2 Chronicles 1

2 Chronicles continues the story of Israel recorded in 1 Chronicles.

Solomon became king after David.

In 2 Chronicles the stories about Solomon tell only of his faithfulness to God. They don’t describe the times when he was unfaithful and worshipped false gods. Those stories are recorded in 2 Kings.

2 Chronicles shows how Solomon followed David’s example. He followed David’s instructions about the work of the priests and Levites. And he followed David’s instructions about building the temple on Mount Moriah.

Solomon recognised that the temple was nothing more than a building. It was a place where the Israelites could offer sacrifices to God. God is so great that no place on earth or heaven can hold him. Yet the temple was the place where God chose to put his name. God had talked about a special place for his name in Deuteronomy chapters 12 to 14. God putting his name somewhere was a sign. It was a sign that people could be aware of his presence in a special way.

Solomon gave the Israelites an example of how to pray (prayer) to God. He used his body and his words as he prayed. Solomon was on his knees and lifted his hands toward heaven. This was how he showed that he was humble and that he worshipped God. It showed that he needed God’s help and that he trusted God to answer him. Solomon understood that God knew what was in his heart. God answered by sending fire from heaven to the altar. This showed that God paid attention to Solomon’s prayer. God promised that his name, his eyes and his heart would always be at the temple. This meant that he would always listen to his people and help them. He would do this if they were humble and prayed. God would do this if they turned away from doing evil and depended on him.

When the people saw the fire, they worshipped God and thanked him. They understood that the fire was a sign of his faithful love for them. Even an outsider like the queen of Sheba recognised that God loved Israel. God wanted to take good care of his people (God’s people). He planned to do this through wise kings from David’s family line. That was part of God’s covenant with David. The kings were to worship God faithfully and do what was fair and right.