Covenantide

Tag: 1 & 2 Kings

  • Descent into Ungodliness (Lesson 3B)

    Descent into Ungodliness (Lesson 3B)

    I. The Dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 8:1-9:9)

    After the extended description of the construction of the Temple, the narrative shifts to the dedication of the Temple to the LORD.  Most commentators focus on Solomon’s prayer, but it is important to understand that this is not merely a prayer but is perhaps better understood as a covenant renewal or rededication ceremony.  We can see this more clearly if we go through the whole passage from 1Kings 8:1-9:9 carefully.

    The first thing to note is that covenants are made or renewed when there is a change in the relationship or some other significant development between the two parties to the covenant.  First Kings 8:1-11 establishes the development in this case, namely that Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant from the City of David to the Temple to have it installed (1 Kings 8:2 cf. Lev. 23:34 and Deut. 16:13-15).  According to 1 Kings 6:38, construction on the Temple had finished eleven months earlier, so Solomon’s delay is directly tied to the Feast of Tabernacles.  Why this Feast?  The Feast was to be a remembrance of how the LORD sustained His people during their wanderings in the Wilderness.  Building tabernacles (or booths) was to be a reminder of when Israel lived in the Wilderness.  The Temple represented the end of Israel’s wanderings and the consummation of the LORD being present (permanently) among His people.  The fact that the carrying poles were withdrawn once the Ark was brought into the Holy of Holies reinforced this notion.  Moreover, as the priests exited the Holy of Holies, the cloud of the glory of the LORD filled the Temple.  This is evocative of when God’s presence filled the Tabernacle during after the Exodus (cf. Exod. 40:34-38).

    Covenants typically have a preamble describing the relationship between the two parties.  We can see this in 1 Kings 8:12-21:

    12Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in forever. 14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) 15 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. 17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 18 And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. 19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. 20 And the Lord hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

    In this case, the preamble identifies the construction of the Temple as the fulfillment of God’s promises to David in the Davidic covenant. 

    The Wailing (Western) Wall, Jerusalem

    The next part of a covenant is the declaration of terms.  In this case, the terms are embedded in the main body of Solomon’s prayer.

    22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: 23 And he said,

    Lord God of Israel, There is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: 24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. 25 Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, †There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. 26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

    27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? 28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today: 29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. 30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

    Covenants often involve a declaration of the titles of the parties, which sets the basis for how they are to relate to one another.  In verses 22-30, Solomon does not focus on himself or the people, but rather, solely on God.  The LORD is a God who keeps covenant, shows mercy and made a covenant with Solomon’s father David.  Moreover, the Temple is not a structure that can contain God, since God is greater than the building dedicated to Him.  It is on these characteristics of God that Solomon asks the LORD to hear the prayers of His people offered up in the Temple.  The next part of the prayer highlights specific kinds of prayers that Solomon asks the LORD to hear:

    31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house: 32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

    33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: 34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

    35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

    37If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) 40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

    41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; 42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

    44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: 45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. 46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; 48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: 49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: 51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: 52 That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. 53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.

    To summarize, these are prayers (a) to do justice (8:31-32); (b) to deliver the people and forgive them when oppressed by an enemy (8:33-34); (c) to relent in bringing a drought against them and to enable them to walk in His ways and to fear Him (8:35-40); (d) to extend mercy to the stranger in the land (8:41-43), and lastly, (e) to maintain the cause of His people in battle (8:44-45), and if they sin against the LORD and are carried away but repent and return to Him, then Solomon asks that God would show compassion on them (8:46-53).  One can see in Israel’s subsequent history how God did honor such prayers of His people.

    As this is a prayer, Solomon concludes with a benediction which remembers God’s past faithfulness, His promises to be with His people, that He would be glorified and they obedient to his commandments (8:54-61).

    54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: 58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. 59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: 60 That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else. 61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

    This is followed, in verses 62-66, with a huge number of sacrificial offerings on behalf of the king and the people.  Sacrifices in the Old Testament were appropriate to worship, which is certainly the context here, but there is also a covenantal significance to them.  In earlier times, a covenant would be concluded with vows taken between slaughtered animals, symbolizing that the gods were to do to the covenant-making parties what were done to the animals if the terms of the covenant were violated.  That would be followed with a fellowship meal to show that the parties were at peace with one another.  In this case, the sacrifices both made atonement for the people and symbolized their fellowship with the LORD, and this is confirmed by a great feast lasting two weeks.

    This covenant renewal ceremony is concluded with God’s response to Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 9:1-9:

    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 forever; 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 forever, 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.

