Jeremiah Study – History on the Kings – Part 1 Lesson 8

The Jeremiah Study from Tabernacle of David Restored, in Edom

Presented by Jaco van der Merwe
The Tabernacle of David Restored in Edom
Produced by Kimberly Rogers Brown – The Messianic Message

 

Downloads:
Jeremiah Study Part-1 Lesson-8 The History of the Kings of Israel.pdf

 

DISCLAIMER! WHEN WE SAY THE WORD “JEWS” or “THE JEWS”, WE MEAN THE RELIGIOUS JEWS, THE CHABAD CABAL AND OTHER JEWISH LEADERSHIP AND THOSE FROM THE HOUSE OF JUDAH WHO SUBSCRIBE TO CHABAD’S EVIL DOCTRINES. I DO NOT MEAN CULTURAL JEWS OR ALL JEWISH PEOPLE!

 

Listen to the Audio

Listen to our Tuesday Midrash

 

 

Mat 23:8-10 MJKV But you must not be called Rabbi, for One is your teacher, Christ, and you are all brothers. And call no one your father on the earth, for One is your Father in Heaven. Nor be called teachers, for One is your Teacher, even Christ. 

2Ti 3:13-17 MKJV But evil men and seducers will go forward to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue in the things that you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from a babe you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work.

Col 2:8-12 MKJV Beware lest anyone rob you through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power, in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in whom also you were raised through the faith of the working of God, raising Him from the dead.

Jeremiah Study – History on the Kings – Part 1 Lesson 8
2Kings 21 & 2Chronicles 33

 

Let’s read Isaiah 28:9-13 again before we begin

Isa 28:9 MKJV Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Those weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10 MKJV For precept must be on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little;
Isa 28:11 MKJV for with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people.
Isa 28:12 MKJV To whom He said, This is the rest; cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing. Yet they were not willing to hear.
Isa 28:13 MKJV But the Word of Jehovah was to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken and snared and taken.

 

 

 

Lead in

King Hezekiah: a Quick summation:

The previous 2 lessons we discussed King Hezekiah. He was 25 years old when he became king in Jerusalem and reigned for 29 years. He became king during the 3rd year that Hosea became king in Ephraim.

King Hezekiah received a kingdom that was devastated by enemy attack. His father, King Ahaz did not worship Yahweh and promoted Ba’al worship and walked like King Omri and Ahab did, who were kings in Ephraim, many years before his time. King Ahaz was guilty of child sacrifice. Isaiah was sent to King Ahaz by Yahweh to give him a chance on repentance and he was told that it was for the sake of King David that Yahweh would spare his throne. But King Ahaz chose to rather serve the gods of the Syrians and he desecrated the Temple of Yahweh with Idol worship.

When Hezekiah became king, the 1st thing he did, on the 1st day that he became king was to restore the Temple back to Yahweh’s set-out Aaronic Priesthood and sacrificial system. This happened in the 1st month in the 1st day of the month, which would have been based on the Biblical feast calendar. It took the Levites and the Priests 16 days to prepare everything, but they did not have sufficient time to cleanse themselves ceremonially so that they could do the Passover of that year in the 1st month.

Hezekiah had the Priests of Yahweh do atonement for all Israel and not just for Judah as the Torah command. Yahweh’s people are 12 tribes and not just the tribe of Judah. And after the ceremony, Hezekiah spoke to the Priests and the Elders and they decided to hold the Passover in the 2nd month as it was written in the Torah to do.

Hezekiah sent out messengers to the tribes in Israel, inviting them all to the feast as a repentance to Yahweh. In the book of the prophet Hosea, which forms Yahweh’s commentary on the happenings during the time of King Hezekiah and King Hosea, we read that the children of Israel did not know Yahweh. So, many people made fun of the message to return to Yahweh and do the Passover. But there were many people of Israel and even strangers among them that went to Jerusalem.

The feast was a great success and Hezekiah extended it with 7 days. This means that the feast of 2nd Passover went into the feast of Shavuot (or Pentecost, as we know it) After the feast, those who attended it went through the lands of Israel and destroyed the High places and Idol Temples as far North as the lands of Ephraim before they returned to their homes.

In the 4th year of King Hezekiah, the King of Assyria attacked Ephraim. King Hosea was conspiring with the Egyptians against Assyria. Samaria was besieged for 3 years before it was taken. King Hosea was arrested and taken to the land of Assyria.

