Examples Set by Bad Kings in Israel

1 Kings 15:25-34
    25 Now Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin.

    27 Then Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha killed him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. 28 Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. 29 And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, 30 because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
    31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
    33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin.

Nadab and Baasha were the next two kings in Israel after Jeroboam reigned over Israel, the Jeroboam who walked away from the LORD and whose descendants were destined for destruction along with the tribes of Israel who followed in the sins of idolatry and disobedience to the word of God (1 Kings 14:15-16).  Nadab only sat on the throne for two years, just one year longer than Abijam in Judah.  Nadab sinned and caused all God’s people of the tribes of Israel to sin with Him by his evil example.  Baasha of the tribe of Issachar was only somewhat better, killing Nadab as the avenger of the LORD, taking the throne and wiping out the remaining members of the descendants and family of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:10-14) as God had promised.  He was used by the LORD to end that line because Jeroboam had done two evil things; he had sinned and led Israel to sin by his leadership example, and he had provoked the LORD God of Israel, necessitating His wrath to be dealt out on them.  In the end, however, Baasha also did evil in God’s eyes and imitated Jeroboam in sin and causing the others to sin.  These were two bad kings in Israel who led by evil example and helped Israel slide further away from the LORD who had chosen and delivered them out of bondage and into the promised land in mercy and great grace.  This is a sobering reminder how the examples we set and leadership we may give to God’s people in Christ has reverberating repercussions.  What we do and how we serve the Lord who bought us at such a great price matters immensely and eternally.  May we imitate what is good (Psalm 34:14, 37:27, 1 Timothy 4:12, 3 John 1:11).  Let us imitate godly men’s examples as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1 as we imitate Christ in living to please and honor our holy Father in heaven, worshiping and serving Him alone above all else. 

Good and Bad Kings of Judah

1 Kings 15:1-24
    1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 4 Nevertheless for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem; 5 because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.  8 So Abijam rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place.
   9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. 10 And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. 11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David. 12 And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 14 But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa's heart was loyal to the LORD all his days. 15 He also brought into the house of the LORD the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.
    16 Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 19 "Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me."
    20 So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in Tirzah.  22 Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
    23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 So Asa rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

After Jeroboam of Israel and Solomon’s son Rehoboam of Judah died, there arose new kings of Judah, Abijam and Asa.  Abijam only reigned for three years because he continued the evil tradition of the sins of his father, replaced by Asa after him.  The actions of the sin were not the root of the problem, but the fact that his heart was disloyal to the LORD was the real issue.  We see again that the wages earned by sin are duly paid out in the currency of death.  It is interesting to note that God let him rule for more than even a day in order to honor his father Rehoboam’s father, king David because of the promise and because David had a loyal heart.  God honors his promises even when we do not.  After Abijam came Asa his son.  This one did what God called right, not what his own imagination of morality and self-serving conjured up.  He honored God.  Asa eliminated most of the immorality and idol worship, restoring the temple to honor and glorify the LORD as his grandfather had given the good example of worship lived out.  He fought the good fight for his people, both in war with enemies and in peace with God.  This is our example to follow, not the immoral and disloyal ones we find in scripture like that of Rehoboam and Abijam.  We need to have a heart for God and for His glory and honor with His chosen people as David and Asa. 

Death, Rampant Evil, and Defeat

1 Kings 14:19-31
    19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20 The period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers. Then Nadab his son reigned in his place.
    21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 22 Now Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
    25 It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made. 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king's house. 28 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.
    29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31 So Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then Abijam his son reigned in his place.

