Buildings for Living, Judging, and Worship

1 Kings 7:1-22
    1 But Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house. 2 He also built the House of the Forest of Lebanon; its length was one hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar beams on the pillars. 3 And it was paneled with cedar above the beams that were on forty-five pillars, fifteen to a row. 4 There were windows with beveled frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three tiers. 5 And all the doorways and doorposts had rectangular frames; and window was opposite window in three tiers.
    6 He also made the Hall of Pillars: its length was fifty cubits, and its width thirty cubits; and in front of them was a portico with pillars, and a canopy was in front of them.  7 Then he made a hall for the throne, the Hall of Judgment, where he might judge; and it was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.  8 And the house where he dwelt had another court inside the hall, of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken as wife.
    9 All these were of costly stones cut to size, trimmed with saws, inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, large stones, some ten cubits and some eight cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, hewn to size, and cedar wood. 12 The great court was enclosed with three rows of hewn stones and a row of cedar beams. So were the inner court of the house of the LORD and the vestibule of the temple.
    13 Now King Solomon sent and brought Huram from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.
    15 And he cast two pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each. 16 Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 So he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates above the network all around to cover the capitals that were on top; and thus he did for the other capital.  19 The capitals which were on top of the pillars in the hall were in the shape of lilies, four cubits. 20 The capitals on the two pillars also had pomegranates above, by the convex surface which was next to the network; and there were two hundred such pomegranates in rows on each of the capitals all around.
    21 Then he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name Boaz. 22 The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished.

After Solomon built the LORD’s house in seven years, he built his own over thirteen years.  His house had many rooms, bit especially one he could judge God’s people from.  He also built one for his wife, pharaoh’s daughter, and a hall of pillars with its own hall of judgment.  These were crafted of costly cut stone and cedar planks, not to mention cast bronze pillars as in the temple.  For the temple, king Solomon hired a skilled worker from Tyre of the tribe of Naphtali to do this work.  The two pillars at the entrance he named Jachin on the right and Boaz on the left, meaning ‘He shall establish’ and ‘In it is strength.’  He meant that this work would establish the rule of wisdom in justice and in the LORD’s strength, not his own.  The rest of the temple’s seas, lavers, and furnishings were to follow as we will see in the remainder of this chapter.  In all we see so far, it is to show and teach us of working our best for God’s glory on His place where He lives and we worship; in our living temples this means we live rightly toward holiness and in a sacrificial manner as we lay down our lives each day, dead and crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20, Romans 12:1, Mark 8:34). 

The Shadow of Solomon’s Temple

1 Kings 6:1-38
    1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. 2 Now the house which King Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. 3 The vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the house was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of the vestibule extended ten cubits from the front of the house. 4 And he made for the house windows with beveled frames. 5 Against the wall of the temple he built chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. 6 The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the temple. 7 And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. 8 The doorway for the middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.
    9 So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.
    11 Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying: 12 “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. 13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”
    14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15 And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress. 16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. 17 And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.
    19 And he prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.
    23 Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. 27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner room; and they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
    29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.
    31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 So for the door of the sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of cypress wood; two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.
    36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.
    37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

Solomon’s temple was the first and most magnificent, yet even that was not the true dwelling place of God, bit a shadow of the true. Acts 7:44, 47-50 makes it clear that He does not live in places made by our hands, for He rests in truth in the work of His own hands by which He created all heaven and earth as His dwelling place.  He chose to hear from heaven (1 Kings 8:30) when they prayed to Him from this temple as a meeting place on earth, but we now have the temples of our bodies where He inhabits our praises, in temples made by His hand and remade in the image of God in Christ.  All the details here of the majesty and riches in God’s design and the enabled talents of men to erect this house of God under Solomon’s guidance only pale in comparison to the heavenly temple (Hebrews 8:1-2, 5, 9:23-24) where we worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.  It is good to read this passage to understand the earthly splendor of this house of God that we might more fully appreciate the one He inhabits now, and anticipate the heavenly to come as Revelation 21:3 describes for us.  It took seven years for Solomon to put up the first temple, but God spoke in the beginning and man was made on the spot, and redemption makes us new in an instant as well for Him in us to now dwell.  In the end He will make the earth new and we will be in His heavenly tabernacle forever in His very presence!  How much we have to anticipate (Romans 8:25-26, Philippians 3:20).  Job 19:25-27 expresses our yearning to see Him face to face at last after death and for eternity in the heavenly temple on earth at last, the one built by His hands.  Selah.  