It is in our understanding that the feasts in Jerusalem did not stop and was still going from year to year. King Hezekiah chose to fear Yahweh instead of fearing Assyria, as the Torah commands. He never paid any tribute to Assyria like his father, King Ahaz or the kings of Israel did. In the 14th year of his reign, Assyria attacked Judah and started to besiege the fortified cities of Judah. During this time Judah was the only tribe left and the king of Assyria sent his servant to Jerusalem with a message to surrender. King Hezekiah paid a heavy tribute to the King of Assyria to try and get him to back off, but it did not work.

King Hezekiah was known as the king that trusted in Yahweh more than any other king since the time of King David. It is not clear if this happened during the time or just before the Assyrians attacked, but Hezekiah became very sick and he prayed to Yahweh and reminded Him of all he did to get Israel to repent. So, Yahweh sent Isaiah to king Hezekiah and the King was healed. Isaiah also told Hezekiah that 15 more years will be given to him to live.

When King Hezekiah received the message of the King Assyria, he tore his clothes and went into the Temple. The King of Assyria was blaspheming Yahweh and was even going as far as saying that he was sent by Yahweh to take Jerusalem. As preparations against the Assyrians, Hezekiah stopped the water that flowed to the outside of the city and also strengthened the fortifications of Jerusalem. He was not planning to surrender, but rather chose to believe that Yahweh will save them.

Again, Isaiah came with a message from Yahweh, telling Hezekiah that He will save Jerusalem and will bring an end to the Assyrian siege. So, the King of Assyria heard a rumor that Ethiopia was going to attack him, and also, Yahweh sent His Angel, who killed 180K soldiers of the King of Assyria. The Assyrians left in shame and in the years following, King Hezekiah was well blessed and gathered many riches to himself.

During these times, the King of Babylon heard about Hezekiah and how he was healed from his death bed. Babylon sent envoys to come and visit with Hezekiah and He showed them how blessed he was. Yahweh withdraw from Hezekiah as to test him and after the Babylonian envoys left, Isaiah was sent to King Hezekiah to enquire about the Babylonians. After Hezekiah told Isaiah that he had showed them all the blessings of riches, Isaiah told him that he did wrong and that the Babylonians will came and attack Judah and take all the riches from Jerusalem. However, this was not going to happen during the time of Hezekiah, but during the time of one of his descendants.

This brings us to the son of Hezekiah, King Manasseh. King Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign. This means that he was born about 3 years after the Assyrians siege on Judah ended. He reigned for 55 years, and he did not know Yahweh or even cared, for the most part. He built altars to the hosts of the heavens and went all the way back to Ba’al worship like his grandfather King Ahaz did. He also sacrificed his children by burning them in the fire.

Let’s go and read about King Manasseh, the son of King Hezekiah.

 

2Kings – Chapter 21
Manasseh Reigns in Judah

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephtzi-Bah.
2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of YHVH, after the abominations of the heathen, whom YHVH cast out before the children of Israel.
3 For he built up again the idol temples that Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Ba’al, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab King of Israel; and worshipped all the hosts of the heavens, and served them.
4 And he built altars in the house of YHVH, of which YHVH said, In Jerusalem will I put My Name.
5 And he built altars for all the hosts of the heavens in the two courts of the House of YHVH.
6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and mediums: he worked much wickedness in the sight of YHVH, to provoke Him to anger.
7 And he set a graven image of the Asherah that he had made in the House, of which YHVH said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this House, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put My Name forever.
8 Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Torah that My servant Moses commanded them.
9 But they listened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom YHVH destroyed before the children of Israel.

 

Let’s again go and read what the Torah says about Idolatry and Idol worship.

Forbidden Forms of Worship

Deu 16:21 MKJV You shall not set up for yourself pillars of any trees near the altar of Jehovah your God which you shall make for yourself.
Deu 16:22 MKJV Nor shall you set up an image, which Jehovah your God hates.
Deu 17:1 MKJV You shall not sacrifice to Jehovah your God any bull or sheep in which there is a blemish, any evil thing, for that is an abomination to Jehovah your God.
Deu 17:2 MKJV If there is found among you, inside any of your gates which Jehovah your God gives you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of Jehovah your God, in breaking His covenant,
Deu 17:3 MKJV and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded,
Deu 17:4 MKJV and if it is told you, and you have heard and inquired carefully, and, behold, it is true and the thing is certain, such abomination is done in Israel;
Deu 17:5 MKJV then you shall bring forth that man or that woman who has committed that evil thing, to your gates, even that man or that woman, and shall stone them with stones until they die.

