CHAPTER ONE

 

 

1:13-16:  “Canaan” = Notice that Canaan was the father of:  (14) The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, (15) And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, (16) And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.

 

1:19:  “divided” = This refers to the Tower of Babel, meaning in their languages and habitations.

 

1:38:  “Sier” = This Tribe/Nation was destroyed by Esau when he took over their land as his possession (see Deu. 2:12).  Interesting that our Lord takes the time to still list them.

 

1:50:  “Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab” = From “Adam Clark’s Commentary” we learn:  “This word [Hebrew word “Mezahab”] ‘mey zahab,’ is literally the golden waters; or What is gold?  The Targumist paraphrases thus:  ‘Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, was so earnest and diligent in business that she became immensely rich; but when she was converted, she said, What is this silver, and What is this gold?  That is, They are of no real worth.’ ”

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

 

2:7:  “Achar” = See Jos. 7:1 for the genealogy of Achan, i.e., “Achar” here.

 

2:16:  “Joab” = “sisters” = These are only David’s sisters because apparently David’s mother was married to Nahash (see 2Sa. 17:25) before she was married to Jesse, David’s father.

 

Here is my Second Samuel 2:18 Note:  Joab means, “Jehovah is his father.”  He was one of the three sons of Zeruiah, king David’s sister.  He was the oldest according to Second Samuel 2:18, but the second oldest according to First Chronicles 2:16.  The reason “oldest” is understood is because generally, in Jewish literate and Scripture, the oldest is always listed first on down the list.  However, this discrepancy can be explained in that Joab lost his status as being righteous.  And when that happens, the Scriptures will also lower your position.  Such as with Noah’s sons, where Shem is listed first because of his status as being in the line of Christ; but he was not the oldest.  See my Bible Study:  “CHRONOLOGICAL LAYOUT (ADAM TO 2000 A.D.).”

 

2:47:  “Jahdai” = If we are to stay with the context of a list of “Caleb’s concubines,” then “Jahdai” would be another of “Caleb’s concubines,” alone with the list of who her (6) sons were.

 

2:50:  “These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim” = The entire verse should be translated as:  “These were the sons of Caleb.  The son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim.”

 

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

 

3:18-21:  “Jecamiah” = As far as Jeconiah, everything is plain; but there is reason to suspect that the text in the subsequent verses has been dislocated and disarranged.  The object of the sacred historian is to trace the royal line through Zerubbabel; yet, according to the present reading, the genealogical stem cannot be drawn from Jeconiah downwards.

 

The following arrangement of the text is given as removing all difficulties from “Davidson’s Hermeneutics:”  “1 Chronicles 3:17.  And the sons of Jeconiah the captive, Salathiel (Shealtiel, Ezra 3:2, Nehemiah 12:1, Haggai 1:12, 14, 2:2) his son.

 

“First Chronicles 3:18.  And the sons of Salathiel; Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister.

 

“First Chronicles 3:19.  And Hashubah, and Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, Jushab-hezed.

 

“First Chronicles 3:20.  And Malchiram, and Rephaiah, and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.

 

“First Chronicles 3:21.  The sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah and Jesaiah; the sons of Rephaiah; his son Arnan, his son Obadiah, his son Shecaniah.”

 

If this rendering is true, then “Rephaiah” is a son of “Zerubbabel” (the main ancestral figure in the line of Christ anyway, and most likely the subject matter anyway) and we can continue the line from “Rephaiah.”

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

 

4:25:  “Shallum his son” = This is without doubt the son of the last named “Shaul,” who in Genesis 46:10 and Exodus 6:15, is called “the son of a Canaanitish woman,” and is thereby distinguished from the other sons.

 

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 

 

5:26:  “and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser” = This should read “even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser” not “and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser.”