A Temple Founded on Peace

1 Kings 5:1-18
    1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David. 2 Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying: 3 You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the LORD put his foes under the soles of his feet. 4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. 5 And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.” 6 Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians. 7 So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people! 8 Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs. 9 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household.
    10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. 11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.
    12 So the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.
    13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 besides three thousand three hundred from the chiefs of Solomon's deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. 18 So Solomon's builders, Hiram's builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.

The temple which king David desired to build but was not allowed by the LORD due to his warring was now moving forward by his son Solomon as promised.  This house of God, the temple to replace the moving tabernacle of tents, was founded on the peace given through grace and wisdom to king Solomon.  He made a treaty with Hiram, the king of Tyre, that they might harvest cedar trees to bring to Solomon’s workers to use for the construction.  Solomon acknowledged and confessed the rest and peace was from God, and desired to build the temple as God promised by his hands.  Even Hiram confessed the wisdom of the LORD as a testimony to grace in choosing Solomon and endowing him with such wisdom.  This testimony allowed the Testimony to find a permanent home of God’s grace and place of sacrifices until the King of Kings stepped onto the earth and made us His temples to dwell in (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16).  We are then to honor God in wisdom of living sacrifices (2 Corinthians 6:17, Romans 12:1-2) as we build wisely on the foundation of Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 3:10-11) who brought us peace with God (Romans 5:1).  We are His living temples founded on the peace of His reconciling work.  Let us live accordingly in holiness by this great grace and godly wisdom.  Amen. 

Wisdom, Understanding, and Heart

1 Kings 4:1-34
    1 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest and the king's friend; 6 Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force. 7 And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. 8 These are their names: Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 9 Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10 Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11 Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 13 Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 16 Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.
    20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
    22 Now Solomon's provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.  24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him. 25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
    26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon's table. There was no lack in their supply. 28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.
    29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. 33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

There was peace and prosperity for a while as Solomon reigned over God’s people Israel.  His twelve governors provided him and his royal court all the food they needed, each taking turns for a month in a well laid out and simple system according to his wise rule.  This prosperity from God-given wisdom extended the kingdom from the Euphrates to Egypt, and all within those borders prospered and knew no war.  They lacked nothing as they had so often before.  The wisdom and understanding from God exceeded any other man alive, as did his heart for God and man.  To describe his heart as sand on the seashore shows it was vast in caring and in reach to all, hinting at the promise to Abraham to multiply him as sand on the beaches of the world (Genesis 22:17-18) as a fulfilling of the command to Adam in the beginning (Genesis 1:28) and to Noah after the flood (Genesis 9:1).  Here the fruitfulness was in the amount of care and wise, loving rule over the many people of God.  Such wisdom was only exceeded by the King of kings and Lord of lords; no man was so gifted by the LORD in these graces; all came to hear his wise decrees and answers to life’s questions.  But when Emmanuel, God among us, came to walk the earth thousands of years later, we find this great wisdom of Solomon eclipsed by God’s Son (Matthew 12:42) as recorded for us in the scriptures of the followers of Jesus the Christ.  Yet among mere mortals, Solomon’s wisdom was recorded in the Proverbs we have written for us, though there appears to be more he wrote, along with the thousand and five songs we do not have to enjoy which must have reflected his heart as well as his wisdom.  What we possess, however, is more than enough in the wise admonitions left for us to ponder.   May we learn from that wisdom, knowing it comes from God in heaven above to those He chooses to give it, especially to us who are in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24, 2:13, Ephesians 1:15-17, James 1:5).  Remember that we have a wiser then Solomon reigning peace in our hearts, prospering our souls! 

