W. Cleon Skousen Insights

The W Cleon Skousen Library
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Religious and political insights from W. Cleon Skousen

  1. 4d ago

    OT 27 Solomon Builds the Great Temple

    Text: 1 Kings chapter 4-8 Supplemental Text: The Fourth Thousand Years chapter 9 BYU Lecture 32:  Solomon now wants to construct a temple as was instructed by his father David and from the Lord. He reaches out to Hiram, King of Lebanon, who built David’s palace and humbly asks for his help. Hiram responds marvelously and promises to gift Solomon all the lumber and craftsmen needed for the job. Solomon need only provide manpower and food. Solomon sends 30,000 to Lebanon to help with the cutting of lumber and 150,000 to haul and hew the massive stone material. The location of the temple was on the peak of Mount Moriah and was therefore required to build huge walls on the 3 descending sides and cut out the mountain on the inclining side. Large rocks were used to fill the empty space until the 35 acre area, called Temple Square, could be leveled and smoothed for the temple building itself. This massive endeavor took 3 years to complete. Also constructed were giant cisterns to hold millions of gallons of water required for use in the sacrifices. These cisterns were carved out of the mountain rock and were supplied with water from aqueducts constructed, beginning at Solomon’s Pools about 10 miles away. The temple itself was now ready for construction. The general plan was identical to the ancient Tabernacle except that it was twice as long (90 feet), twice as wide (30 feet) and three times as high (45 feet). The entire construction was done by pre-fabrication and then quietly and reverently put into place so as to maintain the sacredness of the grounds. The temple had 2 courtyards, an inner courtyard for the sacrifices and an outer courtyard for all to enter and worship. It took nearly 8 years to complete the temple construction, after which the Ark of the Covenant and Tabernacle of Moses were brought from their locations into the temple. After 7 days of sanctification, King Solomon held a Solemn Assembly and dedicated this magnificent new temple to the Lord.

  2. Jul 19

    OT 26 The Closing Years of David and the Rise of Solomon

    Text: 2 Samuel chapters 15-24; 1 Kings chapters 1-3; 1 Chronicles chapters 28-29 Supplemental Text: The Fourth Thousand Years chapters 7-8 BYU Lecture 31:  As David declines in life, his son Absalom conspires to kill David and take the throne, assisted by David’s traitorous prime minister Ahithophel. The rebellion becomes so threatening that David abandons Jerusalem to save the city from the ravages of civil war. Eventually, David’s army confronts the army of Absalom in the woods of Ephraim. David’s battle-tested “600 mighty ones” took control of the fight and Absalom’s army was devastated with over 20,000 killed. Absalom flees for his life through the forest and is caught by the gnarling branches of a tree, jerked from his racing mule and is left swinging helplessly in the air. David’s commanding officer, Joab, finds and kills Absalom. David mourns over the loss of this rebellious son. David now prepares all things to strengthen Israel, fortifies the government, gathers material for the new temple, reorganizes the lessor Priesthood into quorums, and establishes temple choirs and orchestras. As King David weakens from old age, another son named Adonijah seeks the throne. The prophet Nathan, with the understanding that God named Solomon as David's heir, hastens to Bathsheba in hopes of convincing the ailing David of the crisis. Between the two, David was provoked and arose from his deathbed, calling for the prophet to anoint Solomon king of Israel. Hearing the trumpets and commotion of this great anointing, Adonijah and his supporters abandon their own feast of celebration and flee for their lives. For now, Solomon spares their lives. The great King David dies at the age of 70. King Solomon rules the kingdom in righteousness and humility. The Lord appears to him in a dream and grants him wisdom, riches, honor and long life – as long as Solomon remains faithful to the Lord. In great appreciation, Solomon offers sacrifice and begins the task of building a magnificent temple to the Lord.

  3. Jul 12

    OT 25 The Fall of King David

    Text: 2 Samuel chapters 10-14 Supplemental Text: The Fourth Thousand Years chapter 6 BYU Lecture 30 -  Now that Israel is united and has conquered the lands as prophesied, spread from the Euphrates River to the Egyptian border, King David spends his time putting down skirmishes from the neighboring Ammonites and Syrians. While resting in Jerusalem, King David takes a stroll and looks upon Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his royal guard. David is struck by her beauty and invites her to the palace while her husband was away on the battlefield. They become romantically involved and commit adultery, in which Bathsheba becomes pregnant. To cover his sin, David concocts a plan to send Uriah to the battlefront in hopes he is killed, which he was. David and Bathsheba are quickly married, but the Lord wasn’t going to let this behavior stay a secret. The prophet Nathan was sent to David and revealed Davd’s secret to him and prophecies that David’s house will be afflicted by the sword, that evil will dwell within his household and he will lose his wives to others. Bathsheba has her baby and it dies. From this time forward, David writes his mournful psalms. Evil prevails within David’s household, as his son Amnon rapes his own sister Tamar. Amnon’s brother Absalom is so enraged he murders Amnon and prepares to take the throne of his father David.