 

Here is my Second Kings 15:29 Note:  “carried them captive” = “Not all who were carried captive were impenitent. Among them were some who had remained true to God, and others who had humbled themselves before Him.  Through these, ‘the sons of the Living God’ (Hosea 1:10), He would bring multitudes in the Assyrian realm to a knowledge of the attributes of His character and the beneficence of His Law.”  PK:292.

 

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

 

7:3:  “five” = Actually only four sons of “Izrahiah,” with the writer including “Izrahiah” in the list as being a son of “Uzzi.”

 

7:14:  “she” = Whom the “she” is we are not told, except to understand that this person would be his wife as opposed to the “Aramitess” “concubine.”

 

7:15:  “Maachah” = Daughter of Iri (or Ir), son of Benjamin.

 

“Zelophehad” = The text is confusing and seems out of context, in that “Zelophehad” is not another wife, but should be later on down in the genealogy.  The reason is because we know him to be the famous “Zelophehad” of Num. 26:33 and Numbers, Chapter 27, of which his five daughters came to Moses requesting land entitlement.

 

7:18:  “sister” = Meaning the “sister of “Gilead,” continuing from verse 17.

 

7:25:  Rephah was his son” = The “his,” takes on the meaning of being Beriah’s son.  Thus, instead of being additional sons, the next people listed are sons in lineage.

 

7:33:  “Shamer” = This is the brother of “Japhlet,” the personage of verse 32.

 

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

 

 

8:14-16:  “sons” = These sons would appear to be “the sons of Beriah,” verse 16, with verses 17 and 18 returning to “Elpaal” as the bearer of the next set of children.

 

8:19-21:  “Shimhi” = Based upon the fact that the writer returns to a former name (at this point), such as with “Beriah” and “Elpaal,” so “Shimhi” must be the “Shema” of verse 13, and these be the sons of the same; just as he returns to a former name in verse 25, and more importantly in verse 27, for which we do not know whom “Jeroham” is another name for, or just another person lost in the line.

 

8:39:  “his brother” = This person would equal “Azel.”

 

 

CHAPTER NINE

 

 

9:2:  “the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims” = The Israelites were the common people in general, the body politic; the priests would be the ecclesiastics who officiated in sacred things; the Levites would be those who ministered to the priests; and the Nethinims, of which the word is derived from a root word meaning, “to give,” were such persons as were “given,” as the word signifies, to do servile work for the sanctuary, such as to be hewers of wood and drawers of water:  such as were the Gibeonites (see Jos. 9:27) and those appointed by David for such work (see Ezra 8:20).

 

9:14:  “Merari” = Is actually the third son of Levi.

 

9:15:  “Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph” = These are from the line of Gershon, the son of Levi.

 

9:19:  “And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah” = These are sons of Izehar (alternatively named Izhar and or Aminadab).

 

9:28:  “tale” = The Hebrew word for “tale” is “mispar,” meaning “number.”  But, not just any “number.”  Its true meaning is an “abundance” of numbers.  Thus, the expression of phrase mean that they brought them out in abundance.

 

9:35-44:  “These chief fathers” = This equals almost the same list as in First Chronicles 8:29-38.

 

 

CHAPTER TEN

 

 

10:13-14:  “Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; (14) And inquired not of the Lord” = Here is the real reason for the death of Saul.

 

10:19:  “seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen” = Here is my Second Samuel 10:18 Note:  “slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen” = First Chronicles 10:19 states it as “seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen.”  The letter in the Hebrew before “zain,” expressed with a dot above, stands for seven thousand, while the letter in the Hebrew before “nun” stands for seven hundred.  This great similarity of letters might easily cause the one to be mistaken for the other, and so produce an error in this place.

 

If this sounds like an excuse, it is.  It could be a copyist’s error.  However, that is not the case.  If we take the supplied words, “men which fought in,” and “the men of,” we can see that no amount of men is given in this verse, only the seven hundred chariot count.  While the Chronicler gives us the amount of men slain.  Since the compilers of the “KJV”gave us so many expert and correct supplied words throughout the “KJV,” it is possible they are more inspired than you or I.  What it breaks down to is that there were 10 men per chariot team.  Again, the “KJV” translators gave us more information on true events than the other Bible versions that simply state this as a “copyist error.”

