"The LORD has brought to fulfillment what he promised, and now here I stand, having succeeded my father David to sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the Temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

I have placed there the ark in which the covenant is stored that the LORD made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt."

"LORD God of Israel, there is no one like you, God in heaven above or on the earth below, 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 have 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.

"Now therefore, LORD God of Israel, keep your promise that you made to my father, your servant David, when you said, "You will not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants will watch their lives, to live in my presence just as you have lived in my presence.'

Pay attention to the prayer of your servant and to his request, LORD my God, and listen to the cry and prayer that your servant is praying in your presence today.

Listen to the requests from your servant and from your people Israel as they pray in this direction, listen from the place where you reside in heaven, then hear and forgive.

"If a man should sin against his neighbor and he is required to take an oath, and he then comes to take an oath in front of your altar in this Temple,

"When heaven remains closed, and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and they pray in the direction of this place, confessing your name and turning from their sin when you afflict them,

then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and of your people Israel. Indeed, teach them the best way to live and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as an inheritance.

"If a famine comes to the land, or if plant diseases, mildew, locust, or grasshoppers appear, or if their enemies attack them in their settlements of the land, no matter what the epidemic or illness is,

whatever prayer or request is made, no matter whether it's made by a single man or by all of your people Israel, each praying out of his own hurting heart and anguish and stretching out his hands toward this Temple,

"Now concerning the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, when he comes from a land far away for the sake of your name

then hear in heaven where you reside, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the people of the earth may know your name, fear you as do your people Israel, and so they may know that this Temple that I have built is called by your name.

if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, as they pray to you in the direction of their land that you have given to their ancestors and to the city that you have chosen, and to the Temple that I have built for your name,

because you have separated them to yourself as your heritage from all the people of the earth, as you spoke through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, Lord GOD.

"Blessed is the LORD, who has given security to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one of his promises has failed to come about that he gave through his servant Moses.

May the LORD our God be with us, just as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us,

And may what I've had to say to the LORD remain with the LORD our God both day and night, so that he may defend the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as the need of the day may require it,

so that, in turn, all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God there is no one else.

Now let your heart be completely devoted to the LORD our God, to live according to his statutes and to keep his commands, as we are doing today."

So Solomon observed the Festival of Tents at that time, as did all of Israel with him. A large assembly came up from as far away as Lebo-hamath and the Wadi of Egypt to appear in the presence of the LORD our God, not just for seven days, but for seven days after that, a total of fourteen days.

The following day, Solomon sent the people away as they blessed the king. Then they went back to their tents, rejoicing and glad for all the good things that the LORD had done for his servant David and to his people Israel.

the LORD appeared to Solomon for a second time, just as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

"Now as for you, if you commune with me like your father did, with an upright heart of integrity and doing everything that I've commanded you and keeping my statutes and ordinances,

then I'll make your royal throne secure forever, just as I agreed to do so for your father David when I said, "You are to not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'

after which King Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities in the land of Galilee, because King Hiram of Tyre had provided Solomon with as much cedar, cypress timber, and gold that he wanted.

Here is a summary of the conscripted labor that King Solomon required to build the LORD's Temple, his royal palace, the terrace ramparts in the City of David, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer, burned it down, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and then gave it as a dowry for his daughter, Solomon's wife.

and whose descendants had survived them and continued to live in the land because the Israelis were unable to completely eliminate them, Solomon placed under conscripted labor, a situation that remains in effect to this day.

However, Solomon did not force Israelis into conscripted labor, but they did serve as his soldiers, servants, princes, captains, chariot commanders, and cavalry.

As soon as Pharaoh's daughter arrived from the City of David to live in her house that Solomon had built for her, then he fortified the terrace ramparts in the City of David.

King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Reed Sea in the land of Edom.

They sailed as far as Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold for Solomon.

"Everything I heard about your wisdom and what you have to say is true!" she gasped,

And blessed be the LORD your God, who is delighted with you! He set you in place on the throne of Israel because the LORD loved Israel forever. That's why he made you to be king, so you could carry out justice and implement righteousness."

The king used the algum wood to have supports 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 has ever come again or even been seen since right to this day.

As a result, King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in regards to wealth and wisdom.

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

The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and made cedar trees as abundant as sycamore trees in the Shephelah.

because as Solomon grew older, his wives turned his affections away after other gods, and his heart was not fully as devoted to the LORD his God as his father David's heart had been.

Solomon practiced what the LORD considered to be evil by not fully following the LORD, as had his father David.

and this is why he rose in rebellion against the king: Solomon had built up the terrace ramparts in the city of his father David in order to repair a weakness.

Then he told Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, because this is what the LORD God of Israel says:

This is how I'm going to afflict David's descendants because of what they have done, though I won't do it continuously.'"

That's why Solomon tried to execute Jeroboam, but Jeroboam got up and fled to Egypt, where he lived as a guest of King Shishak and remained until Solomon had died.

Now the rest of Solomon's accomplishments, including everything else he did, as well as records of his wisdom, are recorded in the Book of the Acts of Solomon, are they not?

Then Solomon died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam reigned in his place.

Rehoboam traveled to Shechem because all of Israel went there to install him as king.

"Your father made our burdens unbearable. Therefore lighten your father's requirements and his heavy burdens that he placed on us, and we'll serve you."

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

As a result, he asked them, "What's your advice so that we can give an answer to these people who have asked me, "Please lighten the burden that your father put on us.'?"

