King
David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of
Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, 33 he said to them: “Take your
lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him
down to Gihon. 34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him
king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’
3 Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according
to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered
sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. the Lord appeared to
Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want
me to give you.”
6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your
servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and
upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given
him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 9 So give your servant a
discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and
wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11
So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or
wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for
discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will
give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone
like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have
not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no
equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees
and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign he began to build the temple of the Lord.He had spent seven years building it.When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.
Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem
the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the
Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the
City of David. 2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon. 22 Then
Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of
Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven 23 and said:“Lord, the God of
Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep
your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your
way.27 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest
heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give
attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear
the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.
29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which
you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your
servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and
of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your
dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive."
Holy Bible, New International Version®,
NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission.
All rights reserved worldwide.
Illustration from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden (The Book of Books in Pictures). © WELS used by permission for personal and congregational use.
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