Abominable Practices

Deu 18:9 MKJV When you come to the land which Jehovah your God gives you, you shall not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations.
Deu 18:10 MKJV There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch,
Deu 18:11 MKJV or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or one who calls to the dead.
Deu 18:12 MKJV For all that do these things are an abomination to Jehovah. And because of these abominations Jehovah your God drives them out from before you.
Deu 18:13 MKJV You shall be perfect with Jehovah your God.

Deu 18:14 MKJV For these nations whom you shall possess listened to observers of clouds and to diviners. But as for you, Jehovah your God has not allowed you to do so.

 

Manasseh did not keep to these commandments, just like the bad kings of Israel, with King Ahab mentioned specifically. King Ahab was the son of Omri that married Jezebel whose daughter was Athaliah who became the queen in Jerusalem. They were the family that polluted all Israel with Ba’al worship, all over again, after king Solomon did.

These commandments uphold the terms of the covenant that was made between Israel and Yahweh. Up until now, Yahweh kept on forgiving the sins of Israel. Most of Israel was taken by Assyria and under Assyrian occupation. King Hezekiah stopped the wrath of Yahweh with his repentance and reformation. He managed to push the Philistines back up until Gaza. By the time Manasseh became king, the boarders of Judah were again extended beyond the few fortified cities that was left of the tribes of Judah. The feast that King Hezekiah restored would have still be going with free access for the Northern tribes of Israel to go to Jerusalem.

Manasseh grew up in a healthy kingdom with peace and open boarders to the rest of the Tribes. Many of the Northern Tribes worshipped Yahweh. But why would Manasseh fall to Idolatry. We will find the answer in Deuteronomy chapter 4.

Deu 4:15 MKJV Therefore take good heed to yourselves, for you saw no kind of likeness on the day Jehovah spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
Deu 4:16 MKJV lest you act corruptly and make yourselves a graven image, the likeness of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
Deu 4:17 MKJV the likeness of any beast on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air,
Deu 4:18 MKJV the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish in the waters beneath the earth;
Deu 4:19 MKJV and lest you lift up your eyes to the heavens, and when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, lest you should be driven to worship them and serve them, which Jehovah your God has allotted to all nations under all the heavens.

Deu 4:23 MKJV Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, a likeness of anything which Jehovah your God has forbidden you.
Deu 4:24 MKJV For Jehovah your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Deu 4:25 MKJV When you father sons and sons of sons, and when you shall have remained long in the land and have dealt corruptly by making a graven image, the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of Jehovah your God, to provoke Him to anger,
Deu 4:26 MKJV I call Heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land which you are crossing over Jordan to possess. You shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
Deu 4:27 MKJV And Jehovah shall scatter you among the nations, and you shall be left few in number among the nations where Jehovah shall drive you.
Deu 4:28 MKJV And there you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

If we use scripture to define scripture, this would be the message that Yahweh would want us to understand about the Idolatry of King Manasseh. He broke the covenant by his Idol worship.

Manasseh ruled from the age of 12, for 55 years. I don’t think that he fell into Ba’al worship overnight. It took some time, but it became so bad that Manasseh defiled Yahweh’s Temple with Idols again and burned his children in the fire, meaning child sacrifice. It starts by trying to make an image of Yahweh — It ends by worshipping the hosts of heaven and child sacrifice.

Let’s go back to our story.

2Kings – Chapter 21
Manasseh’s Idolatry Denounced

10 And YHVH spoke by His servants the prophets, saying,
11 Because Manasseh King of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols:
12 Therefore this says YHVH Elohim of Israel, See, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle.
13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of House Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
14 And I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
15 Because they have done that which was evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even to this day.
16 Moreover Manasseh shed much innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin by which he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of YHVH.

Let’s again go to Torah and see the consequence of breaking the covenant of Yahweh.

