Commentary - 2 Chronicles 1:1-6

Bird's-eye view

The book of 2 Chronicles opens by establishing the central theme for all that follows: a rightly ordered kingdom is one that puts the public, corporate worship of God first. Solomon, the son of David, does not begin his reign with a military campaign or a new tax policy, but with a grand procession to the historic place of worship. He understands that the stability and exaltation of his kingdom are not the result of his own political maneuvering, but are a direct gift from Yahweh. This passage demonstrates the crucial link between covenant faithfulness in worship and national blessing. By leading all of Israel to seek God at the Tabernacle, Solomon affirms that his throne is established under God's authority and that the life of the nation flows from the altar.

This act of worship is both lavish and deliberate. The offering of a thousand burnt offerings is an act of extravagant devotion, showing that Solomon's heart is oriented correctly toward the Giver of all things. At the same time, it is an act rooted in history, connecting his new reign to the ancient institutions given through Moses and crafted by Bezalel. This sets the stage for the great work of Solomon's reign, the building of the permanent Temple, which will finally unite the Ark of the Covenant with the Tabernacle's sacrificial system in one glorious place.

Outline

Context in 2 Chronicles

The books of Chronicles were written after the exile to remind the returned remnant of their identity as God's covenant people. The Chronicler retells the history of Judah, focusing particularly on the Davidic monarchy and the Temple. Unlike the books of Kings, which often highlight the failures of the monarchs, Chronicles tends to emphasize the positive examples of godly leadership and the blessings that follow right worship. This opening chapter is a perfect example. It presents Solomon's accession in the best possible light, immediately establishing him as a king who prioritizes seeking Yahweh. This was a powerful message for the post-exilic community as they sought to rebuild their own national and religious life. The lesson was clear: if you want to see the kingdom restored and the blessing of God return, then you must begin, as Solomon did, with wholehearted and rightly-ordered worship.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Now Solomon the son of David strengthened himself over his kingdom, and Yahweh his God was with him and highly exalted him.

The verse opens with a beautiful balance of human responsibility and divine sovereignty. On the one hand, Solomon "strengthened himself." This was not a passive affair; he took active steps to consolidate his rule and secure the throne he had inherited from his father, David. But the Chronicler immediately follows this by showing the ultimate source of that strength. It was because "Yahweh his God was with him." This is the foundational reality. Any strength Solomon possessed, any political acumen he displayed, was a direct result of God's presence and favor. God didn't just assist him; He "highly exalted him." A man's success is never finally attributable to his own grit or genius. It is God who establishes and God who exalts. Solomon's story begins here because this is the starting point for all godly rule: the recognition that our strength is derivative, a gift from the sovereign God who chooses to be with His people.

2 And 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.

Solomon's first significant recorded act as king is not a decree, but an invitation. He speaks to "all Israel." This is not a private act of piety. This is corporate, covenantal leadership. The list of leaders is comprehensive, from the military commanders down to the heads of families. This demonstrates the principle of representation. The leaders of the people act on behalf of the people, and a godly king understands that his role is to lead the entire nation in its covenant responsibilities. Worship is not a compartmentalized activity for the spiritually inclined; it is the central, unifying act of the entire commonwealth. By gathering the leaders, Solomon is gathering the nation. He is setting a pattern: the health of the kingdom, from the army to the family, depends on their collective orientation toward Yahweh.

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 Yahweh had made in the wilderness.

The destination is significant. They go to Gibeon because that is where the historic "tent of meeting" was located. This is the original Tabernacle constructed under the direction of Moses in the wilderness. Solomon is not innovating; he is returning to the roots of Israel's worship. In a time before the Temple was built, the high places were sometimes used for legitimate worship, and this was the most legitimate of them all because the divinely-ordained furniture of worship was there. This act connects Solomon's new kingdom to the entire history of God's redemptive work, from the Exodus onward. He is demonstrating continuity. His reign is not a new thing, but rather the next chapter in God's long story with His people Israel. He is honoring the old ways as he prepares to build the new Temple.

4 However, David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.

The Chronicler here inserts a crucial piece of information that highlights the irregular state of Israel's worship at this time. The Tabernacle was in one place (Gibeon), but the Ark of the Covenant, the very throne of God's presence, was in another (Jerusalem). David, in his zeal, had brought the Ark to his new capital city. This created a liturgical separation. The place of sacrifice was miles away from the symbol of God's presence. This was not the ideal, and it sets up the urgent need for the Temple that Solomon would build, a permanent house that would finally reunite the altar and the Ark. Solomon's action in going to Gibeon was therefore the best he could do under the circumstances he inherited. He went to the place of the altar, the place where sacrifices were to be made according to the law of Moses.

5 Now the bronze altar, which Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of Yahweh, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out.

The focus narrows to the specific object of their quest: the bronze altar. And again, the historical lineage is emphasized. This was not just any altar; it was the one made by "Bezalel," the man whom God had filled with His Spirit for artistic workmanship back in the book of Exodus. To seek this altar was to seek God according to His own instructions. It was an act of submission to God's revealed will for worship. True worship is not something we invent; it is something we receive. Solomon and the people "sought it out," which implies a deliberate and intentional pursuit. They were not stumbling into worship; they were actively seeking to approach God on His terms, at the place He had appointed and using the means He had prescribed.

6 And Solomon went up there before Yahweh to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and offered one thousand burnt offerings on it.

Here we see the climax of this great national event. Solomon stands "before Yahweh" and offers a staggering number of sacrifices. A burnt offering was an offering of total consecration, where the entire animal was consumed on the altar. To offer one thousand of them was an act of immense cost and extravagant devotion. This was not a perfunctory, check-the-box religious exercise. This was a statement. Solomon was declaring his and the nation's total dependence upon God and their wholehearted dedication to Him. The sheer scale of the offering was a fitting response to the God who had "highly exalted him." It was a public demonstration of gratitude and allegiance, and it was a type, a foreshadowing of that one perfect offering of Christ, whose value is infinite and whose consecration is complete, securing the true and everlasting kingdom.

Application

The pattern Solomon sets here is one that all Christians, and particularly Christian leaders, must follow. Our first order of business must always be the worship of God. Before we strategize, before we build, before we legislate, we must go to the altar. A nation, a church, or a family that does not have corporate worship at its center is a house built on sand. Solomon's strength came from the fact that Yahweh was with him, and he began his reign by publicly acknowledging that fact.

Furthermore, our worship must not be stingy. Solomon's thousand burnt offerings were an act of lavish, open-handed generosity. We who have been bought with the infinitely precious blood of Christ ought to be the most generous worshipers of all. Our time, our talents, our treasure should be laid on the altar with a similar spirit of extravagance, not out of a sense of grim duty, but out of joyful gratitude for the God who has exalted us in His Son.

Finally, we see the importance of seeking God on His terms. Solomon went to the place God had appointed. We do not get to invent our own methods of worship. We are to come to God through the means He has given us: through His Son, according to His Word, and by His Spirit. Right worship is the foundation of a blessed life, and as this chapter shows, it is the foundation of a blessed kingdom.