1 Kings 12:25-33 - Golden Calves of Manmade Worship

1 Kings 12:25-33

Jeroboam’s Gold Calves

25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.

Jeroboam ruled all Israel minus Judah since the split with Rehoboam but quickly went astray from the LORD after building two cities and asking bad advice.  He had used reason over the commandments of God concerning worship because the temple and altar of worship was in Jerusalem under Rehoboam’s rule in Judah and he feared the people of Israel would leave him to worship there and turn on him to kill him as they went back under the reign of Rehoboam.  He repeated the sin of Aaron before Moses at the foot of mount Sinai where Aaron’s decision was likewise moved with reason to fabricate a golden calf to worship in order to avoid a riot or exodus of the people from that place.  Jeroboam went much further, however, in that he had two golden calves made as false gods and attributed their deliverance to them instead of the Almighty, just as Aaron had done.  He set these up in Bethel, which was named as God’s city, and Dan at the northern edge of Israel, far from Jerusalem and true worship as prescribed by the LORD.  This became sin to Israel and was compounded by assigning priests from common men of every station of life instead of the tribe set aside and chosen by God.  He put false high priests on the high places of worship and sacrificed offerings to other gods according to the days and times of his own imagination and not according to the word of God as was given through Moses, another sinful deviation from true worship in the temple at Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 14) erected according to the (Hebrews 8:5) heavenly pattern.  He broke the first commandment with impunity to keep the people under his control and rule, much as fringe groups and cults have done in and to the church over the centuries and to this day.  How we need to always set our aim to worship the Lord in spirit and truth according to the scriptures and not according to the imagination and dictates of men as they devise in their own hearts and put in religious writings that supersede or even replace the word of God!  How we who know these things from examples like this need to remember and remind ourselves an one another to keep to the narrow road of life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3, 1 Timothy 6:3, 11-12) found there to guide us to the altar of His sacrifice (Hebrews 9:23, 24-25, 26) on the cross and not with added conditions or requirements as golden calves of manmade worship contrary (Matthew 15:9, 1 John 5:19, 20) to true worship on the altar of God’s grace in Christ alone by faith alone. 

1 Kings 12:1-24 - Bad Counsel, Revolt and Rebellion

1 Kings 12:1-24

The Revolt Against Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 10:1–19; 11:1–4)

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

7 And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

“What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!”

So Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

21 And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.”’” Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.

Jeroboam the servant of Solomon who rose up against the king then fled to Egypt to escape execution and had been told by the prophet Ahijah that he would rule after Solomon, this valiant man was asked to return by the son of Solomon, Rehoboam who reigned as king by succession but not by divine decree.  Jeroboam asked Rehoboam to ease up on the people because he thought Solomon had ruled with an iron fist, but bad youthful counsel swayed Rehoboam to clamp down even more harshly than his father, resulting in a revolt against him with misused authority.  He listened to his friends instead of God’s leading through Jeroboam as the prophet Ahijah had predicted.  This was the catalyst the LORD set in place to split the kingdom of Judah under Rehoboam from the other tribes of Israel who rebelled against his authority which they saw as oppressive compared to Jeroboam who now led Israel.  This is why Israel had been in rebellion against the house of David to the time of this account and for a long time afterwards as predicted to David after his sin with Bathsheba that began this downward spiral.  Most of Israel, except the people of Judah, rejected any part of their inheritance in David the son of Jesse, ironic since Judah was the line of the Messiah to come which the majority of the people of God had rejected.  When Rehoboam gathers the army of Judah to attack the other tribes of Israel who revolted, the LORD stopped him with His word and they obeyed.  Nevertheless, the consequences of sin echoed down through time with reverberations of rebellion and destruction caused by revolt resulting from bad counsel, yet God’s plan was not interrupted or swayed from the predetermined path He set and prophetically announced to the people by His prophets that culminated in the arrival of (Hebrews 1:1-2) His Son as the ultimate prophet and anointed King Messiah.  He would redeem the promises to all His people by faith as of Abraham (Romans 4:1, Galatians 3:6) who trusted the God of the plan as the Seed by David (John 7:42, Romans 1:3-4) through whom the lineage according to the flesh came to pass in Bethlehem.  Our rebellion against God since Eden has been acquitted by the work of Jesus the Christ as prophetically promised to all who went before us, whom we now receive by repentance from our spiritual revolt against Him as we by faith turn to Him for a promised new united kingdom under His sovereign rule according to His predetermined plan since (2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2-3, 1 Peter 1:20) before time began.  Good counsel of the gospel now unites us. 

