Teaching Notes

TH1059: II CHRONICLES

As we move into chapter 8 of II Chronicles we are going to see Solomon begin a pursuit of trying to find joy, a joy which is not based in the Lord. And in this life long quest, he gets himself involved with all kinds of things that are moving him away from the Lord, and away from that joy that is only found in the Lord. Solomon started out good, asking God to give him wisdom to lead His people by, but then he does not apply that wisdom in his own life. Because of that it will cost him dearly for he will find out that the void that is deep within his heart can not be filled by anything except the Lord.

II CHRONICLES 8

VERSE 1

1. It is interesting that Solomon spent 7 years in the building of the temple, and another 13 years in the building of his own house and administrative buildings. Solomon thought this would bring him joy, but in Ecclesiastes 2:11 he said, "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun."

VERSES 2-8

1. There is nothing wrong with building projects, homes, unless it becomes the focus of your life, as with Solomon. Remember that when Solomon became king he was only 14 years old, inexperienced and dependent upon the Lord to guide him and give him wisdom to lead His people by. And now some 20 years have passed by, and in those 20 years Solomon has become more self reliant. He has placed his faith in himself instead of the Lord.

2. Also, these cities he built up were located on the trade routes, and Solomon was using the wisdom that God have him, for his own personal and financial gain. (HAMATH ZOBAH - 300 miles north of Jerusalem. TADMOR - desert oasis located on the main highway from Mesopotamia, about 150 miles northeast of Damascus. BETH HORON - about 10 miles northwest of Jerusalem on the boarder between Judah and the Northern tribes. BAALATH - located in the territory of Dan.).

3. Something else that should be noted here is the nations that remained in the land, Solomon placed them into a forced labor force. These nations were to be driven out when Joshua and the children of Israel entered the land. But after 7 years of fighting, after they had established a foot hold on the land, it was now time for the individual tribes to remove the pockets of enemy resistance that remained in the land. And God warned them that if they did not do this, if they did not drive out the enemy, neither will He, and that enemy will become a thorn in your side. Now Solomon has the opportunity to drive out the enemy, which his ancestors failed to do, but instead of driving them out, he uses them for his own personal and financial gain. Again, it shows that Solomon's heart was focused on satisfying self instead of obeying the Lord.

VERSES 9-10

1. Solomon only used the other nations as a forced labor force, as slaves, and not his own brethren. The children of Israel were placed in a higher position, overseeing the work.

VERSE 11

1. Solomon marries the daughter of Pharaoh for political reasons and not necessarily because he loved her. You see, this would ensure that your father-in-law would not rise up and attack you and your nation, for you were married to his daughter. But Solomon does recognize that this is wrong, he is still feeling the conviction of God upon his heart for what he has done, he understands that God is not pleased with his actions. So Solomon does not allow her to dwell in the house of David, for this was the area where the ark was located, and so he builds for her another house, away from this area.

2. Many times God speaks to our hearts and warns us that what we are doing is wrong. And it is very clear that he is not pleased with our actions. But instead of turning from what we are doing, we try to justify our actions and we may even do some minor changes, as Solomon did, so that we can make ourselves look better and ease the conviction that God has placed upon our hearts. But that does not change how God feels about what we are doing, be sensitive to His leading and then follow His direction.

VERSES 12-13

1. Many people today are following in the footsteps of Solomon. He was backsliding, moving away from God, and he was aware of it. And yet he continued with offering sacrifice unto the Lord, he was involved with religious activity, and he looked good outwardly. He was doing all the motion without the emotion. The problem is that when your heart is far from the Lord, all the religious activity you do won't change that. Remember what the prophet Samuel said to king Saul. He said "...'Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.'" I Samuel 15:22-23.

VERSES 14-16

1. All the work is completed and Solomon places the priests and Levites in the work that they were to do. Outwardly things are looking good, functioning the way they should. But inwardly Solomon is preparing to build up his kingdom. The focus is now on self instead of the Lord.

VERSES 17-18

1. The Jews were not a sea faring people, even though they sailed on the Sea of Galilee and some were fishermen. The Sea of Galilee is not really a sea but more of a lake, some 7 miles wide and 17 miles long. It was not like the Mediterranean Sea. So Solomon hires Hiram, king of Tyre, to assist him in obtaining riches from other nations by his ships. Solomon does send some of his own men to assist in the work, but the Phoenicians were truly a great sea faring people.

