Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom

11 Now Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom , and the Lord his God was with him and exalted him greatly . 2 Solomon spoke to all Israel , to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel , the heads of the fathers' households. 3 Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to the high place which was at Gibeon , for God's tent of meeting was there , which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness . 4 However , David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim [1]to the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem . 5 Now the bronze altar , which Bezalel the son of Uri , the son of Hur , had made , [2]was there before the tabernacle of the Lord , and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. 6 Solomon went up there before the Lord to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting , and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. 7 In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask what I shall give you." 8 Solomon said to God , "You have dealt with my father David with great lovingkindness , and have made me king in his place . 9 "Now , O Lord God , Your [3]promise to my father David is fulfilled , for You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth . 10 " Give me now wisdom and knowledge , that I may go out and come in before this people , for who can rule this great people of Yours?" 11 God said to Solomon , "Because e [4]you had this in mind , and did not ask for riches , wealth or honor , or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life , but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king , 12 wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor , [5]such e as none of the kings who were before you has possessed e nor those who will [6]come after you."

13 So Solomon went [7]from the high place which was at Gibeon , from the tent of meeting , to Jerusalem , and he reigned over Israel .

Solomon's Trade in Horses and Chariots

14 Solomon amassed chariots and horsemen . He had 1,400 e e chariots and 12,000 e e horsemen , and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem . 15 The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones , and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the [8]lowland . 16 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue ; the king's traders procured them from Kue for a price . 17 They [9]imported e chariots from Egypt for 600 e shekels of silver apiece and horses for 150 e apiece, and [10]by the same means e they [11]exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram .

Solomon's Agreement with King Huram

21 Now Solomon decided to build a house for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself. 2 So Solomon assigned 70,000 e men to carry loads and 80,000 e men to quarry stone in the mountains and 3,600 e e to supervise them. 3 Then Solomon sent word to Huram the king of Tyre , saying , " As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to dwell in, so do for me. 4 "Behold , I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God , dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out the showbread continually , and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening , on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God , this being required forever in Israel . 5 "The house which I am about to build will be great , for greater is our God than all the gods . 6 "But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except e to burn incense before Him? 7 "Now send me a skilled man to work in gold , silver , brass and iron , and in purple , crimson and violet fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings , to work with the skilled men whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem , whom David my father provided . 8 " Send me also cedar , cypress and algum timber from Lebanon , for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon ; and indeed my servants will work with your servants , 9 to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful . 10 "Now behold , I will give to your servants , the woodsmen who cut the timber , 20,000 e kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 e kors of barley , and 20,000 e baths of wine and 20,000 e baths of oil ."

11 Then Huram , king of Tyre , answered in a letter sent to Solomon : " Because the Lord loves His people , He has made you king over them." 12 Then Huram continued , "Blessed be the Lord , the God of Israel , who has made heaven and earth , who has given King David a wise son , endowed with discretion and understanding , who will build a house for the Lord and a royal palace for himself. 13 "Now I am sending Huram-abi e , a skilled man , endowed with understanding , 14 the son of a Danite e woman and a Tyrian father , who knows how to work in gold , silver , bronze , iron , stone and wood , and in purple , violet , linen and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to execute any design which may be assigned to him, to work with your skilled men and with those of my lord David your father . 15 "Now then, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley , oil and wine , of which he has spoken . 16 " We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa , so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem ." 17 Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel , following the census which his father David had taken ; and 153,600 e e e e e were found . 18 He appointed 70,000 e of them to carry loads and 80,000 e to quarry stones in the mountains and 3,600 e e supervisors to make the people work .

Solomon Builds the House of the LORD

31 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah , where the Lord had appeared to his father David , at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite . 2 He began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his reign . 3 Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for building the house of God . The length in cubits , according to the old standard was sixty cubits , and the width twenty cubits . 4 The porch which was in front of the house was as long as the width of the house , twenty cubits , and the height 120 e ; and inside e he overlaid it with pure gold . 5 He overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold , and ornamented e it with palm trees and chains . 6 Further, he adorned the house with precious stones ; and the gold was gold from Parvaim . 7 He also overlaid the house with gold -the beams , the thresholds and its walls and its doors ; and he carved cherubim on the walls . 8 Now he made the room of the holy of holies : its length across e the width of the house was twenty cubits , and its width was twenty cubits ; and he overlaid it with fine gold , amounting to 600 e talents . 9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold . He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold .

10 Then he made two sculptured e cherubim in the room of the holy of holies and overlaid them with gold . 11 The wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits ; the wing of one , of five cubits , touched the wall of the house , and its other wing , of five cubits , touched the wing of the other cherub . 12 The wing of the other cherub , of five cubits , touched the wall of the house ; and its other wing of five cubits was attached to the wing of the first cherub . 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits , and they stood on their feet facing the main room . 14 He made the veil of violet , purple , crimson and fine linen , and he worked cherubim on it.