Deu 4:25 MKJV When you father sons and sons of sons, and when you shall have remained long in the land and have dealt corruptly by making a graven image, the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of Jehovah your God, to provoke Him to anger,
Deu 4:26 MKJV I call Heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land which you are crossing over Jordan to possess. You shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
Deu 4:27 MKJV And Jehovah shall scatter you among the nations, and you shall be left few in number among the nations where Jehovah shall drive you.
Deu 4:28 MKJV And there you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

Deu 28:58 MKJV If you will not observe to do all the words of this Law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, JEHOVAH YOUR GOD,
Deu 28:59 MKJV then Jehovah will make your plagues remarkable, and the plagues of your seed great and persistent plagues; with evil and long-lasting sicknesses.
Deu 28:60 MKJV Also, He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid. And they shall cling to you.
Deu 28:61 MKJV Also, every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this Law, Jehovah will bring them on you until you are destroyed.
Deu 28:62 MKJV And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of the heavens for multitude, because you would not obey the voice of Jehovah your God.
Deu 28:63 MKJV And it shall be, as Jehovah rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so Jehovah will rejoice over you to destroy you and to bring you to nothing. And you shall be plucked from off the land where you go to possess it.
Deu 28:64 MKJV And Jehovah shall scatter you among all people, from the one end of the earth even to the other, and you shall serve other gods there, which neither you nor your fathers have known, wood and stone.
Deu 28:65 MKJV And among these nations you shall find no ease, neither shall the sole of your foot have rest. But Jehovah shall give you there a trembling heart and failing of eyes and sorrow of mind.
Deu 28:66 MKJV And your life shall hang in doubt before you, and you shall fear day and night, and shall have no assurance of your life.
Deu 28:67 MKJV In the morning you shall say, Oh that it were evening! And at evening you shall say, Oh that it were morning, for the fear of your heart with which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
Deu 28:68 MKJV And Jehovah shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I said to you, You shall see it no more again. And there you shall be sold to your enemies for men-slaves and women-slaves, and no man shall buy you.

 

So why would Manasseh do different than his father? The land was cleaned up. Yahweh’s feasts were going again. Torah was though by the Levites and the Priests of the Levitical order. We read earlier in Deuteronomy chapter 4 that if we try to worship Yahweh by using images, we will eventually end up worshipping the hosts of heaven.

Hezekiah fell ill during his reign and Shebna was over the Household of the King. Then Isaiah went to Hezekiah and told him to get his household in order. Then Eliakim started to rule over the household and we read in Isaiah chapter 22, that he was a righteous man. This happened at the time that Yahweh added 15 years to Hezekiah’s lifetime and told him that the fall of the house of Judah would not happen in his generation. Things did not take long for the remnant of Yahweh’s people to fall backwards again. And when Manasseh took the throne, the backsliding just continued.

Just to put emphasis on how bad the idolatry of Manasseh was, let’s read Jeremiah 15:4-7

Jer 15:4 MKJV And I will make them a horror to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
Jer 15:5 MKJV For who shall have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who shall weep over you? Or who shall turn aside to ask your welfare?
Jer 15:6 MKJV You have forsaken Me, says Jehovah; you have gone backward; therefore I will stretch out My hand against you, and destroy you; I am weary with repenting.
Jer 15:7 MKJV And I will winnow them with a fork in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of sons; I will destroy My people, since they do not turn from their ways.

What exactly did Manasseh do? In 2Kings 21: 7 we read that: “he set a graven image of the Asherah that he had made in the House, of which YHVH said to David, and to Solomon his son, in this House, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put My Name forever.” Let’s go to scripture and read about it.

First, we will look at Yahweh’s message and promise to King David.

2Sa 7:1 MKJV And it happened when the king dwelt in his house, and when Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his enemies,
2Sa 7:2 MKJV the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I live in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtains.
2Sa 7:3 MKJV And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, for Jehovah is with you.
2Sa 7:4 MKJV And that night the Word of Jehovah came to Nathan saying,
2Sa 7:5 MKJV Go and tell My servant David, So says Jehovah, Shall you build Me a house for My dwelling?
2Sa 7:6 MKJV For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the sons of Israel out of Egypt until this day, but have walked in a tent, even in a tabernacle.
2Sa 7:7 MKJV In all places in which I have walked with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel, those I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying, Why do you not build Me a house of cedars?
2Sa 7:8 MKJV And now so shall you say to My servant David, So says Jehovah of Hosts: I took you from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.

2Sa 7:9 MKJV And I was with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies out of your sight, and have made you a great name like the name of the great ones in the earth.
2Sa 7:10 MKJV And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more. Neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as before.
2Sa 7:11 MKJV And even from the time that I commanded judges to be over My people of Israel, so will I cause you to rest from all your enemies. Also Jehovah tells you that He will make you a house.

