365 Reflections

Jeroboam will become the leader of the 10 tribes of Israel and an instrument of God's judgment upon Solomon for his wandering ways late in life. The promise made to Jeroboam sounds very similar to the promise God made to Solomon at the beginning of his call to the kingship. 1 Kings 11:37–40 (ESV) And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’ ” 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. What's interesting here is that the Lord is promising g...

Of all the people you would think could have resisted the temptation to forfeit his place in the world in exchange for sinful, cheap and costly decisions, Solomon would be at the top of that list. Solomon BUILT the temple and prayed one of Israel's most famous prayers over it. He sacrifices 10s of thousands of animals to the Lord. He covered everything used in the Temple with gold. He was filled with heavenly wisdom. But STILL, he fell into sin. But he falls tragically and demonstrably into the hook of sin in 1 Kings 11. The lesson for us is simple: anyone, no matter their education, wisdom, insight or spirituality can get seduced and suckered by sin. As the old puritan writer put it: Be killing sin or sin will be killing you. Solomon's sin will cost him dearly and this chapter outlines important truths for Solomon and us concerning our place is God's plan. 1 Kings 11:14–17 (ESV) And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the ro...

1 Kings 11:1–3 (ESV) Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. There are fateful moments in the Bible where history turns on a few verses. This is one of them. Solomon was the richest, most famous and beloved human on the planet, but here, his legacy took a nose-dive. Think of 700 wives. Each one was a conscious decision to concede moral ground to bad influences. Each one, I'm sure, seemed like a good or pleasurable decision for Solomon. Remember the details of this chapter come on the heels of the previous chapter. Last chapter he was busy ac...

Solomon gets a visit from an Arabian Queen at the height of his success and fame. The Queen of Sheba arrives and sees for herself the blessing of God on this great man. Her reaction is priceless: 1 Kings 10:6–7 (ESV) And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.  Notice as well the first thing she mentions is Solomon's wisdom. That's where it starts, friends. If we want God's blessing we have to get a hold of God's wisdom. His wisdom will do so much for us that others will not have anticipated it!  We should take note that it was Solomon's wisdom for which she originally came. She had things on her mind and questions in her heart. 1 Kings 10:2–3 (ESV) She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing ...

In 1 Kings 9, Solomon gives Hiram, king of Tyre payment for his help in constructing the Lord's temple. The payment consists of 20 cities in the region of Galilee. 1 Kings 9:11 (ESV) and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee . When Hiram goes to check them out, it reads very negatively: 1 Kings 9:12–13 (ESV) But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of Cabul to this day. Cabul is hard to translate but commentators call it, "good for nothing." Now there's also some more description to this region given to us in this passage that you may be tempted to skip over. Doing so misses a powerful point. Looking later in the chapter it reads: 1 Kings 9:20–21 (ESV)...

With great power comes great responsibility. This phrase was made popular by the Spiderman movies and comics although some attribute it to more historical figures. But the truth at the root of it can be traced to the moment Solomon finished the Temple of Israel in 1 Kings 9. 1 Kings 9:8–9 (ESV)   And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’” The Lord is not playing games when it comes to Israel's future prosperity. They were the nation God had called to Himself, saving them from Egypt and establishing them in the Promised Land. They alone of all the Nations had the Word of God, the Testimony of the t...

It's amazing how much the Scriptures speak of rest . It is in the Garden of Eden, it's the goal of the deliverance of Israel and establishment in the Promised Land (see Joshua 14:15). It is there after Othniel's judgeship over Israel (Judges 3:11). It is also now here in 1 Kings 8 (the longest chapter in the book) after  Solomon's dedication prayer. 1 Kings 8:54–57 (ESV) Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord , he arose from before the altar of the Lord , where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And 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. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, This is the desire of God: rest for you with Him. I...

Solomon is making his intercessory prayer over the Temple of Israel in 1 Kings 8. It is a very long prayer filled with theological and practical truths for us today. In the last post we looked at how this Temple and it's dedication prefigures the Church of Jesus Christ, the true Son of David who builds His people as a living Tabernacle to bring the broken, defeated, sinful and stranger into God's presence. As we continue in the prayer, Solomon speaks of the future of Israel, that they would be the people who turn to God for grace when they experience punishment for sin in the form of exile. Notice what Solomon says: 1 Kings 8:48–50 (ESV)   if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and ma...

The Temple is finished and it is dedication day for Solomon and the nation of Israel in 1 Kings 8. Solomon begins praying in this long chapter, giving thanks to God for fulfilling His promise to the nation and also to David, his father. Then, after all the work that was done on the temple and in the midst of the great coronation event Solomon considers something important: 1 Kings 8:27–30 (ESV)   “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pr...