    The LORD’s response is to reiterate once again the command to walk with integrity before Him, to do what He has commanded.  If they do that, then the LORD promised to maintain a person on the throne perpetually, but if they did not do that, then He would cast off Israel for disobedience.  This is, in fact, what would come to pass.

    So how does this apply to us today?  The Temple became a motif throughout the rest of biblical history.  Ezekiel, writing to the Exiles, described how God’s presence left the Temple before its destruction because of the sins of the nation (Ezek. 10:18).  That highlighted that the covenant was broken.  Ezekiel also prophesied about an eschatological ideal Temple from which living water flowed (Ezek. chs. 40-47).  When the remnant came back from Exile, the people began to rebuild the temple in 536 BC as a sign of the reconstitution and rededication of the covenant community to the LORD (Ezra 3:8-13).  The people needed to be exhorted to finish the work by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and eventually what became known as Zerubbabel’s temple would be completed in 516 BC.  Its completion was both a matter of joy and bittersweetness, for it was a pale comparison to Solomon’s Temple (Ezra 5:12).  That Zerubbabel’s Temple would be subsumed into Herod’s grandiose Temple during the time of Christ.  But Christ indicated to the shock of His disciples that the time of the Temple had passed, and that that would be destroyed (Matt. 24:2).  In Paul’s writings, it is the Church that becomes the Temple.  After Pentecost, the LORD’s presence among His people is not in a particular building, but in the people themselves through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Finally, in Revelation, we again see a Temple, but like Ezekiel’s eschatological ideal concept, this Temple encompasses God’s people and His presence is in it and in them (Rev. 21:9-27).  It is that union and communion we have with Christ that we are looking forward to.

  • Descent into Ungodliness (Lesson 3A)

    Descent into Ungodliness (Lesson 3A)

    I. Preparations for Constructing the Temple (1 Kings ch. 5)

    Previously, we looked at the early character of Solomon’s reign, and in particular, at how God granted Solomon’s request for wisdom in governing.  Wisdom for executing justice is an important virtue in a ruler.  We now turn to another attribute of kings, namely their ability to carry out massive building projects.  In addition to the character of their rule, ancient Near Eastern kings would typically obtain glory through warfare or building projects, and often both.  David left Solomon a favorable situation politically, with Israel domestically united, prosperous, and dominating the surrounding states.  Solomon himself recognized this in 1 Kings 5:2-5:

    And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. 5 And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.

    In looking at the construction of the Temple, let us start by asking the question, what did Solomon need in order to build the Temple and how extensive was the effort he sought to undertook?

    • Peace and Time.  He needed peace within the country and surrounding it, since wars and instability would have necessitated taking resources and energy away from construction.  These projects would also take time; construction of the Temple alone lasted seven years (1 Kings 6:38) and of his own palace and other projects another 13 years.
    • Cooperative Relations with Other Countries.  He needed cooperative relations with countries who could supply the materials, and he had that in the person of Hiram of Tyre.  Tyre was a major trading country, and as such, had extensive commercial connections across the region.  In 1 Kings 5:12 we see that Solomon and Hiram had a formalized partnership to that effect.  The Hebrew word used here for treaty (NKJV, ESV) or league (AV) is the term that elsewhere in the Old Testament is translated covenant.
    • Resources.  He needed resources in terms of materials and people.  With regard to the former, he needed not only materials specifically for the Temple and other buildings, but also to trade for the services of Hiram’s nation.  Israel is not a heavily forested place, and so he would need cedar, fir, and other wood from what is modern day Lebanon, as well as quarried stones that would be suitable for such monumental architecture.  His payment to Hiram consisted of about 100,000 gallons of wheat and 100 gallons of pure oil a year for each year of construction (1 Kings 5:11).  The pure oil may not sound like much, but olive presses would produce multiple batches of oil of varying quality.  The first press would be the pure oil; subsequent presses would extract further oil, but of decreasing quality.  Thus, the 100 gallons would have been of the topmost quality, used for special and not everyday purchases.  In terms of personnel, Israel provided forced and conscripted labor of at least 153,600 individuals (2 Chronicles 2:17-18), including 30,000 men to help in harvesting trees (divided into three cadre, each working three-month rotations), 70,000 men involved in material transport; 80,000 stone cutters; and 3,300 supervisors (1 Kings 5:13-18).  No expense was being spared for these projects.
    Cutting Down Cedars for the Construction of the Temple (Dore)