 

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

 

11:11:  “three hundred” = Here is my Second Samuel 23:8 Note:  “eight hundred” = It is highly probable that in this version instead of “yoshaiv bashshaiveth tachkemoni,” we should read, “yoshavam ben chachmoni,” “Joshebeam, son of Hachmoni” instead of “hoo adino haetzni,” “hoo orair eth chanitho,” meaning, “he lift up his spear,” which are the readings in the parallel passage in First Chronicles 11:11, where it is also stated as “three hundred,” instead of “eight hundred.”

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

 

13:3:  “for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul” = Interesting observation.

 

13:7-11:  “they carried the ark of God in a new cart” = Here is my Second Samuel 6:7 Note:  “Uzzah” = “For presuming to touch the symbol of God’s presence he was smitten with instant death.”  8T:284; MH:436.

 

“Uzzah was angry with the oxen, because they stumbled.  He showed a manifest distrust of God, as though He who had brought the ark from the land of the Philistines, could not take care of it.  Angels who attended the ark struck down Uzzah for presuming impatiently to put his hand upon the Ark of God.”  1SP:410; 4aSG:111; SR:191; TA:126.

 

“The fate of Uzzah was a Divine judgment upon the violation of a most explicit command.  Through Moses the Lord had given special instruction concerning the transportation of the Ark.  None but the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were to touch It, or even to look upon It uncovered.  The Divine direction was, ‘The sons of Kohath shall come to bear it:  but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.’  Numbers 4:15.  The priests were to cover the Ark, and then the Kohathites must lift it by the staves, which were placed in rings upon each side of the Ark and were never removed.  To the Gershonites and Merarites, who had in charge the curtains and boards and pillars of the tabernacle, Moses gave carts and oxen for the transportation of that which was committed to them.  ‘But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none:  because the service of the Sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.’  Numbers 7:9.  Thus in the bringing of the Ark from Kirjath-jearim there had been a direct and inexcusable disregard of the Lord’s Directions.

 

“David and his people had assembled to perform a sacred work, and they had engaged in It with glad and willing hearts; but the Lord could not accept the service, because it was not performed in accordance with His Directions.  The Philistines, who had not a knowledge of God’s Law, had placed the Ark upon a cart when they returned It to Israel, and the Lord accepted the effort which they made.  But the Israelites had in their hands a plain statement of the Will of God in all these matters, and their neglect of these Instructions was dishonoring to God.  Upon Uzzah rested the greater guilt of presumption.  Transgression of God’s Law had lessened his sense of Its sacredness, and with unconfessed sins upon him he had, in face of the Divine Prohibition, presumed to touch the Symbol of God’s presence.  God can accept no partial obedience, no lax way of treating His Commandments.  By the judgment upon Uzzah He designed to impress upon all Israel the importance of giving strict heed to His Requirements.  Thus the death of that one man, by leading the people to repentance, might prevent the necessity of inflicting judgments upon thousands.”  PP:705; CC:176.

 

“Uzzah meddled with the Ark, notwithstanding the plain Command of the Lord to regard It with fear and trembling, and to keep It sacred.  He had to be removed from the Lord’s Work.  God changes not.  Today He is just as desirous as in the days of Uzzah that men shall know His Ways, and that they shall reverence the Methods He has outlined for their guidance.  They are to carry out the plans He has Devised.  When men feel that it is unimportant to obey a ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in carrying forward His Work, but that their own plans should be followed, they thereby evidence unfitness for any position of trust in His cause.  In every effort to advance the interests of His Work, we must lose sight of self, and keep in view God’s glory.”  RH, September 14, 1905.