2Sa 7:12 MKJV And when your days are fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who shall come out of your bowels. And I will make his kingdom sure.
2Sa 7:13 MKJV He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

2Sa 7:14 MKJV I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men.
2Sa 7:15 MKJV But My mercy shall not leave him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you.

So far, Yahweh was true to His word. He had mercy on the House of David. Even after He called the destruction of Israel, Yahweh kept a descendant of David on the Throne. The destruction was so bad that the Bible tells us that only the tribe of Judah was left of the 12 Tribes of Israel. This means that the Assyrians occupied and controlled all tribes but Judah. This changed with King Hezekiah when Yahweh defeated the King of Assyria by killing 180K Assyrian troops in 1 night. Let’s go and have a look at verse 10 again of 2Samuel:

2Sa 7:10 MKJV And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more. Neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them anymore, as before.

Yahweh’s promises are always attached to the covenant. As long as the covenant is upheld, Yahweh will keep to His promise. And if the covenant is broken, Yahweh will make a way for Him to uphold the promises that He made to Israel. Now, King Manasseh created a situation where by Yahweh had to make a way again, to uphold His promise to King David. We will learn more about this in Part 3 of our study when we study the book of Jeremiah.

My focus for quoting these verses is on King David that wanted to build a house for Yahweh so that the ark has a permanent covering, which is not a tent. Yahweh did not want David to build this House, but told David that one of His descendants will do this. King Solomon got this opportunity. So, let us go read about it.

1Ki 5:2 MKJV And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
1Ki 5:3 MKJV You know how David my father could not build a house to the name of Jehovah his God because of the wars which were around him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet.
1Ki 5:4 MKJV But now Jehovah my God has given me rest all around. There is no foe nor evil happening.
1Ki 5:5 MKJV And behold, I purpose to build a house to the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spoke to David my father, saying, Your son whom I will set on your throne in your place; he shall build a house to My name.

1Ki 6:1 MKJV And it happened in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel had 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, he began to build the house of Jehovah.

1Ki 6:7 MKJV And when it was being built, the house was built of stone made ready beforehand. And there was not heard in the house a hammer or an axe, or any iron tool, while it was being built.

1Ki 6:11 MKJV And the Word of Jehovah came to Solomon saying,
1Ki 6:12 MKJV As to this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and do My judgments and keep all My commandments, to walk in them, then I will perform My work with you which I spoke to David your father.
1Ki 6:13 MKJV And I will live among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.

1Ki 6:14 MKJV And Solomon built the house and finished it.

1Ki 6:19 MKJV And he prepared the Holy of Holies in the house inside, to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah.

1Ki 6:37 MKJV In the fourth year, in the month Zif, the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid.
1Ki 6:38 MKJV And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished as to all its parts, and as to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1Ki 8:1 MKJV And Solomon gathered the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, so that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion.
1Ki 8:2 MKJV And all the men of Israel were gathered to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
1Ki 8:3 MKJV And all the elders of Israel came in, and the priests took up the ark.
1Ki 8:4 MKJV And they brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels which were in the tabernacle; even those the priests and the Levites brought up.

1Ki 8:9 MKJV There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when Jehovah made a covenant with the sons of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.
1Ki 8:10 MKJV And it happened when the priests had come out of the Holy of Holies, the cloud filled the house of Jehovah.
1Ki 8:11 MKJV And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah.

 

Solomon Blesses the Lord

1Ki 8:15 MKJV And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to David my father, and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying,
1Ki 8:16 MKJV From the day that I brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, I did not choose any city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, so that My name might be in it. But I chose David to be over My people Israel.
1Ki 8:17 MKJV And it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.
1Ki 8:18 MKJV And Jehovah said to my father David, Because it was in your heart to build a house to My name, you did well that it was in your heart.
1Ki 8:19 MKJV Only, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall come out of your loins, he shall build the house to My name.
1Ki 8:20 MKJV And Jehovah has performed His Word which He spoke, and I have risen up instead of my father David. And I sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised. And I have built a house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.
1Ki 8:21 MKJV And I have set there a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of Jehovah which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

 

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

1Ki 8:22 MKJV And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens.
1Ki 8:23 MKJV And he said, Jehovah, the God of Israel, there is no God like You, in Heaven above or on earth beneath, who keeps covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their heart,
1Ki 8:24 MKJV who have kept with Your servant David my father what You promised him. You also spoke with Your mouth, and have fulfilled with Your hand, as it is today.
1Ki 8:25 MKJV And now, Jehovah, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David, my father, what You promised him, saying, There shall not be cut off from you a man in My sight to sit on the throne of Israel— if your sons take heed to their way so that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.
1Ki 8:26 MKJV And now, O God of Israel, I pray You, let Your Word be proved to be true, the Word which You spoke to Your servant David my father.

