1 Chronicles 22:1-4
King James Version
22 Then David said,
This is the house of the Lord God,
and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.
2 And David commanded to gather together
the strangers that were in the land of Israel;
and he set masons to hew wrought stones
to build the house of God.
3 And David prepared iron in abundance
for the nails for the doors of the gates,
and for the joinings;
and brass in abundance without weight;
4 Also cedar trees in abundance:
for the Zidonians and they of Tyre
brought much cedar wood to David.
My first knowledge of this tree is from the "cedars of Lebanon".
Another impression is the aroma of cedar chests.
Of course, the cedar tree has so much more to tell us.
King David's son, Solomon, was tasked to build a "house of God".
1 Chronicles 22:6-7
King James Version
6 Then he called for Solomon his son,
and charged him to build an house
for the Lord God of Israel.
7 And David said to Solomon,
My son, as for me,
it was in my mind to build an house
unto the name of the Lord my God:
David could not build such a "house" for this reason:
1 Chronicles 22:8
King James Version
8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Thou hast shed blood abundantly,
and hast made great wars:
thou shalt not build an house unto my name,
because thou hast shed much blood
upon the earth in my sight.
GOD told David:
1 Chronicles 22:9-10
King James Version
9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee,
who shall be a man of rest;
and I will give him rest
from all his enemies round about:
for his name shall be Solomon,
and I will give peace and quietness
unto Israel in his days.
10 He shall build an house for my name;
and he shall be my son, and I will be his father;
and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
over Israel for ever.
Just as GOD commanded, David's heir -- Solomon -- built such a house.
1 Kings 6:1
King James Version
6 And it came to pass
in the four hundred and eightieth year
after the children of Israel were come out
of the land of Egypt,
in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel,
in the month Zif, which is the second month,
that he began to build the house of the Lord.
1 Kings 6:11-14
King James Version
11 And the word of the Lord
came to Solomon, saying,
12 Concerning this house
which thou art in building,
if thou wilt walk in my statutes,
and execute my judgments,
and keep all my commandments to walk in them;
then will I perform my word with thee,
which I spake unto David thy father:
13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel,
and will not forsake my people Israel.
14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
Just as the olive tree was used for the "house of God", so was cedar.
1 Kings 6:9
King James Version
9 So he built the house, and finished it;
and covered the house with beams
and boards of cedar.
1 Kings 6:10
King James Version
10 And then he built chambers against all the house,
five cubits high: and they rested on the house
with timber of cedar.
1 Kings 6:15-18
King James Version
15 And he built the walls of the house within
with boards of cedar,
both the floor of the house,
and the walls of the ceiling:
and he covered them on the inside with wood,
and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.
16 And he built twenty cubits
on the sides of the house,
both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar:
he even built them for it within,
even for the oracle,
even for the most holy place.
17 And the house, that is, the temple before it,
was forty cubits long.
18 And the cedar of the house within
was carved with knops and open flowers:
all was cedar; there was no stone seen.
1 Kings 6:19-20
King James Version
19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within,
to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
20 And the oracle in the forepart
was twenty cubits in length,
and twenty cubits in breadth,
and twenty cubits in the height thereof:
and he overlaid it with pure gold;
and so covered the altar which was of cedar.
1 Kings 6:36
King James Version
36 And he built the inner court
with three rows of hewed stone,
and a row of cedar beams.
1 Kings 6:37
King James Version
37 In the fourth year was the foundation
of the house of the Lord laid,
in the month Zif:
1 Kings 6:38
King James Version
38 And in the eleventh year,
in the month Bul,
which is the eighth month,
was the house finished
throughout all the parts thereof,
and according to all the fashion of it.
So was he seven years in building it.
The next post tells us where the cedar came from.
And how dedicated Solomon was in building the "house of God".
Related material:
Image: Kanenori on Pixabay