The end of both Jeroboam and of Rehoboam reflected the state of God’s people in sliding further away from Him.  Jeroboam who ruled Israel was one who sinned and who made Israel sin.  The son of Solomon, Rehoboam, ruled Judah gave the example and Judah did immense evil in the sight of the LORD, worshiping false gods and engaging in the ungodly practices of the nations who did not know the true and living God.  This led to defeat by Egypt who once enslaved God’s people in the symbolic bondage of sin, but points us all as His people to Christ and a New Covenant of grace (Hebrews 8:8-10).  The promises through Abraham to us all (Hebrews 6:17-19) are unchangeable and absolute in Him.  The failure of Israel in their downward spiral begun here proved that man cannot work the righteousness of God, but that we stand in Christ’s righteousness alone.  Our own efforts only lead to death, rampant evil, and ultimate defeat, but His work is effectual and eternal.  In this grace we therefore stand.  Amen.

Judgment on Continuous Sin

1 Kings 14:1-18
    1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. 3 Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child." 4 And Jeroboam's wife did so; she arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age.
    5 Now the LORD had said to Ahijah, "Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman."
    6 And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, 8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes; 9 but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back— 10 therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. 11 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the LORD has spoken!"' 12 Arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
    14 "Moreover the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; this is the day. What? Even now! 15 For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their wooden images, provoking the LORD to anger. 16 And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin."
    17 Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah. When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

Jeroboam continued unrepentant in his sin against the LORD, and the script of his life and that of Israel was finally sealed in this last attempt at deception.  He imagined to fool a prophet of God who could barely see anymore with his eyes, to trick him into healing his dying son.  This prophet, Ahijah, was the one who was used to deliver the word of the LORD to give Jeroboam the tribes of Israel torn from Judah (1 Kings 11:29-30).  But there was a condition to the rule over Israel, and that was the same to Solomon and to Rehoboam his son and successor.  They were to live obediently to the word of the LORD, not serving other gods in worship or following any other.  Jeroboam had failed in this, and his attempt to deceive a spokesman of the LORD brought the finality of judgment upon him.  The result was not only Jeroboam losing the throne over Israel, but all Israel herself having their land revoked and the people scattered until a remnant was brought back.  The sins of Jeroboam caused Israel to sin with Him and caused the LORD to give them up for their continued sin of rebellion against Him as the first commandment clearly told them (Exodus 20:3).  This shows how leaders can bring down the flock by wrong examples of continuance in and justification of sin (2 Peter 2:18-20, Jude 1:4, 8).  But our certain hope is that God forgives and calls back those who are His.  Those who continue unchecked in sin as a way of life need to examine themselves if they are actually of Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5, 1 John 3:6-7, 9).  He is able to save to the uttermost all He calls and turn from sin to him. 

The Wages of Sin is Death

1 Kings 13:11-34
    11 Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" For his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. 13 Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, 14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?"  And he said, "I am."
    15 Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread."  16 And he said, "I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. 17 For I have been told by the word of the LORD, 'You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.'"
    18 He said to him, "I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'" (He was lying to him.). 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
    20 Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says the LORD: 'Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, 22 but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the LORD said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water," your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.'"
    23 So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. 25 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
    26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, "It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him." 27 And he spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. 30 Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!" 31 So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, "When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying which he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the shrines on the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely come to pass."
    33 After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. 34 And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.

This recollection teaches us that the price we pay and the wages we earn for disobedience to God (which is sin) is death.  This principle of truth is repeated clearly in Romans 6:23, given in multiple examples such as here in 1 Kings where the man of God who first refused to associate with the rebellious king now is easily talked into compromise.  The second prophet told the first that the LORD said it was good for the first to now come with him to eat and drink after having been clearly commanded by the LORD not to.  He believed the second at the expense of heeding the One above all.  The second made it sound good by claiming an angel told him it to him; the first should have remembered the voice of clear command and not of a lesser being.  This disobedience to the word of the LORD cost him his life, for the wages of sin is death.  The second prophet still grieved over the first who suffered for his sin and asked that his body be buried on top of the first when he would die, for the prophecy against the idolatrous altar in Bethel was from the LORD.  Jeroboam, however, sadly refused to turn to God after all this, for He was a vessel prepared for destruction by the LORD (Romans 9:22).  We all now know from the further explanation revealed in the New Testament scriptures that this principle fact that all are born in sin and need the Messiah to deliver us is the truth in shadow in stories such as the prophet here.  The need for redemption has been answered in the channel of redemption who is Christ our Lord.  Let us then remain true to His calling and not listen to false revelations of angels and those who would lead us away from the truth of the gospel.  We learn from these examples (1 Corinthians 10:11). 

