2 Chronicles 1; 2 Chronicles 2; 2 Chronicles 3; John 10:1-23

2 Chronicles 1

1 Solomon, son of David, strengthened his position over the kingdom. The LORD his God was with him and made him very powerful.

2 Solomon spoke to all Israel--to the commanders of regiments and battalions, judges, every prince, and the heads of Israel's families.

3 Then Solomon and the entire assembly went to the place of worship in Gibeon because God's tent of meeting was there. Moses, the LORD's servant, had made the tent in the desert.

4 (However, David had [already] brought God's ark from Kiriath Jearim to a place he had prepared for it. He had put up a tent for it in Jerusalem.)

5 The bronze altar that Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, had made was in front of the LORD's tent. There Solomon and the assembly worshiped the LORD.

6 In the LORD's presence Solomon went to the bronze altar in front of the tent of meeting and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it.

7 That night God appeared to Solomon. He said, "What can I give you?"

8 Solomon responded to God, "You've shown great love to my father David, and you've made me king in his place.

9 Now, LORD God, you've kept the promise you made to my father David. You've made me king of people who are as numerous as specks of dust on the ground.

10 Give me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people. After all, who can judge this great people of yours?"

11 God replied to Solomon, "I know this request is from your heart. You didn't ask for riches, fortunes, honor, or the death of those who hate you. You didn't even ask for a long life. Instead, you've asked for wisdom and knowledge to judge my people, over whom I made you king.

12 So wisdom and knowledge will be given to you. I will also give you riches, fortunes, and honor like no other king before or after you."

13 Solomon went from the tent of meeting at the place of worship in Gibeon to Jerusalem. And he ruled Israel.

14 Solomon built up [his army] with chariots and war horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 war horses. He stationed [some] in chariot cities and [others] with himself in Jerusalem.

15 The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as fig trees in the foothills.

16 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and Kue. The king's traders bought them from Kue for a fixed price.

17 They imported each chariot from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver and each horse for 6 ounces of silver. For the same price they obtained horses to export to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.

2 Chronicles 2

1 Solomon gave orders to begin building the temple for the LORD's name and a royal palace for himself.

2 Solomon drafted 70,000 men to carry heavy loads, 80,000 to quarry stones in the mountains, and 3,600 foremen.

3 Solomon sent word to King Huram of Tyre by saying, "Do what you did for my father David. You sent him cedar so that he could build a palace to live in.

4 I want to build the temple for the name of the LORD my God. I want to dedicate it to him, burn sweet-smelling incense in his presence, and have rows of bread there continually. I want to [sacrifice] burnt offerings every morning and evening, on weekly worship days, New Moon Festivals, and during the annual festivals appointed by the LORD our God. ([These festivals] are always to be celebrated by Israel.)

5 The temple I am building will be great because our God is greater than all other gods.

6 But who is able to build him a temple when heaven itself, the highest heaven, cannot hold him? Who am I to build him a temple except as a place to sacrifice in his presence?

7 "Send me a man who has the skill to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron as well as purple, dark red, and violet cloth. He should know how to make engravings with the skilled men whom my father David provided for me in Judah and Jerusalem.

8 Send me cedar, cypress, and sandalwood from Lebanon. I know that your servants are skilled Lebanese lumberjacks. My workers will work with your workers.

9 They'll prepare plenty of lumber for me, because the temple I want to build will be large and astonishing.

10 I will give your lumberjacks 120,000 bushels of ground wheat, 120,000 bushels of barley, 200,000 gallons of wine, and 200,000 gallons of olive oil."

11 Then King Huram of Tyre responded to Solomon by sending a letter that said, "Because the LORD loves his people, he made you their king."

12 Huram added, "May the LORD God of Israel be praised. He made the heavens and the earth and has given King David a wise son who has insight and intelligence and can build the LORD's temple and a royal palace.

13 And now, I'm sending a man with skill and intelligence--Huram Abi.

14 He was the son of a woman from the tribe of Dan, and his father is a native of Tyre. Huram knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, wood, purple, violet, and dark red cloth, and linen. He also knows how to make all kinds of engravings and follow any set of plans that will be given to him. [He can work] with your skilled workmen and the skilled workmen of His Majesty David, your father.