    II. Constructing the Temple (1 Kings chs. 6-7)

    In chapters 6 and 7, we get a detailed description of the Temple itself.  The dimensions of the Temple are about double those of the Tabernacle (cf. Exod. 25:15-25, 34:36).  It was about 87.5 ft. long, 29.1 ft wide, and 43.75 ft. high.  By way of comparison, the Temple could just about fit inside the Lincoln Memorial.  That said, the Temple was made entirely of stone and wood, with hand carved ornamentation and pure gold inlay completely in the interior.  The ornateness would have been a contrast to the simplicity of the Tabernacle.  It would not have been secured by concrete, steel or metal fasteners, so the stone cutting had to be precise before the blocks were brought onsite, and Solomon hired a master metalsmith experienced in working with brass to do the ornamentation, as well as to supervise the construction of the external basins (1 Kings 7:13-14).  Given the dimensions, each basin could hold 230 gallons of water.  This was a sophisticated building project.  Construction on the Temple began in Solomon’s fourth regnal year, 966 BC, a date which we can conclusively establish based on the correlation of biblical and extra-biblical sources.

    The text of chapters 5-7 goes into extensive detail about the preparations for and construction of the Temple.  This raises the question as to why Jeremiah thought that would be especially important to the original audience for whom he was writing?  At least three reasons are likely:

    • First, it preserved a memory of the Temple for those in exile.  Jeremiah had prophesied that the Exile would last seventy years (Jer. 29:10), so by the end of the exile, most of the remnant would have no personal recollection of Solomon’s Temple.
    • Second, it highlighted the glory of God.  A building this ornate is needed for a God as great as Israel’s God.  By providing such extensive detail on the ornateness of the Temple, Jeremiah was indirectly highlighting the greatness of Israel’s LORD.
    • Third, it highlighted what Israel had lost.  The Temple was not simply a piece of monumental architecture; it was the focal point for the presence of God amidst His people.  With the destruction of the Temple, the remnant had to come to grips with the reality that they broke the covenant with their God.  By providing extensive detail of the Temple and elaborating on the necessary conditions for constructing it meant that it would highly unlikely that it would ever be replicated on the same level, as it would be too costly.  As a result, the faithful remnant had no other recourse but to return in repentance and trust in the LORD’s grace and mercy.

    Such an understanding illuminates the word of the LORD that came to Solomon in the midst of the Temple’s construction:

    6:11 And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, 12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. (1 Kings 6:12-13)

    This is the second occasion when God speaks directly to Solomon.  Recall that when God granted Solomon wisdom to rule, He said, “3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days” (1 Kings 3:14). Compare this, as well, with David’s guidance to Solomon on his deathbed:

    2:3And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4that the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. (1 Kings 2:3-4)

    The common theme in these three passages is that Solomon (and, by extension, the people) are to walk in the ways of the LORD and keep His statutes and commandments, and if they do that, then the LORD will not forsake His people, will lengthen Solomon’s days, and preserve the throne of David.  This is the baseline requirement for keeping the covenant; Solomon, the kings after him, and the people failed to do this.  Israel’s subsequent history is an extended indictment for this failure.

    In the next post, we will look at Solomon’s dedication of the Temple.

  • Descent into Ungodliness (Lesson 2)

    Descent into Ungodliness (Lesson 2)

    I. Bad Omens (1 Kings 3:1-4)

    In introducing the books of 1 and 2 Kings earlier, we noted that Deuteronomy served as the de facto constitution for ancient Israel and thus was the foundation which the historical and prophetic books hearken back to.  As such, it is worth beginning this lesson by looking at what Deuteronomy 17:14-20 says about the requirements upon kings, as that sets the stage for what we will see in Kings:

    14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; 15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

    And a few other passages as well:

    “Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose” (Deut. 12:26).

    “Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee: but at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt” (Deut. 16:6-7).

    With this as the backdrop, let’s turn now to the beginning of Solomon’s reign in 1 Kings 3:1-4.

    1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. 2 Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. 3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

    Certainly, the things that stand out as problematic are Solomon marrying Pharaoh’s daughter and the sacrifices offered in the “high places.”

    The fact that Solomon was able to marry Pharaoh’s daughter shows the relative influence the Solomon and his kingdom had at the time, since the Egypt court typically viewed all countries as inferior to itself.  Politically, it made sense for Solomon because an alliance or affiliation would have secured his western border, especially as part of the dowry included Gezer (1 Kings 9:16), which was near two trade routes.  Israel was prohibited from marrying Canaanites (Deut. 7:3-4), but not necessarily foreigners (recall, for example, Ruth the Moabitess).  Presumably a condition of the marriage would have been that his wife would accept the worship of Israel’s God.   This probably happened, since in the first part of Solomon’s reign he seems to have been faithful to God; it was in his latter years that his subsequent wives led him into false worship.

