Study Desk

The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!"

"Praise the Lord , the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father,

But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place for my name to be honored, and I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.'"

"And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father's place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord , the God of Israel.

"And now, O Lord , God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow my Law as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.'

then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart.

O Lord God, do not reject the king you have anointed. Remember your unfailing love for your servant David."

The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, "His faithful love endures forever!" They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the Lord . Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood.

For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south.

On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days.

Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices.

For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

"As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations,

then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.'

These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve as forced laborers to this day.

But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for his labor force. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers.

Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh's daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, "My wife must not live in King David's palace, for the Ark of the Lord has been there, and it is holy ground."

Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built for him in front of the entry room of the Temple.

He offered the sacrifices for the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, and the three annual festivals—the Passover celebration, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters—as Moses had commanded.