Wise Judgment

1 Kings 3:16-28 

    16 Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him. 17 And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18 Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. 19 And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
    22 Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.
    23 And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” 24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
    26 Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.” 27 So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”
    28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

Solomon had asked for wise judgment to rule God’s people in a way which would honor the LORD and enable him to rule well for His glory.  Here is the first test to demonstrate that wisdom before the people.  The two women who were at best adulterous and at worst harlots, neither of which would engender other people to judge their complaints nor treat them fairly if they took the time to listen to their disputes.  Solomon was a ruler who listened to the accounts of each and the dispute over whose baby was alive and whose died for the other to replace the dead with the living one.  The account began with the one whose son was dead when she awoke, but she swore it was not her baby, that the other woman rolled on top of and killed her own son and switched babies in the night while the first slept.  The second denied this to keep the child, and they went back and forth with the conflicting arguments before the king until he decided to settle the matter with a sword.  He told them he would cut the child in half so they each could share the baby boy.  This made the real mother offer the child to the imposter because her love for the child overcame her desire to have him back, while the thief whose baby had already died wanted the child killed before giving him up.  This is how Solomon knew the true and settled the matter with godly wisdom and justice in his judgment.  The people saw this wisdom in action and feared doing wrong to attempt deception before their sovereign because they knew this was the finger of God’s wisdom driving justice in their land.  We learn that when God gives wisdom, only then can true justice be seen as He is honored and glorified in the man who is so used by the Lord in obedient exercise of faith in His enabling grace.  We are not Solomon, but the one eternally greater in wisdom than he, Jesus the Christ of God, lives in us as the Spirit of the living God gives us wisdom and a sound mind to do likewise (Luke 11:31, Proverbs 2:6, Daniel 5:14, Ephesians 1:17) in dealing with each other and so to live for God in wisdom and humility (Micah 6:8). 

Ask for Wisdom to Discern Good and Evil

1 Kings 3:1-15
    1 Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh's daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall all around Jerusalem. 2 Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days. 3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. 4 Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
    6 And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9 Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
    10 The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 12 behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 13 And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 14 So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
    15 Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

King Solomon was given the chance by the LORD to ask for what his heart desired.  He first had made peace with Egypt, built a palace, but had not yet built the LORD’s house.  This offer to ask God was open ended; there were no limits or lost of things Solomon had to choose from, and the ask was made in a dream after Solomon had offered sacrifices to Him.  The king wisely asked for wisdom and not riches or power; he remembered God’s mercy to his father because he was a man after God’s own heart, and desired as his heir to have guidance to rule righteously.  He therefore asked for understanding wisdom to discern good and evil that he might judge rightly.  This was not a grab to usurp God for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17), but a reliance for God to teach him these things (Hebrews 5:14) and exercise them as enabled by the LORD God in practice.  Because Solomon asked for wisdom to rule justly and righteously with reliance on Him as the source of wisdom, God not only endowed him with such wisdom unmatched by all but Himself (Matthew 12:42) come among us to live in the flesh (John 1:14).  He did not ask for himself, or for victory over his enemies, or for great riches.  God honored this desire to serve His people well and glorify Him with such wisdom and piled those riches and honor upon him as tangible grace.  He was only commanded to continue in walking according to God’s word and ways as he had been doing.  When Solomon awoke from this spiritual dream, he immediately went to the place of sacrifice to worship and celebrate with all who served him as a way to begin serving the LORD of hosts as promised.  We see that God can use dreams at times to reveal His promises and understanding, but the most and vitally important lesson here is the example of the desire for us to want God by His Holy Spirit to teach us how to live (Isaiah 30:21, Romans 8:14).  He desires that we yearn for this by learning to rely on Him in is to understand and choose between good and evil in serving others for His glory, honor, and praise, not by repeating the original sin of taking wisdom upon ourselves and our own supposed reasoning apart from the certain truths and guidance of His word by His indwelling Spirit of truth (John 16:13).  Let us therefore ask in humility and dependence on the Lord for wisdom to know the difference between good and evil in our own lives and for judgment and service of His people to His glory.  As Hebrews 12:28 tells us, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