1Ki 8:27 MKJV But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this house which I have built?
1Ki 8:28 MKJV Yet, O, Jehovah my God, You have turned toward the prayer of Your servant and to his request, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today;
1Ki 8:29 MKJV for Your eyes to be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, My name shall be there; to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.
1Ki 8:30 MKJV And You shall listen to the cry of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, and hear in Heaven Your dwelling-place, and when You hear, forgive!

1Ki 8:46 MKJV If they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin), and if You are angry with them, and have delivered them up before the enemy, and they have been led away captive to the land of the enemy, far or near,
1Ki 8:47 MKJV yet if they shall think within themselves in the land where they are carried captives, and repent, and pray to You in the land of their captors saying, We have sinned and have done perversely, we have done wickedly,
1Ki 8:48 MKJV and so return to You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and if they pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, to the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name,
1Ki 8:49 MKJV then hear their prayer and their cry in Heaven Your dwelling-place, and maintain their cause,
1Ki 8:50 MKJV and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, even all their sins which they have done against You, and give them pity before their captors, so that they may have pity on them.

1Ki 8:51 MKJV For they are Your people, and Your inheritance, which You brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the furnace of iron,
1Ki 8:52 MKJV for Your eyes shall be open to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your people Israel, to listen to them in all that they call for to You.
1Ki 8:53 MKJV For You have separated them from among all the people of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke by the hand of Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.

 

The Lord Appears to Solomon

1Ki 9:2 MKJV Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
1Ki 9:3 MKJV And Jehovah said to him, I have heard your prayer and your cry which you have made before Me. I have made this house which you have built holy, to put My name there forever. And My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually.
1Ki 9:4 MKJV And if you will walk before Me as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you; and if you will keep My statutes and My judgments,
1Ki 9:5 MKJV then I will establish the throne of your kingdom on Israel forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, There shall not be cut off to you a man on the throne of Israel.
1Ki 9:6 MKJV If you shall at all turn from following Me, you or your sons, and will not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,
1Ki 9:7 MKJV then I will cut off Israel from the face of the land which I have given them. And this house which I have made holy for My name I will cast out of My sight. And Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people.
1Ki 9:8 MKJV As to this house which is exalted, everyone who passes by it shall be amazed and shall hiss. And they shall say, Why has Jehovah done this to this land and to this house?

1Ki 9:9 MKJV And they shall answer, Because they left Jehovah their God who brought out their fathers from the land of Egypt, and have taken hold on other gods and have worshiped them and served them. On account of this Jehovah has brought on them all this evil.

Yahweh’s chosen place of worship was not limited to the Temple, but He chose Jerusalem as the city where He put His Name. We just read most of the verses of the Temple dedication that was done when the dwelling of the Ark of Testimony was moved from the Tabernacle to the Temple. Jerusalem is the city most mentioned in scripture. For the purpose of this study, I want to focus on the promise made to King David and later King Solomon. If you walk and do to all that I have commanded you, and if you will keep My statutes and My judgment, then there will not be cut off from you a man on the throne of Israel. If you shall at all turn from following Me, you or your sons, and will not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the face of the land which I have given them. And this house which I have made holy for My name I will cast out of My sight.

I am quoting Jeremiah again:

Jer 15:4 MKJV And I will make them a horror to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

Jer 15:6 MKJV You have forsaken Me, says Jehovah; you have gone backward; therefore I will stretch out My hand against you, and destroy you; I am weary with repenting.
Jer 15:7 MKJV And I will winnow them with a fork in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of sons; I will destroy My people, since they do not turn from their ways.

When King Manasseh again defiled Jerusalem and the Temple, Yahweh made the final decree that the prophecies about the destruction of all Israel and Jerusalem will come to its fulness. (We will read all about this in Part 2 of our Jeremiah study.) Yahweh, being long suffering and patient was not finished with Manasseh yet. Let’s read the rest of His story.