Prophetic Bad News

1 Kings 13:1-10
    1 And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall be burned on you.'" 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out."
    4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Arrest him!" Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself. 5 The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 Then the king answered and said to the man of God, "Please entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me."  So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him, and became as before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."
    8 But the man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.'" 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

Here we find prophetic bad news to Israel in the presence of Jeroboam before the altar of sacrifice in a temple which was most definitely not of the LORD.  The messenger was sent the place where Jeroboam had one of the golden calves to sacrifice to (1 Kings 12:32-33) in Bethel, literally meaning “the house of God,” which added to the irony of the blasphemous sacrifices Jeroboam was making there.  The bad news given was that Josiah would be born of the lineage of king David who would sacrifice those ungodly priests on the altar and bones of the dead burned on the altar.  The sign to validate the message was from God was that the altar there was split, spilling ashes on the ground.  When Jeroboam refused to accept the bad news, he pointed from the blasphemous altar of the golden calf at the prophet to have him arrested, but came up short in God’s judgment on his withering hand to take back the rebellion against the bad tidings.  Jeroboam begged for mercy to restore his hand and found it, but had his heart really changed towards obedience and to take heed to the unpleasant message?  He even offered to reward the prophet as if money could buy the favor of the LORD (just as the Romans tried to buy forgiveness with indulgences in the 1500’s which sparked a Reformation of the church).  Of course the man of God refused even food or drink from him and went home another way.  We learn that not all news is good from God, especially when our sin earns judgment for us as it has (Romans 3:23, Hebrews 9:27, compare Romans 6:23 and Hebrews 9:28 for hope of the good news to answer the requisite bad).  When we hear bad news from God, confession and turning in heartfelt repentance is the answer lest a worse thing come upon us (John 5:14) in the form of due consequences of continuing in sin.  The good news of Jesus Christ delivers us now from the ultimate penalty of sin, but not its presence and results in this life (1 Corinthians 11:30, Acts 5:5, 9-10).  We therefore do not set up our own altars of ungodly worship of anything or anyone but the Lord our God and quickly confess and forsake sin in our conformity to Christ.  There is always good news in Him for the bad news of our sinful nature. 

Gold Calves Cannot Deliver

1 Kings 12:25-33
    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 tried to stop Israel going back to the house of David with God’s promise and blessings.  If they went to Jerusalem to worship, they could also realign with Rehoboam and reunite with Judah, leaving Jeroboam out of the picture.  He forgot that the LORD had handed him the other tribes, leaving only Judah to the king.  Blinded by pride to lose control, he made golden calves for Israel to worship just as Aaron did long before (Exodus 32:4, 8).  He even used the same phrase saying, “Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.”  This idolatry repeated itself in rebellion against the LORD’s first commandment to have no other gods before the one true God. The LORD.   Fear of losing control to the king who rebelled against God led Jeroboam to make the same fatal mistake.  Therefore the people of God were led further from obedience and its fruits of the promise.  They proved that the fallen sinful nature of man was absolutely corrupt and that they needed redemption unobtainable by human effort to keep God’s law which was His word (Romans 3:20, 8:3, Galatians 2:16).  We learn that our reasoning and works cannot lead is to the righteousness of obedience that is only possible in a regenerated life with God Himself living in us to choose rightly in the New Covenant of grace.  We do not therefore pursue other gods or worship golden calves of our own construction, but serve the living God through His Son Jesus the Christ by the enabling and guidance of His indwelling Holy Spirit. 