 

“God had Commanded that no hand but that of a consecrated priest should touch the sacred Repository of His Law, and special ceremonies of purification and preparation were enjoined; but Uzzah touched It with sinful, unhallowed hand, and was slain before the Lord.”  ST, July 24, 1884.

 

Let’s consider some other facts.  According to Numbers 4:15 this was the penalty for doing what Uzzah did.  Consider that the Arc was in the house of Abinadab for about a century (since 1Sa. 7:1).  Uzzah was at least thirty years old at the timing of this event.  We know this, for according to Numbers, Chapter 4 (verses 3, 23, 20, 25, 29, 43, 47) this was the minimal age for service in the position he occupied (2Sa. 6:3).  However, he was probably even older (but not over fifty, see Numbers, Chapter 4 again), since he is listed as a direct descendant of Abinadab (2Sa. 6:3).

 

Thirty intellectual years should have been sufficient enough time to acquaint him with the Holiness and reverence with which the Arc was to be respected.  He certainly must have been knowledgeable of the history of the Arc that led up to the events at Bethshemesh (1Sa. 6:21-7:7); which explained why the Arc was even in Kirjath-jearim abiding in his father’s house.  Yet with all of the Arc’s colorful history before him, his heart was not right with God and his presumption resulted in his untimely death.

 

 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 

 

15:21:  “Sheminith” = See Psa. 6:1 Note.

 

15:25:  “to bring up the Ark of the Covenant” = Here is my Second Samuel 6:12 Note:  “So David went and brought up the Ark of God” = “David laid off his kingly attire, and clothed himself with garments similar to the priests, which had never been worn before, that not the least impurity might be upon his clothing.”  4aSG:112; 1SP:411.

 

15:29:  “she despised him” = Here is my Second Samuel 6:16 Note:  “she despised him” = “The dignity and pride of king Saul’s daughter were shocked that king David should lay aside his garments of royalty, and his royal scepter, and be clothed with the simple linen garments worn by the priests [see 1Ch. 15:27].  She thought that he was greatly dishonoring himself before the people of Israel.  But God honored David in the sight of all Israel by letting His Spirit abide upon him.  David humbled himself, but God exalted him.  He sung in an inspired manner, playing upon the harp, producing the most enchanting music.  He felt, in a small degree, that holy joy that all the saints will experience at the voice of God when their captivity is turned, and God makes a Covenant of Peace with all who have kept His Commandments. ”  1SP:412; 4aSG:112.

 

 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 

 

16:20:  “nation to nation, and from one kingdom” = Here is my First Kings 18:10 Note:  “What is the difference between a “nation or” a “kingdom?”  I believe our Lord is attempting to point out something very important here and everywhere else He mentions a “nation or kingdom” in the same sentence or phrase.  When God mentions “nation” in this phrase He is meaning those composed of mankind.  By contrast, when He mentions “kingdom” in the same phrase, He means the spiritual realm which is composed of those who Satan drew away from God and those who are loyal to God.  In fact, when speaking of “nations,” God’s Word is not nor ever referring to the spiritual realm of God.  By contrast, when speaking of “kingdoms” the Word of God often refers to the spiritual realm of Deity.  Examples would be, “Kingdom of God,” Matthew 6:33; 12:28; 19:24; 21:31 & 43; Mark 1:14 & 15; 4:11; etcetera, etcetera.  Which side will you choose?

 

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

 

 

17:10:  “that the Lord will build thee an house” = Speaking of David’s posterity (descendants, see verse 11).

 

17:13-14:  “and I will” = These two verses are actually quoting Second Samuel 7:14-16.  However, it leaves out “If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men.”  Why?  Because the “house of David” is already at this time in ruins and been “chastened.”