"This is what you should tell these people who asked you "Your father made our burden heavy, but you must make it lighter for us!'" the young men who grew 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."

Now when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him and invited him to visit their assembly, where they installed him as king over all of Israel. Nobody (with the sole exception of the tribe of Judah) would align with David's dynasty.

As soon as Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he assembled 180,000 elite soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, intending to attack the dynasty of Israel and restore the kingdom to Solomon's son Rehoboam.

"This is what the LORD says: "You are not to fight or even approach your fellow Israelis in battle. Every soldier is to return to his own home, because this development comes from me."'" So they listened to what the LORD had to say and returned home, just as the LORD had directed.

Jeroboam was thinking to himself, "The kingdom is about to return to David's control.

Doing this was sinful, because the people traveled as far as Dan to appear before one of their idols.

He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'"

so he cried out to the man of God from Judah: "This is what the LORD says: "Because you disobeyed a command from the LORD and haven't done what the LORD your God commanded you to do,

but instead you returned to eat and drink in the very place that he told you "Eat no food and drink no water," your body will not be buried in the same grave as your ancestors.'"

After the meal was over, and the man had eaten food and had drunk water, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him that is, for the man of God whom he had brought back.

The prophet who had brought the man of God back from the road learned about it. "It's the man of God who disobeyed the message from the LORD," he said. "That's why the LORD gave him to that lion, which mauled him and killed him, just as the message from the LORD told rebuke him."

After he had buried the man of God, he gave these instructions to his children: "When I die, bury me in the same grave in which the man of God is buried. Place my bones beside his,

Despite everything that happened, Jeroboam never did repent of his evil practices. Instead, he appointed even more people to act as priests for the high places. Anyone who wanted to be a priest was ordained to be a priest in the high places.

Meanwhile, the LORD had spoken to Ahijah, "Be on your guard! Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you about her son, because he is ill. You're to say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else!"

When she arrived, Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came through the doorway. He said this to her:

"Come in, wife of Jeroboam. What is this pretension at being someone else? I have some harsh news. Go tell Jeroboam: "I raised you up from among the people. "I made you Commander-in-Chief over my people Israel.

"I will burn up Jeroboam's dynasty, as a man burns up manure until it is gone. Dogs will eat anyone who dies in the city that belongs to Jeroboam's household. The birds of the sky will eat anyone who dies in the open field, because the LORD has determined it.'

Then Jeroboam's wife got up and left for Tirzah. As soon as she set foot over the threshold of the house, the child died.

All of Israel mourned him at his burial, just as the LORD had said when he spoke through Ahijah the prophet.

Now as for the rest of Jeroboam's accomplishments, including how he waged war and how he reigned, you may read about them in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Jeroboam reigned for 22 years and then died, as had his ancestors, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.

As a result, during the fifth year of the reign of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt invaded and attacked Jerusalem.

As to the rest of Rehoboam's accomplishments, and everything else that he undertook, they are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, aren't they?

but eventually Rehoboam died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His mother's name had been Naamah the Ammonite, and his son Abijah became king to replace him.

Eventually, Abijah died, as did his ancestors, and he was buried in the City of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king.

Asa began to reign as Judah's king during the twentieth year of the reign of Jeroboam as king over Israel.

Asa practiced what the LORD considered to be right, just like his ancestor David.

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

Nevertheless, the high places were not removed, even though Asa's heart was blameless toward the LORD all of his life.

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

A state of continual military unrest existed between Asa and King Baasha of Israel throughout their lifetimes.

King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and interdicted Ramah by building fortifications around it so no one could enter or leave to join King Asa of Judah.

But Asa removed all the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord's Temple and from his royal palace, placed them into the care of some servants, and then sent them to Tabrimmon's son King Ben-hadad of Aram, the grandson of Hezion, who lived in Damascus.

So King Ben-hadad did just what King Asa had asked: he sent his commanding officers to attack the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, all of Chinneroth, and the territory of Naphtali.

so King Asa published a proclamation throughout Judah (no one was left out) and they carried away the stones and timber with which Baasha had been fortifying Judah. King Asa used them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.

The rest of Asa's accomplishments, his strength, everything that he undertook, and the cities that he fortified are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? However, as he approached old age, he became diseased in his feet.

Then Asa died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, his ancestor. His son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

Jeroboam's son Nadab became king over Israel during the second year of the reign of King Asa over Judah. He reigned over Israel for two years,

Baasha killed him during the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah and took Nadab's place as king.

As soon as he was established as king, he killed everyone in the household of Jeroboam. He left not even one single person alive. He destroyed them completely, just as the LORD had spoken through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite,

Meanwhile, a state of war continued to exist between Asa and Baasha king of Israel, throughout their reigns.

During the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Ahijah's son Baasha became king over all of Israel. He reigned for 24 years at Tirzah.

Later, a message came from the LORD to Hanani's son Jehu. It was directed to rebuke Baasha, and this is what it said:

Now the rest of Baasha's accomplishments, including everything that he undertook, as well as his strengths, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

Eventually, Baasha died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah was installed as king in his place.

During the twenty-sixth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Baasha's son Elah became king over Israel and reigned at Tirzah for two years.

Zimri went inside, attacked him, and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, and then became king in Elah's place.

As soon as he had consolidated his reign, he executed the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male alive, including any of Baasha's relatives or friends.