1 CHRONICLES 28

5 And of all my sons, (for Yahweh hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel.

Notice of the Kingdom

The Bible is the Book of the Kingdom of God, and teaches us that it has already once existed for 1024 years under Moses, Joshua, the Judges, and Kings. With the exception of the two years of Ishbosheth's reign, it was a united kingdom for 92 years of this millennium under Saul, David, Solomon, and the first four years of Rehoboam.

From the 4th of Rehoboam it was governed by two dynasties. Ten of its tribes were ruled by kings whom they set up over themselves without regard to the authority of Yahweh to whom the kingdom belonged. Thus they raised the standard of rebellion, and rejected the sovereignty of the House of David, which God had chosen to be the royal house of his kingdom as long as the sun and moon should endure throughout all generations.

This usurped royalty of Ephraim, or of the Ten Tribes, continued 256 years; but Judah yet ruled with God, and was faithful with the Most Holy, whose dynasty of the family of David they still continued to acknowledge.

In the sixth year of Hezekiah, king of Judah, the Ten Tribes were "removed out of God's sight," that is, they were driven out of his land or kingdom, and the Tribe of Judah only remamed. In a few years, however, Judah became unmanageable.

"The chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the temple of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, continually and carefully sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words and misused his prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees."

This event happened 134 years after the removal of Ephraim out of his sight, or 390 years from the rebellion against the house of David; so that during 474 years of this millennium of the kingdom of God, David and his lineal descendants reigned over the House of Judah.

The kingdom of God thus brought to a temporary conclusion has never existed since under the sovereignty of a king or kings of the house of David. Its existence ceased even as a Commonwealth during the captivity in Babylon which lasted seventy years.

At the end of this period the kingdom reappeared in Judea; but it was no longer governed by Jewish monarchs exalted to the throne either by God or the people. Yahweh permitted his kingdom to be subject to the lordship of the Gentiles, until the end of 430 years from the burning of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.

For 122 years after the interposition of the Roman Senate, God's kingdom was ruled by Jewish princes of the tribe of Levi, that is, until the Gentile of Idumea, named Herod, became king in Jerusalem, in the 37th year of whose reign Jesus, the Son of God and of David, and the rightful heir of the throne of Yahweh's kingdom, was born King of the Jews.

From the commencement of Herod's reign till the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, a period of 111 years, the kingdom of God was possessed by the Gentiles; in other words, Israel did not possess the kingdom.

From the knowledge of this fact, the reader will be well able to appreciate the force of the question put by the apostles to Jesus after his resurrection, and as the result of their conversation for forty days upon the subject of the kingdom, saying,

"Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"

They knew that he was "The Restorer;" and believing that "all power was given unto him in heaven and upon earth," they thought the time had certainly come for the Restoration of all things to Israel spoken of by all the prophets from the days of Moses. This supposition prompted the question. But they were too fast. Messiah the prince having come, the kingdom could not be "restored again to Israel" so long as the Mosaic Covenant continued in force.

This must be "changed," the kingdom must be suppressed and desolated, and Jerusalem, the city of the Great King of Israel, be trodden under foot of the Gentiles until their times be fulfilled.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Aug 1851

6 And He said unto me, Solomon thy son [Sh'lomo binecha], he shall build My house [Bais] and My courts [ khatzerot (courtyards)]: for I have chosen him to be my son [Beni], and I will be his father [Av].

This was the great work of David's heart; his vision focused on the glorious temple designed for Zion's hill. The amount for each article in the building was determined by David, and prepared for the glorious temple beforehand, although David was not permitted to build the temple at that time. It had to await a future, when the King of Peace was to complete it. Thus the preparation was provided by David, and completed by Solomon -- just as the preparation for salvation was provided in Yahweh's first advent (as a man of war against the diabolos, and who shed the blood of sacrifice!), whereas the building of the spiritual temple of immortality will be accomplished at his Second Advent. *

8 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel [kol Yisroel] the congregation [kehal ] of Yahweh, and in the audience [ears] of our Elohim, keep [be shomer] and seek for all the commandments [Mitzvot] of Yahweh your Elohim: that [lema'an (in order that)] ye may possess this good land [eretz hatovah], and leave it for an inheritance [nachalah] for your children [banim] after you for ever [ad olam].