1 Kings 11:14-43 - Adversaries, Rebellion, and Death

1 Kings 11:14-43

Adversaries of Solomon

14 Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom. 15 For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, after he had killed every male in Edom 16 (because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him. Hadad was still a little child. 18 Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.

21 So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”

22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country?”

So he answered, “Nothing, but do let me go anyway.”

23 And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, when David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

26 Then Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.

27 And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: Solomon had built the Millo and repaired the damages to the City of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.

29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. 34 However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes. 36 And to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there. 37 So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’”

40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Death of Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:29–31)

41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

The account of king Solomon ends with the consequences of his sins of idolatry and immorality with his many pagan wives.  We see the adversaries raised against him by the LORD in judgment, the rebellion of Solomon’s servant (1 Kings 11:11) as promised, and finally the end of Solomon and his reign gone astray.  This is a warning to deal with sin and to not put anything or anyone above the Lord God in our hearts and actions.  The consequences of sin is death (Romans 6:23) which we have been redeemed from, yet may follow in physical but not spiritual death if unrepentant sin festers (1 Corinthians 11:30-32) and not dealt with.  All our God-given wisdom and sincere work for the Lord will be remembered and their effects will be seen in others after us, but sin leaves a stain on those if not washed whiter than snow by ongoing confession and repentance (1 John 1:9) from them.  We will face more adversity by adversaries if we continue in sin unchecked.  We should not rebel against the Lord by sin or our adversaries will take advantage of us and death may follow in some case if sin is left unrepentant.  May we then observe and learn from the life and examples of others gone before us like Solomon, especially in light of Christ’s work on the cross and resurrection from death to life we celebrate on this Resurrection Day as we reflect on what life we have been given and who we are to live (Romans 14:8, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 5:15, 1 Peter 3:10, 4:2, Galatians 2:20) for now.  

1 Kings 11:1-13 - Sin Defiled Solomon’s Temple

1 Kings 11:1-13

Solomon’s Heart Turns from the LORD

1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

9 So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. 11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

King Solomon was like the children of Israel who left the bondage of sinful immorality and idolatry in Egypt but did not have the Egypt in them leave him.  He turned back to both immorality and idolatry through marriage with not only the archetypical wife of idolatry, the Pharaoh’s daughter, but also many from the idolatrous Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites whom the LORD had commanded to avoid due to their corruptive influences on the soul.  His heart went the way the LORD had warned them all of as it turned to other dead imaginary gods and broke the first commandment to satisfy his desires for pleasing himself and disregard for pleasing God.  He clung to these and refused to let them go in rebellion against God, with disastrous consequences.  The LORD told him that He would rip the kingdom from him and hand it over to his servant in the end after he had left the earth in honor of His promise to his father David to pass the kingdom down through his lineage until the Messiah would come to rule permanently.  Even then God would leave a remnant tribe to Solomon’s son (Judah) for the sake of that promise.  The Lion of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:9, 10), Jesus Christ, would arise in the end after all this disobedience (Hebrews 7:14) to redeem the remnant of those promised eternal life in Him as the Seed of promise to Abraham and David (Acts 3:25, 13:22-23, Romans 1:3, 2 Timothy 2:8) through this messianic line.  Even though God’s people could not get the Egypt out of themselves after He led them out from the bondage of sin in Egypt, He redeemed them.  He also has promised to hold us firmly in His hand (John 10:28-29) through His unbreakable covenant in His Son, even when we allow ourselves to go back to the spiritual Egypt of sins such as immorality and the resulting idolatry of Solomon as we are pulled away by unbelievers in unequal yoking or association that leads us to follow them away from the Lord, even so He will lead us back as promised to the kingdom prepared (Matthew 25:34, 2 Corinthians 5:4-5, Ephesians 2:10) for us from the beginning of time according to our calling of promise.  We have this example to remember that we do not fall away (1 Corinthians 10:6-7, 11) as we turn to the Lord for grace to help in such times (Hebrews 4:16, 1 Corinthians 10:13) to stand against such tugs of the world and our flesh against His Spirit and word in us, just as we read here that overwhelmed Solomon with a return to sin’s bondage of how sins of immorality to love and marry the ungodly turned his heart away to (1 Corinthians 10:14, Colossians 3:5) idolatry.  Sin defiled Solomon’s temple as it does ours; may we take heed to this account as a warning and keep our own temples clean (1 Corinthians 6:18-19, 20, 2 Corinthians 6:15-16) from such things and teach others the same. 