Consequential Retribution and Grace

1 Kings 2:13-46
    13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably.” 14 Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say it.” 15 Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother's; for it was his from the LORD. 16 Now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me.” And she said to him, “Say it.” 17 Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.” 18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”
    19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king's mother; so she sat at his right hand. 20 Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
    22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my older brother—for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! 24 Now therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a house for me, as He promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!”  25 So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.
    26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfill the word of the LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
    28 Then news came to Joab, for Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the LORD; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’ ”  And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
    31 Then the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. 32 So the LORD will return his blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword—Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. 33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD.”  34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.
    36 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. 37 For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.”  38 And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
    39 Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!” 40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. 42 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ 43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the commandment that I gave you?” 44 The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the LORD will return your wickedness on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever.”
    46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei were killed, and the priest was Abiathar was exiled for their previous treason against King David.  Solomon pronounced the judgment as promised by the LORD and his father while still on the throne.  The first, Adonijah the brother of David, tried to conniving work his way back to the throne through asking for his brother’s nurse concubine, which Solomon wisely saw through as the first step of a new rebellion.  Adonijah even slyly mentioned that the kingdom was given by the LORD to David his brother, but that was only to influence Bathsheba to think he was sincere and not plotting.  God’s wisdom given to Solomon put that straight, and Adonijah received his just and due recompense.  Joab had defected to Adonijah and was therefore part of the conspiracy, and was executed after trying to hold the temple altar horns for safety as (1 Kings 1:50-51) Adonijah had tried before.  He also was executed for rebellion.  Shimei was conditionally spared and placed under a kind of house arrest, which he eventually violated and brought about his execution.  Only the priest Abiathar of the conspiracy was spared because he used to carry the Ark of the Covenant, this honoring his service to the Lord to justify his pardon.  This cleansing of past enemies established Solomon’s kingdom of peace given through wisdom by the LORD.  We learn here that God sets matters straight in the end either through pardon or due punishment as a picture and shadow of the eternal sense seen in Romans 6:23 and John 3:19-21 for those who die in their sin or who find pardon on God’s terms of mercy and grace.  May many find that favor of God in Christ to pardon their death sentences and not face their sin and the due wrath of God by eternal judgment! 

Death and Instructions to Live By

1 Kings 2:1-12
    1 Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: 2 “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. 3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; 4 that the LORD may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 5 “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. 6 Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.
    7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.  8 “And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”
    10 So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. 11 The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 12 Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.

King David’s death was a time to pass instructions to his heir to rule wisely.  There would be consequences if Solomon did not follow the LORD in his rule, so the first advice addressed Solomon’s personal walk with God as a man.  He was to prove what a man of God was by following the word of God - His statutes, commandments, judgements, and testimonies as the Law laid out.  These things meant that Solomon would obey and live wholeheartedly by the LORD’s ways and not by his own constructions or that of those around him.  Then he would prosper in his work as king and as a father to his own sons; these would also have to follow as instructed to continue the lineage of kings, and they were to follow God truly and with all their hearts and lives if they wanted to likewise prosper in pleasing the LORD God as David had (Acts 13:22).  This meant giving God their all, not putting their lives, desires, or purposes above Him.  Such we are called to as well, for to live is Christ and if we die it is eternal gain!  Do we so commit ourselves to putting God first (Matthew 6:33, Luke 9:23), following His word (Joshua 1:8, 2 Timothy 3:16), following in unforced obedience out of love (Romans 12:1-2, John 14:21)?  We also see in this passage that the sin of Joab in murder (killing in peacetime, not in battle) was to be recompensed along with Shimei who cursed God’s anointed, and that the one who helped David the king was to be honored (Barzillai).  He passed these instructions to his heir to carry on the work of the LORD after his death, a pattern of discipleship for us to come as Paul did with Timothy (2 Timothy 2:2).  We are to model the man of Christ the King in our lives and pass those lessons of living well on to others to follow.  As for this passage in 1 Kings, we see the end of the forty-year reign of the beginning of the line of the Anointed One to come (Romans 1:3), showing a ray and way of hope going forward through time as we look back as Romans 15:4 reminds us.  Remember also what 2 Timothy says to us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Let us therefore be men and women of His word! 