The last days of David put a heavy burden of responsibility upon him. He was facing the end of his life. With typical faithfulness, there was one thing on his mind: the realisation of the great temple of Yahweh, for which he had set his heart. He called for the elders of the nation to instruct them as to their commitment after his decease. The glorious reign reached a fitting climax. The aristocracy of Israel gathered and in the presence of Solomon, the heir to the throne, David made his final request and exhortation.

In this farewell speech he charged the elders of Israel to continue his passion for the temple, and to support his son, Solomon, in the great work to which Yahweh had committed him. David's glorious reign reaches a climax as the aristocracy of Israel is gathered together, and in the presence of Solomon, David makes his final request and exhortation. * GEM

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18 And for the altar of incense [Mizbe'ach HaKetoret] refined gold [zahav] by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot [zahav for the tavnit of the Merkavah] of the cherubim [Keruvim Zahav], that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant [Aron Brit ] of Yahweh.

In addition to the two golden Cherubim on the Mercy Seat, Solomon's Most Holy Place had two great Cherubim fifteen to twenty feet high, of olive-wood covered with gold. These are the two glorified Olive-trees, or "Sons of Oil" - the golden Spirit-oil (Zech. 4:14). This makes four Cherubim in the Most Holy: the complete Cherubim number.

Likewise the outer doors of the Temple are four-fold: two double-doors, and on them Cherubim are represented. And again we find them portrayed on the ten lavers in the court.

The first item David prepared for the Temple was gold for the covering of the two giant olivewood Cherubim, and in the reference recording this (1 Chr. 28:18), the Cherubim are called the "Chariot of the Cherubim" - so - called because they are God's vehicle of war and majesty.

This connects them both with Zechariah's Chariots (6:1) and Ezekiel's four-square wheeled representation. In Zechariah 6, horses and chariots go forth from between two mountains of brass. They are called the "four spirits of the heavens" which subdue and quiet the earth. These four Chariots are the "Cherubim of glory" which constitute the "Chariot of Yahweh." Psa. 104:3 says-

"He maketh the clouds His chariot."

These are the Clouds of glory that accompany Christ: another symbol of the Redeemed. This was the symbolic Chariot of God-Manifestation that Elisha saw when Elijah was taken up. Habakkuk speaks (3:8) of God's wrath poured out on the sea-the great, churning, mire-and-dirt sea of nations-by God's "Chariots of salvation." In Exodus 25:22 God says-

"There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from between the two cherubim."

In 1 Sam. 4:4, God is spoken of as "dwelling between" the Cherubim, or, more correctly and meaningfully, as "inhabiting" the Cherubim. God "inhabits" the righteous. Jesus said of his faithful and obedient friends (John 14:23)-

"We (God and Jesus) will come unto him, and make our abode with him."

Paul told the Ephesian brethren (2:22)-

"Ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

"Ye are the Temple of God" (2 Cor. 6:16).

-God's holy dwelling-place. The Cherubim were at the very center of the Tabernacle and Temple symbol: the dwelling and manifestation of God's glory. The basic significance of "Tabernacle" or "Temple" is the dwelling place of God. The idea of a place of mediation or reconciliation is a secondary meaning - a means to an end. The end itself is DWELLING.

The Hebrew word for Tabernacle is Mishkan, meaning "dwelling place, residence, abiding place." It is related, in meaning, to "Shekinah," the "indwelling"-the Hebrew name for the glory of God that rested on the Cherubim.

The Hebrew word for "Temple" has a similar meaning, but goes further in the sense of size, spaciousness and splendor. It is often translated "palace"- the dwelling place of a King. Both the Tabernacle and the Temple are frequently spoken of in Scripture as the "house of God," using the general, basic word for "house."

We are told the Edenic Cherubim were "placed" at the east of the Garden. The word for "placed" is shakan, "caused to dwell" (from the same root word as Mishkan and Shekinah). The Edenic Cherubim represented a promise, not a punishment. Cain said (Gen.4:14)-

"Behold, thou hast driven me out this day . . . and from Thy face shall I be hid."

The Edenic Cherubim were God's throne, presence, meeting-place, place of sacrifice and mercy.

"And, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud."

Bro Growcott - The Living Creatures and the Bow