2. These ships would return every 3 years full of riches and possessions from various nations. Solomon acquire 450 talents of gold from Ophir, which is in India. But if you look at II Chronicles 29:4, David was able to acquire 3,000 talents of gold from Ophir during the same amount of time. Why the difference? Solomon was trying to do this by the works of his hands, the works of his flesh. When you are doing it on your own you will never be as fruitful as you will when you are lead by the Spirit of the Lord. Solomon's focus was in obtaining wealth, and he was spiritually bankrupt. Again in Ecclesiastes Solomon says, "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity." Ecclesiastes 5:10.

II CHRONICLES 9

VERSE 1

1. The Queen of Sheba heard of the wisdom of Solomon and traveled some 1200 miles from Arabia to test Solomon's wisdom by asking him some tough questions. Tradition tells us that Solomon was tested with riddles. If you remember from the book of Judges, Samson did this. Samson, as he headed down to Timnah to acquire a bride from the Philistines, came across a lion, which he killed. On his return trip he came across the carcass of this lion and on its insides was a bee hive and honey. Samson's riddle to his wives friends was this "...'Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.'..." Judges 14:14. They were to answer this riddle, which they did with the help of Samson's wife, and they said "...'What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?'..." Judges 14:18.

Now tradition tells us that one of the riddles that the Queen of Sheba gave to Solomon had to do with two bouquets of flowers. One was real and the other was fake, and as she stood at some distance from Solomon, he was to decide which one was which. Now from that distance it was impossible to tell with the naked eye. So Solomon told one of his servants to open the doors and when they did some bees flew into the place they were at and landed on the flowers, and thus Solomon was able to tell which were real and which were fake. The wisdom of Solomon was truly great, but that wisdom is going to go to his head, as we will see.

VERSES 2-4

1. The Queen of Sheba could not believe all that she saw. Back in I Kings chapter 4 we are told the daily provisions needed to feed Solomon's household:

A. 30 KORS OF FLOUR = 200 BUSHELS OF FLOUR

B. 60 KORS OF MEAL = 400 BUSHELS OF MEAL

C. 10 PRIME OXEN

D. 20 COMMERCIAL GRADE OXEN

E. 100 SHEEP

F. PLUS DEER, GAZELLES, ROEBUCKS, FATTED FOWL

VERSES 5-6

1. You know how people exaggerate about things, that is what she thought about those who spoke of Solomon. And yet, now that she has seen it with her own eyes, she was not told the half of the greatness of Solomon and his kingdom.

VERSES 7-8

1. It seems that the Queen of Sheba turned and believed in the true and living God, not only from these verses do we get that, but from what Jesus said of her in Matthew 12:42. In that section of Scripture Jesus is saying that the Queen of Sheba will rise up in judgment against this generation, for she believed at the words of Solomon, and they did not believe and they had a greater than Solomon before them, God Himself. How sad when a pagan women is more responsive to the message than the Jewish nation itself!

VERSES 9-11

1. This algum wood that she brought to Solomon is very interesting. You see, when the wood is cut it releases a sweet fragrance, which does not seem to decrease in its intensity. Also, it does not rot like some wood. Compare that to Jesus and when He was cut, bruised for our iniquities, He released a sweet smelling fragrance and even after 3 days of being in the tomb, His body did not rot, but He rose from the dead!

VERSE 12

1. The Queen of Sheba came with many gifts for king Solomon, but she left with much more than what she came with. I see that in our own lives, as we give to the Lord all that we have, He blesses us above what we could ask or think. We leave more fruitful than when we came.

VERSES 13-14

1. Solomon placed a heavy tax burden upon the people, and the reality is, he did not need it any longer. The temple and the buildings were all completed, and he could have eased up on the taxation. His son Rehoboam is going to be asked to bring tax reform to the nation, but he refuses and because of that , the nation is divided.

