The One Year Bible for Men - Flipbook - Page 67
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the ash buckets, the shovels, the meat
hooks, and all the related articles.
Huram-abi made all these things of burnished
bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as
King Solomon had directed. 17 The king had
them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley
between Succoth and Zarethan.* 18 Solomon
used such great quantities of bronze that its
weight could not be determined.
19 Solomon also made all the furnishings for
the Temple of God:
20
21
22
the gold altar;
the tables for the Bread of the Presence;
the lampstands and their lamps of solid
gold, to burn in front of the Most Holy
Place as prescribed;
the flower decorations, lamps, and
tongs—all of the purest gold;
the lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and
incense b
urners—all of solid gold;
the doors for the entrances to the Most
Holy Place and the main room of the
Temple, overlaid with gold.
5:1 So
Sol
omon finished all his work on
the Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all
the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the
silver, the gold, and the various articles—and
he stored them in the treasuries of the Temple
of God.
2 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the
elders of Israel and all the heads of tribes—
the leaders of the ancestral families of Israel.
They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Cov
enant to the Temple from its location in the
City of David, also known as Zion. 3 So all the
men of Israel assembled before the king at
the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held
in early autumn.*
4 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the
Levites picked up the Ark. 5 The priests and
Levites brought up the Ark along with the
special tent* and all the sacred items that had
been in it. 6 There, before the Ark, King Sol
omon and the entire community of Israel sac
rificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no
one could keep count!
7 Then the priests carried the Ark of the
Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary
of the T emple—the Most Holy P
lace—and
placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim.
8 The cherubim spread their wings over the
Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its
carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that
their ends could be seen from the Holy Place,*
which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but
not from the outside. They are still there to
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this day. 10 Nothing was in the Ark except the
two stone tablets that M
oses had placed in it
at Mount Sinai,* where the Lord made a cov
enant with the people of Israel when they left
Egypt.
11 Then the priests left the Holy Place. All
the priests who were p
resent had purified
themselves, whether or not they were on
duty that day. 12 And the Levites who were
musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and
all their sons and brothers—were dressed
in fine linen robes and stood at the east side
of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps.
They were joined by 120 priests who were
playing trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and sing
ers performed together in unison to praise
and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied
by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments,
they raised their voices and praised the Lord
with these words:
“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!”
At that moment a thick cloud filled the
Temple of the Lord. 14 The priests could not
continue their service because of the cloud,
for the glorious presence of the Lord filled
the Temple of God.
6:1 Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have
said that you would live in a thick cloud of
darkness. 2 Now I have built a glorious Temple
for you, a place where you can live forever!”
3 Then the king turned around to the entire
community of Israel standing before him and
gave this blessing: 4 “Praise the Lord, the God
of Israel, who has kept the promise he made
to my father, David. For he told my father,
5 ‘From the day I brought my people out of
the land of Egypt, I have never chosen a city
among any of the tribes of Israel as the place
where a Temple should be built to honor my
name. Nor have I chosen a king to lead my
people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusa
lem as the place for my name to be honored,
and I have chosen David to be king over my
people Israel.’”
7 Then Sol
omon said, “My father, David,
wanted to build this Temple to honor the name
of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord
told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to
honor my name. Your intention is good, 9 but
you are not the one to do it. One of your own
sons will build the Temple to honor me.’
10 “And now the Lord has fulfilled the prom
ise he made, for I have become king in my
father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of
Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built
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