Ungodly Counsel’s Lasting Repercussions

1 Kings 12:1-24
    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.

Listening to ungodly counsel or advice can have lasting repercussions as with Rehoboam the son of Solomon and new king who rejected the good and wise counsel of Jeroboam who had formerly fled to Egypt to escape king Solomon (1 Kings 11:26, 35, 38-40) after relaying the prophecy to split the kingdom.  Rehoboam heard Jeroboam‘s wise counsel (which was echoed by the elders) to treat the people well instead of harshly, but the king listened to his young worthless friends instead.  They advised poorly to increase the oppressive measures; the people of Israel heard this and rejected the lineage rule of David in this ungodly son of Solomon.  Rehoboam then only had a meager kingdom in a few cities of Judah, and escaped to Jerusalem after more trouble.  This was the split of the kingdom of God’s people because of evil-minded and ungodly counsel.  The lasting consequences were these repercussions of division and weakening of all Israel.  Ah, but this was promised by the LORD already because of Solomon serving other so-called gods and rejecting God and His word.  Only Judah served the lineage of David as was also promised, which would become a remnant and channel of redemption.   God even kept Rehoboam from attempting to fight the other tribes to reunite the kingdom as one people, but God used a prophet to stop this as well as they obeyed the revelation of the word of the LORD; the die had been cast, and God’s long-term plan was in effect as promised consequence of sin and purpose of redemption.  We learn much of God’s Sovereign Grace in this recollection of tainted history brought about by rejecting His word and choosing to listen to ungodly counsel.  May we do otherwise as we learn from these examples, that we might listen to the Scriptures and godly counsel which aligns with all God tells us (Acts17:11, Proverbs 19:20-21, Romans 15:4). 

Adversaries, Division, Affliction, and Restoration

1 Kings 11:14-43
    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.
    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.  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.

Here are recollections of adversaries, division, affliction, and restoration resulting from king Solomon’s sin in light of God’s reconciling grace because of His immutable promises.  Solomon’s sin of bowing to other idol gods and neglecting to obey the commands and judgments of God’s word caused the LORD to set enemies against him.  This led to the prophet revealing His imposed division of the kingdom and rule over ten of the twelve tribes of His people given to Jeroboam instead, with the same conditional promise of following the LORD to keep that rule.  The affliction by multiple adversaries was given to harass and punish Solomon for his rebellion against his Sovereign as well.  They kept him from continuing to lead Israel sinfully further away.  There is a hint of future restoration in the promise to Jeroboam and in the promise not to afflict David’s descendants forever; this means there would be future reconciliation and blessings as originally (if not conditionally) promised to king David and then to Solomon.  There would always be a remnant, a pattern carried throughout the ages until the Christ came and God walked among us.  The death of Solomon here is not the end of the story of redemption, but a reminder that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and life will be found in the descendant of David according to the flesh in the promised Messiah, the Christ. 

Results of Unequal Yoking

1 Kings 11:1-13
    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."

Here is the pattern to avoid from scripture, that of a follower child of God going after worshippers of other supposed gods.  Solomon let his heart wander from the love of the LORD God to the love of ungodly women in great abundance, more than the average womanizer of our modern times.  He collected a thousand of them from the nations God specifically commanded Israel not to marry (Exodus 34:16-17, Deuteronomy 7:3-4). E cause they would turn their hearts from Him to sin in empty and destructive worship.  Solomon chose to ignore the clear command which was for his welfare as much as God’s glory, and held tight to his emotional desires and attachments for as many as he desired.  He abused his position of power to satisfy his carnal desires.  As he aged, these heart alliances broke covenant with the LORD and caused him to do what pleased the ungodly women he yoked himself to.  As he worshipped their false deities, Solomon did evil to the LORD and stopped following as his father David had; he was no longer a man after His own heart, but a man following the debase nature of his fallen heart of sinful disobedience.  God twice confronted Solomon about this, yet the king continued to disobey and run after his own pleasures instead.  This led to the kingdom being torn from his descendants and scattered, leaving only Judah (1 Kings 12:20) to continue as a remnant of the covenant promise to his father.  We learn the object lesson here behind the command in 2 Corinthians 6:14 to not be joined with unbelievers in intimacy or marriage, for they will only corrupt with darkness and unrighteousness.  This is how as oxen we can be mismatched to be pulled away from the straight path set by God for us. We do well to take this command to heart and put Christ first above our wayward hearts and desires for the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25).  We will never be fruitful in worship and following the Lord if we please ourselves instead of our Lord who bought us with such a high price. 

