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MANGA MESSENGERS
By Joshua Ginter
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 NEXT
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4143-1684-0
Chapter One
Construction of the Temple
LORD ADONIJAH!
YOU ARE TO SE EXECUTED FOR TREASON!
AHH!
TELL THE KING THAT IF HE WANT ME DEAD ...
I'LL DIE BESIDE THE ALTAR!
VERY WELL, COMMANDER.
KING SOLOMON, ACCORDING TO YOUR COMMAND ...
PRINCE ADONIJAH AND COMMANDER JOAB HAVE BEEN KILLED.
AND ABIATHAR THE PRIEST HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM HIS OFFICE.
...
WITH THE DEATH OF HIS RIVALS, THE KINGDOM WAS FIRMLY IN SOLOMON'S CONTROL.
LONG LIVE THE KING!
KING SOLOMON!
O LORD MY GOD, I WILL DO AS YOU HAVE REQUESTED THROUGH MY FATHER, DAVID ...
I WILL BUILD THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD.
SOLOMON!
SOLOMON ...
SON OF MY SERVANT, DAVID ...
MY LORD ...
I AM HERE.
ASK ME NOW FOR WHATEVER YOU WANT ...
AND I WILL GIVE IT TO YOU.
MY LORD ...
YOU HAVE BEEN MERCIFUL TO MY FATHER, DAVID ...
AND NOW YOU HAVE MADE ME KING IN HIS PLACE.
BUT HOW CAN I RULE YOUR PEOPLE WHEN I AM SO YOUNG AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BEING A KING?
PLEASE GIVE ME AN UNDERSTANDING HEART ...
TO KNOW WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS EVIL, AND TO RULE YOUR PEOPLE WITH JUSTICE.
YOU COULD HAVE ASKED FOR LONG LIFE, OR GREAT WEALTH, OR VICTORY OVER YOUR ENEMIES ...
BUT INSTEAD YOU ASKED FOR WISDOM.
I WILL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU HAVE ASKED FOR AND ALL THAT YOU DID NOT ASK FOR AS WELL. IN ALL THE WORLD, THERE WILL BE NO OTHER KING AS GREAT AS YOU.
Huh?
A DREAM!
IT-IT WAS THE LORD ...
AN AMAZING PROMISE!
I WILL BUILD A BEAUTIFUL TEMPLE FOR YOU, MY LORD!
A TEMPLE LIKE NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN ...
IN ALL THE WORLD!
480 YEARS AFTER THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL LEFT EGYPT, SOLOMON BEGAN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LORD'S TEMPLE.
YOU CAN SEE THE EXACT DIMENSIONS IN THESE PLANS ... THE TEMPLE WILL BE 90 FEET LONG AND 45 FEET HIGH.
WE'RE GOING TO NEED AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF CEDAR WOOD FOR THE INTERIOR.
MY FATHER WAS FRIENDS WITH THE KING OF TYRE, AND THEY HAVE LOTS THERE.
SO I'M PLANNING ON ASKING KING HIRAM TO PROVIDE US WITH THE WOOD FOR THE CONSTRUCTION.
KING SOLOMON, THIS IS A WISE GESTURE OF PEACE TO SEEK HELP FROM OTHER NATIONS LIKE THIS.
YES! THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IN THE PAST WHEN EVERYONE WAS CONTINUALLY AT WAR.
TELL YOUR MASTER THAT I ACCEPT HIS REQUEST AND WILL SEND ALL THE WOOD HE NEEDS.
AND IN EXCHANGE, I WOULD HAPPILY RECEIVE A GIFT OF FOOD FOR MY HOUSEHOLD IN TYRE.
YES, SIR.
WHAT AN EXCELLENT DAY! TO SEE THAT THE LORD HAS GIVEN DAVID A WISE SON TO RULE AFTER HIM.
SOLOMON PUT ALL ISRAEL TO WORK.
30,000 MEN WERE SENT TO TYRE IN SHIFTS OF 10,000 TO CUT DOWN TREES.
70,000 MEN WERE BROUGHT TO MOVE WOOD AND STONE ...
3,600 MEN SUPERVISED THE WORKERS.
80,000 MEN CUT STONE FROM THE MOUNTAINS AND PREPARED IT FOR TRANSPORT AND BUILDING.
THE STONE AND WOOD WERE ALL BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM WHERE THE TEMPLE WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED.
EVERYTHING IS PROCEEDING WELL, YOUR HIGHNESS.
WE HAVE THE GOLD YOU REQUESTED FOR THE ALTAR AND THE MOST HOLY PLACE.
VERY GOOD.
THE HOLY OBJECTS WILL NEED TO BE CREATED WITH EXTRAORDINARY CARE ...
WE'LL NEED HIGHLY SKILLED CRAFTSMEN.
AFTER SEVEN YEARS OF WORK, THE TEMPLE WAS FINALLY COMPLETED.
SOLOMON CALLED TOGETHER ALL THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL ...
AND THE PRIESTS CARRIED THE ARK OF THE COVENANT INTO THE TEMPLE.
HUH? LOOK!
THE CLOUD!
THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS ON THE TEMPLE!
...
THE LORD SAID HE WOULD DWELL IN THE THICK CLOUD.
O LORD, GOD OF ISRAEL ...
THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU IN HEAVEN OR ON THE EARTH!
WOULD YOU REALLY CHOOSE TO LIVE HERE ...
WITH US IN THIS TEMPLE WE HAVE BUILT?
THERE IS NO PLACE IN HEAVEN OR ON EARTH THAT CAN CONTAIN YOU!
AND YET, LORD ...
PLEASE HEAR OUR PRAYERS AND WATCH OVER THIS PLACE.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from MANGA MESSENGERS by Joshua Ginter Copyright © 2011 by NEXT. Excerpted by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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