The Berean Pursuit
Now when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all that he had desired to do, the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the LORD said to him:
"I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, 'You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'
But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.
And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' And others will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them-because of this, the LORD has brought all this disaster upon them.'"
Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace, King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire. So Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them.
"What are these towns you have given me, my brother?" asked Hiram, and he called them the Land of Cabul, as they are called to this day.
And Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold.
This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife. So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, and Tamar in the Wilderness of Judah, as well as all the store cities that Solomon had for his chariots and horses -whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.
As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)- their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction-Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.
But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. They were also the chief officers over Solomon's projects: 550 supervisors over the people who did the work.
As soon as Pharaoh's daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.
King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. And Hiram sent his servants, men who knew the sea, to serve in the fleet with Solomon's servants. They sailed to Ophir and imported gold from there-420 talents-and delivered it to Solomon.
Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own palace, Solomon rebuilt the cities Hiram had given him and settled Israelites there.
Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. He built Tadmor in the wilderness, in addition to all the store cities that he had built in Hamath. He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, as well as Baalath, all the store cities that belonged to Solomon, and all the cities for his chariots and horses -whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.
As for all the people who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)- their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy-Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.
But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slave labor, because they were his men of war, his officers and captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. They were also the chief officers for King Solomon: 250 supervisors.
Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, "My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy."
At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD he had built in front of the portico. He observed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed feasts-the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God. They did not turn aside from the king's command regarding the priests or the Levites or any matter concerning the treasuries.
Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.
Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the coast of Edom. So Hiram sent him ships captained by his servants, along with crews of experienced sailors. They went with Solomon's servants to Ophir and acquired from there 450 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.
Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father.
Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
Honor the widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers. But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.
Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach. If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, the wife of one man, and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.
But refuse to enroll younger widows. For when their passions draw them away from Christ, they will want to marry, and thus will incur judgment because they are setting aside their first faith. At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.
So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander. For some have already turned aside to follow Satan.
If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need.
Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and, "The worker is worthy of his wages."
Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses. But those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin.
I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality.
Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
The sins of some men are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others do not surface until later. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even the ones that are inconspicuous cannot remain hidden.