Solomon began construction on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. Sermons
I. THAT, TO A LARGE EXTENT, OUR POSSESSION IS OUR HERITAGE. It was a very great privilege Solomon was now enjoying, and it must have been felt by him to be a high honour and a keen gratification. How much of it he owed to his father! It was David who conceived the idea; it was he who gained the sanction of Jehovah; it was he who had practically gained the valuable co-oporation of Hiram (1 Kings 5:1); it was he, also, who had secured an admirable and acceptable site for the building (1 Chronicles 21:18; 1 Chronicles 22:1). If we examine we shall find that a very large part of our acquisition, whether it be property (in the usual sense of that word), or knowledge and intellectual power, or honour, or affection, or ever character, is due to that which we have inherited from those who came before us. II. THAT GREATER WORK DEMANDS FULLER PREPARATION. The building of the temple was certainly one of the very first things that Solomon considered and determined upon when he came to the throne. Yet it was not until "the second month, in the fourth year of his reign," that the erection actually commenced. So great a work took large preparation. We show our sense of the real seriousness and magnitude of the work we do for God when we take time and spend strength in its preparation. To go with haste and heedlessness to any sacred work, even though the "house of the Lord" we arc building is not one of magnificence (1 Chronicles 22:5), is a spiritual mis-demeanour; to enter upon any great undertaking in the name and cause of Jesus Christ without much patient thought and earnest effort in the way of preparation is wholly wrong. III. THAT THE COMMENCEMENT OF A GREAT WORK IS A MEMORABLE MOMENT. It was fitting that the very day when this great work began should he recorded, as it is in Holy Writ (ver. 2). It was a memorable moment in Solomon's reign and in the history of the Jews. For then began to rise a building which had an immense and, indeed, an incalculable influence on the nation, and so upon mankind. Such times are sacred. Of all those days to which, in later years, we look back with interest and joy, none will stand out so clearly, and none will give us such pure and strong gratification, as the days when we instituted some movement in the cause of Christ, in the service of our fellow-men. IV. THAT THIS HOUR OF COMMENCEMENT SHOULD BE A VERY SACRED TIME TO OUR SOULS. It may well be one of: 1. Joyful eagerness; for there is something very inspiring in the act of commencing a truly noble work - it exhilarates and animates the soul. It should also be one of: 2. Special prayerfulness; for then we urgently need the guiding and guarding hand of our God to be upon us. 3. Steadfast purpose; for there will be unanticipated difficulties and disheartening delays, possibly much temporary disappointment and partial failure, and a strong, resolute purpose will be needed to carry us through to the end. 4. Unselfish devotedness. We must ever keep in mind that the "house" we are erecting, of whatever kind it be, is the house "of the Lord." If we fail to realize that it is for Christ that we are working, our labour will lose its excellency, its inspiration, and its reward. - C.
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. Biblical Museum. I. THAT GOD DID NOT NEED THIS LAVISH EXPENDITURE OF GOLD AND GEMS AND RICH ORNAMENTSII. YET DIVINE CONDESCENSION ACCEPTED THIS OFFERING OF HUMAN GRATITUDE. III. THE BEAUTY AND COSTLINESS OF THE TEMPLE SERVED TO IMPRESS THE MIND OF SURROUNDING NATIONS WITH THE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TOWARDS THEIR GREAT GOD. IV. THE ADORNMENT OF THE TEMPLE A REBUKE TO MERE UTILITARIAN VIEWS. (Biblical Museum.) And he began to build in the second day of the second month Have we not all had memorable days?1. The day when the boy left home. 2. The day when the young man finds his first friend in business, the head that can direct him, the hand strong enough to give him assurance of protection, the voice all strength and music that charmed his fears away, and gave him consciousness of latent possibilities of his own. 3. The day when the young man got his first practical hold of life and business, how much he made in his first little profit, the very first sovereign he made by his own wits and energy. Do not let all days be alike; save yourselves from so running one day into another as to drop the dignity, the accent, the significance of special occasions. (J. Parker, D. D.) Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house The building of the temple is a striking example of life-building.I. SOLOMON BEGAN WITH INSTRUCTION. "Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed": literally, "Now this is the ground-plan." So many people are building without a ground-plan. It would seem as if they were attempting to perform the impossibility of building from the top; they have no foundations, no great principles; there is a brick here, and a stone there, and a beam of wood yonder, but there is no grand scheme. "Solomon was instructed." Then Solomon was not a born builder that is to say, a man who needed no instruction, no hint, no apprenticeship, in these things. He was a man who began with instruction. A man is none the worse for having his little book of instructions in his pocket when he goes abroad. The book is not a large one in mere superficies, but who can declare in arithmetical numbers its cubical contents? Every line is a volume; every sentence is a time-bill; every proposition is a philosophy. Even Solomon accepted instruction. It is never wise to be beyond a hint, beyond the counsel of experience. II. SOLOMON BEGAN WELL: WHAT WONDER IF HE CONTINUE WELL? He said he would start life with the dowry of wisdom. No accidents could happen to Solomon, because he started at the right point; accepted the true definition of life, and walked in the light of wisdom. If it happened that Solomon should ever trifle with that light, conceal it, modify it, despise it, he would go to the devil. No matter if he had built s thousand temples, he would land in perdition if he ceases to walk in the ways of wisdom. No man can build himself up to heaven, however many temples he may build; he must build up from within — in the matter of conviction, principles, life, character, he must blossom into purity, he must fructify into love. III. SOLOMON'S INSTRUCTIONS WERE SUFFICIENT. Sometimes we wish that we had a rehearsal of life, and that we might come back and begin at the beginning, and walk in the light of experience. There is something better than experience, and that is revelation. The Christian claims that the whole map or chart of life is to be found in the Book of God; and co it is. So there need be no pensive desire for a trial-trip in the ways of life. IV. SOLOMON HAD A DEFINITE PURPOSE IN VIEW: he was building a temple. Definiteness of purpose economise time, enables strength to issue in the noblest accomplishments. A man will have good reason to know what he is doing if he pay attention to Providence. There need not be so much darkness in the ways of life as is often supposed. (J. Parker, D. D.) People Araunah, Boaz, David, Jachin, Ornan, SolomonPlaces Jerusalem, Most Holy Place, Mount MoriahTopics Beginneth, Build, Building, Fourth, Month, Reign, Rule, StartedOutline 1. The place and time of building the temple3. The measure and ornaments of the house 11. The cherubim 14. The veil and pillars Dictionary of Bible Themes 2 Chronicles 3:1-14Library ChroniclesThe comparative indifference with which Chronicles is regarded in modern times by all but professional scholars seems to have been shared by the ancient Jewish church. Though written by the same hand as wrote Ezra-Nehemiah, and forming, together with these books, a continuous history of Judah, it is placed after them in the Hebrew Bible, of which it forms the concluding book; and this no doubt points to the fact that it attained canonical distinction later than they. Nor is this unnatural. The book … John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Chronicles 3:2 NIV2 Chronicles 3:2 NLT 2 Chronicles 3:2 ESV 2 Chronicles 3:2 NASB 2 Chronicles 3:2 KJV 2 Chronicles 3:2 Bible Apps 2 Chronicles 3:2 Parallel 2 Chronicles 3:2 Biblia Paralela 2 Chronicles 3:2 Chinese Bible 2 Chronicles 3:2 French Bible 2 Chronicles 3:2 German Bible 2 Chronicles 3:2 Commentaries Bible Hub |
    |