2 Chronicles 10:1 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.
2 Chronicles 10:2 When Jeroboam, son of Nebat, heard about it, because he was in Egypt, where he had run[1] from King Solomon’s presence – Jeroboam returned from Egypt.
2 Chronicles 10:3 So they invited him. Then Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam:
2 Chronicles 10:4 “Your father made our yoke harsh. Therefore, lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will work for you.”
2 Chronicles 10:5 Rehoboam replied, “Return to me again[2] in three days.” So, the people left.
2 Chronicles 10:6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had attended his father, Solomon, when he was living, asking, “How do you advise me to respond to these people?”
2 Chronicles 10:7 They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your slaves forever.”
2 Chronicles 10:8 But he rejected the advice of the elders who had advised him, and he consulted with the young men who had grown up with him, the ones attending him.
2 Chronicles 10:9 He asked them, “What message do you advise we send back to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
2 Chronicles 10:10 Then the young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us! ‘ This is what you should say to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!
2 Chronicles 10:11 Now therefore, my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I, with barbed whips.'”
2 Chronicles 10:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”
2 Chronicles 10:13 Then the king answered[3] them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the elders’ advice
2 Chronicles 10:14 and spoke to them according to the young men’s advice, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I, with barbed whips.”
2 Chronicles 10:15 The king did not listen to the people because the turn of events came from God, in order that Yahveh might carry out his word that he had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
2 Chronicles 10:16 When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered the king: What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Israel, each to your tent; David, look after your own house now! So, all Israel went to their tents.
2 Chronicles 10:17 But as for the Israelites living in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
2 Chronicles 10:18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. However, King Rehoboam was tough[4] enough to get into his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 10:19 Israel is in rebellion against the house of David until today.
2 Chronicles 9:1 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s impressive[1] life, so she came to test Solomon with difficult questions at Jerusalem with a huge powerful[2] display, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her mind.
2 Chronicles 9:2 So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too complicated for Solomon to explain to her.
2 Chronicles 9:3 When the queen of Sheba observed Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built,
2 Chronicles 9:4 the food at his table, his slaves’ residence, his attendants’ ministry and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and the burnt offerings he offered at Yahveh’s temple, it took her breath[3] away.
2 Chronicles 9:5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and your wisdom is reliable.[4]
2 Chronicles 9:6 But I didn’t believe their reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Notice, I was not even told half of your great wisdom! You add to[5] the report I heard.
2 Chronicles 9:7 How happy are your men. How happy are these slaves of yours, who continually stand in your presence, hearing your wisdom?
2 Chronicles 9:8 Praised be Yahveh your God! He delighted in you and put you on his throne as king for Yahveh your God. Because your God cared for Israel enough to establish them permanently, he has set you over them as king to carry out justice and righteousness.”
2 Chronicles 9:9 Then she gave the king four and a half tons of gold, a significant quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never before had such spices been given to King Solomon.
2 Chronicles 9:10 In addition, Hiram’s slaves and Solomon’s slaves who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones.
2 Chronicles 9:11 The king made the algum wood into walkways for Yahveh’s temple and the king’s palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never had anything like them been seen in the land of Judah.
2 Chronicles 9:12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire, whatever she asked — far more than she had brought the king. Then she, along with her slaves, returned to her own country.
2 Chronicles 9:13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon annually was twenty-five tons,
2 Chronicles 9:14 besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
2 Chronicles 9:15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds of hammered gold went into each shield.
2 Chronicles 9:16 He made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 7 1/2 pounds of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
2 Chronicles 9:17 The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold.
2 Chronicles 9:18 The throne had six steps, a footstool covered in gold, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.
2 Chronicles 9:19 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.
2 Chronicles 9:20 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time,
2 Chronicles 9:21 because the king’s ships kept going to Tarshish with Hiram’s slaves, and once every three years, the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
2 Chronicles 9:22 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and wisdom.
2 Chronicles 9:23 All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.
2 Chronicles 9:24 Each of them would bring his tribute – items of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, and horses and mules- as an annual tribute.
2 Chronicles 9:25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. He placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 9:26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.
2 Chronicles 9:27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills.
2 Chronicles 9:28 They were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and all the countries.
2 Chronicles 9:29 The remaining events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of the Prophet Nathan, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Visions of the Seer Iddo concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.
2 Chronicles 9:30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.
2 Chronicles 9:31 Solomon lied down[6] with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father, David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
2 Chronicles 8:1 At the end of twenty years during which Solomon had built Yahveh’s temple and his palace —
2 Chronicles 8:2 Solomon had rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given him and settled the Israelites there.
2 Chronicles 8:3 Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and caught it.
2 Chronicles 8:4 He built Tadmor in the open country along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath.
2 Chronicles 8:5 He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon- fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars.
2 Chronicles 8:6 Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.
2 Chronicles 8:7 As for all the peoples who survived[1] of the Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel —
2 Chronicles 8:8 Their descendants who survived in the land after them, those the Israelites had not wholly destroyed,- Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today.