God Puts His Chosen Ruler on the Throne

1 Kings 1:28-53
    28 Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king's presence and stood before the king. 29 And the king took an oath and said, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, 30 just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.” 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever!”
    32 And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 33 The king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. 34 There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”
    36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. 37 As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.” 38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David's mule, and took him to Gihon. 39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.
    41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” 42 While he was still speaking, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for you are a prominent man, and bring good news.”
    43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king's mule. 45 So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. 47 And moreover the king's servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see it!’ ”  49 So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.
    50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”  52 Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

God puts His chosen rulers in place upon the thrones of all nations, not just in Hos theocracy of Israel.  As Romans 13:1 later says, “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”  Here we see that the royal presumption and scheming of Adonijah ended in his supporters fleeing the scene of the attempted coups in verse 49, no longer backing the loser in his own failed election to take over the throne from David’s appointed heir and God’s channel of the redemptive line of the Messiah (Luke 1:32), the Christ named Jesus.  When king David heard of the plot conveyed from Nathan through Bathsheba, he immediately assured his wife that her son Solomon would be crowned immediately, on that very day without delay.  The priest and prophet went to anoint David’s son as the ruler of God’s people, and there was nothing more Adonijah could do.  His cunning plans were sniffed out as quickly as his life could have been, and all his sacrifices amounted to nothing without backing by the LORD as he may have supposed (1 Kings 1:9).  He instead panicked to save his own life as his previous friends and backers fled for their lives as well, and ran to hold onto the horns of the altar to get a guarantee that his life would be spared by the true king whom God had appointed.  King Solomon answered with a conditional reprieve, making it clear that Adonijah’s life rested on being worthy and not wicked in the time after his removal from the altar; he would have to prove himself worthy by submission and obedience to the king.  Then the king sent him home.  We see here in this account that God appoints the rulers whom we are to follow as we obey His appointed choices, not rebelling or fighting against them, no matter if we believe another should be in power or even if we imagine that we could take over ourselves.  This is not wise.  God puts His chosen rulers in place for all nations, and ultimately rules Himself over them all.  Let us be subject to Him and live by faith in obedience to His will, no matter what nation or government system we live under. 

Royal Presumption

1 Kings 1:1-27
    1 Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. 2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” 3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her. 5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.) 7 Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.
    9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants. 10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother.
    11 So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? 12 Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go immediately to King David and say to him, “Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 14 Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”  15 So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 16 And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”
    17 Then she said to him, “My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18 So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. 19 He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. 20 And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”
    22 And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 23 So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 24 And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? 25 For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. 27 Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

As king David grew older and more bedridden, he was given a young servant girl to care for him.  Adonijah who was the brother of Absalom who also seized the throne before used this as an opportunity to make a plan for the throne, since David had not appointed a successor yet.  Joab sided with Adonijah as he had with Absalom in bringing him back to David before, but Nathan the prophet and others remained loyal to the anointed of the LORD’s choosing.  It came to the point where Adonijah prepared a ceremony to have himself crowned, but Nathan warned David through Bathsheba, who moved him to appoint Solomon the successor as promised beforehand (1 Chronicles 17:11-14, 22:9) and as a part of the Messianic lineage promised.  The entire country looked to see what David would do, and he did not want Solomon and Bathsheba ill treated if Adonijah usurped the throne.  Even Nathan came to David to move the aging man to action before it was too late.  God’s purposes cannot be thwarted, however, and we will see in the rest of this chapter the end intended by Him.  We also learn in God’s leadership in the church to be aware and decisive when called for, not allowing hostile takeovers of God’s gospel and plan for His people with deceptive words of royal presumption which build personal kingdoms and oppose His word and will in pride and even false humility at times.  He uses us to accomplish His sovereign purposes, and we are accountable to do so to guard what He has entrusted to us personally and corporately (1 Timothy 6:20). 

Costly Sacrifice on the Threshing Floor

2 Samuel 24:18-25
    18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. 20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.
    21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”  And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
    22 Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. 23 All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”  And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”
    24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

