Solomon, along with the whole assembly with him, met at the high place in Gibeon because that's where God's Tent of Meeting that the LORD's servant Moses had constructed in the wilderness was located.

Nevertheless, David had brought the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, after having erected a tent for it in Jerusalem.

Also, the bronze altar that Uri's son Bezalel, Hur's grandson had erected, was in place in front of the LORD's tent. Solomon and the assembly sought the LORD there.

Solomon approached the presence of the LORD at the bronze altar that had been placed at the Tent of Meeting and offered 1,000 burnt offerings on it.

God told Solomon, "Since you had this in mind, to ask neither to focus on riches, wealth, honor, or the lives of those who hate you, nor have you requested a long life, but instead you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may rule my people over whom I have established you as king,

Solomon took a census of all the non-Israeli men who lived in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had taken, and 153,600 were counted.

So Solomon began construction of the LORD's Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the LORD had appeared to his father David, that is, where David had prepared Ornan the Jebusite's threshing floor.

A portico extended in front of the Temple for its entire width of 20 cubits, and was 120 cubits high. Inside he had it overlaid with pure gold.

Solomon made ten gold lamp stands as he had been directed and set them in the Temple, five on the south side and five on the north side.

The king had them forged in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah in the Jordan plain.

As soon as Solomon had completed the LORD's Temple, he installed the holy items that had belonged to his father David, including the silver, gold, and all the other items in the treasure rooms of God's Temple.

As soon as all of Israel's elders had arrived, the descendants of Levi lifted the ark

King Solomon and all the Israelis who had assembled together proceeded ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and oxen than could be counted or recorded due to the number of sacrifices.

The wings of the cherubim extended over where the ark and its carrying poles had been placed,

There was nothing in the ark except for the two tablets that Moses had placed there while Israel was encamped at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelis after he had brought them out of the land of Egypt.

and the priests were unable to complete their duties because of the cloud, since the glory of the LORD had filled God's Temple.

Then Solomon prayed: "Blessed is the LORD God of Israel, who made a commitment to my father David and then personally fulfilled what he had promised when he said:

Solomon had a bronze platform constructed five cubits square and three cubits high. He had it erected in the middle of the courtyard, and stood on it. Then he knelt down on his knees in front of the entire congregation of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,

"LORD God of Israel, there is no one like you, God of heaven and earth, who watches over his covenant, showing gracious love to your servants who live their lives in your presence with all their hearts. It is you, LORD God, who has kept your promise to my father, your servant David, that you made to him. Indeed, you made a commitment to my father David and then personally fulfilled what you had promised today.

The priests could not enter into the Temple because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's Temple.

The priests stood in waiting at their assigned places, along with the descendants of Levi who carried musical instruments used in service to the LORD that King David had made for giving thanks to the LORD because his gracious love is eternal whenever David, accompanied by priests sounding trumpets, offered praises while all of Israel stood in the assembly.

Solomon also dedicated the middle of the court in front of the LORD's Temple by offering there burnt offerings and fat from peace offerings because the bronze altar that Solomon had made could not contain the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fat portion offerings.

On the day after the festival ended, they convened a solemn assembly, because they had been dedicating the altar for seven days and observing the festival for seven days.

On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, King Solomon sent the people back home, and they returned rejoicing and in good spirits because of the goodness that the LORD had shown to David, to Solomon, and to his people Israel.

And so Solomon completed the LORD's Temple, bringing to completion everything that he had planned on doing for the LORD's Temple and for his own palace.

then I will tear them up by the roots from the ground that I had given them! And as for this Temple that I have set apart for my name, I will throw it out of my sight and make it the butt of jokes and a means of ridicule among people worldwide!

During this time, he also rebuilt the towns that Hiram had restored to him, and he settled Israelis in them.

Then he rebuilt Tadmor in the desert, along with supply centers that he had built in Hamath.

were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not eliminated. Solomon put them to work as conscripted laborers, which they continue to do to this day.

Later, Solomon moved Pharaoh's daughter from the City of David to the palace that he had constructed to house her, because he reasoned, "My wife isn't going to live in the palace where King David of Israel lived, because wherever the ark of the LORD entered is holy."

Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the LORD's altar that he had built in front of the porch of the Temple,

Following proscriptions laid down by his father David, Solomon appointed divisions of priests for their service as well as descendants of Levi for duties of praise and ministry before the priests consistent with the daily rules. Furthermore, because David, the man of God, had commanded it, Solomon also appointed gatekeepers to serve by divisions at every gate of the Temple.

