behalf of the people and on behalf of the temple.
The first section contains Solomon's statement of intent. It explains why he built the temple, giving several reasons. Solomon begins in verses 1-2, explaining that the LORD will "dwell in a dark cloud" and that he built a temple for the LORD to dwell forever. I'm not sure if there is a connection between these two points. Certainly the "dark cloud" metaphor is present in other places in the bible. For instance, Deuteronomy 4:11 says that Mount Sinai was covered "with black clouds and deep darkness", which accompanied the LORD's presence when he met with Moses. Deut 5:22 says essentially the same thing, and 2 Samuel 22:12 (which is part of a Psalm of David) says that the LORD "made darkness his canopy", which in context means that the LORD descended to the earth in the midst of a thunderstorm. I think this is possibly connected to the temple in the sense of concealment; the temple helps to enclose the LORD's presence so that his holiness might be hidden from us.
Now, my readers may be wondering why the LORD would seek to conceal his presence. One might suppose that the LORD wishes to be dwell amongst his people, seeing them and being seen by them, so that he might have fellowship with them in a more direct way. If the LORD is dwelling in darkness and clouds, or hidden away in the holy place of a temple that is excluded to 99% of Israel's populace, then in some sense it feels like the LORD is trying to make himself inaccessible to his people. To a person who is seeking God, it may be frustrating that God would conceal himself. We may even question the LORD's intentions and wonder if he is trying to make us fail in our pursuit of him.
The LORD is indeed seeking to conceal himself, but he explains the reason why in Exodus 33:18-23. In that passage, Moses is in the midst of a powerful encounter with the LORD. Moses is on Mount Sinai, having just received the ten commandments and the orders for the construction of the tabernacle. He is surrounded by fire, clouds and earthquakes, and he has secured the LORD's presence in their journey to the promised land. In this moment, Moses asks for an even greater thing, to behold the glory of the LORD. The LORD grants his request, but with one major exception: Moses is not permitted to see God's face, "for no one may see me and live". This is the first point: God's glory must be concealed because anyone who is not properly sanctified would be harmed by God's glory.
I think this is a really important point and I hardly have the time to fully address it. In many places, God is called an "all consuming fire". Fire can burn and destroy many things, and in the same way God's glory will destroy unprepared people. One similar example is Exodus 28:35. Aaron must wear this particular vest when he enters the holy place, "so that he will not die". Exodus 30:20 explains that the priests should wash before they enter the holy place "so that they will not die". There is a remarkable list of things the priests needed to do to enter the holy place and not die. Imagine if that presence were everywhere? People everywhere, who were not consecrated and holy, would have been swept away. We must be consecrated before we can enter the LORD's presence, and the process for how to become consecrated is laid out in the bible as well. It is possible for everyone, because God really does want to be with his people, but it is not instant and it's not cheap either. However, explaining the process of sanctification is beyond the scope of my commentary here so I will move on.
Solomon gives several other reasons he is building the temple. Solomon basically says that the LORD made two promises to David: to establish David's place on the throne of Israel and that his son would build the temple in Jerusalem. Therefore in verse 10, Solomon claims that both his own reign and the construction of the temple are fulfillments of the LORD's promises. Even though Solomon was the man building the temple, he says that the LORD was the one bringing it about, in accordance with his promise to David. Not only was it in fulfillment of a divine command, building the temple was also empowered and overseen by the LORD who "chose" it to happen (v. 6). Later, in verse 15, Solomon says "with your hand you have fulfilled it", referring to his promises to David. One could reasonably argue that includes building the temple as part of what the LORD "fulfilled".
That concludes the first section.
In the second section, Solomon kneels upon this peculiar "bronze platform" and prays for the temple (v. 13). This bronze platform is not mentioned in 1 Kings 8, and it's not clear to me why this is only mentioned in Chronicles.
I think some of the symbolism here is interesting. Solomon kneels and "spreads out his hands towards heaven" (v. 13). I just think it's so cool that people would raise their hands in prayer over 2,600 years ago. This image, of kneeling before the LORD in honor and raising one's hands in surrender, is still with us to this very day.
Afterwards, Solomon begins his prayer by reciting God's promise to David, and then he goes on to describe what is his understanding of the temple's purpose. Surprisingly, he doesn't talk at all about sacrifices or offerings, or any of the other common priestly functions in the temple. He doesn't say, "LORD, please regard the incense and consecrated bread, and the perpetual fire before you." Nearly the entirety of what Solomon asks is for the LORD to have regard towards prayers of mercy.
