2 Chronicles

The history review marches on.

Solomon prepares for and builds the temple and a palace using the riches his father David had stored and the skilled workers sent by the king of Tyre. You can see the timbers being transported, the workers arriving, the fine horses from Egypt, and goods coming from many countries.
Solomon’s fame spread widely, and the Queen of Sheba came to investigate what she had heard. She brought many valuable gifts with her. You can see her caravan coming down from the upper left. After confirming Solomon’s greatness, she returned home with even more than she had brought.
The temple is built in Jerusalem according to detailed instructions and furnished with the finest materials, including pure gold. The large building complex in the center represents the temple.
The Ark is brought into the temple, and outside you can see the priests, singers, trumpeters, and musicians playing cymbals, harps, and lyres as they praise and glorify God. If you look closely, you can see the cloud rising from the temple area.
Solomon, wearing both blue and red, stands just below the musicians and before the altar with its burning sacrifice. He praises God and dedicates the temple. He also asks God to hear the prayers of anyone, at any time and in any place, when they pray toward the temple. God agrees, yet He also gives a warning concerning obedience.
After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam becomes king. He refuses to listen to the counsel of the elders and follows the advice of the younger men around him. In only a few years, the nation falls into serious trouble, and God allows the king of Egypt to overtake Jerusalem.
When the people humble themselves before God, they are not completely destroyed, although they are placed under foreign domination. In the center of the painting, you can see the Egyptian chariots and the battle taking place.
Shishak, king of Egypt, carries away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s palace. At the bottom of the picture, you can see the plunder.
After this comes a succession of kings, some good, but many bad. Numerous rulers turn to idols, and some even offer their children to false gods, as shown toward the lower left.
The pattern of changing kings continues for many chapters. At one point, Hilkiah the priest discovers the lost Book of the Law. I have shown him near Solomon’s temple dedication, reading from a scroll. The book is read to King Josiah, the commandments are once again honored, and the Passover is celebrated.
After Josiah’s death, more kings follow. Eventually Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, conquers the land and places Zedekiah over Judah. Zedekiah does evil, and God sends the Chaldeans to destroy the city and the temple, just as He had warned when Solomon prayed at the dedication of the house of God.
The book ends with a surprising word of hope. Cyrus, king of Persia, proclaims that the Lord’s people may return to Jerusalem and rebuild the house of God.
In the background of First Chronicles, the colors are vivid, reflecting the tribal divisions of the land shown earlier in Joshua. In Second Chronicles, those colors have faded. They are not completely gone, but they suggest a nation whose strength, unity, and glory have greatly diminished.
And still, through glory, failure, judgment, exile, and the promise of return, God’s hand remains at work.