Some thoughts from today’s reading…

After Solomon finishes all the work he desires to do the Lord visits him a second time through a dream (vs. 2).  God’s address to Solomon is short and simple.  Be faithful to me.  It might be easy to glance over this occasion because it is so quickly read through.  But consider that God has now spoken again to Solomon.  This should be another occasion for Solomon to be strengthen in his service to God.  We are not told exactly how long it has been but at least 13 years have passed since it mentions that he has finished building his palace (vs. 1 & 7:1).  I speculate that the timing was now for good reason.  Solomon’s power has grown tremendously because of the Lord’s blessings, he has had peace all around and now he has completed all the building projects that he desired.  We sometimes say absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Here God appears to him and gives a warning/ encouragement for him to remain steadfast and true.  Many times in our lives we need reminders not to become complacent and unfruitful in serving God.  Perhaps this was a way of getting Solomon to look at his spiritual compass and remember which direction he needed to be heading in.

Question:  For Christians today, how do we renew our spiritual “heading”?  In other words, how do we renew our desire to serve God?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

As we read here I hope that you can understand the uniqueness and excitement of this occassion.  The temple has been completed and now all Israel is called to come for the dedication feast.  The holy articles are brought from the tent into the temple.  As this is done a thick cloud descends upon the temple and forces the priests to leave.  Here is a very visual manifestation of the glory of God filling the temple.  Solomon then gets down on his knees, raises his hands to heaven and says a very lengthy prayer on behalf of himself and the people (vs. 54).  Solomon voices awe that God would dwell among His people when the highest heaven cannot contain Him (vs. 27).  He praises God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness.  And Solomon expresses clearly that in order for Israel to maintain security from their enemies and these blessings they must walk after the Lord’s commandments.  Solomon then addresses the people and encourages them to incline their hearts towards God and be wholly devoted to keeping His commands.  It is easy to understand why the people returned to their tents joyfull and glad of heart.

Question:  What happened to turn Solomon away from serving the Lord faithfully?  Why should this be a warning for Christians today?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

We are told in this chapter what was King Hiram’s “specialty”.  He was a skilled worker of bronze.  Solomon had Hiram come and construct all the items for the temple that were made of bronze.  The items that he made were both small and massive.  He made several of the utensils to be used in the temple service and he also made the bronze “sea”.  This was a large basin that was used for cleansing purposes by the priests during their daily work.  This was referred to as the sea (vs 23) for very good reason.  It could hold 2,000 baths.  That is a lot of water.  This should tell you about the daily operations in the temple.  This water would need to be replenished and cleaned each day.  The two pillars that Hiram also made were huge.  The bronze used in the temple was without measure.  All of this was polished bronze.  What a sight it would have been to see.

Question;  Why do you think it took Solomon 13 years to build his own house?  Does this indicate that he took more care in building his own house than the 7 years to build the temple?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

Solomon began the work on the Temple in his fourth year of reigning.  It took only seven years to complete the temple.  Seven seems like an appropriate number since it is so commonly used in scripture to indicate completeness or perfection.  We are given some details about the work inside the temple.  Once completed this would be the only way most Israelites would be able to “see” what is inside.  I have never been inside a room overlaid with gold.  The sight of the holy place and holy of holies must have been very awe inspiring.  While reading this account and being struck by the grandeur of the temple, I couldn’t help thinking about how many kings of Judah would use the temple as their personal piggy bank.  When a time of desperation would come, instead of turning to God and imploring Him for aid they would strip the temple of its treasures.  I do not know if this included stripping away the gold on the walls or just the vessels and money inside the treasury.  Asa, Jehoash, Ahaz and Hezekiah would do such.  It is hard to imagine how someone would go into the temple and remove anything simply to pay off their enemies – unless they did not have confidence in Jehovah.

Question:  What are Cherubim?  Why are they depicted inside the temple?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

We are told about the alliance that Solomon made with the king of Tyre.  This alliance allowed for Solomon to gain access to the timbers needed for buiding the temple and he received aid in the form of skilled builders.  We are also told about how many men were involved in this building project.  It is hard for many of us to appreciate how massive a project it was for Solomon to build the temple until you see how many people were involved in the building process.  And this listing does not include everyone that is needed.  It details for us the laborers of Solomon to supply material.  We are not told how many men Hiram had or how many builders there were. 

Solomon had 30,000 men who went in cycles to Lebanon to cut and prepare the timbers, 70,000 men to transport materials and 80,000 men to cut the stone needed.  Wow!  That is a massive project.  This should help us to understand the grandeur of the temple Solomon built and how impressive this place would have been to the people of the day.  Remember that most of the people of Israel dwelt in very simple homes.  Such large and grand structures were not what they were used to. 

Question:  Was it important for the temple to be a grand structure?  What do you think the grand and majestic nature of the structure indicates about the people of Israel?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

Chapter four describes for us how Solomon had things organized.  He had twelve deputies who were in charge to supply his household with all it needed.  That does not sound like a difficult task until you here how much was needed for his daily provision.  30 kors of flour, 60 kors of meal, 10 oxen, 20 more oxen, 100 sheep plus deer, gazelles, roebucks and other fowl.  Each day he had a massive amount of food to supply his household.  I kor equaled about 10 bushels.  This points to the prestige of Solomon.  He had that many eating at his table and had such a lavish life.  But this is not what many came to him to see.