Great God-Given Wealth and Wisdom

1 Kings 10:14-29
    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 continued to amass wealth of gold while ruling, even creating his throne of ivory overlaid with gold.  Even the cups and plates were made of the precious metal which had made silver as relatively worthless, as common rocks picked up from the ground.  God had given what He promised, the unparalleled wisdom and wealth far beyond any king or kingdom.  God put wisdom into Solomon’s heart, and people came from all over the known world to consult with and to listen to him.  They were also awestruck by the great bounty the LORD of Israel provided him and his people, but they came for the wisdom and then to enjoy the splendor.  Solomon also built up a large army to defend all this, including many chariots guarding Jerusalem and other cities.  His wisdom included defense as well as wealth, common sense of the God-given gift of wise understanding he had asked for when beginning his reign to lead and shepherd God’s flock (1 Kings 3:9, 12-13).  We should also put Christ first, not wealth or power, for wisdom to serve and follow as His disciples is true knowledge of His power and true wealth of the Kingdom of God.  Knowing Christ as Lord is truly great wisdom and wealth, real life and happiness.  Anything extra He chooses to give is grace to be used in service to Him by helping others to know Him and make Him known. 

Wisdom in the Name of the Lord

1 Kings 10:1-13

    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.

Solomon was given wisdom unmatched by any other mortal man.  This fame spread out into the world until it reached to the bottom of the Arabian peninsula to the kingdom of Sheba, whose queen came to test Solomon’s wisdom.  She and a list of extremely difficult, enigmatic, and perplexing riddles to challenge and test this purported God-given knowledge and understanding put into solving such obscure problems such as the ones she had prepared.  There was nothing too hard for Solomon to explain.  She saw this in wonder, then the splendor and riches of the kingdom the LORD had given him, and was completely overtaken by it all.  The queen told Solomon how the truth of the wisdom and provision of God given him far surpassed what she had heard; the wisdom and prosperity made the fame of these pale in comparison to the reality.  She then related how blessed were those who were in his presence and under his rule to hear such things of wisdom from the LORD God, and how He must delight in His servant Solomon!  She praised the LORD for putting him on the throne because of His infinite love for His people.  The placement was acknowledged as being for the purpose of doing justice and righteousness as king.  The queen then gave lavish gifts of gold, spices, and jewels, and he gave her all she asked in return, beyond what he already gave her.  We see a parallel here with Christ who has so much more wisdom than the wisest man Solomon (Luke 11:31)!  He is divine, and so are His wisdom in absolute rule of justice and righteousness with precious gifts for we His people who are in His grace.  He rules as absolute Sovereign over all, and whose words as God’s are true and eternal wisdom.  We are so blessed to sit at His feet (Luke 10:39-42) and hear these words of wisdom and grace for eternal life, now and forever as citizens of His heavenly kingdom!  Matthew 13:52 therefore tells us to learn the wisdom of this kingdom to tell and teach others of its wonders that we all may sit in awe of His wisdom, power, and glory.  Amen and amen.  Let it be so. 

Gifts and Enabling of Great Deeds

1 Kings 9:10-28
    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.
    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.

