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Ezra was all about rebuilding the temple and turning the hearts of a people returning from exile in Babylon back to Yahweh. He begins his book, which we'll get to fairly soon, with the words that God had stirred up the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to fulfill the words of Jeremiah the prophet to "build him a house at Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:2).
But during the building project, Judah encountered much opposition-opposition which seemed at one point to win. So the people needed encouragement that a relationship with God leads to victory, and a task given by God can be accomplished.
It's with this in mind that he tells the story of Solomon's dedication of the temple, the happy feast that ensues, and the good parts of Solomon's reign.
7:4 - 6
From bowing down when fire from heaven fell on the sacrifice, now Israel stands as many more sacrifices are made and the worshippers provide "music to the Lord." Did you know that when you sing or play an instrument, you too can provide that "to the Lord?" God enjoys music directed towards him in praise.
7 - 10
Lebo-Hamath was in the northeast, in Lebanon. The wadi of Egypt was in the south west. Solomon had delayed the dedication of the temple until the Feast of Tabernacles, so that all the people could travel to Jerusalem. The people continued from the 8th of the month to the 14th, including the Day of Atonement on the tenth of that month. This was followed by the regular Feast of Tabernacles from the fifteenth to the 22nd.
Next we have God's answer to Solomon's prayer of dedication from chapter 6
11 - 22
The same pattern of disobedience, repentance, seeking God, forgiveness, and restoration that Solomon prayed in chapter 6 are repeated here by the Lord. The promise God makes is that as long as Solomon walks with God, God will walk with him, but if he abandons God, God will discipline the people "cast them out of my sight" (20).
The good news is that, after many years, a man who was qualified to be the king of Israel, perfectly obeyed God in all ways, and thus can get for us God's eternal blessing through Him. That person, of course, is Jesus Christ.
8:1 - 10
Solomon had given the 20 non-Israel cities to Hiram (1 Kings 9:11) for unpaid bills. Hiram didn't like the cities so Solomon settled Israelis there and enlarged his territory. Most of these cities controlled crucial trade routes, either by land or to the sea.
11
Many marriages in those days were political in nature and formed political allianc es more than love bonds. At this point in his life, Solomon at least had the spiritual sense to keep his Egyptian wife away from the things of the Lord so as not to pollute Israel. That would change later.
12 - 16
Essentially, Solomon followed all of David's commands for the sacrificial system.
17 - 18
Ezion-geber and Eloth were ports at the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba (between Sinai and the Red Sea). The gold amounted to about 17 tons.
Chapter 9:1 - 12
As I think about Ezra writing this account for the returning exiles, it would serve as an encouragement that just as a foreign queen was so impressed with a nation that served God, so too, the Israelis should be encouraged to serve God in their reformed nation.
Notice verse 8 "blessed be the Lord your God who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God." The nation comes from God and is blessed by God-an important thing for the Israelites to remember always.
13 - 21
Again, a kingdom based on a relationship with God is blessed. Both in terms of the worship (verse 11) and the throne (verse 19), Ezra makes a point that the country excelled far above what they had done previously, and other countries as well.
22 - 28
Though it's Solomon's wisdom, God gets the credit-going along nicely with Ezra's theme that faith in God and reliance on Yahweh leads to blessing. This will also serve as a counterpoint to the kings which follow, leading up to Judah's exile. They should look back on David and Solomon as examples to follow.
There are hints at what tripped up Solomon, disobeying the command not to multiply horses and chariots or wives (Deut 17:16).
29 - 31
Ezra concludes, once again, by citing his sources. Nathan was David's prophet, who had a hand in keeping Solomon on the throne (1 Kings 1:24). Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29) was actually a northern tribe prophet (from Shilo) who first told Jeroboam that he was going to split the nation apart. Iddo we don't know that much about, except that he was a prophet, and fathered Zechariah, who prophesied in the days of the returning exiles.
Conclusions
Notably absent from Solomon's account are his many wives, the fact that his wives pulled him away from Yahweh, his idolatries, and the political deterioration that took place in his later years (1 Kings 11:1-8, 9, 40, chapter 9). Also missing, the excess taxation that led to the splitting of the country, and the lack of provision for Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Why? Ezra's theme is to encourage the rebuilding of a theocracy in Judah. Recounting Solomon's failures would not serve this purpose. Does it mean he doesn't care, or worse, that God doesn't care about sin? Not at all.
I think this illustrates that God's grace is stronger than our sin. Faith is stronger than rebellion, and that ultimately, God is in control. This account encourages faith, trust and reliance on God. The Israelis would have had access to the scrolls of the kings-but this is like a culling of the good stuff to show that if you trust God it will go well. By the way, this ends the third of four parts in the books of the Chronicles. Genealogies (1:1-9:44), The Reign of David (10:1-29:30), The Reign of Solomon (2Chr 1:1-9:31) and The Kingdom of Judah (10:1 - 36:23). |
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