Starting in verse 19, Solomon asks the LORD to "have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his supplication... when they pray toward this place". The basic structure is for people to pray directed towards the temple, and then the LORD would hear from heaven and forgive [the sins that the people are praying about].
In verse 22, Solomon adds a justice element. When two people are in disagreement and one of them has sinned, both are to come and take an oath upon the altar and then the LORD will judge between them, striking down the wicked and upholding the innocent. I see this as quite similar to the role that Moses and the priests are supposed to fulfill, since in many other places it is written that the priests would judge over disputes amongst the people. It appears that in the same way, the LORD was expected to judge between disputes, perhaps the very serious or unclear disputes that the priests could not resolve.
In verse 24-31, Solomon lists several different kinds of curses that would fall on the people "because they have sinned against you", and asks that when the people repent and "pray toward this place" that the LORD would forgive and heal whatever is afflicting them. It is troubling imagery when the primary relationship that Solomon can envisage between Israel and God is for God to be smiting Israel while Israel is alternately sinning or repenting. And this is supposed to be Israel's golden age, too.
Verses 32-35 have two additional categories of prayer (foreigners and prayer for victory in battle), but verses 36-39 have the grand finale: when Israel sins and are exiled from their homeland, they are to pray towards their homeland, city and the temple, and then the LORD will forgive and "maintain their cause", whatever that means.
Solomon concludes in verses 41-42 with part of a Psalm of David, which is a modification compared to 1 Kings 8. In the book of Kings, Solomon concludes by extending his prayer (from v. 36-39) with references to Israel's deliverance from Egypt, perhaps as an archetype for Israel's deliverance from future captivity. In this case, the Chronicler wished to change the focus towards God's eternal promise to David's house, which may be part of Chronicles larger theme of David as an ideal ruler.
In any case, this has already gotten really long so I will stop here, but I would like to end by encouraging my readers to focus on the different purposes that Solomon imagined for the temple and the different kinds of prayer that he anticipated. When you look at your own relationship with God, consider what kind of dedication you would pray towards the temple in your own life. Is it characterized by sinning and repenting, like the Israelites, or something else?
In the next chapter, the dedication of the temple concludes with the LORD's dramatic appearance.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 5
In this chapter, Solomon brings the ark of the covenant into the new temple.
This chapter is largely copied from 1 Kings 8, which follows the pattern of the earlier chapters in 2 Chronicles that were also mostly duplicated from 1 Kings. There are a few things I would like to discuss, and I will begin with the differences between here and 1 Kings 8. There's only one big difference I can see between 1 Kings 8 and the present chapter, and that is verses 11-13 which references the priestly divisions and the musicians. This is unique to Chronicles because the book of Kings does not discuss the priestly divisions or assignment of musicians at all. Both of these were part of David's preparations in 1 Chronicles 24 and 25. I don't think this is an important difference, but it does show that Chronicles was written as a single consistent unit.
Next, I would like to briefly address how this chapter fits into Chronicle's main theme. This chapter is basically the crowning moment in the construction of the temple. Even though the temple narrative will go on for two more chapters, this is the first moment when we could say that the temple is "finished". Having constructed the building and filled it with the lampstands, tables, altars and everything else that was prescribed in the Law of Moses, we have now reached the point when the ark of the covenant can be brought in, symbolizing the LORD's presence coming to dwell in the temple. We see God's presence fill the temple in an even more tangible way in verse 13-14 when the glory of the LORD filled the temple like a physical cloud.
This is a very important part of the story because it shows the LORD's approval of the temple. To the Chronicler, the LORD's approval is absolutely essential because without it, the temple would not have any unifying power to the nation of Israel in his own time. Everything that I said in the introduction hinges on God accepting them and being the center focal point for their nation's reconstruction.
There are a few more details I would like to pick out. In verse 2, it says that Solomon is bringing up the ark of the covenant from Zion, the city of David. He is bringing it to the temple, which is in Jerusalem. In many other places, Zion or "the city of David" are used to refer to Jerusalem, but from this verse we can see they are actually distinct locations. It's most likely that Zion is a district or suburb of Jerusalem. The distinction between them has faded over time, but at the time this passage was written they were still known to be separate.