Solomon gave gifts and did great deeds as king.  He built the temple, then the king’s house, his own.  He gave twenty cities to the king of Tyre for the materials and assistance, even though he was not completely pleased with them.  Hiram still gave a gift of gold to Solomon as well.  Solomon had raised forever labor for the work from the remnants of those Israel was supposed to drive out or eliminate (not make treaties with or fail to follow through to destroy because of Israel’s sin and disobedience).  There were leaders set in place over the work and a fleet of ships built to trade in gold and other items.  Solomon also worshipped with sacrifices on the altar of the LORD with incense as well as prescribed as he finished the work of the temple for His glory and the people’s intercession.  We learn then that the work done for the Lord will never lack His supply; not in resources, not in wisdom, not in help, nor in any other thing as a willing heart of obedience is applied to do the work by God’s enabling. 

Heart for God, Obedience and Consequences

1 Kings 9:1-9
    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.'"

The LORD showed Himself to Solomon again when the temple was completed and dedicated, the first being in 1 Kings 3:5, 9 where Solomon asked for understanding and wisdom instead of glory or riches.  The LORD again heard Solomon’s prayer to finish well and glorify God in the endeavor, and now reassured him that He had consecrated the house of God Himself.  He promised to meet His people there with the covenant initiated by God, not man.  But the stipulation and expectation was that Solomon would reciprocate by living as a man after God’s own heart with integrity, righteousness, and willing obedience.  Only then would his reign continue past the grave.  Only then would the Branch of promise, the Messiah, rule through the lineage of Solomon.  But if he or his descendants turned away from walks with the LORD, if they lived in utter disobedience to God’s word and walked their own ways after other things to worship and live for, then they would be cut off and cast aside.  Ah, bit there was always a remnant, as God’s plans are certain even if He had to release them from His covenant which they had broken.  The calamity of consequences was real, bit So was grace, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration.  We know this because the lineage was kept in spite of Israel’s rebellion against God, their inability to keep God’s law, and the descendants brought to a culmination of God and man joining in the descendant of David, Jesus of Nazareth, the Anointed One of God who is Jesus the Christ of the seed of Adam in the lineage kept in the promised remnant.  We find that the promise and warning to Solomon here did not keep God’s plan for saving the world based on the absolute obedience of him and his descendants, but of God Himself stepping into the world as a man as the only obedient and righteous one to pay the sacrificial price of our original sin (Genesis 3:22, 15).  Our obedience was impossible; His became ours and our justification (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16).  This is why Christ came as a man, of the seed of David in the flesh (but also God from eternity).  He was perfectly righteous as God, yet fulfilled the promise that would result so that the kingdom of God could be forever established and never fall as that of the earthly kingdom did.  Jesus walked a perfect life of upright integrity from the heart as a man to establish this kingdom which neither David nor Solomon could.  He has also become our very righteousness that we may enter that kingdom purchased for us by His obedience as only the God as a man could.  We could not earn this kingdom, so in grace He gives it to us on Christ’s merit alone.  Galatians 3:24 therefore tells us that the Law and its requirements of perfect obedience could never deliver us, but the covenant of Christ’s sacrifice by the blood of His willing death did forever to all who believe and trust His word saying so; that is, faith in God’s work on our behalf, His agreement and work for us, not by us or our impossibly complete obedience.  This is His grace.  But we are in no way released from the requirement to live with a heart for God in obedience (Romans 6,1), just willing obedience to believe His work (John 1:12, 6:29, Romans 8:13) and the reciprocal response of sanctifying living to choose what allows Him to conform us to Christ.  Let us then have a heart for God like David and Solomon, but by grace and willing obedience to honor and glorify our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13)! 

Blessed Assurance and Dedication

1 Kings 8:54-66
    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.”
    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.