2 Chronicles 8:9 But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to be slaves for his work; they were soldiers, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry.
2 Chronicles 8:10 These were King Solomon’s deputies: 250 captains of the people.
2 Chronicles 8:11 Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the house of King David of Israel because the places the ark of Yahveh has come into are sacred.”
2 Chronicles 8:12 At that time, Solomon offered ascending offerings to Yahveh on Yahveh’s altar he had made in the face of the portico.
2 Chronicles 8:13 He followed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Matzah,[2] The Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Huts.[3]
2 Chronicles 8:14 According to the judgments of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement, and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each temple gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.
2 Chronicles 8:15 They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests and the Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.
2 Chronicles 8:16 All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for Yahveh’s temple until it was finished. So Yahveh’s temple was completed.
2 Chronicles 8:17 At that time, Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Eloth on the seashore in the land of Edom.
2 Chronicles 8:18 So Hiram sent ships to him by his slaves, along with crews of experienced seamen. They went with Solomon’s slaves to Ophir, took seventeen tons of gold from there, and delivered it to King Solomon.
2 Chronicles 7:1 When Solomon finished praying, fire fell from the sky and consumed[1] the ascending offerings and the sacrifices, and the impressive appearance of Yahveh filled the temple.
2 Chronicles 7:2 The priests were not able to enter Yahveh’s temple because the impressive appearance of Yahveh filled the temple of Yahveh.
2 Chronicles 7:3 All the Israelites were watching when the fire fell and the impressive appearance of Yahveh came on the temple. They bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground. They worshiped and praised Yahveh because he is good, because his covenant faithfulness lasts permanently.
2 Chronicles 7:4 The king and all the people were offering sacrifices in Yahveh’s presence.
2 Chronicles 7:5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep and goats. In this manner, the king and all the people dedicated God’s temple.
2 Chronicles 7:6 The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of Yahveh, which King David had made to give thanks to Yahveh “because his covenant faithfulness lasts permanently” when he offered praise with them. Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing.
2 Chronicles 7:7 Since the bronze altar that Solomon had made could not accommodate the ascending offering, the tribute offering,[2] and the fat of the fellowship offerings, Solomon first consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in the face of Yahveh’s temple, and then offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the sacrifices for healthy relationships[3] there.
2 Chronicles 7:8 So Solomon and all Israel with him- a vast gathering, from the entrance to Hamath to the Brook of Egypt- observed the festival at that time for seven days.
2 Chronicles 7:9 On the eighth day, they held a sacred congregation because the dedication of the altar lasted seven days and the festival seven days.
2 Chronicles 7:10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, he sent the people home, rejoicing and with happy hearts for the goodness Yahveh had done for David, for Solomon, and for his people Israel.
2 Chronicles 7:11 Solomon finished Yahveh’s temple and royal palace. Everything that had entered Solomon’s heart to do for Yahveh’s temple and his own palace succeeded.
2 Chronicles 7:12 Then Yahveh appeared to Solomon at night and said to him: I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifice.
2 Chronicles 7:13 Notice[4] when I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command[5] the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people,
2 Chronicles 7:14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:15 My eyes will now be open and my ears attentive to prayer from this place.
2 Chronicles 7:16 And I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there at all times.
2 Chronicles 7:17 As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you guard my prescribed tasks[6] and judgments,
2 Chronicles 7:18 I will establish your royal throne, as I promised your father David: You will never have a man cut off before me, ruling[7] in Israel.
2 Chronicles 7:19 However, if you turn away and abandon my prescriptions[8] and my commands that I have set before you, and if you go and slave for other gods and bow in worship to them,
2 Chronicles 7:20 then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for my name, I will banish from my presence; I will make it a parable[9] and a taunt among all the people.
2 Chronicles 7:21 As for this temple, which was exalted, everyone who passes by will be appalled and will say: Why did Yahveh do this to this land and this temple?
2 Chronicles 7:22 Then they will say: Because they abandoned Yahveh, the God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They clung strongly to other gods, bowed in worship to them, and slaved for them. Because of this, he brought all this ruin on them.
12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Sometimes, as the Apostle Paul writes, he seems to pause, look at everything God is doing, and simply erupt in praise. You can almost hear his voice rising, his heart swelling, the pen of his secretary moving faster as he speaks. Second Corinthians 9 ends with one of those moments. After two chapters of urging the Corinthians to complete their promised offering for the poor believers in Jerusalem, Paul suddenly bursts out: “Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!”
It is as if Paul is saying, “Corinthians, do you see what God is doing? Do you see how your giving is part of something so much bigger than you? Do you see how grace is multiplying through you?”
This passage is not just about money. It is about worship. It is about unity. It is about the gospel. It is about the God who gives generously and invites His people to reflect His heart.
Today, we walk through verses 12–15 and discover four ways God multiplies His work through the generosity of His people.
I. The Ministry of Giving (v. 12)
“For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.”
Paul begins by calling the offering a ministry—a leitourgia, a word used for priestly service. In other words, giving is not merely a financial transaction; it is an act of worship. It is a sacred ministry performed before God.