    The high places would continually become a thorn in the side of Israel’s kings and faithful worship within the nation.  At this point in Israel’s history, the Temple had not yet been built, and the people would have followed Solomon’s example.  Worshiping at the high places would have been attractive to the people for several reasons.  First, it was convenient.  There were all sorts of places around the country that would have fit the bill.  Even after the Temple was built, it would have been more convenient than having to trek to Jerusalem three times a year or more.  Second, it gives a transcendent feeling.  And, lastly, people would have been freer to “customize” their worship, rather than having to follow biblical strictures.  For these reasons, the high places were problematic.

    II. A King Most Wise (1 Kings 3:5-28)

    Let us turn now to a key character trait of Solomon that became instrumental to his rule.  Read 1 Kings 3:5-15:

    5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

    Solomon recognized that the nation had a multitude of people and the task of ruling them would be daunting.  Wisely, he asks for wisdom in ruling, for which God was pleased.  The reference to the people being a multitude has covenantal echoes, in terms of what God originally promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3) and how that was fulfilled at the time of the Exodus.  Solomon’s request pertained to how to rule justly, which would have greatly reflected on the character of God.  God effectively renewed the Davidic Covenant with Solomon and stipulates that he “walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.” (1 Kings 3:14).  The narrative illustrates God’s gift of wisdom to Solomon with an example, that of the case of the two harlots.

    16 Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. 18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. 19 And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it. 20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. 22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. 23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. 26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. 27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

    This is the case that proverbially has become known as “splitting the baby.”  In the way that the justic system worked in ancient Israel, particularly hard cases would have been brought to the king. What was difficult about it this case was the fact that there were no other witnesses (Deuteronomic law required at least two witnesses) and the credibility of the witnesses involved was questionable (both were prostitutes).  Solomon’s response is wise not only in his understanding of the law, but in understanding human psychology in such a way as to elicit information upon which to make a more definitive judgement.  In the popular mind of Israelites, Solomon’s wisdom was attributed to God and was thus glorifying to God.

    III. Solomon’s Administration (1 Kings 4:1-19)

    With chapter 3 laying out the character of Solomon as a ruler, chapter 4 describes the nature of the kingdom over which he ruled.  The first thing that is described is the administration Solomon set up to supply the royal household.

    1 So king Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, 3 Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. 4 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: 5 And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king’s friend: 6 And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. 7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. 8 And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: 9 The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan: 10 The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: 11 The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 12 Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam: 13 The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars: 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: 15 Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 16 Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: 18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: 19 Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.

    There are a couple of things to note about this list.  First, while there were twelve officers over all of Israel tasked with collecting the support requirements for the royal court, these individuals were not neatly aligned with the tribal allotments.  That reflects a particularly centralized administration which may have been aimed at lessening tribal frictions that had challenged David’s rule in his early years as king.  Second, the support requirements were significant, as seen in verse 22-23:

    22 And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, 23 Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.

    Compare this with Samuel’s warning about what a kingship would entail when the people demanded a king who would rule over them like all the nations (1 Sam. 8:10-20).

    10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. 19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

    The LORD allowed the people to have a king over them like the kings that other nations had, but that was a double-edged sword.

    IV. The Glory of Solomon’s Reign (1 Kings 4:20-38)

    Finally, we come to a summary of Solomon’s reign (at least in the early years) in 1 Kings 4:20-34:

    20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. 21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life… 24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. 25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. 28 Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

    29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

    Jeremiah achieves a complex effect with this summary.

    On the one hand, this is a picture of a prosperous reign, with people flourishing.  Certainly that is not a bad thing.  Indeed, this influence would have been extended throughout the region, given Israel’s geographic position.  Israel sat upon the nexus of the east-west/north-south trade and invasion routes and so a prosperous, united Israel would have been the keystone to peace and prosperity within the region.  This presents a kind of fulfillment of God’s covenantal promise of blessing to Abraham; the nations would be blessed through Abraham’s descendants.

    On the other hand, this was good as it was going to get for Israel.  Like Edward Gibbon would do centuries later in his magisterial, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, this provides the backdrop on the decline that would follow, and comparing this with the passages we looked at from Deuteronomy and Samuel, there is a foreshadowing of the problems to come.  As (probably) Solomon himself said in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

  • Descent into Ungodliness (Lesson 1)

    Descent into Ungodliness (Lesson 1)

    Why Such Focus on Solomon’s Succession?