In verse 5, it says that the Levites bring the ark and the tent of meeting up to the temple. This is a little confusing because it's not entirely clear what "the tent of meeting" is referring to. For instance, there is the tabernacle of Moses that is at Gibeon, but the ark of the covenant is already in Zion, and it was placed in "David's tent", i.e. a separate tent that David placed to hold the ark while the temple was still being planned and built. Since this chapter is so heavily focused on the ark of the covenant, my first guess is that the "tent of meeting" refers to David's tent which would have been located with the ark, but my NIV commentary suggests that the "tent of meeting" is actually the tabernacle of Moses being removed from Gibeon.
Verse 9 says something very interesting: "and they are still there to this day". Since we know for sure that the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians and the book of Chronicles was written after that, this verse is almost certainly copying verbatim from an earlier text that predates the temple's destruction. Otherwise, the poles would not have "still been there" for the Chronicler to write about. This verse is almost directly copied from 1 Kings 8:8, but even 1 Kings was finalized after the destruction of Jerusalem so it is probable that 1 Kings 8:8 is also copying from some earlier unnamed source.
In verse 10, it says that only the two tablets were kept in the ark, which probably means that the jar of manna and the staff of Aaron (also placed there during the lifetime of Moses) were probably lost or destroyed by the time the temple was built. These items were placed in the ark way back in Exodus 16:32-34 and Numbers 17:10-11. We are never told that they are removed, and in fact these items almost entirely disappear from the biblical record immediately after they are created. Since they have disappeared by this time, it's likely that the jar and staff were destroyed by the Philistines or some other hostile nation during the Judges period.
Finally, in verses 13-14, God's glory comes down and fills the temple with a cloud, which mimicks the dedication of the tabernacle of Moses in Exodus 40:34-35. This is yet another parallel between the tabernacle and the temple, both in terms of their respective designs but also in the narrative that describes their construction and dedication.
In the next chapter, Solomon completes the dedication of the temple with a prayer.
This chapter is largely copied from 1 Kings 8, which follows the pattern of the earlier chapters in 2 Chronicles that were also mostly duplicated from 1 Kings. There are a few things I would like to discuss, and I will begin with the differences between here and 1 Kings 8. There's only one big difference I can see between 1 Kings 8 and the present chapter, and that is verses 11-13 which references the priestly divisions and the musicians. This is unique to Chronicles because the book of Kings does not discuss the priestly divisions or assignment of musicians at all. Both of these were part of David's preparations in 1 Chronicles 24 and 25. I don't think this is an important difference, but it does show that Chronicles was written as a single consistent unit.
Next, I would like to briefly address how this chapter fits into Chronicle's main theme. This chapter is basically the crowning moment in the construction of the temple. Even though the temple narrative will go on for two more chapters, this is the first moment when we could say that the temple is "finished". Having constructed the building and filled it with the lampstands, tables, altars and everything else that was prescribed in the Law of Moses, we have now reached the point when the ark of the covenant can be brought in, symbolizing the LORD's presence coming to dwell in the temple. We see God's presence fill the temple in an even more tangible way in verse 13-14 when the glory of the LORD filled the temple like a physical cloud.
This is a very important part of the story because it shows the LORD's approval of the temple. To the Chronicler, the LORD's approval is absolutely essential because without it, the temple would not have any unifying power to the nation of Israel in his own time. Everything that I said in the introduction hinges on God accepting them and being the center focal point for their nation's reconstruction.
There are a few more details I would like to pick out. In verse 2, it says that Solomon is bringing up the ark of the covenant from Zion, the city of David. He is bringing it to the temple, which is in Jerusalem. In many other places, Zion or "the city of David" are used to refer to Jerusalem, but from this verse we can see they are actually distinct locations. It's most likely that Zion is a district or suburb of Jerusalem. The distinction between them has faded over time, but at the time this passage was written they were still known to be separate.
In verse 5, it says that the Levites bring the ark and the tent of meeting up to the temple. This is a little confusing because it's not entirely clear what "the tent of meeting" is referring to. For instance, there is the tabernacle of Moses that is at Gibeon, but the ark of the covenant is already in Zion, and it was placed in "David's tent", i.e. a separate tent that David placed to hold the ark while the temple was still being planned and built. Since this chapter is so heavily focused on the ark of the covenant, my first guess is that the "tent of meeting" refers to David's tent which would have been located with the ark, but my NIV commentary suggests that the "tent of meeting" is actually the tabernacle of Moses being removed from Gibeon.