What attracted people to come to Solomon was because of the exceedingly great wisdom that God bestowed upon him.  I find it very intersting that as wise as Solomon was he still fell prey to breaking so many of God’s commands.  He married foreign women and here we are told that he multiplied horses and even chariots. 

Question:  How could someone so wise blattently violate God’s commands?  What do you think could have led to this?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

If you had one wish to be granted, what would it be?  Man has dreamed of such an occassion as reflected in his many stories and tales.  But here we have the account of where God actually granted such a request to king Solomon.  What did Solomon ask for?  An understanding heart to judge the people of Israel.  What a great thing to ask for!  Give me understanding so that I can discern between good and evil.  Contrast this with what man often dreams of and you see a stark contrast.  What Solomon sought for shows that he started out with a pure desire to serve God well.  He desired to serve God and follow in David’s footsteps.

What we would have asked for puts in the spotlight what our priorities are.  What would you have asked for?  Would you have sought for something that would have aided your service to God or would you have sought for pleasure and temporary glory. 

Question:  Why do you think Solomon married Pharoah’s daughter?  What does this reflect about Solomon’s judgement at times?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

Before David dies he gives Solomon some  “loose strings” to take care of.  David had several people that had wronged him or deserved punishment and yet David had not done anything about it for various reasons.  He now tasks Solomon with taking care of these matters.  I find this interesting from the standpoint of all the things Solomon must have had to deal with fairly quickly.  Soon he will be ordering men to be slain as a punishment for their actions.  Quite a leap to go from one of the king’s sons to being the one calling the shots and even putting men to death. 

The two people David tells him to take care of are Joab for his murder of innocent men and of Shimei the Benjaminite for his severe cursing of David.  Solomon quickly takes care of these things and does so in a wise way.  He does not let Joab talk his way out or use the altar as a way of escaping justice.  And he set Shimei in a situation where he knows the terms for living and allows him to violate them so that there is a cause for putting him to death. 

Question:  What was so bad about Adonijah asking for Abishag for a wife?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

In today’s reading, Adonijah, one of David’s sons, made an attempt to usurp the throne of David.  In his efforts, he drew Joab and Abiathar (both men who had been very loyal to David) away from David and Solomon.  Adonijah went so far as to make sacrifices, call the people together to celebrate, and have them cry out “Long live king Adonijah!”  This was, however, in direct contrast to the will of God, who had chosen Solomon to be the next king (1 Chronicles 28:5).  It was evident that Adonijah knew this to be the case as well, based on what he would tell his mother, Bathsheba in 1 Kings 2:15.  He was upset that he had lost the kingdom, and that God had chosen Solomon instead!

Adonijah’s action is reminiscent of Saul’s actions toward the end of his life.  Saul knew that God had taken the kingdom from him, and given it to one who was better than he, and yet he continually tried to get around God’s will!  He thought if he could just kill David then God’s plan would have to be changed.  Adonijah seemed to think that if he could just get all the people on his side, he could change the will of God.  He thought, through the implementation of his own selfish desires, that he could force God to do his will!  Of course, God’s will was accomplished in the end, with Solomon established by David as the next king over Israel, and Adonijah would soon get his just rewards.

Adonijah’s actions are not unlike those of many people today.  It is easy to look into the pages of the word of God and find what His will for us is.  And yet, the practice of many is to try and circumvent the will of God.  Because of selfish desires or ambitions, too many people try to force God to conform to their wills.  This can be seen in the sheer number of denominations that have formed with different doctrines developed to organize the local group, some national or international group, and to define the work of those bodies.  Instead of focusing on what we want, the church should be focused upon what God wants, and conform itself (through the individuals that comprise it) to the prescribed commands of scripture! If we act like Adonijah, we will end up with the same spiritual consequence.

Question:  When it comes to serving God, are we selfless, or selfish?

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

Our reading today has a wonderful object lesson in the concept of sacrifice.  David angered God by numbering the fighting men of Israel without His permission or command.  As a result, God sent 3 options for David’s punishment.  David chose to suffer the wrath of God in a plague for 3 days.  As the destroying Angel approached the city of Jerusalem, David went out to the threshing floor of Araunah to offer a sacrifice to Jehovah to stop the plague.  Araunah offered to give David all that was needed for the sacrifice, including the wood from the threshing implements and the yokes for the oxen, as well as the oxen themselves for the sacrifice.  One of the most powerful verses concerning sacrifice is found in this context.  David’s response to Araunah was:

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. (2 Samuel 24:24)

David refused to make an offering to God which did not cost him anything.  This is a part of sacrifice!  Unfortunately, many people today do not want to offer anything to God that costs them something.  They are willing to serve God as long as it doesn’t get in the way of anything else that they want to do.  They will not sacrifice money, time or effort for God–they expect God to give into their wishes and desires!  God requires sacrifice on our part, and it is going to cost us something.  Romans 12:1-2 tells us that God demands that we make ourselves a living sacrifice.  That is gong to cost us.  It will cost us money.  It will cost us time.  It may cost us friends.  It may cost us family.  If we are not willing to pay the price of making an offering to God, then we cannot (and will not) be His children.  If we are unwilling to offer things which cost us something, we are not really offering Him a sacrifice!

Question:  When was the last time your offering to God actually cost you something?