2. Solomon's yearly income was 666 talents of gold, why would that be? I think God is trying to show us a comparison or a type here. Listen to what is said in Revelation 13:16-18, we read, "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666." Now Solomon is not the Antichrist, but he is a type that is being illustrated for us to see. Solomon came on the scene after a Godly king, David. The Antichrist comes on the scene after Jesus Christ came. Solomon was a man of peace, and the Antichrist comes on the scene as a man of peace. Solomon built the temple, and the Antichrist will come on the scene and help the Jews to build the temple again. During the reign of Solomon they enjoyed a time of great prosperity, and during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period, the Antichrist will bring to the world a time of peace and prosperity. We can see a lot of parallels and I think God is saying to us, don't let the things of this world draw you away from Me, Solomon is now serving himself instead of the Lord and His people. It is very easy to be taken in by smooth talking people, and the Antichrist, like many politicians, is no exception.

VERSES 15-16

1. This house of the Forest of Lebanon was one of Solomon's homes. This structure was 150 feet long by 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall and around it were 45 cedar pillars, so as you look at this building, it looked like a forest.

VERSE 17

1. Haven't you noticed that the richer people are the more extravagant they are. They don't know what to do with their money. Solomon had this throne made of ivory, it must have been beautiful, and then he goes and covers this ivory with gold. What a waste of God's money.

VERSES 18-20

1. Solomon's kingdom outshinned any other kingdom. The people were hurting, they needed some tax relief, and in their hurt, Solomon is living a life of luxury.

VERSE 21

1. Monkeys can be translated as peacocks in this verse.

2. Every 3 years ships would return from their voyages and bring back with them a huge cargo of merchandise. And now the common things are not satisfying anymore and it is taking more and to try to fill that void. And the things he is acquiring seem to be getting more and more bizarre. That is true for any one that turns from the Lord and tries to fill that void with other things. For example sex, God has given it to us to enjoy, it is a beautiful and enjoyable relationship between a husband and a wife. Outside of marriage we see all kinds of sexual activity that is not satisfying, that gets more and more bizarre, more and more brutal, even to the point of engaging in a relationship between the same sex, and even murder. Yes marriages can be hard and people can turn from each other, but the reason is simple. It is either one or both of the partners that have taken their eyes off the Lord. When that happens our eyes begin to wander and we look outside of marriage to try and find joy, to try and fill that void, and it will never be filled. Solomon found this out the hard way.

VERSES 22-24

1. Who gave Solomon this wisdom? God did! And now Solomon is charging people to share that gift that God has given to him. God gave him this wisdom and now he is making a profit off that which God has given to him. How sad when people prostitute the things that God has given to them. Greed is a terrible enemy to our relationship with God and we see that monster show its ugly face far to often within the church today.

VERSES 25-28

1. Solomon is doing everything that God told him not to do back in Deuteronomy chapter 17. And maybe Solomon thought he was above the common people and that God knew his wisdom and was surely not speaking to him. He found out how wrong he was, how prideful that kind of attitude was.

2. Also, during this time the camel was domesticated and was used for transportation by traders and merchants. They could travel long distances through the desert without the need for water. And Jerusalem was the hub, you might say, between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Thus, Solomon was charging them a toll for using this route. (See II Chronicles 9:14). He is trying to obtain more and more wealth anyway he can. Using his wisdom for the wrong things.

VERSES 29-31

1. Solomon spent his whole life in search for joy, and the book of Ecclesiastes re-counts that journey. His conclusion was simple, and right in front of him all the time. At the end of his life, this is what he concluded regarding where true joy is found, true fulfillment in life came from. He said "...'Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.'" Ecclesiastes 12:13.

2. The first 9 chapters of II Chronicles dealt with Solomon. Now his son Rehoboam is on the throne, and instead of riding that spiritual wave that Solomon was riding from his father David, Rehoboam is riding that material wave of his father Solomon. And thus we see the downfall of the nation, that will continue till the captivity. Yes there are some spiritual revivals in Judah, but they are few and far between, and not enough to change the direction the nation was heading.

II CHRONICLES 10

VERSES 1-2

1. Rehoboam, Israel's next king, and the son of Solomon, reigned for 17 years and in those 17 years the nation deteriorated into a second class nation. At one time people from near and far came to see the glory of this kingdom, but that is going to change very quickly.

2. Jeroboam, if your remember from our study of I Kings, was a very young and industrious man whom Solomon took notice of. And Solomon placed him in charge of the labor force over the house of Joseph. It was after this that Ahijah the Shilonite, a prophet of God, met with him in a field. And Ahijah took the garment of Jeroboam and tore it into 12 pieces and told him to take ten of those pieces. He said, "...'Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you'" I Kings 11:31. As Solomon hears about this he tries to stop what God said was going to happen by killing Jeroboam, who then flees to Egypt for safety. But now that Solomon is dead, he returns from Egypt to Jerusalem.

