71 And at Solomon's finishing to pray, then the fire hath come down from the heavens, and consumeth the burnt-offering and the sacrifices, and the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house, 2 and the priests have not been able to go in unto the house of Jehovah, because the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah. 3 And all the sons of Israel are looking on the descending of the fire, and the honour of Jehovah on the house, and they bow—faces to the earth—on the pavement, and do obeisance, and give thanks to Jehovah, for good, for to the age 'is' His kindness. 4 And the king and all the people are sacrificing a sacrifice before Jehovah, 5 and king Solomon sacrificeth the sacrifice of the herd, twenty and two thousand, and of the flock, a hundred and twenty thousand, and the king and all the people dedicate the house of God. 6 And the priests over their charges are standing, and the Levites with instruments of the song of Jehovah—that David the king made, to give thanks to Jehovah, for to the age 'is' His kindness, in David's praising by their hand—and the priests are blowing trumpets over-against them, and all Israel are standing. 7 And Solomon sanctifieth the middle of the court that 'is' before the house of Jehovah, for he hath made there the burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings: for the altar of brass that Solomon made hath not been able to contain the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat. 8 And solomon maketh the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him—a very great assembly—from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt. 9 And they make on the eighth day a restraint, because the dedication of the altar they have made seven days, and the feast seven days. 10 And on the twenty and third day of the seventh month he hath sent the people to their tents, rejoicing, and glad in heart, for the goodness that Jehovah hath done to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel His people.
11 And Solomon finisheth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king; and all that hath come on the heart of Solomon to do in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he hath caused to prosper.
12 And Jehovah appeareth unto Solomon by night, and saith to him, 'I have heard thy prayer, and have fixed on this place to Me for a house of sacrifice. 13 If I restrain the heavens and there is no rain, and if I lay charge on the locust to consume the land, and if I send pestilence among My people— 14 and My people on whom My name is called be humbled, and pray, and seek My face, and turn back from their evil ways, then I—I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land. 15 'Now, Mine eyes are open, and Mine ears attentive, to the prayer of this place; 16 and now, I have chosen and sanctified this house for My name being there unto the age; yea, Mine eyes and My heart have been there all the days. 17 'And thou, if thou dost walk before Me as David thy father walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and My statutes and My judgments dost keep— 18 then I have established the throne of thy kingdom, as I covenanted with David thy father, saying, There is not cut off a man to thee—a ruler in Israel; 19 and if ye turn back—ye—and have forsaken My statutes, and My commands, that I have placed before you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them—then I have plucked them from off My ground that I have given to them, 20 and this house that I have sanctified for My name, I cast from before My face, and make it for a proverb, and for a byword, among all the peoples. 21 'And this house that hath been high, to every one passing by it, is an astonishment, and he hath said, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this land, and to this house? 22 and they have said, Because that they have forsaken Jehovah, God of their fathers, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and lay hold on other gods, and bow themselves to them, and serve them, therefore He hath brought upon them all this evil.'
81 And it cometh to pass, at the end of twenty years, that Solomon hath built the house of Jehovah, and his own house. 2 As to the cities that Huram hath given to Solomon, Solomon hath built them, and there he causeth the sons of Israel to dwell. 3 And Solomon goeth to Hamath-Zobah, and layeth hold upon it; 4 and he buildeth Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the cities of store that he hath built in Hamath. 5 And he buildeth Beth-Horon the upper, and Beth-Horon the lower—cities of defence, with walls, two-leaved doors, and bar— 6 and Baalath, and all the cities of store that Solomon had, and all the cities of the chariot, and the cities of the horsemen, and all the desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 7 All the people who are left of the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, who are not of Israel— 8 of their sons who have been left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel consumed not—doth Solomon lift up a tribute unto this day. 9 And none of the sons of Israel hath Solomon made servants for his work, but they 'are' men of war, and heads of his captains, and heads of his charioteers, and of his horsemen; 10 and these 'are' heads of the officers whom king Solomon hath, two hundred and fifty who are rulers among the people. 11 And the daughter of Pharaoh hath Solomon brought up from the city of David to the house that he built for her, for he said, 'My wife doth not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, for they are holy unto whom hath come the ark of Jehovah.'
12 Then hath Solomon caused to ascend burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of Jehovah that he built before the porch, 13 even by the matter of a day in its day, to cause to ascend according to the command of Moses, on sabbaths, and on new moons, and on appointed seasons, three times in a year—in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths. 14 And he establisheth, according to the ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests over their service, and of the Levites over their charges, to praise and to minister over-against the priests, according to the matter of a day in its day, and the gatekeepers in their courses at gate and gate, for so 'is' the command of David the man of God. 15 And they have not turned aside 'from' the command of the king concerning the priests and the Levites, in reference to any matter, and to the treasures. 16 And all the work of Solomon is prepared till the day of the foundation of the house of Jehovah, and till its completion; perfect is the house of Jehovah. 17 Then hath Solomon gone to Ezion-Geber, and unto Elath, on the border of the sea, in the land of Edom; 18 and Huram sendeth to him, by the hand of his servants, ships and servants knowing the sea, and they go with servants of Solomon to Ophir, and take thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and bring in unto king Solomon.
