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Solomon's Request: Wisdom Over Riches (July 20) · 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast

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When Solomon has the opportunity to ask of anything that
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his heart desires from God, what does he ask
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for? He asks for wisdom to
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rule over the great nation of Israel.
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He loved and he sought after wisdom and truth so
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he could be a good and a wise leader.
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Also, we see the Tree of Life.
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Proverbs chapter 3 talks about this Tree of Life, and it
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says, my son, do not forget my law, but let your
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heart keep my commands, for length of days and long life and
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peace they will add to you.
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And then in verse 18, she— that
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is the Law, the Torah, the Word of God,
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is a tree of life to those who take hold of
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her, and happy are all who retain
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her. We find this tree of life all
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the way back in the Garden of Eden in Genesis
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chapter 2, verse 9. Out of the ground made the Lord God
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to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and
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good for food, The tree of life also in the midst of
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the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
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So the tree of life, which is the
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Word of God, all of it from Genesis to Revelation.
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And finally, we see the same tree of life in
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the Paradise of God in Revelation chapter 2.
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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
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churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to
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eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the midst
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of the Paradise of God. And finally,
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in Revelation chapter 22, verse 2: In
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the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the Tree
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of Life, which bore 12 fruits,
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each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves
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of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
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Listen in as we unpack
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2 Chronicles chapter 1 to 3 with the opening
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scenes of the story of
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the kingship of Solomon.
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Welcome to the One Year Audio Bible Podcast.
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Today is July 20th, Now let's continue our journey reading through
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the entire Bible in 1 year.
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This week we are reading from the Israel Bible for the Hebrew Scriptures,
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or the Old Testament, and from the King James for the New Testament.
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Numbers 26:1-32.
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When the plague was over, Hashem said to Moses and to Eleazar son
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of Aaron the Kohen, Take a census of the whole Israelite community,
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from the age of 20 years up, by their ancestral houses,
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all Israelites able to bear arms. So Moses and
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Eleazar the Kohen, on the steps of Moab at the
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Jordan near Jericho, gave instructions about them, namely,
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those from 20 years up, as Hashem had commanded Moses.
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The descendants of the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt were:
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Reuben, Israel's firstborn. Descendants of Reuben:
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of Enoch, the clan of the Enochites; of Pallu,
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the clan of Palluites; of Chetzron, the clan of
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Chetzronites; of Carmi, the clan of Carmites.
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Those are the clans of the Reubenites. The persons enrolled came to 43,730.
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Born to Pallu: Eliab. The sons of
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Eliab were Nemuel, and Dathan and Abiram. These are
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the same Dathan and Abiram chosen in the assembly who agitated against
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Moses and Aaron as part of Korah's band when they agitated
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against Hashem, whereupon the earth opened
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its mouth and swallowed them up with Korah. When that band
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died, then the fire consumed the 250 men,
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and they became an example.
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The sons of Korah, however, did not die.
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Descendants of Simon by their clans: of Nemuel,
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the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of
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the Jaminites; of Jakin, the clan of the Jakinites; of Zerah,
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the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of
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the Shaulites. Those are the clans of the Simeonites.
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Persons enrolled,
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22,200. Descendants of Gad by their clans: of
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Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the clan of the
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Haggites; of Shuni, the clan of the Shunites; of Ozni,
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the clan of the Ozniites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites;
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of Arod, the clan of the Arodites; of Areli, the clan of
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the Arelites. Those are the clans of Gad's descendants,
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persons enrolled, 40,500. Born to
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Judah: Er and Onan. Er and Onan died in the
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land of Canaan. Descendants of Judah by their clans:
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of Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites; of Perez, the clan
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of the Perezites; of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites.
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Descendants of Perez: of Chesron, the clan of the
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Chesronites; of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites.
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These are the clans of Yehuda. Persons enrolled:
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76,000. 500.