When the queen of Sheba had seen Solomon's wisdom for herself, the palace that he had built,

The king used the algum wood to have steps made for the LORD's Temple and for the royal palace, as well as lyres and harps for the choir, and nothing like that wood had been seen before in the territory of Judah.

In return, King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and requested in addition to what she had brought for the king. Afterward, she returned to her own land, accompanied by her servants.

Six steps led up to the throne. A golden footstool was attached to the throne, which had armrests on each side of the seat and two lions standing on either side of each armrest.

because the king had ships that sailed to Tarshish accompanied by Hiram's servants. Once every three years ships from Tarshish returned, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

All the kings of the earth continued to seek audiences with Solomon so they could hear the wise things that God had put in his heart.

Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, along with 12,000 cavalry soldiers. He stationed them in various chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

Then Solomon died, as had his ancestors, and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.

Nebat's son Jeroboam heard about it in Egypt, where he had fled to get away from Solomon the king. Jeroboam returned from Egypt

while King Rehoboam conferred with his advisors who had worked with his father Solomon during his administration. He asked them, "What is your advice as to what response I should return to these people?"

But Rehoboam ignored the counsel that his elder advisors had given him. Instead, he consulted the younger men who had grown up with him and worked for him.

"This is what you should tell the people who asked you: "Your father made our burden heavy, but you must make it lighter for us!'" the young men who had grown up with Rehoboam replied. "Tell them "My little finger will be thicker than my father's whole body!

So Jeroboam and all the people went back to Rehoboam on the third day, just as they had been directed when the king said, "Come back again in three days."

King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of conscripted labor, but the Israelis stoned him to death, and King Rehoboam had to jump in his chariot and flee back in a hurry to Jerusalem.

"This is what the LORD says: "You are not to fight or even to approach your relatives in battle. Every soldier is to return to his own home, for this development comes from me."'" So they listened to what the LORD had to say and called off their attack on Jeroboam.

because the descendants of Levi left their pasture lands and their property to live in Judah and Jerusalem, since Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from participating in priestly services to the LORD.

Jeroboam had appointed his own priests to serve at the high places and to serve the satyrs and calves that he had made.

At the height of his power, after he had consolidated his rule, Rehoboam abandoned the LORD's Law, along with all of Israel with him.

Because he had been unfaithful to the LORD, during the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem

Right then, Shemaiah the prophet approached Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he told them, "This is what the LORD says: "You abandoned me, so I've abandoned you to Shishak.'"

When the LORD observed that they had humbled themselves, the LORD spoke to Shemaiah, "They have humbled themselves, so I won't destroy them. Instead, I'll grant them some deliverance by not pouring out my indignation on Jerusalem, using Shishak to do it.

So King Shishak of Egypt invaded Jerusalem and looted the treasure stores in the LORD's Temple and in the royal palace. He took everything, including the golden shields that Solomon had made.

After he had humbled himself, the LORD stopped being angry with him, and did not destroy Rehoboam completely. Furthermore, conditions became good in Judah.

King Rehoboam consolidated his reign in Jerusalem. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that that LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to establish his name. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah from Ammon.

Later, Rehoboam died, as had his ancestors, and his son Abijah became king to replace him.

Then Abijah died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the City of David. Abijah's son Asa reigned in his place, and during his lifetime the land enjoyed rest for ten years.

But Jeroboam had sent an ambush to attack from the rear, so Israel was in front of Judah, with the ambush set in place behind them.

Asa built fortified cities throughout Judah while the land lay undisturbed, because the LORD had given him peace so that no one went to war against him during those years.

He had told Judah, "Let's build up these cities, surrounding them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land still belongs to us, because we have kept on seeking the LORD our God. We have sought him out, and he has given us rest all around us." So the people built and prospered.

Asa and his army pursued the Ethiopians as far as Gerar. So many Ethiopians died that their army could not recover, because it had been shattered in the LORD's presence and in the presence of his army. The Israelis carried off a lot of plunder, too.

They attacked all the cities that surrounded Gerar, because fear of the LORD had overwhelmed them. The Israelis spoiled all the cities, because there was a lot to plunder in them.

Encouraged by what Oded's son Azariah the prophet had said in his prophecy, Asa removed the detestable idols from throughout the entire territories of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the LORD's altar that stood in front of the vestibule of the LORD's Temple.

Then he gathered together all of Judah, Benjamin, and people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them, since many people had defected to him from Israel when they learned that the LORD his God was with him.

They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil that they had brought with them.

Everybody in Judah was very glad to make their oath, because they had made their vow with all their heart and had sought him with all of their might, and they found him! The LORD also gave them rest in their surrounding lands.