91 And the queen of Sheba hath heard of the fame of Solomon, and cometh in to try Solomon with acute sayings, to Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stone; and she cometh in unto Solomon, and speaketh with him all that hath been with her heart, 2 and Solomon declareth to her all her matters, and there hath not been hid a thing from Solomon that he hath not declared to her. 3 And the queen of Sheba seeth the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he hath built, 4 and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his stewards, and their clothing, an his burnt-offering that he offered up in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been any more spirit in her. 5 And she saith unto the king, 'True 'is' the word that I heard in my land concerning thy matters and concerning thy wisdom, 6 and I have given no credence to their words, till that I have come, and mine eyes see, and lo, there hath not been declared to me the half of the abundance of thy wisdom—thou hast added unto the report that I heard. 7 'O the happiness of thy men, and the happiness of thy servants—these—who are standing before thee continually, and hearing thy wisdom. 8 Let Jehovah thy God be blessed who hath delighted in thee, to put thee on His throne for king for Jehovah thy God; in the love of thy God to Israel, to establish it to the age, He hath put thee over them for king, to do judgment and righteousness.' 9 And she giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stone; and there hath not been any such spice as the queen of Sheba hath given to king Solomon. 10 And also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone. 11 And the king maketh the algum-trees staircases for the house of Jehovah, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; and there have been none seen like these before in the land of Judah. 12 And king Solomon hath given to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which she had brought unto the king, and she turneth and goeth to her land, she and her servants.
13 And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold, 14 apart from 'what' the tourists, and the merchants, are bringing in; and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land, are bringing in gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And king Solomon maketh two hundred targets of alloyed gold, six hundred 'shekels' of alloyed gold he causeth to go up on the one target; 16 and three hundred shields of alloyed gold, three hundred 'shekels' of gold he causeth to go up on the one shield, and the king putteth them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 17 And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth it with pure gold; 18 and six steps 'are' to the throne, and a footstool of gold, to the throne they are fastened, and hands 'are' on this 'side' and on that on the place of the sitting, and two lions are standing near the hands, 19 and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this 'side', and on that: it hath not been made so for any kingdom. 20 And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon 'are' of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon 'are' of refined gold—silver is not reckoned in the days of Solomon for anything; 21 for ships of the king are going to Tarshish, with servants of Huram: once in three years come do the ships of Tarshish bearing gold, and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 22 And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom; 23 and all the kings of the earth are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God hath put in his heart, 24 and they are bringing in each his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. 25 And there are to Solomon four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in cities of the chariot, and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 And he is ruling over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt. 27 And the king maketh the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he hath made as sycamores, that 'are' in the low country, for abundance, 28 and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.
29 And the rest of the matters of Solomon, the first and the last, are they not written beside the matters of Nathan the prophet, and beside the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and with the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? 30 And Solomon reigneth in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years, 31 and Solomon lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David his father, and reign doth Rehoboam his son in his stead.
111 And there was a certain one ailing, Lazarus, from Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister— 2 and it was Mary who did anoint the Lord with ointment, and did wipe his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ailing— 3 therefore sent the sisters unto him, saying, 'Sir, lo, he whom thou dost love is ailing;' 4 and Jesus having heard, said, 'This ailment is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.' 5 And Jesus was loving Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus, 6 when, therefore, he heard that he is ailing, then indeed he remained in the place in which he was two days, 7 then after this, he saith to the disciples, 'We may go to Judea again;' 8 the disciples say to him, 'Rabbi, now were the Jews seeking to stone thee, and again thou dost go thither!' 9 Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day? if any one may walk in the day, he doth not stumble, because the light of this world he doth see; 10 and if any one may walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.' 11 These things he said, and after this he saith to them, 'Lazarus our friend hath fallen asleep, but I go on that I may awake him;' 12 therefore said his disciples, 'Sir, if he hath fallen asleep, he will be saved;' 13 but Jesus had spoken about his death, but they thought that about the repose of sleep he speaketh. 14 Then, therefore, Jesus said to them freely, 'Lazarus hath died; 15 and I rejoice, for your sake, (that ye may believe,) that I was not there; but we may go to him;' 16 therefore said Thomas, who is called Didymus, to the fellow-disciples, 'We may go—we also, that we may die with him,'
17 Jesus, therefore, having come, found him having been four days already in the tomb. 18 And Bethany was nigh to Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off, 19 and many of the Jews had come unto Martha and Mary, that they might comfort them concerning their brother; 20 Martha, therefore, when she heard that Jesus doth come, met him, and Mary kept sitting in the house. 21 Martha, therefore, said unto Jesus, 'Sir, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died; 22 but even now, I have known that whatever thou mayest ask of God, God will give to thee;' 23 Jesus saith to her, 'Thy brother shall rise again.' 24 Martha saith to him, 'I have known that he will rise again, in the rising again in the last day;' 25 Jesus said to her, 'I am the rising again, and the life; he who is believing in me, even if he may die, shall live; 26 and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die—to the age; 27 believest thou this?' she saith to him, 'Yes, sir, I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming to the world.'