 

 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

 

 

18:17:  “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada” = See Second Samuel 23:20.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

 

21:1:  “number Israel” = Here is my Second Samuel 24:1 Note:  “he” = The “he” in this verse equals “Satan.”  For proof of that see First Chronicles 21:1.  Then see James 1:13-14.  Then see my Bible Studies:  “BIBLE VERSIONS AFTER 1881 A.D. & BIBLE VERSIONS WE SHOULD AVOID.”  As an example, the AMP; AMPC; DRA (1899); ERV; HCSB; ICB; MSG; MEV; NASB; NKJV; NIRV; NLV; OJB; TLV; VOICE; and any other Bible versions I may have missed; change the lower case “he” to “He,” meaning our Loving Lord did this inconceivable thing, making our precious Lord out to be a monster.

 

According to Exodus 30:12, the people were to give an offering whenever a census was taken.and since that was not done we have the reason for the punishment of Second Samuel 24:15.

  

“David, in his prosperity, did not preserve that humility of character and trust in God which characterized the earlier part of his life.  He looked upon the accessions to the kingdom with pride, and contrasted their then prosperous condition with their few numbers and little strength when he ascended the throne, taking glory to himself.  He gratified his ambitious feelings in yielding to the temptations of the Devil to number Israel {1Ch. 21:1}, that he might compare their former weakness to their then prosperous state under his rule.  This was displeasing to God, and contrary to His express Command.  It would lead Israel to rely upon their strength of numbers, instead of the Living God.”  4aSG:92; 1SP:385.

 

“Though the people of Israel were proud of their national greatness, they did not look with favor upon David’s plan for so greatly extending the military service.  The proposed enrollment caused much dissatisfaction; consequently it was thought necessary to employ the military officers in place of the priests and magistrates, who had formerly taken the census.  The object of the undertaking was directly contrary to the principles of a theocracy.  Even Joab remonstrated, unscrupulous as he had heretofore shown himself. . . The taking of the census had caused disaffection among the people; yet they had themselves cherished the same sins that prompted David’s action.”  PP:748.2.

 

“With a view to extending his conquests among foreign nations, David determined to increase his army by requiring military service from all who were of proper age.  To effect this, it became necessary to take a census of the population.  It was pride and ambition that prompted this action of the king.”  TA:127.1.

 

21:2:  “Beersheba even to Dan” = The meaning is, “All of Israel.”  The tribe of Dan and its northern most city of Dan was in the northern most part of Israel, while the tribe of Simeon was in the southernmost part and Beersheba was its southernmost city.  It would be like saying (in the United States) “From New York to San Francisco,” meaning the entire United States.

 

21:5:  “a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand. . . four hundred threescore and ten thousand” = See my Second Samuel 24:9 Note.

 

First Chronicles 21:15; Exodus 32:14; Judges 2:18; First Samuel 15:11, 35; Jeremiah 42:10; Joel 2:13; Amos 7:3; Jonah 3:10; 4:2:  “repented” = This is not a change of mind (Num. 23:19; 1Sa. 15:29).  For God allows Himself to take either course of action in that divine warnings (and that is precisely what this is – a warning) are always conditional based upon the response of the people (Jer. 18:8).  While His judgments are sure (Gen. 6:6), “His mercy endures for ever,” First Chronicles 16:34.  For God even “repents” of the warnings forecasted events despite the desired response of the people (Deu. 32:36; Hos. 11:8).

 

21:12:  “three years” = Here is my Second Samuel 24:13 Note:  “seven years” = According to “Adam Clark’s Commentary on the Bible,” “In 1Ch. 21:12, the number is three, not seven; and here the Septuagint has three, the same as in Chronicles:  this is no doubt the true reading, the letter t zain, Seven, being mistaken for 2 gimel, Three.  A mistake of this kind might be easily made from the similarity of the letters.”

 

In other words, the Hebrew numbers for “three” and “seven” are very close.  Is it a “t” or a “2,” when attempting to read a Manuscript that is over 500 to 1,000 years old?

 

 

21:16:  “saw the angel of the Lord” = Here is my Second Samuel 24:17 Note:  “The angel, clad in warlike garments, with a drawn sword in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem, is revealed to David, and to those who are with him.”  1SP:386; 4aSG:92.