Verse 9 says something very interesting: "and they are still there to this day". Since we know for sure that the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians and the book of Chronicles was written after that, this verse is almost certainly copying verbatim from an earlier text that predates the temple's destruction. Otherwise, the poles would not have "still been there" for the Chronicler to write about. This verse is almost directly copied from 1 Kings 8:8, but even 1 Kings was finalized after the destruction of Jerusalem so it is probable that 1 Kings 8:8 is also copying from some earlier unnamed source.
In verse 10, it says that only the two tablets were kept in the ark, which probably means that the jar of manna and the staff of Aaron (also placed there during the lifetime of Moses) were probably lost or destroyed by the time the temple was built. These items were placed in the ark way back in Exodus 16:32-34 and Numbers 17:10-11. We are never told that they are removed, and in fact these items almost entirely disappear from the biblical record immediately after they are created. Since they have disappeared by this time, it's likely that the jar and staff were destroyed by the Philistines or some other hostile nation during the Judges period.
Finally, in verses 13-14, God's glory comes down and fills the temple with a cloud, which mimicks the dedication of the tabernacle of Moses in Exodus 40:34-35. This is yet another parallel between the tabernacle and the temple, both in terms of their respective designs but also in the narrative that describes their construction and dedication.
In the next chapter, Solomon completes the dedication of the temple with a prayer.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 4
In this chapter, Solomon constructs all of the furnishings of the temple.
This is the second and last "construction" chapter in the Chronicles temple narrative. In chapter 3, Solomon constructed the temple building itself, with its attendant sculptures and the two pillars. In this chapter he finishes the job by constructing several altars, "the sea", various other basins and lampstands, all of which are conveniently detailed in verses 12-16 and 19-22.
The material in this chapter is largely copied out of 1 Kings 7 and they serve analogous purposes in the text. As with much of the temple narrative, it also has a close parallel in the construction of the tabernacle that is detailed in Exodus.
The biggest difference between 1 Kings 7 and this chapter is that Chronicles entirely leaves out the construction of Solomon's palace, which takes up the first 12 verses of 1 Kings 7. This chapter also has a bit less detail on some of the temple furnishings. For instance, 1 Kings 7:28-36 has extensive details on the bronze stands that held the ten bronze basins. This chapter here in Chronicles does not describe the basin stands at all. There are a handful of additional details in Chronicles as well (for instance, v. 9 talks about the "priestly court" and the "large court"), but I don't think any of these differences are substantive.
I think my commentary on 1 Kings 7 covers most of the interesting aspects of this chapter, but there are two additional points I would like to bring up.
First, my readers should note that basically every furnishing has a precursor in the tabernacle of Moses. However, Solomon made most of these furnishings larger and sometimes more numerous. For instance, Moses constructed a bronze basin for washing and Solomon constructed "the sea" for washing. Moses made one table for consecrated bread and one lampstand in the holy place, and Solomon made ten of each. Moses constructed a bronze altar for sacrifices that was five cubits long and wide (Exodus 38:1), Solomon made an equivalent altar that was four times the size in each dimension (verse 1). In most ways Solomon is following the pattern of the tabernacle of Moses, but he is doing it on an epic scale. This leads me to my first point: we can follow the status and health of the temple as a proxy for the status and health of the Israelite nation.
So much of 1 Chronicles and the earlier chapters in 2 Chronicles was the build-up towards this moment, when the temple was constructed. The gathering of gold, bronze, stone and wood and so many other things are all indicators of Israel's royal power and economic strength at this point in their history. Without belaboring the point, the temple is a kind of prestige project that represents the surplus of Israel's wealth and influence, and the amount of excess wealth that they can pump into the temple will ebb and flow over time. Furthermore, invading nations will regularly pillage the temple during Israel's decline, once again depriving the temple of the gaudy status symbols that Solomon is presently stuffing it with. Finally, as Israel sinks into idolatry, the temple will be progressively neglected and damaged, meaning that the temple stands not just for Israel's economic and political strength, but also providing an indication of their nation's spiritual health.
Based on this principle, we can see that Solomon was indeed reigning during Israel's strongest period, and my readers should observe the periodic decline and revival of Israel's temple under future kings as symbolic of their nation's prosperity and devotion to the LORD.