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Descendants of Issachar by their clans: of Tola,
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the clan of the Tolaites; of Puva, the clan of the Punites;
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of Yashuv, the clan of the Yashuvites; of Shimron,
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the clan of the Shimronites. Those are the clans of Issachar.
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Persons enrolled: 64,300.
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Descendants of Zebulun by their clans: of Sered,
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the clan of the Seredites; Of Elon, the clan of the
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Elonites. Of Jahleel, the clan of the Jahleelites.
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Those are the clans of the Zebulunites. Persons enrolled:
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60,500. The sons of Joseph were
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Manasseh and Ephraim, by their clans.
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Descendants of Manasseh: Of Makir, the clan of the Makirites.
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Makir begot Gilead. Of Gilead, the clan of the Gileadites.
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These were the descendants of Gilead: of Iezer,
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the clan of the Iezerites; of Helek, the clan of the Helekites;
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of Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites; of Shechem,
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the clan of the Shechemites; of Shemida, the clan
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of the Shemidaites; Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites.
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2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17.
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Solomon son of David took firm hold of his kingdom,
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for Hashem his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.
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Solomon summoned all Israel, the officers of
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thousands and of hundreds and the judges and all the chiefs
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of all Israel, the heads of the clans. Then Solomon and
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all the assemblage with him went to the shrine at Gibeon,
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for the tent of meeting, which Moses the servant of Hashem had
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made in the wilderness, was there. But the Ark of
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Hashem David had brought up from Kiriath-Jearim to the place where David had
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prepared for it, where he had pitched a tent for it,
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in Jerusalem. The bronze altar which Bezalel
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son of Uri son of Hur,
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had made was also there before the Mishkan of Hashem,
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and Solomon and the assemblage resorted to it.
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There Solomon ascended the bronze mitsvayah
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before Hashem, which was at the Tent of Meeting, and on it sacrificed
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1,000 burnt offerings. That night Hashem appeared
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to Solomon and said to him, Ask! What shall I grant you?
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Solomon said to Hashem, You dealt most graciously with my
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father David, And now You have made me king in his stead.
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But now, O Hashem, let Your promise to my father
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David be fulfilled, for You have made me king over a
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people as numerous as the dust of the earth. Grant me,
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then, the wisdom and the knowledge to lead this people.
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For who can govern Your great people?
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Hashem said to Solomon, Because you
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want this and have not asked for wealth, property, and glory,
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nor have you asked for the life of your enemy or long life for
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yourself, but you have asked for the wisdom and knowledge
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to be able to govern my people over whom I have made you king.
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Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you, and I grant you also wealth,
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property, and glory, the like of which no king before you
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has had, nor shall any after you have.
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From the shrine at Gibeon, from the tent of meeting,
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Solomon went to Jerusalem and reigned over
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Israel. Solomon assembled chariots and horsemen.
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He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses
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that he stationed in the chariot towns with the king in Jerusalem.
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The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as
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stones, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamores in
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Shephelah. Solomon's horses were imported
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from Egypt and from Qiu. The king's traders would buy them from
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Qiu at the market price.
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A chariot imported from Egypt cost 600 shekels
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of silver, and a horse 150.
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These in turn were exported by the mall to all
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the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Arameans.
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Then Solomon resolved to build a house for the name of Hashem and
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a royal palace for himself. Solomon mustered
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70,000 basket carriers and 80,000 quarriers in the
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hills, with 3,600 men supervising them.
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Solomon sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre: In
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view of what You did for my father David in sending him cedars to build
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a palace for his residence, see, I intend to
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build a house for the name of Hashem my God.
