But now we have been released from the law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter. Romans 7:6

2 Chronicles 4-5

2 Chronicles 4

The Bronze Altar and Molten Sea

¹ Then Solomon made an altar of bronze, 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and fifteen feet high. ² Also he made the molten Sea, fifteen feet from rim to rim. It was round, 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference.

³ Under the rim were figures of oxen, which encircled it, ten every foot and a half encircled the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows when the Sea was cast.

⁴ The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east. And the Sea was set on them, and all their hindquarters faced inward. ⁵ It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It received and held about 15,000 gallons.

The Ten Lavers, Candlesticks, and Tables

⁶ He also made ten basins and put five on the right side and five on the left, to wash in them. The things that belonged to the burnt offering were washed in them, but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.

⁷ He made the ten lamp stands of gold according to the ordinance concerning them, and he set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. ⁸ He made also ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. He made 100 basins of gold.

The Courts

⁹ Furthermore he made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze. ¹⁰ He set the Sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast.

The Instruments of Brass

¹¹ Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Huram finished doing the work that he did for king Solomon in the house of God: ¹² the two pillars, the bowls, the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, ¹³ and the 400 pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars.

¹⁴ He also made the bases, and he made the basins on the bases, ¹⁵ one Sea, and the twelve oxen under it.

¹⁶ Huram his father also made the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all its vessels for king Solomon, for the house of the Lord, of bright bronze. ¹⁷ The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.

¹⁸ Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance, for the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

The Instruments of Gold

¹⁹ Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord, the golden altar also and the tables with the show bread on them; ²⁰ and the lamp stands with their lamps, to burn according to the ordinance before the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; ²¹ and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold that was perfect gold; ²² and the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans of pure gold. As for the entry of the house, its inner doors for the most holy place and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.

2 Chronicles 5

The Ark Enters the Temple

¹ Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated: the silver, the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

² Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the Israelite tribes, to Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Lord’s covenant out of the City of David, which is Zion. ³ So all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.

⁴ All the elders of Israel came. The Levites took up the Ark, ⁵ and they brought up the ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. These, the Levitical priests brought up.

⁶ King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled to him, were before the Ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that, in their multitude, could not be counted or numbered.

⁷ The priests brought in the Ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the Ark and the cherubim covered the Ark and its poles.

⁹ The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the ark in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen outside, and it is there to this day.

¹⁰ There was nothing in the Ark except the two tablets which Moses put at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.

God’s Glory Fills the Temple

¹¹ The priests had come out of the holy place. All the priests who were present had sanctified themselves irrespective of their divisions. ¹² The Levites also, who were the singers, all of them: Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brothers, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps, stood at the east end of the altar and with them 120 priests sounding with trumpets. ¹³ The trumpeters and singers played together to praise the Lord with one voice, to make one sound heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and they raised their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying,

“He is good.
His loving kindness endures forever!”

Then the temple (the house of the Lord) was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Romans 7:1-12

Released from the Law

¹ Or do you not know, brothers (for I speak to men who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man for as long as he lives? ² For the woman that has a husband is bound by law to the husband while he lives, but if the husband dies, she is released from the law of the husband. ³ So then if, while the husband lives, she is joined to another man, she would be called an adulteress. But if the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man.

⁴ Therefore, my brothers, you also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you would be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we might produce fruit to God. ⁵ For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions worked in us, by the law, to bring out fruit to death. ⁶ But now we have been released from the law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.

God’s Law is Holy

⁷ What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I would not have known sin, except through the law. For I would not have known coveting, unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” ⁸ But sin, finding occasion through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is dead.

⁹ I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. ¹⁰ The commandment which was for life, this I found to be for death; ¹¹ for sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment, put me to death. ¹² Therefore the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy and righteous and good.

Psalm 17

Hear, O Lord, My Righteous Plea

A Prayer by David.

¹ Hear me, Lord, my righteous plea.
Give ear to my prayer,
that does not go out from deceitful lips.
² Let my sentence come out of your presence.
Let your eyes look on equity.

³ You have proved my heart.
You have visited me in the night.
You have tried me and found nothing.
I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey.
⁴ As for the deeds of men, by the word of your lips,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
⁵ My steps have held fast to your paths.
My feet have not slipped.

⁶ I have called on you, for you will answer me, my God.
Turn your ear to me.
Hear my speech.
⁷ Show your marvelous loving kindness,
you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye.
Hide me under the shadow of your wings,
⁹ from the wicked who oppress me,
my deadly enemies, who surround me.

¹⁰ They close up their callous hearts.
With their mouth they speak proudly.
¹¹ They have now surrounded us in our steps.
They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.
¹² He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,
as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

¹³ Arise, Lord, confront him.
Cast him down.
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword;
¹⁴ from men by your hand, Lord,
from men of the world, whose portion is in this life.
You fill the belly of your cherished ones.
Your sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their children.

¹⁵ As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness.
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.

Proverbs 19:22-23

²² That which makes a man to be desired is his kindness.
A poor man is better than a liar.
²³ The fear of the Lord leads to life, then contentment.
He rests and will not be touched by trouble.

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