King Asa removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah. He cut down his mother's idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook.

Asa brought into God's Temple the things that his father had dedicated, as well as his own dedicated gifts such as silver, gold, and temple service implements.

So King Ben-hadad did just what King Asa had asked: he sent his commanding officers to attack the cities of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Bel-maim, and all of the storage centers in Naphtali.

Then King Asa brought his entire army of Judah to carry away the building stones and the timber that Baasha had been using to surround Ramah, and he used those materials to fortify Geba and Mizpah.

In response, Asa flew into a rage and locked up the seer in stocks in the palace prison because of what Hanani had told him. Asa also tortured some of the people of Israel at that time.

As a result, in the forty-first year of his reign, Asa died, as had his ancestors,

and he was buried in his own tomb that he had prepared for himself in the City of David. He was laid out on a bier that had been filled with various spices prepared by morticians, and the mourners built a massive bonfire to honor his memory.

by placing troops in all of the fortified citadels through Judah and by establishing garrisons throughout the land of Judah and in the cities that his father Asa had captured.

and next to him was Zichri's son Amasiah, who had volunteered to serve the LORD. He commanded 200,000 elite forces.

After Jehoshaphat had become wealthy and was enjoying abundant honor, he allied himself to Ahab.

Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone off to summon Micaiah advised him, "Look, everything that the other prophets were saying has been unanimously favorable to the king. So please, cooperate with them and speak favorably."

Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his chariot commanders: "Don't attack unimportant soldiers or ranking officers. Go after only the king of Israel."

After he had consulted with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed some choir members to sing to the LORD and to praise him in sacred splendor as they marched out in front of the armed forces. They kept saying "Give thanks to the LORD, because his gracious love is eternal!"

Right on time, as they began to sing and praise, the LORD ambushed the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who had attacked Judah, and they were defeated.

The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them, and after they had finished with the inhabitants of Mount Seir, they worked on destroying one another!

When the army of Judah arrived at the remotest watchtower in the wilderness, they looked around at the invasion force, and to their surprise, there were dead bodies lying all around on the ground not one had escaped!

Then they all returned with joy to Jerusalem, every soldier from Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at the head of the procession, because the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.

Fear of God seized all of the kingdoms in the surrounding territories when they heard that the LORD had battled Israel's enemies.

As a result, Jehoshaphat's kingdom enjoyed peace, because his God had provided rest for him all around.

However, the high places were not removed, since the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their ancestors.

Jehoshaphat died, as had his ancestors, and was buried in the City of David alongside his ancestors. His son Jehoram became king in his place.

But after Jehoram had assumed the throne and consolidated his rule over his father's kingdom, he executed all of his brothers, along with some of the rulers of Israel.

He lived like the kings of Israel, following the example of Ahab's dynasty, since he had married Ahab's daughter, and he practiced what the LORD considered to be evil.

Nevertheless, the Lord was unwilling to destroy David's dynasty because of the covenant that he had made with David, especially since he had promised to give him and to his sons the reigning presence of an heir forever.

So Jehoram invaded Edom with his commanders and his chariots by night and killed the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders.

Edom remains in revolt against Judah to this day. Libnah revolted against Jehoram's rule, too, because he had abandoned the LORD God of his ancestors.

In due course, as time passed, two years later his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died in agony. His people lit no memorial bonfire for him as they had done for his ancestors.

The residents of Jerusalem made Jehoram's son Ahaziah king in his place after the raiding party that had invaded the city with the Arabs had killed all of the older sons. That's how Jehoram's son Ahaziah became king of Judah.

So he practiced what the LORD considered to be evil, just like Ahab's dynasty had done, because after his father died, he was given advice that resulted in his destruction.

so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that he had received at Ramah in the battle against King Hazael of Aram. King Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoram's son, went to visit Ahab's son Joram, because he was wounded.

God used Ahaziah's visit to Joram to destroy Ahaziah. As soon as he arrived, Ahaziah went out with Joram to attack Nimshi's son Jehu, whom the LORD had appointed to eliminate Ahab's dynasty.

Jehu also searched for Ahaziah, had him apprehended while Ahaziah was hiding out in Samaria, and had Ahaziah brought to him. Jehu had Ahaziah executed and buried. It was said of Jehu, "He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all of his heart." As a result, there was no one left in the household of Ahaziah strong enough to reign in the kingdom.

As soon as Ahaziah's mother Athaliah learned that her son had died, she set out to destroy the entire royal family of Judah.