    The succession crisis leading to Solomon’s accession to the throne begins when David is advanced in years and his son Adonijah—Absalom’s brother—holds a ceremony where he offers sacrifices and tries to secure the support of the military (embodied by Joab) and the priesthood (embodied by Abiathar).  Noticeably uninvited was Solomon, Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan the Prophet, and David’s mighty men, among others.  This is probably not a misunderstanding as to how the succession was to go; given how David had purposed to build the Temple and how God indicated that Solomon would be the one who would do the building (1 Chron. 22:5-13 and 28:1-10), David probably had a co-regency with Solomon in the declining years of his life.  Thus, it was probably clear that David had already established the succession.  Thus, Adonijah’s actions are an intentional usurpation of the throne.  It is clear that when Nathan and Bathsheba hear this, they confront David and refer to this preexisting understanding.  David denies changing his mind about succession and orders that Solomon be installed immediately.  He then commissions Solomon (2:1-4) and gives him advice on who to trust (or not trust).  Adonijah asks for mercy from Solomon (1:50-53) and then separately asks Bathsheba to intercede on his behalf to secure Abishag the Shunammite as his wife (2:13-25).  Abishag had been tending to David, who was ill with an illness wherein he continually had the chills. Solomon reacts angrily to Adonijah’s request, recognizing rightly that the appearance of controlling the harem in that day and age would indicate a transfer of effective power.  This is precisely what Absalom tried to do in his revolt against David. For this reason, Solomon puts Adonijah to death (2:25).  He then exiles Abiathar (2:26-27), replacing him with Zadok (2:35), and executes Joab, replacing him with Benaiah (2:25).  Shimei, who had cursed David when David was fleeing from Absalom, was placed under house arrest on pain of death.  When Shimei eventually violates that house arrest, Solomon puts him to death as well, thereby securing all potential challenges to his throne.

    As we begin to look at this passage, two questions prompt us to delve further into what is going on here.  First, why are two full chapters devoted to this transition, when by comparison only a few paragraphs are devoted to the entire reigns of some kings?  Second, why was David unable to get warm (1 Kings 1:1)? The latter is unusual, but is prompted by the commentaries of the early Church Fathers on this passage. Ironically, it may be the key question.  As C. S. Lewis has said about the value of reading old books, the older authors may not be right, but they are asking different questions and making different assumptions than we do as moderns.  To understand where the Church Fathers were coming from, we need to turn back to the last chapter of 2 Samuel, chapter 24. 

    In 2 Samuel, the climatic and positive summary of David’s reign is given in chapters 22 and 23, in light of which chapter 24 seems to be narratively anomalous.  In that chapter, the LORD is intent on bringing judgment on Israel (2 Sam. 24:1); the reason is not given in Scripture, but it may well be because the people were in a smug, self-satisfied state after peace returned with the defeat of Absalom, and perhaps not a few were still unrepentant for supporting Absalom.  Either way, God’s judgment comes about because David decided to do a census of people in his kingdom.  While a census is not inherently sinful, it probably was in this case because David’s attitude reflected a greater trust in his nation’s military capacity than in the LORD.  His military commander Joab tried to dissuade him, but David persisted in this endeavor and Joab carried out the king’s commands.  Upon completion of the census, David realized his foolishness and repented before the LORD (2 Sam. 24:10).  The LORD, through Gad the Seer, tells David that He will enact a punishment, and has the choice of famine on the land, persecution from his enemies, or pestilence.  David leaves the decision up to the LORD, although given how he had been on the run in the past from enemies he indicates a preference against doing that again (2 Sam. 24:15).  The LORD executes a pestilence on the land, which kills 70,000 people.  David then acknowledges to the LORD that the people do not deserve such destruction and that God’s judgment should be on him and his house (2 Sam. 24:16).  The LORD halts the plague at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David then purchases the threshing floor and the surrounding property to make sacrifices to God, which then becomes the place upon which the Temple would subsequently be built.  Eugene Merrill, in his book, Kingdom of Priests, noted that David needed a sign from God as to where the Temple ought to be built, since that place was not up to David’s choosing.  David’s willingness to mediate for his people at that place and take on their iniquity made it an appropriate place for the Temple, in which such atonement would become routinely established. In this, David foreshadows our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

    What the ancient commentators picked up on in asking why David could not get warm in 1 Kings 1:1 is that they see a connection between that and David’s request in 2 Sam. 24:16 for God’s punishment to be on him and his house.  To us moderns, David’s inability to get warm may have been a sign of hyperthyroidism or some other physical ailment, and while there may be some truth to that, the ancients perceived that in God’s sovereignty David’s ailment was a sign of God’s judgment.  Indeed, it is David’s ailment that effectively triggers the succession crisis that will end up with Solomon consolidating his power over the throne.