After king David had sinned in doing the evil of counting the army’s strength without paying a redemption-price for each one in the census, he confessed his sin and erected an altar to appease the LORD and stop the plague brought upon the people by this disobedience.  The place was where David saw the angel of the LORD by the threshing floor executing the people.  The altar was built and the sacrifices made to fulfill the Law, just as the Law had prescribed the redemption cost of all who were numbered.  The owner of the threshing floor offered to freely give the oxen and yokes to burn, but David knew there was a price to pay for the responsibility of his sin, and insisted paying for everything.  He knew that the sacrifice he offered would not cost him nothing.  When the sacrifice was made along with intercessory atoning prayer in all humility and responsibility of his sin’s confession, the plague was taken back by the LORD who inflicted it.  We find that the lesson for us here is to confess our sin, taking responsibility and accountability for the consequences, but still interceding for those affected while willing to pay the price we owe - unless the Lord relents and gives mercy in His unmerited grace because we are quite willing to offer our lives as a sacrifice of atonement if need be as a consequence.  There is a costly price to sacrifice on the threshing floor of life in our sanctification.  Therefore, we take responsibility to pay the price in our disobedience and the just wrath we deserve, yet yearn for mercy as we seek grace from His throne of sovereign power and love (1 John 1:9, Hebrews 4:16).  Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13)! 

Counting and the Cost

2 Samuel 24:1-17
    1 Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”
    3 And Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” 4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.
    5 And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon; 7 and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
    10 And David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”
    11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, 12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”  14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
    15 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 16 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
    17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father's house.”

In 1 Chronicles 21:1, it says that Satan the adversary moved David to number God’s people, where here is says that the LORD did so; God seems to have used satan as an tool to test David’s heart and accomplish His plan, much as He used the adversary with Job.  Why the census itself was an evil and sinful act is not clear, but the best explanation may be that it revealed a lack of trust in the strength of the army or fruitfulness of Israel, or that it was because of the requirement for each to pay for being numbered (Exodus 30:12), which was not done here.  Either way, David pursued this census for almost ten months against his trusted commander of Israel’s forces.  He had more than enough time to stop the numbering and be left without a tally of the army’s strength, and could have required that every man give the necessary ransom for himself to the LORD, when he numbered them, that there may be no plague among them, but he persisted.  Only after the tally was reported to him did David’s heart condemn his conscience; then he realized his failure to trust and obey in his pride and arrogance as the leader under God’s authority.  The prophet Gad brought the LORD’s choices for punishment to the king: he could have suffering by famine for seven months, the humility of defeat by enemies, or death by three days of starvation.  He chose to put himself and the people in God’s hands directly with the plague instead of man’s hands, for David knew that His mercy was still possible there.  Many died (seventy thousand) in the short ravaging punishment of the pestilence until God called off the avenging angel.  David had seen the Angel at work and was cut to the heart to see the sheep of his people suffering for his evil sin, so he took responsibility and begged the LORD to put the blame and consequences on him and his descendants instead as atonement.  We find here a lesson in resisting our pride of calculating our own strength and wisdom opposed to God’s word, and of taking responsibility for the consequences when others suffer for our evil sin of seeking our own glory in accomplishments.  Let us always put ourselves in the Lord’s hands of mercy when we fail to count the cost of disobedience to His word and sin against Him (Psalm 51:4-5) instead of doing the good which we know to be right (1 John 1:9, Hebrews 4:16).  Amen.  May it be so!

Mighty Men of God

2 Samuel 23:8-39
    8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. 10 He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. 11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.
    13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD. 17 And he said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it.  These things were done by the three mighty men.
    18 Now Abishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. 19 Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three.
    20 Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. 23 He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.
    24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah (the Netophathite), Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai from the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite (of the sons of Jashen), Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite (armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah), 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 and Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

After the last song of king David was sung which describes the godly humility and other attributes of a leader, this list of mighty men serving the king is enumerated.  They were all גִּבּוֹר g̱ibbôr, brave and valiant champions, men who had strength and skill for battle in heart, mind, and body.  These supported David and the kingdom of God he ruled over.  They fought without yielding, put the enemy to flight, met the needs of David as water from the well of Bethlehem where he Philistine enemy was camped, bringing down the mighty of the enemy, and many more heroic deeds.  The last one of these band of battle brothers mentioned was Uriah the Hittite, whom David had arranged to be killed to cover up his adultery with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, which demonstrates that he was a valiant champion and faithful to the bitter end.  What we find is most important to take away from this list is that these men gave their all to use the skills and abilities which God gave them to serve Him through the king of the kingdom of His people; we should be motivated to do likewise for the King of kings and our Anointed Lord Jesus Christ.  As warriors for the gospel, we take heed to Paul’s admonition in 2 Timothy 3:10 to fight that good fight (1 Timothy 1:18, 6:12) as he gave us the example to follow (1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1).  Let us then use the gifts and abilities He gives to the best of our abilities and more (2 Corinthians 8:3, 1 Peter 4:10-11) to bring glory, honor, and praise to our King.  