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I will dedicate it to Him for making incense offering of
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sweet spices in His honor, for the regular rows
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of bread, and for the morning and evening burnt offerings on Shabbath,
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New Moons, and festivals, as is Israel's eternal
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duty. The house that I intend to build will be
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great, inasmuch as our God is greater than
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all gods. Who indeed is capable
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of building a house for Him? Even the heavens to their uttermost reaches
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cannot contain Him, and who am I that I
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should build Him a house, except as a place
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for making burnt offerings to Him? Now send
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me a craftsman to work in gold, silver, bronze and iron, and in purple,
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crimson and blue yarn, and who
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knows how to engrave, alongside the craftsmen I have here in Judah
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and in Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.
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Send me cedars, cypress and algum wood from the
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Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled at cutting
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the trees of Lebanon. My servants will work with yours
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to provide me with a great stock of timber,
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for the house that I intend to build will be singularly great.
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I have allocated for your servants, the woodcutters who fell the
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trees, 20,000 kor of crushed wheat and 20,000
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kor of barley, 20,000 batim of wine and 20,000
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batim of oil. Hiram the king of Tyre
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sent Solomon this written message in reply: Because
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Hashem loved His people, He made you king over them.
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Huram continued, Blessed is Hashem, God of Israel, who made
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the heavens and the earth, who gave King David a wise son,
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endowed with intelligence and understanding, to build a house for
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Hashem and a royal palace for himself.
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Now I am sending you a skillful and intelligent man, my master
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Huram. The son of a Danite woman, his father a
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Tyrian. He is skilled at working in gold,
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silver, bronze, iron, precious stones, and wood;
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in purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and in fine linen; and
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at engraving and designing whatever will be required of him,
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alongside your craftsmen and the craftsmen of my lord, your father
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David. As to the wheat, barley, oil, and wine
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which my lord mentioned, Let him send them to his servants.
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We undertake to cut down as many trees of Lebanon as you need
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and deliver them to you as, as rafts by
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sea to Jaffa. You will transport them to Jerusalem.
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Solomon took a census of all the aliens who were in the Land of
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Israel besides the census taken by his father David, and they were found
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to be 153,600. He made
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70,000 of them basket carriers and 80,000 of
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them quarriers, with 3,600 supervisors to see
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that the people worked. Then Solomon began
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to build the House of Hashem in Jerusalem on
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Mount Moriah, where Hashem had appeared to his father
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David, at the place which David had designated, at the threshing
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floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
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He began to build on the 2nd day of the 2nd month of the 4th
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year of his reign.
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These were the dimensions Solomon established for building the House
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of Hashem: its length in emote by the former measure was 60,
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and its breadth was 20. The length of
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the porch in front was equal to the breadth of the house.
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20 emote, and its height was 120.
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Inside he overlaid it with pure gold.
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The house itself he paneled with cypress wood. He overlaid
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it with fine gold and embossed on it palms and chains.
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He studded the house with precious stones for decoration.
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The gold was from Parvaim. He overlaid
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the house with gold, the beams, the threshold, its walls
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and doors. He carved cherubim on the walls.
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He made the Holy of Holies. Its length was equal
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to the breadth of the house, 20 emote, and its breadth was 20 emote.
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He overlaid it with 600 kikkarim of fine
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gold. The weight of the nails was 50 shekels
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of gold. The upper chambers he overlaid with gold.
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He made 2 sculptured cherubim in the Holy of Holies,
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and they were overlaid with gold.
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The outspread wings of the cherubim were 20 emote across,
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one wing 5 emote long touching one wall of
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the house, and the other wing 5 emote long touching the wing
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of the other cherub, one wing of the other cherub 5
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emote long extending to the other wall of the house, and its
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other wing 5 emote long touching the wing of the first cherub.
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The wingspread of these cherubim was thus 20
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emote across, and they were standing up facing the house.
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He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen,
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and he worked cherubim into it. At the front
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of the house he made 2 columns 35 emote high, The capitals
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on top of them were 5 emotes high.
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He made chainwork in the inner sanctuary and set it on
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the top of the columns. He made 100 pomegranates and set them
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into the chainwork. He erected the columns
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in front of the great hall, one to its right and one to its
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left. The one to the right was called Jakin and the one to
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the left Boaz.
