Search The Scriptures —Study 2 — 2 Chronicles 3: 1-5 – 5:1

Study 2  From the Book of 2 Chronicles is: 2 Chronicles 3: 1-5 – 5:1

        1-    All that human skill and wealth could do (note how many times the word ‘gold’ occurs in these chapters) was done. Yet it was still inadequate. Why? See Heb. 9:1-10, which, though spoken of the Tabernacle, is equally applicable to the Temple.

       2-    Solomon’s Temple has long since passed away (see 36:19), and the Temples that succeeded it also. Is there, then, today a place where men may draw near to God? See Heb. 10:19-22, ‘Let us draw near…’

Note. 3:3. ‘The old standard’: a reference to the cubit in use before the exile, which was a handbreadth larger than that used later.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 1 — 2 Chronicles 1 and 2

Study 1 From the Book of 2 Chronicles is: 2 Chronicles 1 and 2

      1-    How did Solomon inaugurate his reign?

      2-    How do Solomon’s request (1:10) and God’s response illustrate Mt. 6:33 In my praying what do I ‘seek first’?

      3-    What characterized the way in which Solomon went about the preparations for building the Temple? Is my service of God comparable?

Note. 1:3.  ‘The tent of meeting?: this was the Tabernacle used in the wilderness. After the Israelites entered Canaan, it was first pitched in Shiloh (Jos. Gibeon. Later Solomon brought it to Jerusalem (2 Ch. 5:5), where it was probably stored and finally perished.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 111 — Psalms 137 and 138

Study 111 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalms 137 and 138

With this study we end, for now, the study of the book of psalms. Tomorrow, we will start with 2 Chronicles.

Ps. 137. The psalmist expresses the deep feeling of the exiles in Babylon, as the stinging experience of hostile surroundings and treatment, and the memory of the cherished city of Jerusalem, now a mass of rubble and ruin, overwhelm them.

          1-   Ps. 137. What interest and concern made the captives in Babylon weep rather than sing? Do you ever feel any similar constraint?

             2-   Whence does the writer of Ps. 138 gain the conviction that God is at work in his life? Examine the details of his confidence. How much of his confession can you make your own?

3-   137:6, 7. What place ought we to give in our thought, prayer and preaching to divine vengeance and just recompense? Cf. Ezk. 25:12-14; Rom. 12:19-21.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 110 — Psalm 136

Study 110 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalm 136

The psalm divides into a call to give thanks (verses 1-3), a description of God in His creative acts (verses 4-9), and then in His acts of salvation (verses 10-22), ending with a deduction and summary (verses 23-26).

          1-   By what titles is God described? See verses 1-3 and 26, and cf. Dt. 10:17; Ne. 1: 4, 5.  What acts demonstrate the appropriateness of these titles? And how do these acts show God’s ‘steadfast love’?

      2-   What permanent lessons does the psalmist draw out? Compare the same themes in Ps. 107.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 109 — Psalm 135

Study 109 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalm 135

1-   Who are summoned to praise the Lord? Why is it so reasonable to do so? See verses 1-5.

2-     As is so often the case, the thought goes back to God both as the Creator and the Redeemer. Why are these two activities so significant. What does each reveal about God in contrast to idols, and what should contemplation of them move us to do?

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Search The Scriptures —Study 108 — Psalms 133 and 134

Study 108 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalms 133 and 134

        1-   Ps. 133. By what two similes does the psalmist depict the blessings of love and unity? What is the force of these similes? Cf. Jn. 13:34, 35; 1 Jn. 2:7-11.

         2-   Ps. 134. Note the ‘two-way traffic’ sustained in the house and from the city of the Lord. Where ought we to go to share in it? Cf. Heb. 10:24, 25; 12:22-24.

Notes.

           1-   133:2, 3. These similes both indicate copiousness. The oil was poured upon Aaron’s head so plentifully that it reached even the collar of the robe.  The dew of Hermon was also noted for its abundance.

            2-   Ps. 134 is a Temple son, consisting of the call of the worshippers as they left the Temple in evening to priests who were to serve during the night, together with the priestly blessing in response. It forms an appropriate ending to the book of pilgrim songs. 

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Search The Scriptures —Study 107 — Psalm 132

Study 107 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalm 132

This is another psalm describing the procession into the Temple as the king enters for his coronation. With him he brings the ark, the symbol of God’s presence, as David did on the first occasion of this sort.

      1-   What lessons do we learn about the presence of God among His people? What did it mean to the king as he looked at his responsibilities for his own life and for the life of the nation? Cf. 2 Sa. 7:1-17.

       2-   How do failures to enjoy blessings and promises of this sort arise? See how some of the kings went astray (1 Ki. 11:1-6; 15:1-5; 2 Ki. 13:1-6).

Note. Verse 6. ‘Ephrathah’ is the ancient name of Bethlehem, the home of David (see NBD, p. 383), and ‘the fields of Jaar’ mean Kiriath-jearim (1 Sa. 7:1ff; 1 Ch. 13:5ff), where the ark rested before David brought it to Jerusalem

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