The Two Pillars

15 He also made two pillars for the front of the house , thirty-five e cubits high , and the capital on the top of each was five cubits . 16 He made chains in the inner sanctuary and placed them on the tops of the pillars ; and he made one hundred pomegranates and placed them on the chains . 17 He erected the pillars in front of the temple , one on the right and the other on the left , and named e the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz .

The Parable of the Sheepfold

101 "Truly , truly , I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep , but climbs up some other way , he is a thief and a robber . 2 "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep . 3 "To him the doorkeeper opens , and the sheep hear his voice , and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 "When he puts forth all his own , he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice . 5 "A stranger they simply will not follow , but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers ." 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

7 So Jesus said to them again , "Truly , truly , I say to you, I am the door of the sheep . 8 "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers , but the sheep did not hear them. 9 " I am the door ; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved , and will go e in and out and find pasture . 10 "The thief comes only e e to steal and kill and destroy ; I came that they may have life , and have it abundantly . 11 " I am the good shepherd ; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep . 12 "He who is a hired hand , and not a shepherd , who is not the owner of the sheep , sees the wolf coming , and leaves the sheep and flees , and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 "He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep . 14 " I am the good shepherd , and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father ; and I lay down My life for the sheep . 16 "I have other sheep , which are not of this fold ; I must bring them also , and they will hear My voice ; and they will become one flock with one shepherd . 17 "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again . 18 " No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative . I have authority to lay it down , and I have authority to take it up again . This commandment I received from My Father ."

19 A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words . 20 Many of them were saying , "He has a demon and is insane . Why do you listen to Him?" 21 Others were saying , "These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed . A demon cannot e open the eyes of the blind , can he?"

Jesus Rejected by the Jews

22 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem ; 23 it was winter , and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon .

Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 10:1-23

Commentary on John 10:1-5

(Read John 10:1-5)

Here is a parable or similitude, taken from the customs of the East, in the management of sheep. Men, as creatures depending on their Creator, are called the sheep of his pasture. The church of God in the world is as a sheep-fold, exposed to deceivers and persecutors. The great Shepherd of the sheep knows all that are his, guards them by his providence, guides them by his Spirit and word, and goes before them, as the Eastern shepherds went before their sheep, to set them in the way of his steps. Ministers must serve the sheep in their spiritual concerns. The Spirit of Christ will set before them an open door. The sheep of Christ will observe their Shepherd, and be cautious and shy of strangers, who would draw them from faith in him to fancies about him.

Commentary on John 10:6-9

(Read John 10:6-9)

Many who hear the word of Christ, do not understand it, because they will not. But we shall find one scripture expounding another, and the blessed Spirit making known the blessed Jesus. Christ is the Door. And what greater security has the church of God than that the Lord Jesus is between it and all its enemies? He is a door open for passage and communication. Here are plain directions how to come into the fold; we must come in by Jesus Christ as the Door. By faith in him as the great Mediator between God and man. Also, we have precious promises to those that observe this direction. Christ has all that care of his church, and every believer, which a good shepherd has of his flock; and he expects the church, and every believer, to wait on him, and to keep in his pasture.

Commentary on John 10:10-18

(Read John 10:10-18)

Christ is a good Shepherd; many who were not thieves, yet were careless in their duty, and by their neglect the flock was much hurt. Bad principles are the root of bad practices. The Lord Jesus knows whom he has chosen, and is sure of them; they also know whom they have trusted, and are sure of Him. See here the grace of Christ; since none could demand his life of him, he laid it down of himself for our redemption. He offered himself to be the Saviour; Lo, I come. And the necessity of our case calling for it, he offered himself for the Sacrifice. He was both the offerer and the offering, so that his laying down his life was his offering up himself. From hence it is plain, that he died in the place and stead of men; to obtain their being set free from the punishment of sin, to obtain the pardon of their sin; and that his death should obtain that pardon. Our Lord laid not his life down for his doctrine, but for his sheep.

Commentary on John 10:19-21

(Read John 10:19-21)

Satan ruins many, by putting them out of conceit with the word and ordinances. Men would not be laughed out of their necessary food, yet suffer themselves thus to be laughed out of what is far more necessary. If our zeal and earnestness in the cause of Christ, especially in the blessed work of bringing his sheep into his fold, bring upon us evil names, let us not heed it, but remember our Master was thus reproached before us.

Commentary on John 10:22-30

(Read John 10:22-30)

All who have any thing to say to Christ, may find him in the temple. Christ would make us to believe; we make ourselves doubt. The Jews understood his meaning, but could not form his words into a full charge against him. He described the gracious disposition and happy state of his sheep; they heard and believed his word, followed him as his faithful disciples, and none of them should perish; for the Son and the Father were one. Thus he was able to defend his sheep against all their enemies, which proves that he claimed Divine power and perfection equally with the Father.