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Romans 6:1-23.
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What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace
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may abound? God forbid! How shall we,
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that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
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Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into
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Jesus Christ Were baptized into His death?
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Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death,
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that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of
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the Father, even so we also should walk in
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newness of life. For if we have been planted together
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in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness
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of His resurrection. Knowing this,
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that our old man is crucified with Him,
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that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
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we should not serve sin. For he
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that is dead is freed from sin.
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Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Him,
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knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies
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no more, Death has no more dominion over him.
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For in that he died, he died to sin once; but
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in that he lives, he lives unto God.
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Likewise reckon yourself also
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to be dead indeed to sin, but alive
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to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not
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sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey
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it in its lusts. Neither yield
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your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin,
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but yield yourselves to God as those that are alive from
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the dead, and your members as instruments of
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righteousness unto God. For sin
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shall not have dominion over you, for you
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are not under the law. But under grace.
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What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but
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under grace? God forbid! Know you not that
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to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey,
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his servants you are to whom you obey, whether of
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sin unto death, or of obedience unto
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righteousness? But God be thanked!
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That we were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed
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from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered to
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you. Being then made free from sin, you became
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the servants of righteousness. I speak after
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the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh.
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For as you have yielded your members servants to uncleanness
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and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield
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your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
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For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.
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What fruit had you then in those things whereof you
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are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
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And now being made free from sin, and become servants to God,
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you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting
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life. For the wages of sin is death,
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but the gift of God is eternal life through
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Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Psalm 16:1-11.
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Preserve me, O God, for in you
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do I put my trust. O my soul, you have said
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unto the Lord, You are my Lord. My goodness extends not
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to you, but to the saints that are in the earth, and to
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the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
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Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god.
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Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names
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into my lips. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance
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and of my cup. You maintain my
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lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places.
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Yes, I have a goodly heritage. I will
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bless the Lord who has given me counsel. My reins also
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instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the
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Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand,
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I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad,
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and my glory rejoices; my flesh also
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shall rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in hell,
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neither will You suffer Your Holy One to see corruption.
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You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is
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fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are
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pleasures forevermore.
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Proverbs 19:20-21.
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Hear counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in
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your latter end. There are many devices in a man's
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heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord,
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that shall stand. I want to
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speak to you today from our reading from 2 Chronicles chapters
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1 through 3. And in the beginning of this book
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that we are now diving into, we see the inauguration of
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Solomon into the role of king over Israel.
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And we see in chapter 1, one night that
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Hashem, or the Lord, appeared to Solomon and
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said to him, ask, what shall I grant you?
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What would you have asked for?
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So Solomon did not think selfishly.
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He did not ask for long life or for wealth or for riches or
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any of that. Instead, he said, Lord,
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you've dealt most graciously with my father David, and now you have
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made me king in his place. Oh Lord,
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let your promise to my father David be fulfilled.
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You've made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.
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So here comes his request. Grant me then
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the wisdom and the knowledge to lead this people,
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for who can govern your great people?
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He asks for wisdom.
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And because he doesn't ask for something selfish,
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but he asks for something practical— I need wisdom to
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govern this great people— the Lord is going to greatly bless
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him. And the Lord answers him and says, because you want this and have not
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asked for wealth or property or glory or asked
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for the life of your enemy or long life for yourself,
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but because you have asked for wisdom and knowledge to be able to govern my
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people, and wisdom and knowledge
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are granted to you, and I grant you also wealth
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property and glory, the like of which no king before
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you has had, nor shall any after you have.
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So God says, I'm going to answer your request
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and give you wisdom, but I'm also going to give you wealth and property
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and glory of which no other king will ever attain.
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So the Israel Bible Commentary to this verse, verse 10,
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grant me the wisdom and the knowledge to lead this people.