An Everlasting Covenant of Grace

2 Samuel 23:1-7 

1 Now these are the last words of David.

Thus says David the son of Jesse;
Thus says the man raised up on high,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:

2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.

3 The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘He who rules over men must be just,
Ruling in the fear of God.

4 And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
Like the tender grass springing out of the earth,
By clear shining after rain.’

5 “Although my house is not so with God,
Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant,
Ordered in all things and secure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire;
Will He not make it increase?

6 But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away,
Because they cannot be taken with hands.

7 But the man who touches them
Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.”

The last recorded words of king David as poetic song follow his magnificent song of praise in the previous chapter.  He speaks of a lowly background, called higher by God as anointed and gifted with psalm making talent as we find in the books of Psalms was to worship Him with.  Here the LORD moved David by His Spirit to speak to others by another song of revelation.  It begins with identifying God’s character as his Rock, unmoving as a foundation and impenetrable as a protective fortress (Psalm 18:2, 31:3) as Martin Luther later put to song.  God revealed that a ruler of His people must execute fair justice in the fear of God that perversion of just dealings may break the second greatest commandment (Mark 12:31) as well as the first and foremost (Mark 12:30) in loving God in fairness and honesty while demonstrating justice to our fellow man.  Then such a man should continue in righteousness as a light in the darkness as a sunrise on a clear day, indicating no dull dimness or hidden intentions.  He is also to be like new grass sprouting by such light after a good rain, hinting of fruitfulness in providing for others.  He acknowledged that he was not meeting these high standards, but relied on God’s promises in the covenant with him because God never fails to provide the righteousness and worthiness to accomplish all He calls David and us to do.  This covenant is laid out clearly and absolutely immutable.  It is the deliverance, the salvation of all called by God in His given covenant of grace, and should be all we desire as well in the new covenant of Christ by His shed blood for us to establish us in His righteousness and eternal goodness of salvation by grace which cannot be undone or taken away.  As David acknowledged here, God’s call and covenant will only increase to better things.  Those who reject His covenant, however, will be gathered as thorns and ultimately burned (Hebrews 6:7-8).  We then learn from this magnificent final song of revelation by king David what it means to not only be a godly leader, but also a righteous and humble follower of the Father through obedience to Christ as our Rock of Salvation who delivered us and continues to do so (Colossians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 1:10).  This is more than reason enough to thank and praise God who has become our righteousness, and who calls us to be holy and righteous as He is in our dealings with others for good (Romans 13:10)! 

Exalted Praise to the Rock of Salvation!

2 Samuel 22:38-51 

38 “I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.

40 For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose against me.

41 You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.

42 They looked, but there was none to save;
Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

43 Then I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I trod them like dirt in the streets,
And I spread them out.

44 “You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people;
You have kept me as the head of the nations.
A people I have not known shall serve me.

45 The foreigners submit to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.

46 The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

47 “The LORD lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let God be exalted,
The Rock of my salvation!

