OTHCC Chapter 24: items 461

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Read 1 Sam 17. David was able to defeat Goliath

a.   by God's power.
b.   by tricking Goliath.
c.   by using Saul's armor.

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By the way, a cubit is the length between your elbow and your forefinger (15-22 inches), and a span is half that. A man ''six cubits and a span'' [1 Sam 17:4] would have been 9-12 feet tall, at least twice as tall as the average man then. However, the ''literal sense'' of this passage is probably that of a hero story, in which many details are true, but exaggerated in some way. <<

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David is anointed king over all Israel, and takes Jerusalem. The Jebusites consider the city so strongly fortified that even the lame and the blind could defend it, if need be. Read 2 Sam 5:1-10. Jerusalem, the city of David, is identified with Salem, the capital of Melchizedek. What is Zion?

a.   a city.
b.   a hill.
c.   a river.

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Read Ps 9:13-14. Who is the ''daughter of Zion''?

a.   Eve.
b.   Jerusalem.
c.   Jezebel.

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Read 2 Sam 6:16-19. Where did David place the Ark of the Covenant, the place where God dwelt among his people?

a.   in a great temple.
b.   in David's castle.
c.   in Jerusalem.

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Read First Kings, 1 Kings 6:1-13. Who built the great Temple in Jerusalem?

a.   David.
b.   Jeroboam.
c.   Solomon.

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First recall that 10,000 BC is farther back in time than 1 BC. Roughly speaking, scholars date the time of David and Solomon as around

a.   1000 BC.
b.   900 BC.
c.   800 BC.

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Here is an account of when the Ark of the Covenant was brought from the ''tent of meeting'' (the Tabernacle) to the Temple that Solomon had built in Jerusalem. Read First Kings, 1 Kings 8. The prayer at the dedication of the Temple

a.   ignores God's promise and covenant.
b.   relies on God's promise and covenant.
c.   spurns God's promise and covenant.

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Read 1 Kings 8. The prayer at the dedication of the Temple

a.   ignores God's mighty deeds at the Exodus.
b.   recalls God's mighty deeds at the Exodus.
c.   rejects God's mighty deeds at the Exodus.

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In 1 Kings 8, the prayer at the dedication of the Temple is made by

a.   the high priest.
b.   the king.
c.   the people.

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In 1 Kings 8, the prayer at the dedication of the Temple is made

a.   not on behalf of the king, but of the entire people, and the generations to come.
b.   on behalf of the king and the entire people, but not the generations to come.
c.   on behalf of the king, the entire people, and the generations to come.

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In 1 Kings 8, the prayer at the dedication of the Temple is made

a.   for the forgiveness of sins and for daily needs.
b.   for the forgiveness of sins but not for daily needs.
c.   not for the forgiveness of sins but for daily needs.

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In 1 Kings 8, in the prayer at the dedication of the Temple, the Lord is asked to maintain the cause of his servant, Israel, so that

a.   all the nations can know God and Israel can remain faithful to him.
b.   all the nations can know God even if Israel can not remain faithful to him.
c.   Israel can remain faithful to him and defeat the nations who do not know God.

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The Temple is the place where God dwells on earth with his people. Our Lord referred to his own body as the temple, which would be destroyed, but raised up in three days. [John 2:18-22]

Secondly, by the power of the Holy Spirit, at Mass Jesus Christ is really present as the King who prays on behalf of his people, and as the High Priest who makes present the offering of his own body as a perfect sacrifice to the Father. [compare CCC 1367]

Thus the Church sees, in the prayer and sacrifices Solomon made to God at the Temple for and on behalf of the people, a type of the Mass and of Christ. <<

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Read Ps 78. Now re-read Ps 78:56-72. The psalmist says that the sinfulness of the people caused God to forsake his dwelling at Shiloh and to choose the tribe of Judah and the city of Jerusalem for his dwelling. Many scholars think that by pointedly making the reference to Shiloh, the psalmist not only praises Jerusalem and Judah but also implies that

a.   Jerusalem and Judah will keep covenant with the Lord faithfully forever.
b.   no amount of sinfulness could cause God to abandon Judah and Jerusalem.
c.   the sinfulness of the people might cause God to abandon Judah and Jerusalem.

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All Israel (that is, the Kingdom of Judah) is under the control of the ''king of the Chaldeans,'' the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. The prophet Jeremiah has previously counseled Zedekiah to submit to Babylon's rule. Read Jeremiah, Jer 25:1-11. Now read Second Chronicles, 2 Chr 36:11-21. Also, compare this passage to Ps 78:62-64. What happens to Jerusalem?

a.   it and the Temple are destroyed, and its people are killed or taken as slaves.
b.   it endures a great battle and severe trials, but its people emerge unscathed.
c.   it remains unshaken by the trials going around it, because of God's help.

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Read Ps 137. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the exile in Babylon

a.   caused all the people of Israel to abandon God.
b.   had a very deep effect on the people of Israel.
c.   had very little effect on the people of Israel.

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Read 2 Chr 36:22-23. Did the Babylonian captivity ever end, and were Jerusalem and the Temple eventually rebuilt?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

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Read Ezra 3. Read Nehemiah, Neh 8:1-11. After the Exile, the people of Israel

a.   did not rebuild the Temple but began again to hear and understand the Law.
b.   rebuilt the Temple and began again to hear and understand the Law.
c.   rebuilt the Temple but failed again to hear and understand the Law.

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Every year, three great festivals were celebrated in the Temple and its surrounding court. Passover was the first, in the spring. Now read Tobit, Tob 2:1. Pentecost was the next great feast, celebrated seven weeks after Passover. Read Deuteronomy, Deut 16:13-15. Finally, Ingathering or the Feast of Booths was celebrated in the fall.

The ''bread of the Presence'' or showbread consisted of twelve loaves of unleavened bread that were brought every Sabbath and set aside on a special table for the priests. The bread of the Presence was a reminder of the LORD's covenant with the twelve tribes of Israel. Read Leviticus, Lev 24:5-9.

From CCC 2581:

''For the People of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in prayer: pilgrimages, feasts and sacrifices, the evening offering, the incense, and the bread of the Presence (''shewbread'') - all these signs of the holiness and glory of God Most High and Most Near were appeals to and ways of prayer.'' <<

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