1 Kings 10:14-29 - God’s Abundant Supply

1 Kings 10:14-29

Solomon’s Great Wealth

14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traveling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country.

16 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had merchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. 23 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.

26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.

28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 29 Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon experienced God’s an abundant supply of wisdom, but also of nearly endless provision of material goods as well.  He ruled in the wisdom of the LORD as he had begged God to have (2 Chronicles 1:11, 12) for his people and the LORD promised him the riches he never asked for or sought after.  We who are in Christ also find that our truly fulfilling desires are not for prosperity of material wealth, but of the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord through His word and Spirit that we may serve Him and others in acceptable fear (Matthew 6:31, Philippians 4:19, 1 Peter 4:11) and awe with thankful hearts for all His grace and goodness of provision and providence.  Whether we have luxury or poverty, we are rich in the wisdom and knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord!  We later see how the love of riches can corrupt with pride and sin that rot from within when our valuation of material possessions overtakes the true riches (Jeremiah 9:23, 24, Luke 12:21, 1 Timothy 6:6, 17) we possess in our great God and Savior, (Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1) Jesus Christ.  We find wisdom in 2 Peter 3:16, 17 to avoid false doctrines of seeking possessions over wisdom that some erroneously teach today as we choose instead to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He is our greatest gifted possession and our wealth is founded on and in His love and grace as adopted sons and daughters of the true and only wise King.  May we then humbly pursue knowledge of and knowing Him as our greatest possession and reward and not allow the thorns of life to choke out our joy in following and serving Him as living sacrifices in continuous contentment amidst the calls of the world or bad teachings around us.  God’s love in His abundant supply (2 Corinthians 9:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:1) is all we need. 

Kings 10:1-13 - Awe and Wonder of God’s Wisdom

1 Kings 10:1-13

The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:1–28)

1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. 8 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”

10 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 And the king made steps of the almug wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day.

13 Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

When the Queen of Sheba heard all about this great king Solomon of Israel after his fame related to the name of the LORD, she journeyed to meet him.  Her intention was to test him with hard questions to see if all she heard about his God-given wisdom was true.  She came to Jerusalem with a very great company and brought spices, gold, and precious stones to offer as gifts to honor him.  When she stood before Solomon, she opened up with many questions for the wise king that filled her restless and searching heart.  The answers she received left her speechless, humbled to the core, and in awe of his answers of wisdom (2 Chronicles 1:10) with added immense wealth (2 Chronicles 1:11, 12) surrounding him that had all been given by the LORD God to him for leading his people in wisdom and knowledge to rule with sound judgment.  She came dubiously and left in awe and wonder in the face of a truth far beyond her imagination as she saw it all with her own eyes!  His wisdom and prosperity exceeded the stories of the fame which was told to her by others.  How much more do we who come to know Jesus Christ as the Seed of David, one infinitely wiser than Solomon (Luke 11:31), how much more do we fall to our knees in wonder when we grasp what little we can of His unlimited wisdom and righteous rule over us and the gifts given (Ephesians 4:7-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4, Luke 12:31, Philippians 4:19) in the inner and outer man under the throne of His grace in the kingdom of God within!  The Son has been set on the throne at the right hand of power and authority (Matthew 28:18) of the Father to rule over us all in truth and righteousness, with justice and mercy (Psalm 85:10-11, 13) as our all wise (Jude 1:25) and gracious King of kings and Lord of lords.  The Queen of Sheba left in awe and wonder as well as priceless gifts in such abundance to her home afterwards, an encouragement to us that we have received so much more (Ephesians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 2:9) than the lives we forfeit (Matthew 10:39, John 12:25) in surrender to the gracious rule under His worthy lordship.  May we find this kind awe and wonder of God’s wisdom as the Queen of Sheba did in the presence of the King whose Seed of promise sits eternally in heaven above, but in a more profound and unbounded amount as we stand in awe of Him and fall to our knees in submission and worship of the King of kings.  

1 Kings 9:10-28 - Worthless Gifts and Forced Labor

1 Kings 9:10-28

Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts

10 Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house 11 (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of Cabul, as they are to this day. 14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

Solomon’s Additional Achievements (2 Chronicles 8:3–16)

15 And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the LORD, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) 17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— 21 that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.

23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.

24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.

25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the LORD, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the temple.