The second point I would like to bring up is the distinction between inner and outer furnishings present in this chapter. Everything built outside the temple is made of bronze and everything build for inside the temple is made of gold. There may be several reasons for this but I think the main purpose is to create a sense of progression. That is, when you are in the outer courtyard, everything is made of bronze, but when you go into the holy place suddenly everything is made out of gold or covered with gold. To those who are going in, it is supposed to show you that as the materials around you change from bronze to gold that you are drawing near to the most holy place where the manifest presence of God dwells. It is a visual symbolism that is meant to portray the spiritual significance of moving from one place in the temple complex to another, with everything centered around the ark of the covenant in the most holy place.
In the next chapter, Solomon finalizes the temple by bringing the ark itself into the new temple.
This is the second and last "construction" chapter in the Chronicles temple narrative. In chapter 3, Solomon constructed the temple building itself, with its attendant sculptures and the two pillars. In this chapter he finishes the job by constructing several altars, "the sea", various other basins and lampstands, all of which are conveniently detailed in verses 12-16 and 19-22.
The material in this chapter is largely copied out of 1 Kings 7 and they serve analogous purposes in the text. As with much of the temple narrative, it also has a close parallel in the construction of the tabernacle that is detailed in Exodus.
The biggest difference between 1 Kings 7 and this chapter is that Chronicles entirely leaves out the construction of Solomon's palace, which takes up the first 12 verses of 1 Kings 7. This chapter also has a bit less detail on some of the temple furnishings. For instance, 1 Kings 7:28-36 has extensive details on the bronze stands that held the ten bronze basins. This chapter here in Chronicles does not describe the basin stands at all. There are a handful of additional details in Chronicles as well (for instance, v. 9 talks about the "priestly court" and the "large court"), but I don't think any of these differences are substantive.
I think my commentary on 1 Kings 7 covers most of the interesting aspects of this chapter, but there are two additional points I would like to bring up.
First, my readers should note that basically every furnishing has a precursor in the tabernacle of Moses. However, Solomon made most of these furnishings larger and sometimes more numerous. For instance, Moses constructed a bronze basin for washing and Solomon constructed "the sea" for washing. Moses made one table for consecrated bread and one lampstand in the holy place, and Solomon made ten of each. Moses constructed a bronze altar for sacrifices that was five cubits long and wide (Exodus 38:1), Solomon made an equivalent altar that was four times the size in each dimension (verse 1). In most ways Solomon is following the pattern of the tabernacle of Moses, but he is doing it on an epic scale. This leads me to my first point: we can follow the status and health of the temple as a proxy for the status and health of the Israelite nation.
So much of 1 Chronicles and the earlier chapters in 2 Chronicles was the build-up towards this moment, when the temple was constructed. The gathering of gold, bronze, stone and wood and so many other things are all indicators of Israel's royal power and economic strength at this point in their history. Without belaboring the point, the temple is a kind of prestige project that represents the surplus of Israel's wealth and influence, and the amount of excess wealth that they can pump into the temple will ebb and flow over time. Furthermore, invading nations will regularly pillage the temple during Israel's decline, once again depriving the temple of the gaudy status symbols that Solomon is presently stuffing it with. Finally, as Israel sinks into idolatry, the temple will be progressively neglected and damaged, meaning that the temple stands not just for Israel's economic and political strength, but also providing an indication of their nation's spiritual health.
Based on this principle, we can see that Solomon was indeed reigning during Israel's strongest period, and my readers should observe the periodic decline and revival of Israel's temple under future kings as symbolic of their nation's prosperity and devotion to the LORD.
The second point I would like to bring up is the distinction between inner and outer furnishings present in this chapter. Everything built outside the temple is made of bronze and everything build for inside the temple is made of gold. There may be several reasons for this but I think the main purpose is to create a sense of progression. That is, when you are in the outer courtyard, everything is made of bronze, but when you go into the holy place suddenly everything is made out of gold or covered with gold. To those who are going in, it is supposed to show you that as the materials around you change from bronze to gold that you are drawing near to the most holy place where the manifest presence of God dwells. It is a visual symbolism that is meant to portray the spiritual significance of moving from one place in the temple complex to another, with everything centered around the ark of the covenant in the most holy place.
In the next chapter, Solomon finalizes the temple by bringing the ark itself into the new temple.
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