VERSES 3-4

1. Now that Rehoboam is king, the people want him to ease up on the taxation, for now it was becoming a tremendous burden for them, and they have Jeroboam representing their cause.

VERSES 5-7

1. I think Rehoboam did the right thing here, after hearing the requests of the people, he takes 3 days to come to a decision. And Rehoboam brings this matter to the wise men, Solomon's counselors. And they tell the king to ease up on them, be kind to them, serve them and they will serve you. That should be the heart of anyone in ministry, and we all are in ministry. We need to be servants and not lord over the people. With titles goes power and pride many times, and God is telling us that we need to humble ourselves and serve the people.

VERSE 8

1. Now Rehoboam consults these young men that he grew up with, to hear their counsel, for he rejected the counsel of the wise men. And understand that these were not some rebellious or punk teenagers giving him this advice, these guys he grew up with. And at this time Rehoboam was some 41 years old, and so were these young men. And listen to the counsel of these guys, for it was truly foolish.

VERSES 9-11

1. They are basically telling Rehoboam to let the people know who is in charge, who the boss is. "You thought my dad was tough, you ain't seen nothing yet!"

VERSES 12-15

1. God was the one who ordained this to happen, He knew what Rehoboam was going to do. On the other hand, Rehoboam, in his pride and arrogance thinks that he is in control, he is the boss, and he is completely unaware that he was going to fulfill what God had said was to happen.

VERSE 16

1. The people had finally had enough and the 10 northern tribes separate from Judah and Benjamin in the south.

VERSES 17-19

1. How would you like the assignment that Hadoram had? Rehoboam sends this guy to go and collect the taxes from the people that he just spoke harshly to and caused this division of the nation. Hadoram was the IRS guy, and he was to go and collect the taxes from these rebellious people. And instead of paying their taxes, they kill the guy and Rehoboam sees the light, knows he is in trouble, and flees from Shechem to Jerusalem, which is about 25 miles to the south.

II CHRONICLES 11

VERSES 1-4

1. Rehoboam wants to restore the nation by force, so he gathers his army together and prepares to do battle. But God speaks to Rehoboam through the prophet Shemaiah, and tells him to stay at home and not to fight, for this is of God. In Proverbs 16:9 we read Solomon say "A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." Rehoboam had developed a plan but that was not God's plan, and he had to be redirected. And believe it or not, he listened and obeyed.

2. Let me say this, division is not good, and yet God allowed it. You see, the Northern Kingdom of Israel began and ended in idolatry. They had no king that truly lead them in the ways of the Lord. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was not perfect but at least had some godly kings who brought reform to the land. Thus, this division was healthy, in a sense, for the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

3. In the church today I think God allows division to occur from time to time. You see, sometimes people come in with very different views and they try to spread them, which makes the body weak and unsure. Thus, division can strengthen a body by bringing together a group of people who are united in their beliefs. I think it was Spurgeon who was asked "Have you had any blessed additions to your church this week?" And he said "No, but some blessed subtractions!"

VERSES 5-12

1. Rehoboam is fortifying some of his cities, maybe because he had some concerns about his kingdom being overthrown.

VERSES 13-17

1. Remember that the Levites were spread throughout the land of Israel in some 48 Levitical cities, that covered all of Israel, from the north to the south. But Jeroboam cuts them off from being priests, sets up his own priesthood, and two golden calves in which they were to worship God by. You see, he was concerned that the people might all go to Jerusalem to worship God, in the temple, and many would not return. So he had to make a place for them to worship God at. Now that these priests were relieved of their duties by Jeroboam, they head to Jerusalem to continue the work they were called to do. Not only did the priests begin to leave, but also some of the people headed south to Jerusalem after they saw the idolatry that Jeroboam was bringing into the land. Here we see, in a sense, the separation of the wheat and the chaff. The false and the true.

VERSES 18-22

1. Rehoboam is already preparing his son Abijah to be the next king in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. But Rehoboam is also concerned that his sons might be murdered, so he spreads them out throughout the land, to prevent them from being wiped out all at once. We saw with Solomon a time of great peace, and now the king is afraid of rebellion from within and not only an attack from without.