    This answer to the question of the ancient Christian commentators feeds into the answer to the other question posed earlier in this lesson, that is, why is so much page space being accorded to this transition crisis?  Narratively, a number of things are going on.

    First, in closing out the narrative of David’s kingship and establishing Solomon’s reign, we see the fulfillment of God’s promises for and judgments on David’s house.  As noted already, God fulfills David’s request that the LORD’s judgment be on him and his house.  Adonijah’s effort to usurp the throne and Solomon’s successful effort to suppress this, ultimately leading to Adonijah’s execution, reflects the LORD’s judgment.  Adonijah’s self-crowning not only reflects his rebellion against Solomon, but also a disregard for the LORD himself, who had chosen Solomon.  Moreover, Adonijah’s execution also fulfills the earlier prophecy the LORD gave David through the prophet Nathan after David’s sin with Bathsheba, namely, that the sword would not depart David’s house (2 Sam. 12:10).  David’s throne was contested until his dying breath.

    Second, though it may be delayed for a time, God will render justice.  This can be seen in what happens to Joab, Shimei, and Abiathar in the transition and Solomon’s consolidation of power.  In David’s lifetime, Joab, the son of Zeruriah, showed himself to be a shrewd political player, extremely loyal to David, but also ambitious and utterly ruthless, as evident by his cold-blooded vindictive murders of Abner (2 Sam. 3:27) and Amasa (2 Sam. 20:9-10).  Abner was the commander of the northern tribes of Israel who had been loyal to Saul, but eventually brought the northern tribes into submission to David.  After peace had been made, Joab assassinated Abner in retaliation for Abner killing his brother during the intra-tribal fighting, an act of personal vengeance that almost destabilized the kingdom and reopened warfare.  Amasa was David’s choice to replace Joab after Absalom’s rebellion had been crushed (2 Sam. 19:10), but Joab assassinated him as well to preclude Amasa from taking his position.  By aligning himself with Adonijah, Joab showed his core ambition and Solomon executed justice by having him put to death for shedding innocent blood.

    Shimei was of the house of Saul, who, during Absalom’s revolt, issued a stream of invective and curses against David as David fled the city.  Rather than taking personal vengeance at the time, David ignored him.  After Absalom’s revolt collapsed, Shimei sought pardon and David magnanimously pardoned him.  What is clear from his affiliation with Adonijah’s attempted coup is the Shimei’s earlier submission was pragmatic, not heartfelt.  As one who disrespected and blasphemed the LORD’s anointed, he deserved death; the LORD ordered the circumstances that allowed him to violate the terms of the house arrest that Solomon had put him under.

    Abiathar had been loyal to David for many years (1 Sam. 23:9-12) but shifted his allegiance in Adonijah’s plot, perhaps like Joab, out of ambition.  Because he had been loyal to David until this point, he was not put to death, but he was removed from his position as the high priest.  Doing so fulfilled God’s promise to end the house of Eli (1 Sam. 2:31-35), which effectively ended the Aaronic priesthood.

    Third, legitimacy and authority ultimately come from God.  We can see this in David’s command to “Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him [Solomon] there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon” (1 Kings 1:34).  In Israel, anointing by the high priest and the chief prophet underscored Solomon as Israel’s legitimate king.

    Lastly, the character of the king matters.  As the biblical account shows, David was not perfect, having committed some serious sins, so this is not to excuse or whitewash his sins.  Nevertheless, as we will see in successive chapters, David set the standard for the kings to come, and they were compared either favorably or unfavorably to him.  David’s advice to Solomon (1 Kings 2:3-4) establishes what the bar is: “2:3And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4that the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.”

    Questions for Reflection

    1. What is God looking for from His people in what David recounts to Solomon in 1 Kings 2:1-4?
    2. What are we to make of the fact that God will hold His own people to account?  How should that affect how we should live?
    3. Given that legitimacy and authority ultimately come from God affect how we should view even bad leaders?
    4. How might the fact that God may delays but will not deny justice affect how we perceive negative circumstances today?