28 And these things having said, she went away, and called Mary her sister privately, saying, 'The Teacher is present, and doth call thee;' 29 she, when she heard, riseth up quickly, and doth come to him;
(Read John 11:1-6)
It is no new thing for those whom Christ loves, to be sick; bodily distempers correct the corruption, and try the graces of God's people. He came not to preserve his people from these afflictions, but to save them from their sins, and from the wrath to come; however, it behoves us to apply to Him in behalf of our friends and relatives when sick and afflicted. Let this reconcile us to the darkest dealings of Providence, that they are all for the glory of God: sickness, loss, disappointment, are so; and if God be glorified, we ought to be satisfied. Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. The families are greatly favoured in which love and peace abound; but those are most happy whom Jesus loves, and by whom he is beloved. Alas, that this should seldom be the case with every person, even in small families. God has gracious intentions, even when he seems to delay. When the work of deliverance, temporal or spiritual, public or personal, is delayed, it does but stay for the right time.
(Read John 11:7-10)
Christ never brings his people into any danger but he goes with them in it. We are apt to think ourselves zealous for the Lord, when really we are only zealous for our wealth, credit, ease, and safety; we have therefore need to try our principles. But our day shall be lengthened out, till our work is done, and our testimony finished. A man has comfort and satisfaction while in the way of his duty, as set forth by the word of God, and determined by the providence of God. Christ, wherever he went, walked in the day; and so shall we, if we follow his steps. If a man walks in the way of his heart, and according to the course of this world, if he consults his own carnal reasonings more than the will and glory of God, he falls into temptations and snares. He stumbles, because there is no light in him; for light in us is to our moral actions, that which light about us to our natural actions.
(Read John 11:11-16)
Since we are sure to rise again at the last, why should not the believing hope of that resurrection to eternal life, make it as easy for us to put off the body and die, as it is to put off our clothes and go to sleep? A true Christian, when he dies, does but sleep; he rests from the labours of the past day. Nay, herein death is better than sleep, that sleep is only a short rest, but death is the end of earthly cares and toils. The disciples thought that it was now needless for Christ to go to Lazarus, and expose himself and them. Thus we often hope that the good work we are called to do, will be done by some other hand, if there be peril in the doing of it. But when Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, many were brought to believe on him; and there was much done to make perfect the faith of those that believed. Let us go to him; death cannot separate from the love of Christ, nor put us out of the reach of his call. Like Thomas, in difficult times Christians should encourage one another. The dying of the Lord Jesus should make us willing to die whenever God calls us.
(Read John 11:17-32)
Here was a house where the fear of God was, and on which his blessing rested; yet it was made a house of mourning. Grace will keep sorrow from the heart, but not from the house. When God, by his grace and providence, is coming towards us in ways of mercy and comfort, we should, like Martha, go forth by faith, hope, and prayer, to meet him. When Martha went to meet Jesus, Mary sat still in the house; this temper formerly had been an advantage to her, when it put her at Christ's feet to hear his word; but in the day of affliction, the same temper disposed her to melancholy. It is our wisdom to watch against the temptations, and to make use of the advantages of our natural tempers. When we know not what in particular to ask or expect, let us refer ourselves to God; let him do as seemeth him good. To enlarge Martha's expectations, our Lord declared himself to be the Resurrection and the Life. In every sense he is the Resurrection; the source, the substance, the first-fruits, the cause of it. The redeemed soul lives after death in happiness; and after the resurrection, both body and soul are kept from all evil for ever. When we have read or heard the word of Christ, about the great things of the other world, we should put it to ourselves, Do we believe this truth? The crosses and comforts of this present time would not make such a deep impression upon us as they do, if we believed the things of eternity as we ought. When Christ our Master comes, he calls for us. He comes in his word and ordinances, and calls us to them, calls us by them, calls us to himself. Those who, in a day of peace, set themselves at Christ's feet to be taught by him, may with comfort, in a day of trouble, cast themselves at his feet, to find favour with him.
