July 19: 2 Chronicles 2–4; 2 Corinthians 5:11–6:10; Psalm 18:1–24; Proverbs 19:24–25

Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 2–4 2 Chronicles 2–4 (Listen) Preparing to Build the Temple 2 Now Solomon purposed to build a temple for the name of the LORD, and a royal palace for himself. 1 2 And Solomon assigned 70,000 men to bear burdens and 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and 3,600 to oversee them. 3 And Solomon sent word to Hiram the king of Tyre: “As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedar to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. 4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God and dedicate it to him for the burning of incense of sweet spices before him, and for the regular arrangement of the showbread, and for burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed feasts of the LORD our God, as ordained forever for Israel. 5 The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? 7 So now send me a man skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving, to be with the skilled workers who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. 8 Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And my servants will be with your servants, 9 to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the house I am to build will be great and wonderful. 10 I will give for your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, 20,000 cors2 of crushed wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths3 of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil.” 11 Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon, “Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them.” 12 Hiram also said, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, who has discretion and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself. 13 “Now I have sent a skilled man, who has understanding, Huram-abi, 14 the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design that may be assigned him, with your craftsmen, the craftsmen of my lord, David your father. 15 Now therefore the wheat and barley, oil and wine, of which my lord has spoken, let him send to his servants. 16 And we will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may take it up to Jerusalem.” 17 Then Solomon counted all the resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, after the census of them that David his father had taken, and there were found 153,600. 18 Seventy thousand of them he assigned to bear burdens, 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and 3,600 as overseers to make the people work. Solomon Builds the Temple 3 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD4 had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 3 These are Solomon’s measurements5 for building the house of God: the length, in cubits6 of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. 4 The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house,7 and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. 5 The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold and made palms and chains on it. 6 He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. 7 So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—and he carved cherubim on the walls. 8 And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talents8 of fine gold. 9 The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels.9 And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. 10 In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood10 and overlaid11 them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; 12 and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim12 stood on their feet, facing the nave. 14 And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it. 15 In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. 16 He made chains like a necklace13 and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. 17 He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz. The Temple’s Furnishings 4 He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits14 long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. 2 Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 3 Under it were figures of gourds,15 for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. 5 Its thickness was a handbreadth.16 And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held 3,000 baths.17 6 He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in. 7 And he made ten golden lampstands as prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. 8 He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. And he made a hundred basins of gold. 9 He made the court of the priests and the great court and doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house. 11 Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: 12 the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; 13 and the 400 pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. 14 He made the stands also, and the basins on the stands, 15 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. 16 The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the LORD. 17 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.18 18 Solomon made all these things in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze was not sought. 19 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: the golden altar, the tables for the bread of the Presence, 20 the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; 22 the snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold, and the sockets19 of the temple, for the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and for the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold. Footnotes [1] 2:1 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew [2] 2:10 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters [3] 2:10 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters [4] 3:1 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks the Lord [5] 3:3 Syriac; Hebrew foundations [6] 3:3 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [7] 3:4 Compare 1 Kings 6:3; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [8] 3:8 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [9] 3:9 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [10] 3:10 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [11] 3:10 Hebrew they overlaid [12] 3:13 Hebrew they [13] 3:16 Hebrew chains in the inner sanctuary [14] 4:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [15] 4:3 Compare 1 Kings 7:24; Hebrew oxen; twice in this verse [16] 4:5 A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters [17] 4:5 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters [18] 4:17 Spelled Zarethan in 1 Kings 7:46 [19] 4:22 Compare 1 Kings 7:50; Hebrew the entrance of the house (ESV) New Testament: 2 Corinthians 5:11–6:10 2 Corinthians 5:11–6:10 (Listen) The Ministry of Reconciliation 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.1 The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling2 the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 6 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,   “In a favorable time I listened to you,    and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. Footnotes [1] 5:17 Or creature [2] 5:19 Or God was in Christ, reconciling (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 18:1–24 Psalm 18:1–24 (Listen) The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: 18   I love you, O LORD, my strength.2   The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.3   I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,    and I am saved from my enemies. 4   The cords of death encompassed me;    the torrents of destruction assailed me;15   the cords of Sheol entangled me;    the snares of death confronted me. 6   In my distress I called upon the LORD;    to my God I cried for help.  From his temple he heard my voice,    and my cry to him reached his ears. 7   Then the earth reeled and rocked;    the foundations also of the mountains trembled    and quaked, because he was angry.8   Smoke went up from his nostrils,2    and devouring fire from his mouth;    glowing coals flamed forth from him.9   He bowed the heavens and came down;    thick darkness was under his feet.10   He rode on a cherub and flew;    he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.11   He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,    thick clouds dark with water.12   Out of the brightness before him    hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. 13   The LORD also thundered in the heavens,    and the Most High uttered his voice,    hailstones and coals of fire.14   And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;    he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.15   Then the channels of the sea were seen,    and the foundations of the world were laid bare  at your rebuke, O LORD,    at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. 16   He sent from on high, he took me;    he drew me out of many waters.17   He rescued me from my strong enemy    and from those who hated me,    for they were too mighty for me.18   They confronted me in the day of my calamity,    but the LORD was my support.19   He brought me out into a broad place;    he rescued me, because he delighted in me. 20   The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;    according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.21   For I have kept the ways of the LORD,    and have not wickedly departed from my God.22   For all his rules3 were before me,    and his statutes I did not put away from me.23   I was blameless before him,    and I kept myself from my guilt.24   So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. Footnotes [1] 18:4 Or terrified me [2] 18:8 Or in his wrath [3] 18:22 Or just decrees (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 19:24–25 Proverbs 19:24–25 (Listen) 24   The sluggard buries his hand in the dish    and will not even bring it back to his mouth.25   Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;    reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge. (ESV)