Solomon blessed the people of God with the assurance of His promises after prayers of supplication.  He prayed on his knees with hands lifted toward heaven, a striking combination of modern positions of prayer that seem to signify humility low to the ground as if bowing in submission while raising hands of praise in assurance of mercy and good will to men.  We can learn much from this way Solomon prayed, as well as what he said before the assembly and before the LORD.  He praised God for rest in the promises, for the certainty of the promises in God’s word, for God being for them and not opposed, and made it clear that the blessings of assurance had an expectation of continued obedience as a result of His work in them to move their hearts and wills to align with His words (Philippians 2:12-13).  He knew the LORD gave the desire and ability to willing obedience of the heart, and prayed this as both praise to Him and exhortation to the assembly.  We would do well to do the same now in the assembly of the saints (Hebrews 10:24-25)!  Solomon further prayed that his words of this praise and supplication would continue to reverberate in their hearts and minds that they would follow God and bear witness to Him and His majesty in the fruit of their lives.  This the challenge to a loyal heart and following feet to walk out their worship in obedience.  May we also learn to hear with disciples’ ears and see with eyes kept open.  The sacrifices Solomon and the people made were extensive, as ours should be with ourselves as the sacrifices nailed to the selfsame cross (Romans 12:1, Galatians 2:20, Luke 9:23) of denial to self and following feet driven by a glad heart of obedience and thankful love.  We should then do as the people here, feasting in celebration of God’s great goodness in blessed assurance, dedicating the temples of ourselves to Him, especially in remembrance of Christ in the Lord’s Supper in the assembly of the saints.  We are blessed, we have eternal assurance of deliverance, and our response can be none other than daily dedication of our lives to Christ. 

Prayer of Dedication in Grace

1 Kings 8:22-53
    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.”

Solomon here prays to dedicate the temple of the LORD.  He stood purposefully before the altar where sacrifices are made and addressed all the people of God gathered to commemorate and joyfully celebrate this house of God come to rest in a permanent building in Jerusalem.  No more would they wander in the wilderness or continue to worship in a tent tabernacle; now they would have a permanent place to seek and to worship Him in sacrifice and atoning supplication.  He begins by extolling the majestic greatness of God, thanking Him who made the covenant with man and keeps it unwaveringly from His side.  He spoke of mercy on the LORD’s side and obedient living on their side, of how no mere earthly temple can house or contain the Almighty, yet when they pray there where He promised to be present, “Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.”  He covers the circumstances to come for their need to pray, such as sinning against one another, sin leading to defeat, drought or famine, oppression by enemies, and other such sins.  Solomon also spoke of the plague of a man’s heart needing forgiveness and how the LORD alone knows each one’s heart in truth, that they would all fear and revere Him always.  This lifestyle direction of holiness was to be a witness to the outsider who hears of the LORD’s greatness and loving kindness to also fear Him and bear witness to his own people.  He acknowledged that all sin, that there is absolutely no one who is sinless, but also that these may come to the place where God forgives, confess their sin, repent, and pray for that mercy and receive grace (Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:11, Acts 3:19, 17:30).  This is the pattern for salvation from God’s wrath on our sin still, but to come to the Reconciler, Jesus the Christ for that forgiveness of grace when we confess and admit our hopelessly sinful state, trust His forgiveness (John 1:12) based on His atoning work on the cross, and find worship,as His place to live in us that we might worship in spirit and in truth at last.  We are called, justified, saved, sanctified, (Romans 5:9, 8:30) and kept by that unwarranted covenant of Grace which is God’s kindness and goodness unearned.  As the LORD brought His people Israel out of Egypt’s bondage, so we are thankful in remembrance of our deliverance from the bondage of sin and death (Hebrews 2:15).  Let us rightfully pray from these temples where He now dwells with such worship and praise for our reconciliation to the grace in which we stand as Romans 5:2 reminds us!  

God’s Glory Brought into the Temple

1 Kings 8:1-21
    1 Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the City of David, which is Zion. 2 Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 So all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 Then they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. 6 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 The poles extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

12 Then Solomon spoke:
      “The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud.
      13 I have surely built You an exalted house,
      And a place for You to dwell in forever.”