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Reads as follows: When given the opportunity to make a request
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of Hashem, Solomon asks for wisdom and understanding
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to be able to judge the nation properly. Just as David
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his father executed true justice among all his people,
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1 Chronicles 18:14, though he was a man of battle and
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had shed blood, 1 Chronicles 28:3,
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Solomon's reign will be similarly characterized by justice.
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While the wars to secure Israel's borders are significant,
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what personifies the land of Israel in general and the
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city of Jerusalem in particular is justice and
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righteousness. Thus, Eretz Israel's inheritance
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through justice— justice allows for the land to flourish,
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and conversely, a lack of justice leads to
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its downfall and destruction.
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The Beit HaMikdash, that is the temple built
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by Solomon, is the seat of justice.
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Deuteronomy 17:8-10. And it is where
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the high court would meet. In making this request
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of God, Solomon sought to ensure that he would lead
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the nation of Israel in the land of Israel in
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justice and truth. Today,
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the State of Israel has an established judicial system
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which continues to pursue justice in the Holy Land, ensuring that
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the population is law-abiding and protecting the rights of its citizens.
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Like the High Court of old, Israel's Supreme Court is located
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in Jerusalem.
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Jumping into chapter 3,
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I want to look at verse 10. He— that is Solomon— made
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2 sculptured cherubim in the Holy of Holies, and they
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were overlaid with gold. The Israel
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Bible commentary to this verse reads as follows: Solomon builds
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2 great cherubim in the Holy of Holies paralleling the
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cherubim which God placed in front of the Garden of Eden to guard
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the way to the Tree of Life.
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Solomon's cherubim symbolize these guardians
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showing that what lies behind them, the Ark
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holding the— holds the roots to the Tree of Life,
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the Torah, which is contained in the Ark and
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the commandments therein are the pathway to life.
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As King Solomon writes about the wisdom of the Torah,
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for they will bestow on you length of days,
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years of life and well-being, and she is a
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tree of life to those who grasp her. That comes from Proverbs
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chapter 3, verses 2 and verse 18.
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So let me expand on that.
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In the Garden of Eden was the Tree of Life,
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and the Tree of Life, you could say what
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it says in Proverbs, the Torah is the Tree of Life.
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And when I say the word Torah, I don't just mean the first 5 books
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of the Bible, of the Tanakh. When I say Torah,
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I mean the entire Bible, all of it, from Genesis to Revelation.
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So Jesus, when he came,
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he said, I am the way, I am the truth,
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and I am the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
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And also in the Book of John, it says, in the beginning was
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the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
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God. And then the Word came down
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and dwelt and lived among us.
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Jesus is the Word made flesh,
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the Torah made flesh.
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So Jesus is the path to
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life. He is the living Torah. He is
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the Word of life. And so when
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we take in the Word, when we consume
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it, when we chew on it, reflect on it,
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meditate on it, put it into our heart,
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hide the Word of God into our heart, we are
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communing with Jesus. He is
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the way and the truth and the life.
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And so we are not able to follow or obey the Torah on
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our own just by being obedient.
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We will fall. Our flesh is weak and we have a sinful nature.
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But when we have asked Jesus into our heart,
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when we have repented of our sin,
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and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us,
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then by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit,
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we follow the Lord Jesus, and we
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obey His commands because we love Him
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as we are led by His Holy Spirit. So The
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Tree of Life that we see in the Garden of Eden is also
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seen in the Book of Revelation. In Revelation 20 and
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21, it talks about the Tree of Life there on the banks of the river,
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and that the leaves of this Tree of Life bring healing
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to the nations. It's interesting, an actual
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Torah scroll that when you roll it all out and
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read from it, The Torah scroll is called—
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the pages are called leaves,
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like the leaves of a tree. So this
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Torah, this living document, this living book of
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God communicating with us the way to live
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life, the way to live the kingdom,
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is pictured as a tree of life but
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it also points us to Jesus Christ.
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Have a blessed day, and we'll see you tomorrow.