 

2Chronicles – Chapter 33
Manasseh’s Repentance

10 And YHVH spoke to Manasseh, and to His people: but they would not listen.
11 Therefore YHVH brought upon them the captains of the army of the King of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with bronze shackles, and carried him to Babylon.
12 And when he was in affliction, he sought YHVH his Elohim, and humbled himself greatly before the Elohim of his fathers,
13 And made prayer to Him: and He was entreated by him, and listened to his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that YHVH He was Elohim.
14 Now after this he built a wall outside the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and it went around Ophel, and he raised it up to a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fortified cities of Judah.
15 And he took away the strange elohim, and the idol out of the House of YHVH, and all the altars that he had built on the mount of the House of YHVH, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
16 And he repaired the altar of YHVH, and sacrificed on it peace offerings and thank-offerings, and commanded Judah to serve YHVH Elohim of Israel.
17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the idol temples, yet to YHVH their Elohim only.

19 His prayer also, and how Elohim was moved by him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places in which he built idol temples, and set up Asherim and graven images, before he was humbled: see, they are all written among the sayings of the seers.
20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his place.

 

Yahweh will never give up on anyone. Even king Manasseh was no exception. Manasseh repented of his sins and he was forgiven. He undone some of the things He messed up in Jerusalem, but repentance and forgiveness does not mean that the punishment will not happen. Let’s go and see what Ezekiel had to say about Righteousness and forgiveness.

Eze 18:4 MKJV Behold, all souls are Mine. As the soul of the father, also the soul of the son, they are Mine. The soul that sins, it shall die.
Eze 18:5 MKJV But a man that is just and does what is just and right,
Eze 18:6 MKJV and has not eaten on the mountains, nor has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, nor has defiled his neighbor’s wife, nor has come near a menstruating woman,
Eze 18:7 MKJV and has not ill-treated any man, but has given the debtor’s pledge back to him, has robbed none by violence, has given his bread to the hungry and has covered the naked with a garment;
Eze 18:8 MKJV he has not given out on usury, nor has taken any increase, he has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has done judgment between man and man,
Eze 18:9 MKJV has walked in My statutes, and has kept My judgments to deal truly, he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord Jehovah.
Eze 18:10 MKJV And if he fathers a son who is violent, who sheds blood, and who does to a brother any of these;
Eze 18:11 MKJV even if he does do not any of these himself, but his son has, but has even eaten on the mountains, and has defiled his neighbor’s wife;
Eze 18:12 MKJV has ill-treated the poor and needy; thieving, he stole; has not given back the pledge; and has lifted up his eyes to the idols; has committed abomination;
Eze 18:13 MKJV has loaned on usury; and has taken increase; shall he then live? He shall not live! He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be on him.
Eze 18:14 MKJV And, lo, if he fathers a son who sees all his father’s sins which he has done, and fears, and does not do like him;
Eze 18:15 MKJV who has not eaten on the mountains; nor has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; has not defiled his neighbor’s wife;
Eze 18:16 MKJV nor has ill-treated any man; has not withheld the pledge; nor has robbed by violence; but has given his bread to the hungry; and has covered the naked with clothes;
Eze 18:17 MKJV has withdrawn his hand from the poor; has not received usury nor increase; has done My judgments; has walked in My statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father; he shall surely live.
Eze 18:18 MKJV His father, because he extorted, robbed his brother by robbery, and did what is not good among his people; lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
Eze 18:19 MKJV Yet you say, Why? Does not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son has done justice and right, has kept all My statutes, and has done them, he shall surely live.
Eze 18:20 MKJV The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.
Eze 18:21 MKJV But if the wicked will turn from all his sins which he has committed, and keep all My statutes, and do justice and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Eze 18:22 MKJV All his transgressions that he has done, they shall not be mentioned to him; in his righteousness that he has done he shall live.
Eze 18:23 MKJV Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked? says the Lord Jehovah. Is it not that he should turn from his ways and live?
Eze 18:24 MKJV But when the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked do, shall he live? All his righteousness that he has done shall not be remembered; in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them he shall die.
Eze 18:25 MKJV Yet you say, The way of Jehovah is not fair. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not My way fair? Are your ways not unfair?

