2 Chronicles 1 – 5

Verse 1:10 is very key in Solomon’s life:

Now that I am their ruler, give me wisdom and knowledge to lead this great people. Without such wisdom, who can govern such a great people?

He did not go after the world view and this is great. It shows Solomon wanted to become a great leader and not just a powerful one. He did not want to rule with an iron fist, but rather rule fairly. This was wonderful and God honored the request.

Verse 1:12 shows God’s joy:

Because you thought of the welfare of My people, I have granted you this exceptional wisdom and knowledge. In addition, I will give you riches and wealth and honor greater than any king ever has possessed or ever will possess.

Having been blessed by God I often wonder if this ended up being a curse. Solomon drifted from God’s plan wildly as he got older. So I wonder if being blessed distracted Solomon from God. Or was he a product of dysfunction of his family? Did David’s unfaithfulness with Solomon’s mother cause a riff that was never repaired through blessings in Solomon’s life?

I look at how many family problems start and everyone thinks money will solve everything and even after the money comes the problems only deepen. The key is not “blessings” but rather a tight connection with God. When blessings do come, thankfully enjoy them but do not get distracted with the toys. KNOW THE SOURCE and give back in abundance.

The rest of the reading is the details Solomon put into building a permanent temple of God. I look at how ornate this was and wonder if they were focusing too much ornate grandeur on the building removing focus from God. Like with Solomon’s riches, this structure became a system in its own maintaining the glory of the building and missing God. 

Verse 5;2 had me notice “the City of David”:

Just as his father had done when he moved the covenant chest to Jerusalem, Solomon assembled all of Israel (the generals, the judges, and every tribal leader) to move the covenant chest of the Eternal from the city of David (also called Zion) into the new temple 

The temple was in Jerusalem which has been called the city of David, yet here scripture differentiates between the two. Why is that? Also, I notice it’s called “Zion” which opens up a ton of other questions about Zionists verses Jews. Is there a difference? Are they a “denomination” within the Jews like Methodists are to the Christian Church?