15 Your Majesty may now send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he promised the workers.

16 We will cut all the lumber you need in Lebanon. Then we will make rafts out of it and send them to you in Joppa by sea. You can take it [from there] to Jerusalem."

17 Solomon counted all the men who were foreigners in the land of Israel, as his father David had counted them. Solomon counted 153,600 foreigners.

18 He made 70,000 of them carry heavy loads, 80,000 of them quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 of them supervise the work as foremen.

2 Chronicles 3

1 Solomon began to build the LORD's temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared to his father David. There David had prepared the site 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 This is how Solomon laid the foundation to build God's temple. It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide. (They used the old standard measurement.)

4 The entrance hall in front of [the main room] was 30 feet wide (the same as the width of the temple) and 30 feet high. He covered its inside walls with pure gold.

5 He paneled the larger building with cypress, overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with [designs in the form of] palm trees and chains.

6 He covered the building with gems to beautify it and used gold from Parvaim.

7 He also overlaid the building, the rafters, the threshold, the walls, and the doors with gold, and he carved angels into the walls.

8 He made the most holy place. It was as long as the temple was wide, 30 feet long. It was also 30 feet wide. He overlaid it with 45,000 pounds of fine gold.

9 The gold nails weighed 20 ounces. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

10 In the most holy place he made two sculptured angels and covered them with gold.

11 The combined length of the angels' wings was 30 feet. A wing of one of the angels was 7½ feet long and touched the wall of the building. Its other wing was 7½ feet long and touched one wing of the other.

12 The wing of the other one of the angels was 7½ feet long and touched the other wall of the building. Its other wing was 7½ feet long and touched the wing of the first. So the angels' combined wingspan was 30 feet.

13 They stood on their feet and faced the main hall.

14 Solomon made the canopy of violet, purple, and dark red cloth and of linen and decorated it with angels.

15 He made two pillars for the front of the temple. They were 53 feet long, and the capital on each pillar was 7½ feet [high].

16 He made chains for the inner room and [also] put them on the capitals. He made 100 pomegranates and put them on the chains.

17 He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin [He Establishes] and the one on the left Boaz [In Him Is Strength].

John 10:1-23

1 "I can guarantee this truth: The person who doesn't enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs in somewhere else is a thief or a robber.

2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd.

3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep respond to his voice. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out of the pen.

4 After he has brought out all his sheep, he walks ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.

5 They won't follow a stranger. Instead, they will run away from a stranger because they don't recognize his voice."

6 Jesus used this illustration as he talked to the people, but they didn't understand what he meant.

7 Jesus emphasized, "I can guarantee this truth: I am the gate for the sheep.

8 All who came before I did were thieves or robbers. However, the sheep didn't respond to them.

9 I am the gate. Those who enter the sheep pen through me will be saved. They will go in and out of the sheep pen and find food.

10 A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need.

11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

12 A hired hand isn't a shepherd and doesn't own the sheep. When he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and quickly runs away. So the wolf drags the sheep away and scatters the flock.

13 The hired hand is concerned about what he's going to get paid and not about the sheep.

14 "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep as the Father knows me. My sheep know me as I know the Father.

15 So I give my life for my sheep.

16 I also have other sheep that are not from this pen. I must lead them. They, too, will respond to my voice. So they will be one flock with one shepherd.

17 The Father loves me because I give my life in order to take it back again.

18 No one takes my life from me. I give my life of my own free will. I have the authority to give my life, and I have the authority to take my life back again. This is what my Father ordered me to do."

19 The Jews were divided because of what Jesus said.

20 Many of them said, "He's possessed by a demon! He's crazy! Why do you listen to him?"

21 Others said, "No one talks like this if he's possessed by a demon. Can a demon give sight to the blind?"

22 The Festival of the Dedication of the Temple took place in Jerusalem during the winter.

23 Jesus was walking on Solomon's porch in the temple courtyard.