26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

The cities given as gifts by Solomon to Hiram of Syria for all his gifts of cedar for building the temple and other houses, these were seen as “like nothing” to Hiram who was very disappointed in the worthless token gifts, but he still then provided Solomon one hundred and twenty talents of gold to keep the peace and relationship between them as with king David his father before him.  Solomon had also used forced labor to build all these things from those left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, residents Israel had not been able to destroy completely as God had commanded them when claiming the land promised to them through Abraham by faith.  The disobedience of Israel left them with thorns in their sides to harass them (Deuteronomy 20:17-18, Numbers 33:55, Judges 2:2-3), but they were also instrumental in constructing the house of the LORD and all the other buildings of Solomon in and around Jerusalem.  We see then that God uses even our sinful choices for our good (Romans 8:28) and His glory in the end, though we may suffer unpleasant consequences along with the work we do for the kingdom.  This should warn us to choose wisely to obey in the first place according to the Bible and not allow our sentiments to become thorns in our sides that we would be better off without.  Solomon used the forced labor and spared the people of the LORD from the hard work to construct these beautiful houses along with the temple of the LORD, but what would the outcome have been if the people had built these instead?  Might they have not so quickly turned away later?  Would giving good gifts to Hiram have kept later wars from breaking out?  We will never know what that would have looked like, but we can consider these things to motivate us to be about our Father’s business as we adhere to the Gospel truths given us for salvation and sanctification alike and treat others well as we flee sin and follow Him faithfully in the beauty of (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 29:1, 96:9) holiness.  May we build the kingdom here with that righteous aim of giving good gifts and willing work for the Lord.

1 Kings 9:1-9 - Conditional Covenant of Works

1 Kings 9:1-9

God’s Second Appearance to Solomon (2 Chronicles 7:12–22)

1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, 2 that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 

3 And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 

6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.’”

These promises to Solomon as to his father before him were made as a conditional covenant according to their works.  Even so, the overall covenant promise held fast, that of the Messiah and His kingdom to come through their lineage as an unbreakable promise.  Their immediate consequences were based on their faithfulness to keep God’s word to uphold their side of the covenant that the LORD had made with them as He stipulated this condition of obedience for the full blessing of the promise, yet the foreshadowing of the covenant of grace can still be seen as light seeping through the edges of the actions of forgiveness to keep His people according to the promise but in a slightly different way to come through the Messiah Himself as the fulfillment of the promise to all by faith as Abraham exercised in absolute trust of God’s work.  When God had appeared this second time to Solomon after he had finished his work for the LORD, He told him his prayer was heard but that these stipulations were to be observed to guide his actions and that of his descendants for the ongoing temporal blessings to continue.  If he and they walked rightly with Him, the throne and earthly kingdom would continue in their hands as promised to David and him from father to son, but if he or they turned away, then the work of the temple would be in vain and it would be lost along with the strength and fame of their kingdom.  The warning was to keep the first commandment above all, having no other gods and then living right to love God and others (Luke 10:27).  Failing to do these things would result in loss of the blessing by breaking their side of the conditional contract God made with them; the worship of the works of their own hands, idols, would end the blessings and the kingdom and bring judgment on themselves.  This is why the second covenant of God’s work in Jesus Christ is called Good News; the works are His in our stead of our imperfect works (Romans 3:23) and the covenant is unbreakable because God’s Son stepped in our place by grace to keep the commandments in the Law (Romans 6:23, Colossians 2:11-12, 13-14, 22-23, 24) of the first covenant for us that we are unable to keep perfectly (James 2:10) as required for salvation from God’s wrath on our sin.  Knowing these things, why then would we ever go after other idols to worship and serve such as fame, wealth, or other religions or attempt to work our way to earn salvation when we all we need for life and godliness is found in the perfect person and work of Jesus Christ alone?  We no longer have the conditional covenant of our works alone to deliver us, but now have the completed eternal covenant of grace kept on both sides, ours and His, by God Himself to keep us forever!  The only condition of the covenant of grace is now the work of Christ and not of ourselves. 

1 Kings 8:54-66 - Prayer of Blessing, Sacrifice of Dedication

1 Kings 8:54-66

Solomon Blesses the Assembly (2 Chronicles 6:40–42)

54 And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, that he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55 Then he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: 56 “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. 57 May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, 58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. 59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon Dedicates the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:4–11)

62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. 63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. 64 On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 At that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven more days—fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.