 

21:18-26:  “the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite” = “This spot, memorable as the place where Abraham had built the altar to offer up his son, and now hallowed by this great deliverance, was afterward chosen as the site of the temple erected by Solomon.”  PP:748.

 

21:25:  “sex hundred shekels of gold” = Here is my Second Samuel 24:24 Note:  “fifty shekels of silver” = First Chronicles 21:25 gives as the price “six hundred shekels of gold” for, “the place” or all of Araunah’s land, not just the “threshingfloor and the Oxen” as here, for the silver payment.  Araunah’s land was the entire hill of Moriah on which the Temple was later to be built.  The correct to read this passage would be that David bought the “threshingfloor,” First Chronicles 21:25, for 600 shekels of gold and the “oxen” for “fifty shekels of silver.”

 

“He [David] has learned by experience that the Lord will in no case sanction wrong doing, whether it be found in the loftiest prince, or the humblest subject, but would visit the leader of His people with as much severer punishment as his position is more responsible than the humble subject’s.”  4aSG:94.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

 

22:1:  “David said” = “An angel was commissioned to stand by David while he was writing out, for the benefit of Solomon, the important directions in regard to the arrangement of the house.”  1SP:388.

 

22:7:  “it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord” = Here is my Second Samuel 12:24-25 Note:  “Jedidiah” = “Jedidiah” means “beloved of Yahweh [the Lord],” while “Solomon” means “to be quiet,” or “peaceful,” and Jedidiah is considered to be the names that marked him as the successor to the throne.  See First Chronicles 22:7-9.

 

“The closing years of David’s life were marked with faithful devotion to God.  He mourned over his sins and departure from God’s just Precepts, which had darkened his character, and given occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.  The Lord, through His angel, instructed David, and gave him a pattern of the House which Solomon [388]

 

“should build for Him.  An angel was commissioned to stand by David while he was writing out, for the benefit of Solomon, the important directions in regard to the arrangement of the House.  David’s heart was in the work.  He manifested an earnestness and devotion in making extensive preparations for the building, and spared neither labor nor expense, but made large donations from his own treasury, thereby setting a noble example before his people, which they did not hesitate to follow with willing hearts.”  1SP:387-388.

 

“He has learned by experience that the Lord will in no case sanction wrong-doing, whether it be found in the loftiest prince or the humblest subject, but would visit the leader of his people with as much severer punishment as his position is more responsible than that of the humblest subject.  The sins committed by the leaders of Israel would have an influence to lessen the heinousness of crime in the minds and consciences of the people, and would be brought to the notice of other nations, who fear not God, but who trample upon His Authority; and they would be led to blaspheme the God of Israel.”  1SP:388.

  

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 

 

23:5:  “four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments” = “The four thousand musicians, divided into twenty-four courses, were each led by twelve men especially instructed and skillful in the use of musical instruments.”  RH, October 5, 1905.

 

23:9:  “The sons of Shimei” = Not him that was the son of Gershon, but a descendant of Laadan.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

 

 

26:1:  “Asaph” = This is another name for “Ebiasaph.”  See my First Chronicles 9:19 Note.

 

26:29:  “officers” = The word rendered “officers” is the term which signifies scribes or secretaries, so that the Levitical class here described were magistrates.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

 

 

27:18:  “Elihu” = This is only another form of the name “Eliab,” David’s eldest brother.

 

27:32:  “Jonathan David’s uncle” = A better translation would be “Jonathan, to whom David was uncle.”

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

 

 

28:2:  “The footstool of our God” = David views the Ark as God’s “footstool,” Psalm 99:5, because He was enthroned above it visibly in the Shechinah, or luminous cloud, present from time to time above the mercy seat and between the cherubim.  And or, the house for the ark is here styled as a house for the “footstool of our God,” in that Heaven is His throne, the earth His “footstool.”