II Chronicles

2

vs. 17-18 “alien conscripts”

            It’s worth mentioning that Solomon did not employ Israelites for the task of building the temple but aliens within the land.  His tactics of forced labour caused dissension within the ranks and later let to resentment within the kingdom (I Kings 9:10-23).  I Kings 9 insinuates that those of the Lord (whom the Israelites could not/would not destroy) were made bondsmen = slaves, but not the Israelites and it was the slaves who did all the cumbersome work of building the temple.

8

v. 11 “inconsistency”

            An interesting verse this.  Solomon moves his wife from David’s palace to her own palace because the places where the ark dwelt were holy.  It’s very noble of him to consider this eventuality and yet it begs the question why he was marrying someone in a position to cause dishonour to the ark of the Lord.  In Solomon’s defence, however, he might have made this decision simply because that’s where the ark was at that time.

Pharaoh's daughter would seem to be just the first in a long line of mixed marriages forbidden in Deuteronomy and subsequently the reason for Solomon's heart turning away from the Lord.  It could be that Pharaoh's daughter was a proselyte to the Jewish faith, but her servants probably were not, there would be their Egyptian idols and gods with them too.

30

v. 15 “who sets the example”

            It’s worth noting that it was the people who ashamed the Levites and priests in their negligence and not vice versa.  It’s a prime chapter on the leadership of King Hezekiah who is the one setting the example, a country generally being as good as its leaders.