WEBVTT - 2 Chronicles 1

0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:10.680
<v Speaker 1>walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:15.160
<v Speaker 1>dot com. You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible.

0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:20.079
<v Speaker 1>I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter one,

0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:25.919
<v Speaker 1>and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation. Solomon's

0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.040
<v Speaker 1>son of David, took firm control of his kingdom, for

0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:31.400
<v Speaker 1>the Lord his God was with him and made him

0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:35.800
<v Speaker 1>very powerful. Solomon called together all the leaders of Israel,

0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:39.640
<v Speaker 1>the generals and captains of the army, the judges, and

0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:43.279
<v Speaker 1>all the political and clan leaders. Then he led the

0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:46.760
<v Speaker 1>entire assembly to the place of worship in Gibeon, for

0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:51.599
<v Speaker 1>God's tabernacle was located there. This was the tabernacle that Moses,

0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:55.920
<v Speaker 1>the Lord's servant, had made in the wilderness. David had

0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:59.680
<v Speaker 1>already moved the Ark of God from Kiriath Jerream to

0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.440
<v Speaker 1>the ti he had prepared for it in Jerusalem. But

0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.800
<v Speaker 1>the bronze altar made by Besilel, son of Uri and

0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:10.000
<v Speaker 1>grandson of Her was there at Gibeon in front of

0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.920
<v Speaker 1>the tabernacle of the Lord. So Solomon and the people

0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.560
<v Speaker 1>gathered in front of it to consult the Lord. There

0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.640
<v Speaker 1>in front of the tabernacle, Solomon went up to the

0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:25.039
<v Speaker 1>bronze altar in the Lord's presence and sacrificed one thousand

0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:29.839
<v Speaker 1>burnt offerings on it. That night, God appeared to Solomon

0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:34.280
<v Speaker 1>and said, what do you want? Ask and I will

0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:39.720
<v Speaker 1>give it to you. Solomon replied to God, you showed

0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:43.680
<v Speaker 1>great and faithful love to David my father, and now

0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:47.639
<v Speaker 1>you have made me king in his place. O Lord God,

0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:51.760
<v Speaker 1>please continue to keep your promise to David my father,

0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:54.840
<v Speaker 1>for you have made me king over a people as

0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:58.400
<v Speaker 1>numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me the

0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:02.400
<v Speaker 1>wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly. For who could

0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:07.440
<v Speaker 1>possibly govern this great people of yours? God said to Solomon,

0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:11.680
<v Speaker 1>because your greatest desire is to help your people, and

0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:15.920
<v Speaker 1>you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even

0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:18.960
<v Speaker 1>the death of your enemies or a long life, but

0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:23.120
<v Speaker 1>rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern

0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:26.240
<v Speaker 1>my people. I will certainly give you the wisdom and

0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:30.720
<v Speaker 1>knowledge you requested, but I will also give you wealth, riches,

0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:34.040
<v Speaker 1>and fame such as no other king has had before

0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:38.720
<v Speaker 1>you or will ever have in the future. Then Solomon

0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:41.800
<v Speaker 1>returned to Jerusalem from the tabernacle at the place of

0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:46.320
<v Speaker 1>worship in Gibeon, and he reigned over Israel. Solomon built

0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:49.680
<v Speaker 1>up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had

0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:54.679
<v Speaker 1>one four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed

0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:57.519
<v Speaker 1>some of them in the chariot cities and some near

0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:01.560
<v Speaker 1>him in Jerusalem. The king made silver and gold as

0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:06.480
<v Speaker 1>plentiful in Jerusalem as stone and valuable. Cedar timber was

0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:09.639
<v Speaker 1>as common as the sycamore fig trees that grow in

0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:14.639
<v Speaker 1>the foothills of Judah. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt

0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:19.400
<v Speaker 1>and from Silicia. The king's traders acquired them from Silicia

0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:24.240
<v Speaker 1>at the standard price at that time. Chariots from Egypt

0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.520
<v Speaker 1>could be purchased for six hundred pieces of silver, and

0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:31.280
<v Speaker 1>horses for one hundred and fifty pieces of silver. They

0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:34.480
<v Speaker 1>were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and

0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:41.320
<v Speaker 1>the kings of Aram. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you

0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.680
<v Speaker 1>for your word and for the privilege of being able

0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:45.800
<v Speaker 1>to look at it together today. And Lord, as we

0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:48.640
<v Speaker 1>look at this portion of scripture, we see Solomon being

0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:52.360
<v Speaker 1>raised up as king over Israel. And Lord, he was

0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:56.200
<v Speaker 1>presented the kind of question by you that would be

0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.720
<v Speaker 1>interesting for any of us to be presented. You told

0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:02.960
<v Speaker 1>him to simply ask you for whatever he wanted, and

0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.600
<v Speaker 1>you impressed upon his heart to ask you for wisdom,

0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:07.720
<v Speaker 1>and then you blessed him with all the other things

0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.080
<v Speaker 1>he could have asked you for. Instead, Lord, we pray

0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.240
<v Speaker 1>that in like fashion, that we would come before you,

0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:17.840
<v Speaker 1>not just focused on our creature, comforts, or the things

0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:19.839
<v Speaker 1>that we think we need in this world to get ahead,

0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.280
<v Speaker 1>but that simply we would come before you as men

0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:24.560
<v Speaker 1>and women who are grateful for who you are, as

0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:26.919
<v Speaker 1>men and women who are grateful for the salvation that

0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:30.200
<v Speaker 1>we have been given through faith in your son, Jesus Christ,

0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:33.640
<v Speaker 1>and that we would ask you for wisdom, That we

0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:35.560
<v Speaker 1>would ask you for the wisdom to be able to

0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:37.600
<v Speaker 1>live in this world in such a way that we

0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:40.840
<v Speaker 1>reflect the heart and the character of Christ who lives

0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.560
<v Speaker 1>within us. Lord, we know that you can foster that,

0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:45.760
<v Speaker 1>and we know that that's a request that you delight

0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:49.000
<v Speaker 1>to answer. And so Lord, that's our request to you today,

0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:51.839
<v Speaker 1>that you would grant us your wisdom, that we would

0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:53.760
<v Speaker 1>honor you with our lives, and that we would serve

0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:56.600
<v Speaker 1>others for your glory. We thank you, Lord for your

0:04:56.640 --> 0:04:59.039
<v Speaker 1>presence with us, We thank you for your love, and

0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:02.920
<v Speaker 1>we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,