2 Chronicles 1:1-5:1

What’s Happening?

Because God is with Solomon, Israel becomes a wealthy and powerful nation (2 Chronicles 1:1). Solomon’s first recorded act as king is to offer 1,000 sacrifices to atone for his and his leaders’ sins, thus beginning their rule with a clean slate before God (2 Chronicles 1:2-6). In response God visits Solomon and tells him to ask for anything he wants (2 Chronicles 1:7). Solomon reflects on Israel’s history as he gives his answer. God promised Abraham he would sire a nation that would outnumber the dust on the earth—which is how he describes Israel under his leadership (Genesis 26:4; 2 Chronicles 1:9). God promised David, Solomon’s father, that an eternal dynasty would begin when one of his sons built God’s temple (1 Chronicles 17:10-15). And he will soon do that. Solomon feels the weight of generations and the expectations of a nation, so he asks God for wisdom to rule well (2 Chronicles 1:8-10). Pleased with this request, God gives Solomon the wisdom he asked for and all the wealth, honor, and political success he didn’t ask for (2 Chronicles 1:11-12). With God’s wisdom living in Solomon, Israel becomes immeasurably wealthy and extremely powerful (2 Chronicles 1:14-17).

Solomon’s second recorded act as king is to order the construction of God’s temple. But there aren't enough workers or raw materials in Israel to complete the project. So Solomon proposes a new partnership with Hiram, the king of Tyre (2 Chronicles 2:1-3). Wisely, Solomon reminds Hiram of his past alliance with his father. Shrewdly, Solomon admits that without Hiram’s help God’s temple won't be much more than a hut to burn sacrifices in. But if Hiram helps, he can be part of building the greatest temple to the greatest God in all the world (2 Chronicles 2:4-6). Specifically, Solomon asks for a skilled craftsman to lead Israel’s team of architects and artisans, and enough lumber to complete the project (2 Chronicles 2:7-10). Hiram gladly agrees and not only pledges to help Solomon but admits that Israel’s God is the true God of all creation and deserves the best temple they can build (2 Chronicles 2:11-12). 

Solomon immediately begins building the temple with the help of these foreign allies. Hiram sends Solomon a half-Israelite, half-Tyrian craftsman and makes arrangements for the lumber (2 Chronicles 2:13-16). With these plans made, Solomon activates a labor force of over 150,000 workers, and together both foreigner and Israelite begin to build God’s temple (2 Chronicles 2:17-18). For the next two chapters we get a detailed account of 22 structures that Solomon and Hiram’s crafstmen built together. It’s the same number as the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet (2 Chronicles 4:1-22). Together, both foreigner and Israelite build everything necessary for God’s home, from A to Z. 

Where is the Gospel?

Solomon is living in an era when all God’s promises seem to be coming true. Solomon is one of the few kings in the book of Chronicles to have nothing negative said about him—no sins are ever mentioned. But both modern and ancient readers of Chronicles also know that Solomon was far from perfect (1 Kings 11:1-6). Solomon's sins begin a moral decay in Israel and the royal family that eventually causes God to send Babylon to burn a corrupt Jerusalem and temple to the ground. The author of Chronicles intentionally paints Solomon as a “perfect” king so that his audience would recognize that the eternal hope for their Kingdom is in a truly perfect son of David. Solomon was only a partial picture of the greater Kingship Jesus would bring (Matthew 12:42).

Like Solomon, Jesus is David’s son (Matthew 1:1). Like Solomon, his first act, once crowned king, was to offer atonement for his people’s sins and wipe their slates clean (1 Corinthians 15:3). Like Solomon, Jesus also built a temple, not with raw materials like stone, cedar, or gold, but from his own body (John 2:19-22). The temple Jesus builds is a spiritual temple that is raised not by craftsmen but by the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was raised from the dead he became the first stone in a new living temple made up of people from all nations (Ephesians 2:19-22). Jesus, David’s ultimate son, now rules eternally. Under his wise rule we are safe and there will never be an enemy who can destroy the perfect Kingdom God has begun and is building in and through us. 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who has made promises to his people. And may you see Jesus as the one who makes all God’s promises come true.