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The daily summaries are written by Wayne D. Turner, Pastor of SouthPointe Bible Fellowship in Fayetteville, Georgia

This is the August 11 reading. Select here for a new reading date:


BibleTrack Summary: August 11
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For New King James text and comment, click here.

 

 

I Kings 9; II Chronicles 8     Listen Podcast

 

 

 

God speaks to Solomon (I Kings 9:1-9)
(Also found in II Chronicles 7:12-22 see notes)

I Kings 9
II Chronicles 7
1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,
2 That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?
9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;
18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.
19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?
22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

In I Kings 8 (see notes) the Ark had been moved into the newly-built temple, and the temple was dedicated - prayer, lots of sacrificing and a pep talk from Solomon to the people. After the smoke cleared (pun intended), Solomon gets a visit from God - his second visit, the first being right after he became king in I Kings 3:5-15 (see notes). God conveys a simple message really: Do right and always prosper; do wrong by serving other gods, and it will be your ruin. God promises that David's throne would be eternal; that was an unconditional covenant God made with David in II Samuel 7:12-16 (see notes).

However, there was a conditional part of the promise regarding David's throne. While it will be established eternally, it may be (and was) interrupted due to the conditions in this passage i.e. Israel went after other gods and forsook the one true God. We'll see that during Solomon's reign, he allowed worship of false gods to come right into the temple court - apparently even promoted it. While he always highly esteemed God himself, he allowed "freedom of religion" to be practiced by his own wives and the residents of Israel. The Lord God of Israel was not exclusive with him like he had been with his father David - a shortcoming of Solomon that turned out to be the beginning of Israel's downfall. And God didn't let this lack of faithfulness slide, as is pointed out in I Kings 11:1-25 (see notes). Consequently, after his reign was over, Israel split; the northern 10 tribes went after the worship of false gods.

Let's take a closer look at the negative stipulations found in I Kings 9:6-9:

6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?
9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.

So...it is important to recognize that, while God is bound to honor the Davidic Covenant first established in II Samuel 7:12-16 (see notes), this covenant did not prevent the setback brought about by the people of Israel going after false gods (per the conditions of the warning of this passage). In 586 B.C. the last stronghold of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, fell to the Babylonians; from that time until Israel declared its independence in 1948, there was no autonomous nation called Israel.

In October, 2004, a modern (unofficial) Sanhedrin was established in Israel patterned after that with which we are familiar from the New Testament. In addition, there is a keen interest among these religious leaders (the revived Sanhedrin) to restore the Davidic monarchy. Orthodox Jews see this as the path toward restoration i.e. the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy regarding the Davidic Kingdom. The website for the new Sanhedrin may be viewed by clicking here.

Most fundamental Christian Bible scholars today see the situation differently. I share their view that it is incidental to Old Testament prophetic promises whether or not the temple or the Davidic throne is established prior to the 70th week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27, see notes). What we know from prophecy is that by the midpoint of those seven years, there will be a temple and that the throne of David will be established by Jesus at the end of that tribulation (beginning of the millennium). The temple that exists at that time (during the 70th week of Daniel) will be replaced by the Ezekiel temple (Ezekiel 40, see notes). In Ezekiel 40-48 we see detailed information regarding the rebuilding of this millennium temple.

Solomon is ridin' high (I Kings 9:10-28; II Chronicles 8)

I Kings 9
II Chronicles 8
10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king’s house,
11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.
14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
17 And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,
18 And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,
19 And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20 And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,
21 Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.
22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
23 These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.
26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.
27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
1 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house,
2 That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.
3 And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it.
4 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.
5 Also he built Bethhoron the upper, and Bethhoron the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;
6 And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.
7 As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel,
8 But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day.
9 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.
10 And these were the chief of king Solomon’s officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people.
11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come.
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch,
13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
14 And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.
15 And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.
16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.
17 Then went Solomon to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.
18 And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

Solomon is cruising along on all eight cylinders at this point in his reign - the royal donkey express. He's spent 20 years of his 40-year reign building the temple and a really, really nice house for himself. He used forced labor (non Israelites) to do all the work. I mean...he had it all - armies, ships and dominance. All the surrounding kings wanted to be Solomon's best buddy.

King Hiram of Tyre (who provided Solomon's Lebanon timber) didn't much like his vendor deal (20 cities selected by Solomon in Galilee), but...no problem, Solomon...whatever you say! Hiram did give them a nickname, though, calling them the "land of Cabul," a derogatory term indicating how little they were worth.

The King of Egypt (whose daughter was married to Solomon) gave him the whole city of Gezer (about 20 miles from Jerusalem) as a dowry for his daughter. It's interesting that, while Gezer was located in Israel, it had not been previously purged of Canaanites. The Tribe of Ephraim failed to do so in Joshua 16:10 (see notes), and David failed to do so again centuries later (II Samuel 5:25; I Chronicles 14:16, see notes). Pharaoh comes up out of Egypt to do the job - nothing too good for his daughter. Notice II Chronicles 8:11, "And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come." So, his Egyptian wife doesn't just have her own bedroom; she has her own house..her own city! Why? Because Solomon's house apparently adjoined the temple, and he didn't want her heathen hands touching temple stuff. What a husband! He obviously deviated from those convictions during the last 20 years of his rule. It's not known whether her house in Gezer was a temporary home, vacation home or permanent home; we see in I Kings 7:1-12 (see notes) that he apparently had built her another house in Jerusalem near his own.

Times are good for Israel; we're now 20 years into Solomon's reign and Solomon is truly the big player in the region. Those Canaanites who stayed around now serve as slaves. We see from II Chronicles 8:13-15 that Solomon was very conscientious and intense about his commitment to God at this point in time. He observed the three annual Jewish festivals: the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles. Click here to learn more about the Feasts. He had the temple priests working their shifts, and God was prospering Israel under his reign. Times are truly good for Solomon and Israel.

Solomon even established a navy with some of the manpower supplied by King Hiram of Tyre. Solomon's ships subsequently went to a region (Ophir) and brought back gold for Solomon's coffers.

Again, it should be noted that Solomon experienced a significant slippage in his commitment to God during the last half of his reign. I Kings 11 (see notes) outlines his shortcomings.


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Copyright 2003-2011 by Wayne D. Turner