Eze 18:26 MKJV When a righteous one turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and dies in them; for his iniquity that he has done, he shall die.
Eze 18:27 MKJV Again, when the wicked turns away from his wickedness that he has committed and does that which is lawful and righteous, he shall save his soul alive.
Eze 18:28 MKJV Because he looks carefully, and turns away from all his sins that he has committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Eze 18:29 MKJV Yet says the house of Israel: The way of Jehovah is not fair. O house of Israel, are not My ways fair? Are not your ways unfair?
Eze 18:30 MKJV So I will judge you, O house of Israel, each one of you according to his ways, says the Lord Jehovah. Turn and be made to turn from all your sins; and iniquity shall not be your stumbling-block.
Eze 18:31 MKJV Cast away from you all your sins by which you have sinned; and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Eze 18:32 MKJV For I have no delight in the death of him who dies, says the Lord Jehovah. Therefore turn and live.

This principle of Righteousness and forgiveness goes through the whole scripture and this is what Paul teaches us in the New Testament. It is not new; this is Yahweh’s character. There were always a repented and believing remnant within the lands of Israel. But there always were those who did not repent to turn to Yahweh. We will learn more about this during the times of the last Kings of Judah.

King Amon of Judah

2Kings – Chapter 21
Amon Reigns in Judah

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
20 And he did that which was evil in the sight of YHVH, as his father Manasseh did.
21 And he walked in all the ways that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
22 And he forsook YHVH Elohim of his fathers, and did not have his walk in the ways of YHVH.
23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the King in his own house.
24 And the people of the land killed all them that had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son King in his place.

26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

 

Lead out

Next week I will d a quick recap of the prophets that we discussed during our Kings study and we will end Part 1 of our study and Part 2 will start with King Josiah and his sons.

 

 

Judah Israel Prophets
Destruction of Judah Judah was destroyed in the time of Ahaz
Ahaz Desecrated the Temple of Yahweh
Ahaz Brought Assyrian practices to the Temple
120K soldiers was killed in one day
200K captives ended up in Jericho
Temple was raided
Edomites smote Judah and took captives
Philistines invaded cities in the south
Of all Tribes, only Judah was left (2Ki17:18)
Judah did not guard the Torah of Yahweh
Hoshea Reigned from the 12th year of Ahaz
Reigned for 9 Years
Became the servant of the King of Assyria
Conspired with Egypt against Assyria
Was captured by the King of Assyria
Isaiah Hosea Micah Jonah
Hezekiah Reigned from the 3rd year of King Hosea
Was 25 and reigned 29 years
Did which was right in the eyes of Yahweh
Walked like King David, his father
Removed the Idolatry from the land of Judah
Rebelled and did not serve the King of Assyria
4th year to 7th year of his reign, Israel was sieged
Cleaned the Temple
Restored Temple worship
Held a great feast for all Israel
– Gathered the remnants of Israel to repentance
Organised the priests and Levites
14th year, Assyria came against Judah
Hezekiah submit to Assyria and paid tribute
King of Assyria cursed Yahweh and was slain
Prophet Isaiah counselled Hezekiah
Hezekiah showed Babylon his riches
Isaiah prophesied destruction
Fall of Israel In the 9th year of Hosea, Israel fell
Israel feared other elohim and not Yahweh
They walked in the statues of heathen
Set up images of Asherah
Burned incense in temples of idolsThey would not listen to the prophets

Rejected Yahweh’s Torah
Had their children pass through fire
Used divination and enchantments

Isaiah Hosea Micah Jonah
Assyria resettles Samaria Assyrians exiled the house of Israel
Assyria resettled the Israelite lands
Adapted their religion so to fear Yahweh
Fear Yahweh but worship own gods
Did not keep Yahweh’s Torah
Had no concept of Yahweh’s covenant
Isaiah Hosea Micah Jonah
Manasseh 12 years old when he began to reign

Reigned 55 years
Did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh
Build altars to the hosts of heaven in the Temple
Made his son pass through the fire
Did not listen to the prophets
Was taken captive by Assyria to Babylon and he repented

He got rid of the idols but did not break down their temples
People worshipped not Idols but Yahweh in the idol temples

Amon 22 years old when he began to reign
Reigned for 2 yearsWas killed by his servants

 

Kimberly Rogers-Brown has been teaching Torah and special Bible topics since 2008. She is also the author and publisher of Beast Watch News dot com and is heard internationally via two radio programs on Hebrew Nation Radio. Kimberly now lives in Aqaba, Jordan close to the Exodus wilderness area where the Bride (i.e. "the woman" of Revelation 12:6) will flee for 1260 days of the Great Tribulation.