The believers in Jerusalem were suffering. Famine had struck the region. Persecution had scattered families. Many Jewish Christians had lost jobs and social standing because of their faith in Christ. They were materially poor, and they were spiritually discouraged.
Paul says, “Your giving is supplying their needs.” Not symbolically. Not theoretically. Actually. Tangibly. Practically.
This is the first miracle of generosity: God uses ordinary people to meet extraordinary needs.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. He says this ministry is “overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.”
Think about that. When the Corinthians give, the Jerusalem believers don’t say, “Thank you, Corinthians.” They say, “Thank You, God!”
Your generosity becomes someone else’s worship. Your obedience becomes someone else’s praise. Your sacrifice becomes someone else’s song.
This is why giving is holy. It redirects glory upward.
Every time you give—whether to missions, benevolence, a struggling family, or a ministry—you are participating in a priestly act. You are lifting someone’s eyes to God. You are helping someone say, “Lord, You heard me. You remembered me. You provided for me.”
Giving is not about losing something. It is about joining God in His work.
II. The Witness of Giving (v. 13)
“Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all.”
Paul now shifts from the effect of giving to the testimony of giving.
Giving proves the gospel is real. Paul says the Jerusalem believers will glorify God because of the Corinthians’ “obedience to (their) confession of the gospel.” In other words: Your generosity proves your faith is genuine.
Anyone can say, “I believe in Jesus.” But generosity shows that the gospel has taken root in the heart. It shows that Christ has changed your priorities, your values, your loves.
Giving is not the cause of salvation. But it is the fruit of salvation.
Giving displays unity in Christ. This offering was not just financial—it was relational, cultural, and theological.
The Corinthians were mostly Gentiles. The Jerusalem believers were Jewish. Historically, these groups were divided by suspicion, prejudice, and centuries of hostility.
But now, in Christ, they are one family. And the offering becomes a bridge.
Paul is saying: “Your generosity is preaching a sermon. It is declaring that the gospel has torn down the dividing wall. It is showing that Jew and Gentile are one in Christ.”
This is the second miracle of generosity: Giving displays the unity of the church.
When believers give sacrificially, the world sees something supernatural. They see a community that is not driven by self-interest but by love. They see a people who care for one another across backgrounds, cultures, and differences.
Generosity is evangelistic. It is a witness to the world that Jesus is Lord and His people are one.
III. The Fellowship of Giving (v. 14)
“While they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.”
Paul now describes the relational fruit of generosity.
Giving creates affection. The Jerusalem believers, who may have once doubted the sincerity of Gentile believers, now “yearn” for the Corinthians. They feel deep affection for them. They pray for them. They love them.
Generosity does that. It softens hearts. It builds bridges. It creates fellowship.
When you give to someone, you begin to care about them. When someone gives to you, you feel connected to them.
This is the third miracle of generosity: Giving knits hearts together.
Giving reveals God’s grace at work.
Paul says they will long for you “because of the surpassing grace of God in you.” In other words: “They will see God’s grace shining through your generosity.”
Generosity is not natural. It is supernatural. It is evidence that God is at work in a person’s life.
When the church gives, relationships deepen. Prayer increases. Love grows. The body becomes stronger.
Generosity is not just about money—it is about fellowship. It is about participating in God’s work of uniting His people.
IV. The Source of All Giving (v. 15)
“Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!”
Paul ends with a doxology. He cannot talk about giving without talking about the Giver.
A. God’s gift is the foundation of our giving
What is the “indescribable gift”?
It is Christ Himself. John 3:16. It is the grace of salvation.
It is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23. It is the generosity of God poured out in the gospel.
God gave His Son. God gave His grace. God gave His Spirit. God gave His promises. God gave His mercy. God gave His love.
Every act of Christian generosity flows from this fountain.
God’s grace is the model for our giving.
God did not give reluctantly. He did not give sparingly. He did not give under compulsion.
He gave freely. He gave joyfully. He gave sacrificially. He gave completely.
And Paul is saying: “Corinthians, your giving is simply the echo of God’s giving.”
We give because He first gave. We love because He first loved. We serve because He first served.
The more we see Christ, the more generous we become. The more we understand the gospel, the more open our hands become. The more we meditate on God’s grace, the more we desire to reflect it.
Generosity is not a financial issue. It is a gospel issue. It is a heart issue. It is a worship issue.
Conclusion: The Gift That Keeps Giving
Paul ends this section with worship because giving is ultimately about God. When believers give:
Needs are met
Worship rises
Faith is proven
Unity is strengthened
Love grows
Prayer increases
Christ is displayed
God is glorified
This is the miracle of generosity. It multiplies. It spreads. It bears fruit far beyond what we can see.
And all of it flows from the greatest gift—Jesus Christ, God’s inexpressible gift.
So today, let us give with joy. Let us give with faith. Let us give with gratitude. Let us give with worship. Let us give because God has given us everything in Christ.
jeffersonvann 