Map Jerusalem hilltop
Solomon’s Jerusalem add-on
Solomon's Jerusalem add-on
SOLOMON’S JERUSALEM
King Solomon's Jerusalem sat on ridge and stretched about one kilometer (3/4 miles) from the Temple Mount on the top of the ridge, down to Lower Jerusalem called the City of David. King David's Jerusalem was about half as big. Solomon added the Temple and surrounding area later.WHATEVER WE DO, IT’S A WASTE OF TIME
1David’s son, the Scholar and King of Jerusalem, offers these observationsSolomon’s Jerusalem Temple
Solomon's Jerusalem Temple
Solomon's Jerusalem Temple
Solomon's Jerusalem Temple sits on what is known as the Temple Mount at the rocky top of the ridge on which Jews built their Jerusalem Temple. King David lived down the hill in the City of David, a walled city below the top of the ridge. His son and successor, Solomon, expanded the city north, to the Temple Mount, where he built the first Jewish Temple. Solomon's extension of Jerusalem to the hill north of the City of David produced a walled city about 1 kilometer north to south (three-fourths of a mile). Ophel hill sat on the elbow of the ridge between the City of David below and the king's palace and the sprawling Temple above. Babylonian invaders destroyed the Temple and the entire city about 400 years later, in 586 BC. They exiled the surviving Jews. Persians conquered the Babylonians 50 years later and freed the Jews to go home. They rebuilt the Temple in 516 BC. So, they had lived without a Jerusalem worship center for 70 years. Then, 70 years after they built the second Temple, Nehemiah, a Jewish winetaster for the Persian king, got permission to go to Jerusalem and repair the walls. He served there as governor for about 13 years.Gihon Spring
Gihon Spring
Safe in the walled town of Jebus
Citizens felt safe in their walled city of Jebus, former name of Jerusalem. They had no idea enemy soldiers knew about the shaft inside the city that dropped 45 feet (13 meters) in the unguarded cave of Gihon Spring below. And they never expected any soldiers to try climbing it.David marches to Jerusalem
From 2 Samuel 5
6King David and his men marched north to Jerusalem. They intended to take the city from Jebusite people who lived there. Jebusites were so confident of their defenses that they yelled down to David, “Hey, you can’t get in here. A blind cripple could stop you.” 7David took the walled city anyhow. People sometimes call the city Zion. But David called it the City of David. The name stuck. 8David said, “Let’s show those blind cripples how much I hate them. To get to them, you’re going to have to climb up the shaft that drops into their spring of water.” That’s where the old saying comes from, that “The lame and blind aren’t allowed in the Temple.”Jebus becomes City of David
9David moved into the walled town and named it City of David. He fortified the position even more, from Millo tower on the perimeter and then toward the center of the city. 10David became a stronger and more respected leader because the LORD of everyone was on his side. 11King Hiram decided to give David a palace as a gift. So, he sent ambassadors along with carpenters and masons, supplied with cedar trees. 12David took that as a sign that the LORD had, in fact, given him the job of king over Israel and had lifted his status for Israel’s sake. 13After David moved to Jerusalem, he took more women into his harem—concubines and wives. They gave him more sons and daughters. 14The names of David’s 11 children born in Jerusalem include: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.Ark of the Covenant comes to Jerusalem
Ark of the Covenant comes to Jerusalem
ARK OF COVENANT’S DEAD END
From 2 Samuel 6, Casual English Bible
1David assembled his army of 30,000 men of Israel. 2Then he took them all to a town in Judah: Baalah, also known as Kiriath-jearim. [1] He went there to get the Ark of the Covenant, [2] the sacred chest that held the Ten Commandments. This Box of God was engraved with the name of the LORD who rules over everyone. God’s throne rests between the cherubim on the lid of the chest.
3They carried the chest out of the hilltop home of Abinadab, where it had remained in storage. Then they put it on a new cart. Abinadab’s sons, Uzzah and Ahio, managed the cart. 4Ahio walked in front of the cart. 5David and the people with him danced for joy, and with a lot of energy. Some sang. Some played instruments, such as lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. It was a joyful noise.
6But oxen pulling the cart lurched forward when they reached a threshing floor. This was a flat area where a farmer named Nacon knocked grain kernels loose from the stalks. Uzzah grabbed hold of the Box of God, to steady it. 7The LORD got angry and killed Uzzah on the spot. [3]
ARK OF COVENANT PARKED FOR THREE MONTHS
8Then David got mad about the LORD getting mad and killing Uzzah. After that, people have been calling that spot Perez Uzzah, which means Outburst at Uzzah.9Uzzah’s death put the fear of God into David. He asked, “How can I protect the chest if I can’t move it to a safe location?” 10David decided not to take it into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of a man known as Obed-edom from Gath. 11David kept the chest there for three months. During that time, the LORD blessed the host and his family with kindness.
ARK OF THE COVENANT ON PARADE
12Someone gave David the good news about that: “The LORD has been blessing Obed-edom because of the Box of God.” That encouraged David. So, he brought the box from Obed-edom’s house to the City of David. It was a happy parade. 13But it was slow. After every six steps the people took as they carried the Box, David made them stop so he could sacrifice an ox or a calf.14During the walk, David danced with all his enthusiasm, wearing only a linen loincloth. 15David and the others joyfully accompanied the Box of God, cheering and blowing ram’s horns to celebrate.
Notes