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2
Chronicles Chapter Eight
2 Chronicles 8
Chapter Contents
Solomon's buildings and trade.
It sometimes requires more wisdom and resolution to
govern a family in the fear of God, than to govern a kingdom with reputation.
The difficulty is increased, when a man has a hinderance instead of a help meet
in the wife of his bosom. Solomon kept up the holy sacrifices, according to the
law of Moses. In vain had the altar been built, in vain had fire come down from
heaven, if sacrifices had not been constantly brought. Spiritual sacrifices are
required of us, which we are to bring daily and weekly; it is good to be in a
settled method of devotion. When the service of the temple was put into good
order, it is said, The house of the Lord was perfected. The work was the main
matter, not the place; the temple was unfinished till all this was done. Canaan
was a rich country, and yet must send to Ophir for gold The Israelites were a
wise people, but must be beholden to the king of Tyre for men that had
knowledge of the seas. Grace, and not gold, is the best riches, and
acquaintance with God and his law, the best knowledge. Leaving the children of
this world to scramble for the toys of this world, may we, as the children of
God, lay up our treasure in heaven, that where our treasure is, our hearts also
may be.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Chronicles》
2 Chronicles 8
Verse 11
[11] And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of
the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My
wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places
are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come.
The house — He built this house for her;
because the ark was now in the house of David, which therefore ought to be kept
pure and free from the very danger and appearance of pollution.
Verse 14
[14] And he appointed, according to the order of David his
father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their
charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day
required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the
man of God commanded.
Man of God — A prophet inspired by God in
these matters, whose commands therefore are the commands of God.
Verse 16
[16] Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of
the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the
house of the LORD was perfected.
Prepared — All the materials were procured, and in all points
fitted and compleated before-hand.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Chronicles》
08 Chapter 8
Verses 1-6
That the cities.
Solomon’s military enterprises
Chiefly in acquiring cities rebuilt and taken from the
enemy.
I. Cities for
stores (1 Kings 9:19).
II. Cities for
colonisation.
III. Cities for
pleasure.
IV. Cities for
defence. Lessons:
1. That those who attend to the spiritual will not neglect the
temporal interests of a nation.
2. That amidst the temporal interests of a nation great risks exist.
Hence--
Verse 11
And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh.
Solomon and Pharaoh’s daughter
We are to see in Solomon’s action the working of a tender
conscience; even though he may be appeasing his conscience by some trick or
ceremony, yet he is showing us the working of the moral nature within the
kingly breast. Yet there is a point to be noted here which is common to human
experience: why should Solomon have married the daughter of Pharaoh? Why should
he have, in the first instance, placed himself in so vital a relation to
heathenism? Are there not men who first plunge into great mistakes, and then
seek to rectify their position by zealous care about comparatively trifling
details? Do not men make money by base means, and then zealously betake
themselves to book-keeping, as if they would not spend money except in approved
directions? Are there not those who have steeped their hearts in iniquity, and
yet have washed their hands with soap and nitre? We are to beware of the
creation of a false or a partial conscience, that makes up for sins of a larger
kind by ostentatious devotion at the altar of detail and ceremony and petty
ritual. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Solomon’s marriage
Consider Solomon’s marriage with an Egyptian princess--
I. As a matter of
policy. It sprang from--
1. A desire to counteract the influence of Hadad (1 Kings 11:14-20).
2. The wish to obtain support for his new dynasty and recognition
from one of older fame and greater power.
3. Anxiety to strengthen himself by foreign alliances.
II. As a source of
moral perplexity. What must be done with her? Solomon felt that a broad
distinction must be made between the worship of Jehovah and idolatry.
III. As the
beginning of trouble. The policy advantageous at first, but ultimately proved
hollow and impolitic. The reign which began so gloriously ended in gross
darkness and fetish worship. (J. Wolfendale.)
Verse 12
2 Chronicles 8:12; 2 Chronicles 8:18
Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord.
Solomon’s burnt offerings
Solomon was great in burnt offerings. Do not men sometimes make up
in burnt offerings what they lack in moral consistency? Is not an ostentatious
religion sometimes the best proof of internal decay? It ought not to be so. The
outward and inward should correspond. The action should be the incarnation of the
thought. It is beautiful to look upon the Church engaged in much
church-building and in strenuous endeavours against public sin; yet we must
never forget that all this may possibly coexist with internal loss, decay,
corruption. All action does not spring from life. Sometimes we try to make up by
complex mechanism what is wanting in real vitality. It is often easier to offer
burnt offering than to do some deed of moral heroism. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Verse 14
As the duty of every day required.
Duty
To some Christians “the sense of duty” and kindred phrases sound
unattractive and suspicious. Yet it is dangerous even to minimise the sense of
duty. A man who makes no terms with conscience, but does what God commands,
will find his love grow stronger. A Christian’s sense of duty is not the same
as the sense of duty of one who has no faith. Natural religion would teach a
man to be honest, sober, and industrious, but Christ’s teaching goes far beyond
this. Religious duties; purity of heart; forgiveness of others, etc. But
it is in the realm of supernatural help, prayer, and the sacraments that the
greatest divergence is seen. “As the duty of every day required.” Words such as
these suggest that unless we are living a life of prayer, unless we are
partaking of the life of Christ in the means He left for us to use, we are
undutiful. What we claim for our religion is this--
1. The personal love of Christ will make us more severe with
ourselves in performing “hard, unwelcome” duties of every day.
2. It will also claim from us earnest prayer, belief in the grace of
the Holy Spirit, etc. (W. R. Hutton, M. A.)
.
Verse 18
2 Chronicles 8:12; 2 Chronicles 8:18
Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord.
Solomon’s burnt offerings
Solomon was great in burnt offerings. Do not men sometimes make up
in burnt offerings what they lack in moral consistency? Is not an ostentatious
religion sometimes the best proof of internal decay? It ought not to be so. The
outward and inward should correspond. The action should be the incarnation of the
thought. It is beautiful to look upon the Church engaged in much
church-building and in strenuous endeavours against public sin; yet we must
never forget that all this may possibly coexist with internal loss, decay, corruption.
All action does not spring from life. Sometimes we try to make up by complex
mechanism what is wanting in real vitality. It is often easier to offer burnt
offering than to do some deed of moral heroism. (J. Parker, D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》