This culmination of completion for the temple of the LORD was heralded by two final acts.  First there was the heavenward prayer of supplication for the people by Solomon in all humility while on his knees before the Almighty.  Then he loudly proclaimed the blessing on the congregation of God’s people assembled there with reminders of His grace in defeating their adversaries and bringing peace and rest to the land as He had promised in His word given through Moses.  This was answered prayer and promise in one.  Not one word God gave them ever failed!  This is a reminder to we the people in Christ now that God honors His promises (2 Corinthians 1:20-22) in His son Jesus Christ and hears our prayers because His death and resurrection have provided us peace with God (Romans 5:1) and rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29) in His work of righteousness in which we are now able to worship and give thanks in prayers and supplications of our own.  Because He never leaves or forsakes us, we too can “incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes” as we keep loyal to Him and His Word, that the world may know He is God come to us (John 1:1, 14) and no other (John 14:6) can ever bring lasting peace and meaning to life except the divine Son sent by the Father of lights to draw us from (John 12:26, Acts 26:18, 2 Corinthians 4:6) the darkness of sin and judgment to the light of glory and grace.  This is why we can worship now in these temples that are being completed by Him (Philippians 1:6) who is the Seed of David as Solomon did the earthly temple according to God’s design and enabling.  The second final act of king Solomon was to dedicate the physical temple with sacrifices and offerings that are no longer needed (Hebrews 10:8, 9-10, 14) to dedicate these temples of our bodies which have been sanctified by the sacrificial work of Christ once and for ever.  Our feast to celebrate this dedication is far greater than that Solomon gave then; it is in these temples made by His hand that the remembrance is celebrated by the Lord’s Supper now for all His peace and rest from the enemy of sin and death and judgment given us by grace.  We now pray a prayer of His blessing and dedicate our lives to following Jesus Christ by this grace in which we stand at peace with God and with the message to bear before the world around us to His glory. 

1 Kings 8:22-53 - Temple of Covenant Grace

1 Kings 8:22-53

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication (2 Chronicles 6:12–39)

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven; 23 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 24 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 25 Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ 26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. 30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.

31 “When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 32 then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

33 “When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, 34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.

35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

37 “When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men), 40 that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

41 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

46 “When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; 48 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: 49 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace), 52 that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53 For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.”

This was the heartfelt prayer of Solomon to dedicate the temple of worship and atonement to the LORD.  He stood in front of the altar of sacrifice with his hands raised to God in heaven as he face and addressed the LORD God in front of all the people to hear and bear witness.  Solomon extolled Him as the one unique, omnipotent, and faithful God who keeps His word of promise in covenants He makes with the people and also shows mercy when they fail to keep their promises to Him as their part in return as they do their best to walk with Him wholeheartedly.  That is the same today except the change of the covenant based solely on mercy and grace does not take away our place with Him when we fail as never-ending mercy is based on the perfect work and sacrifice of God’s one and only Son who is our ultimate righteousness to keep us (John 10:28, 29) in His hands.  Only those who never have the word of the gospel take root in uncommitted and disbelieving hearts (Matthew 13:19) fail to be in the Father’s hands of Grace in the first place.  Solomon had a foreshadowing of this grace since the promise of the Seed was to be through his lineage and so spoke of the grace and faithfulness of God to keep His people.  He did not seem to know the depth of the directions given Moses to craft this earthly temple according to the perfect pattern in heaven (Exodus 25:40, Hebrews 8:5) shown him on Mount Sinai, but acted in the faith of what he did know so far as it had been revealed to him.  In this he was faithful as his forefather Abraham (Romans 4:1) as we follow also (Galatians 3:6-7) in those footsteps of trusting God and taking action to follow Him.  Solomon also confessed that God would not live in a mere temple on earth, yet would honor the place to meet with His people and hear their prayers with eyes wide open to see and hear them and forgive their sins with atoning grace and mercy because He put His name there.  How much more will He who dwells in each of these temples of our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Peter 2:5) then see and hear us when we confess our sins (1 John 1:9) and honor Him in worship as we stand before His throne in the righteousness of His Son sacrificed on the cross of our sins’ curse?  God still justifies His own and protects us against our enemies as He did Israel of old, and He teaches us the good way to walk (Isaiah 30:21, John 10:3, Romans 8:14, 1 John 2:27) after Him just as the twelve disciples before us did.  The common theme is that because we are chosen as his people, we are the inheritance of the Lord who keeps us and hears our prayers for forgiveness when we admit and forsake our sins against Him even now.  Knowing these things, let us keep the covenant temples of grace which are ourselves holy (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) for His residence to be a pleasing place to dwell in honor and worship (Romans 12:1-2) with thankful hearts for His grace.