    14 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15 And he said: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there; but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’ 17 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ 20 So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 21 And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon brought the Ark of the Testimony of God’s covenant of promise and of works into the Most Holy Place prepared for God to dwell when He met with His people’s appointed representative.  He in turn brought the overpowering cloud His glory into that place as He did before in the holy of holiness of the traveling tabernacle to speak with Moses in the wilderness as intervening atonement for the people was made as high priest.  His glory filled the temple!  To get the Ark there, he gathered the elders of all the tribes to accompany the priests who were tasked with bearing the load of the Ark to its prominent resting abode where God would meet the high priest for the people’s atonement.  They made thousands of sacrifices to work towards gaining the favor of the LORD as they brought it into the Most Holy Place where the Cherubim overlooked the Ark beneath their outstretched wingtips meeting over its resting place.   Solomon praised the LORD for being allowed to build the LORD’s house  for Him to seemingly live in forever, not knowing the true dwelling place in heaven and the New Jerusalem to come as time ended and that forever became absolute.  The word of the LORD had been fulfilled as promised to King David for Solomon to do this, and he now sat upon the throne of the Messianic lineage.  The covenant was testified in that Ark containing the Law of God, and reminded all His people of their deliverance from bondage.  Likewise, we are reminded of our deliverance from the penalty and power of sin by the suffering death and resurrection of our eternal Lord and Savior, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus the Messiah (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, 19:16)!  Our New Covenant is in His blood (Hebrews 12:24) because His death paid the price of our due death by an eternal sacrifice to fulfill the Law of the Old Covenant which had powered the Ark with promise by His atoning presence.  Now He intercedes and atones from the tabernacles of regenerated hearts (1 Corinthians 3:16) of His people, putting the laws written on those stone tablets in the Ark into fleshly hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, Romans 2:15).  His presence of glory fills these temples as His Holy of Holies, His Spirit, dwells in us!  He overshadows us in that glory as we have been translated from darkness into the marvelous light of His very presence.  Amen. 

The Temple’s Sea, Lavers, Tools, and Furnishings

1 Kings 7:23-51
    23 And he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.
    24 Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast. 25 It stood on twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. 26 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained two thousand baths.
    27 He also made ten carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. 28 And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames; 29 on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work. 30 Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath. 31 Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round. 32 Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits. 33 The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze. 34 And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. 35 On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was perfectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panels were of the same casting. 36 On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37 Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of the same mold, one measure, and one shape.
    38 Then he made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained forty baths, and each laver was four cubits. On each of the ten carts was a laver. 39 And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.
    40 Huram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing all the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of the LORD: 41 the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars; 42 four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the pillars); 43 the ten carts, and ten lavers on the carts; 44 one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea; 45 the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.  All these articles which Huram made for King Solomon for the house of the LORD were of burnished bronze. 46 In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between Succoth and Zaretan. 47 And Solomon did not weigh all the articles, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.
    48 Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold on which was the showbread; 49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary, with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold; 50 the basins, the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
    51 So all the work that King Solomon had done for the house of the LORD was finished; and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and the furnishings. He put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

Here we see the sea, lavers, tools, and furnishings of the temple being completed under Solomon’s oversight and enabling.  He had the workmen craft the temple according to the instructions of the LORD given to king David and passed to Solomon to build as a permanent place to sacrifice for sin and worship Him with prayer and rejoicing.  Though the details of each part are given here, the functions and purpose are what matter, as the temple served its purpose until the Messiah came to live in His people as temples individually  (2 Corinthians 6:16) and corporately as living stones (1 Peter 2:5) of a house which cannot pass away ever.  This new temple in New Jerusalem will be where the sacrifice which was once for all His chosen people will stand for eternity, and where endless songs of praise will rise towards the throne because sin will no longer be present (Revelation 22:3), having been accounted for by the Lamb of God forever.  Thus no sacrifice for sin will be necessary, but praise will be made in that new tabernacle made by God’s hands (Acts 7:44, 48, Hebrews 9:11, Revelation 21:3).  These earthly temple things only point in shadows to the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 8:5, Revelation 21:22) and place of worship for eternity to come upon the new earth where God Himself will stand before (Job 19:25-27) us to worship with sacrifices of praise, honor, and endless thanksgiving.  Amen and amen!