  4. Jul 5

    OT 24: The Rise of Israel to Greatness

    Text: 2 Samuel chapters 6-9 Supplemental Text: The Fourth Thousand Years chapter 5 BYU Lecture 29: After battling Abner and the northern 10 tribes, King David unites all of Israel and moves the capital city from Hebron to Jerusalem. Peace in Israel, however, is short lived. The Philistines (Canaanites) rally their forces against Israel to attack King David – their Goliath killer. David inquires of the Lord what to do and is promised that the Philistines will be delivered into his hands. Sure enough, David’s army soundly conquers the invading armies. Meanwhile, King Hiram of Lebanon (Phoenicians) sought a friendly alliance with Israel. He offers to build a fine palace for David, made from the famous cedars of Lebanon. He even provided the masons and carpenters to complete this beautiful, massive project. With his palace completed, David desires to build a beautiful house of the Lord. In anticipation of this, he sends for the Ark of the Covenant to be delivered to Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the holy process of moving the Ark was neglected and David was careless. Rather than instructing the Priests of Aaron to carry the Ark on their shoulders, as commanded by God several hundred years earlier, it was placed on a cart pulled by oxen. Enroute, the cart faltered and the Ark itself appeared to be in jeopardy of falling. Uzzah, sensing a tragedy, reached up to steady the Ark. This was in violation with God’s command that no one but the Priests of Aaron may touch the sacred Ark. Immediately, Uzzah was struck dead. Realizing his carelessness, David called and authorized Priests of Aaron to carry the Ark on ther shoulders the remainder of the way to Jerusalem. An important lesson was learned that day; God will not be mocked. In humility, David wanted to build a holy temple to house the Ark, but through the prophet Nathan, the Lord forbad him. He did, however, give David the pattern for the temple when it would be built by his son Solomon. The Lord also promised David that he would be the ancestor of the great Messiah. David expands the might and strength of Israel until it borders the very lands as promised specifically by God to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses.

  5. Jun 28

    Celebrating Our Constitution

    Join W. Cleon Skousen as he walks the room from history to the present, weaving dramatic Founding-era stories with a lawyer’s sober account of how the Constitution’s 248 principles were meant to protect liberty — and how many have been unraveled. Through vivid anecdotes about Jefferson, Adams, and Washington, he reveals the quiet, deliberate choices that created America and the slow shifts that have taken it off course. Skousen’s talk becomes part memoir, part warning, and part blueprint: he explains the consequences of monetary change, federal overreach, and lost states’ rights, then sketches an unexpected hope — a restored system of law and community built on reparative justice and timeless principles called God’s law. It’s a passionate call to study, stand, and prepare, told with courtroom clarity, pioneer grit, and the conviction that a nation can be remade if enough people learn what the founders intended.

  6. Jun 21

    OT 23 David Becomes King of Israel

    Text: 2 Samuel chapters 1-4 Supplemental Text: The Fourth Thousand Years chapter 4 BYU Lecture 28: David learns of the death of King Saul and his son Jonathan. Rather than rejoicing from the news that his tormentor Saul was dead, he went into fasting and mourning. David writes a sad song lamenting the passing of Saul, the Lord’s anointed, and of Jonathan, his dear friend. But even with the death of King Saul, it wouldn’t be for nearly 8 years before David was recognized as the anointed King of all twelve tribes of Israel. Once recognized as King, David moves the capital of Israel from Hebron to Mount Moriah, known later as Jerusalem. Now that Israel was united with their new king, Israel begins preparations to arise to her greatness. However, their dreaded enemy, the Philistines, were preparing to destroy this new threat.

  7. Jun 14

    OT 22 The Fall of King Saul

    Text: 1 Samuel chapters 22-31 Supplemental Text: The Fourth Thousand Years chapter 3 BYU Lecture 27: King Saul, bitter and feeling rejected by nearly all he trusted, sought the life of David in a tirade. He calls on the prophet Ahimelech, accusing him of treason for siding with David. Saul has the prophet killed along with 85 temple priests. David and his army of 600 loyalists continually flee from Saul and his vast armies. At En-geti, David has the opportunity to kill Saul while asleep in the very cave David is hiding. Instead of killing the man who sought madly to take his life, David recognizes the divine anointing of Saul as King by the prophet Samuel and merely cuts off a piece of his cloak, showing he had power and opportunity to kill Saul, but chose not to. David uses this as a negotiation tactic to find peace with Saul. This works, but only for a short time. Saul again launches a new war on David. Marching his army and obsessed with the task of killing David, Saul is caught off guard when attacked by the Philistines. The war goes poorly for Israel, and Jonathan, Saul’s son and beloved friend of David, is slain. When Saul realizes all is lost, he falls on his sword and takes his own life.

  8. Jun 7

    OT 21 Saul's Campaign to Murder David

    Text: 1 Samuel 18 - 21 Supplemental Text: The Fourth Thousand Years chapter 2 BYU Lecture 26: David exercises his faith in God and confronts Goliath, killing him with a rock and sling. David suddenly becomes a military hero to the people of Israel. He meets and befriends the crown prince of Israel, Jonathan – son of King Saul. With all the praise for David from the people of Israel, Saul becomes jealous and feels his power threatened, especially since the prophet Samuel informed Saul that God is planning to replace him with another man, a king worthy of God. King Saul becomes psychotic and makes five failed attempts to kill David. As tension rises, David slips through the land of Israel – seeking refuge in priestly tents, feigning madness in enemy courts, and secretly settles within his own homeland, the land of Judah. David begins to gather followers and allies. As counseled by the prophet Gad, David stays in Judah waiting upon the Lord until circumstances allow him to rise as king of Israel.

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Religious and political insights from W. Cleon Skousen

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  • Creator
    The W Cleon Skousen Library
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    274
  • Rating
    Clean
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    W. Cleon Skousen Insights