48 It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;

49 He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.

50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

51 He is the tower of salvation to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore.”

The song of David finishes with flourishes of praise, exalting the Rock of his salvation, his deliverance from the enemy.  He pursued and overtook them by God’s enabling of strength as the LORD won the battles, subduing and destroying them.  The LORD did not deliver, did not save his enemies because they foremost were His enemies.  David was also delivered from internal attacks and kept him as ruler over them according to His planned will.  Therefore , David breaks out in this famous song we yet sing, acknowledging that the LORD reigns as supreme Sovereign and exalting His name because He is the solid Rock upon which he and we stand!  God alone will avenge His people in the final judgement, saving us from the enemy and those opposing us now because we are His ambassadors (1 Peter 5:8, Jude 1:6, 15, Revelation 6:10, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Galatians 1:4).  The Messiah-Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah who is in the flesh descended from David, He shows mercy to the called descendants of faith as of Abraham whom we are (Galatians 3:9, Romans 4:1-5), just as David ends his song here with the acknowledgment of God’s mercy and grace ultimately through Christ our Lord as foretold and foreshadowed.  Let us then come boldly to that throne of grace for help in the opposition of the enemy, with such praise of hope ringing out as good news to the world around us of His sovereign grace and reconciling mercy from the cross and out of the grave!  As David sings here, “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!” (2 Sam. 22:47). Knowing God is good and perfect, that we can trust every word He has spoken, that He is the only infinitely solid foundation, that He is all powerful to protect and guide our steps - so we can trust absolutely in His salvation for life now as well as eternally. He makes our way complete and watches over us to protect both soul and spirit, giving abilities and strength to follow Christ and to do His will as we work out our salvation’s sanctification (Philippians 2:12). We therefore find David’s example of heart and actions gives us confidence in all things. 

Praise for God’s Mercy and Goodness

2 Samuel 22:26-37

26 “With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
28 You will save the humble people;
But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.

29 “For You are my lamp, O LORD;
The LORD shall enlighten my darkness.
30 For by You I can run against a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall.

31 As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

32 “For who is God, except the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
33 God is my strength and power,
And He makes my way perfect.

34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
35 He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your gentleness has made me great.

37 You enlarged my path under me;
So my feet did not slip.

Here the song of David continues from praise for deliverance to praise for God’s great mercy and goodness to the humble.  He begins by acknowledging that the LORD will not bless the proud, devious, merciless, and impure in heart.  David admits how God lights his way through life, exposing darkness and giving victory.  He most of all declares that the LORD is perfect and perfectly to be trusted according to His absolute word which has been proven over and over (Joshua 21:45).  He alone is the sovereign and almighty God, a solid foundation to stand firm upon (1 Samuel 2:2, Matthew 7:24) for his (and our) source of strength to make us more conformed to the image designed for us, which now is our sanctification in conformity to the image revealed in Christ.  This is the perfection He is building within us, to be completed in the resurrection.  God also gave David the warring skills and strength to keep running the race in battle and in life, which He gives us now until they day (Philippians 3:12-14, Hebrews 12:1).  His deliverance, His salvation shields us from the judgement to come against His wrath on our sin by grace alone, and by this gentle demonstration of mercy He makes us great instead of despised and forsaken.  This is how he gave a certain path to David and held him up as he stumbled through life in failures and victories, and how He will likewise lead us home as well by His goodness of mercy in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen! 

Praise and Thanksgiving for Deliverance

2 Samuel 22:1-25

    1 Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he said: “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.

4 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

5 “When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

6 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.

7 In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.

8 “Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.

9 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.

10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.

11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
And He was seen upon the wings of the wind.

12 He made darkness canopies around Him,
Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

13 From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.

14 “The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.

15 He sent out arrows and scattered them;
Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.

16 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered,
At the rebuke of the LORD,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

17 “He sent from above, He took me,
He drew me out of many waters.

18 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me;
For they were too strong for me.

19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the LORD was my support.

20 He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

21 “The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.

22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.

23 For all His judgments were before me;
And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.

24 I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.

25 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness in His eyes.

David broke out in a song of praise and thanksgiving for the LORD’s deliverance in this chapter.  This first half begins as a personal conversation with God in jubilant words set to music as was his talent and means of heartfelt expression.  He acknowledged the rock he stood on as the fortress where all victory and deliverance came from; he confessed that it was not his own strength or skill or wisdom leading to the defeat of his enemies, but solely God’s work in and through David.  He trusted in Him for salvation, knowing His worthiness and praising the LORD in all the battles of his life.  He knew that the circumstances were not to be feared because God was for him and protected him when he cried out in prayers of need and reliance.  David acknowledged God’s glory, majesty, and sovereign power.  He praised God for deliverance from enemies too strong, from hate and attacks, from overwhelming floods and ever-present darkness.  Because he trusted and entrusted himself to the LORD, David was delivered from all these things, and continued to keep His word before him that he might live in obedient reliance through all the circumstances.  He did his best to live a holy life by avoiding sin and trusting Him.  That is our example as well, to trust and obey through all life’s circumstances, no matter how difficult or overwhelming.