Today’s passage: 1 Kings 11:1-8

Helpful thoughts:

• Kings married multiple wives often in the ancient near east in order to ratify treaties.
  • God forbade this practice in Deuteronomy 17:17.  The reason?  So the king’s heart would not turn away from the Lord.
  • God also told Israel to marry within their nation (and faith), for the same reason.
• David was not without sin.  However, he was also not without repentance.  (Psalm 51)
  • Repentance is a change in heart and mind which leads to a change in actions.
  • Solomon did repent (See Ecclesiastes).  But, the consequences of our sin goes farther than we can control.
• The Temple was not the only place of worship that Solomon built in his lifetime.
  • A customary form of worship for Chemosh was child sacrifice, giving human children as a burnt offering.

Questions to consider:

1. What did the people of Israel see their king doing in all of these other temples and high places?  What would the knowledge of King Solomon, who had built and dedicated the Temple to the Lord, worshiping all of these false gods with all of these different wives do for the purity of heart for the nation of Israel?
2. Thinking politically as a king with several allies in the region, what might have convinced Solomon, in his own mind, that what he was doing was appropriate and dignified?  In what ways had Israel received a king that helped them to be just like all the other nations? (1 Samuel 8:19-20)
3. What does becoming like all the other nations result in?  What had God called Israel to be among the rest of the world?  What has Christ called us to be? (Matthew 5:13-16)

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 10:14-29

Helpful thoughts:

• 666 talents of gold is about 25 tons.  This was the annual income.
  • Don’t read too much into that number…that there were 666 talents has nothing to do with the mark of the beast.
  • The gold could have been brought in through trade, taxes from other lands, or probably both.
  • Israel had so much gold, silver was no longer valuable.  But, they could still use it to buy from other nations.
• God gave Solomon everything He had promised (1 Kings 3:10-13).
• This was the height of Israel as a nation.  Yet, the appearance of Solomon’s wealth failed to compare with the lilies of the field in God’s creation (Matthew 6:28-30).

Questions to consider:

1. Imagine being an exiled Jew during the captivity, or returning from captivity and seeing Jerusalem gutted and destroyed.  Would hearing of all this wealth make you excited or saddened at what had become of it all?
2. What did God call Solomon to do with all of this blessing (1 Kings 3:14)?  Why does it seem harder to continue to rely on the Lord when we have so much earthly treasure and respect? (Proverbs 30:7-9)
3. How does this passage contribute to Jesus’ teaching on anxiety in Matthew 6?  What would all this wealth and power make you feel and think about yourself?  How much power would you think you possess?  How much control of your situation might you believe you have?  How do those ideas contribute to anxiety?  What then did Jesus say was the way out of anxiety?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 10:1-13

Helpful thoughts:

• About the queen of Sheba:
  • Sheba was in southwestern Arabia.
  • A retinue is a group of assistants or advisors.
  • The queen brought questions to test Solomon out first, but then shared with him her whole heart.
• Everything that the queen of Sheba saw and heard took her breath away.
  • The passage serves as an independent verification of the wisdom and wealth of Solomon.
  • The passage also shows that even a foreigner could see, the Lord has loved Israel.
• Many riches were exchanged on this occasion.  We aren’t even told what the queen left with, only that she was given everything she asked.

Questions to consider:

1. Whom did the queen credit for all the wonderful things she heard and saw in verse 9?  In what ways did her views fall short?  Did she see the Lord as the one true God or just as Israel’s God?  Did she exalt the Lord more or Solomon?
2. In what ways did the queen’s views (Being a foreigner and NOT a follower of the Lord) end up being more respectful and accurate than how Israel saw the Lord’s blessings on their nation?
3. How does this passage inform our understanding of Matthew 12:42?  (Be encouraged to keep studying the Word and seeking Jesus.  It’s worth it!)

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 9:1-28

Helpful thoughts:

• Because the Lord waited until after Solomon had finished building his own house, this second appearance of the Lord to Solomon happened about twelve years after the events of chapter 8.
• In pledging His eyes and heart, God promised his attention and great affection to be given to the people of Israel.
• “Cabul” means, good for nothing.  Hiram would later give these twenty cities back to Solomon.
• Gezer was a strategic city that was right on the “Coastal Highway”, a main trade route that ran right through Israel.  It is amazing that the Pharaoh of Egypt knew and obeyed God’s orders for conquering these cities in the Promised Land for Israel and kept them as well or even better that Israel had herself (See verses 20-21).

Questions to consider:

1. Why has there been so much trouble in Israel over the years?  Both in ancient history and still today?  Why is there a mosque on the Temple Mount today?  (Verse 9)
2. Go ahead and peek at the beginning of chapter 11…what is the sad truth of what happens after the Lord shared His promises with Solomon in the first part of this chapter?  How long did this agreement actually hold from man’s end of the covenant?
3. Which of these achievements sticks out to you as the most impressive, or perhaps the most surprising?  How many of them did Solomon achieve on his own?  What can the answer to that last question teach us?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 8:54-66

Helpful thoughts:

• Solomon blessed Israel by asking the God would graciously incline their hearts to Himself (Verse 58).
  • This request of God’s grace did not negate the need to command Israel to be true (loyal) to God, to walk in His statutes, and keep His commandments (Verse 61).
• The people were reminded again of their role in the world (Verse 60), “That all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God, there is no other.”
• Lebo-hamath (Or, the entrance of Hamath) to the Brook of Egypt were northern and southern (Southwestern) borders in Israel.  These locations were stated to show that people from all over Israel were in attendance for this celebration.

Questions to consider:

1. Look back at verse 22 and then again at verse 54.  What had changed in Solomon’s posture as he prayed that day at the consecration of the Temple?  How would the weight of that day, the responsibility he bore, the glory of God brought him to his knees?  Why is it right for leadership to be humbling for the Christian? (Mark 9:35, Hebrews 13:17 – Especially the last part of the first sentence.)
2. What was the sense of national joy at the end of this great celebration?  If there were political polls back in those days, what would they have looked like?  What was the source of their joy?  Solomon? David? Or someone else (Verse 66)?  What must the source of our joy be, no matter what the political polls say in our land?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 8:22-53

Helpful thoughts:

• This prayer of dedication begins by praising God for His attributes and then making requests according to God’s attributes.
  • The prayer is also a reminder of the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy 27-28.
• Solomon understood that God had condescended to graciously grant Israel this showing of His presence.  The false religions desire to impress their gods and compel them to act.  God is above that.
  • What a blessing to know that the God who transcends all our comprehension draws near, is accessible, and desires relationship with His children!
• Verses 41-43 evidence that Israel was aware of their role in the world…to point people to the true God.

Questions to consider:

1. What can we learn about Solomon and Israel’s understanding of God in this prayer?  What are we reminded of about God?
2. How is it helpful to remember that Solomon is both praying for God’s people and praying for an actual country (Israel)?  How would prayer for a country vary from a prayer for a church?  How could this cause some confusion if we forget that the United States is not to be equated with Israel?
3. Why would it make sense that false religions (Invented by men) come back to the performance of the person worshiping?  How is Christianity different?  Who is all of creation ultimately for (Colossians 1:16)?  How does this support the fact that salvation is by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-10)?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 8:1-21

Helpful thoughts:

• The dedication of the Temple was scheduled for the Feast of Tabernacles.  Israel would gather in Jerusalem to celebrate their time living in tents, and then celebrate the transition of God’s tent (The Tabernacle) to this new “permanent” temple.
• The cloud that filled the Temple was the same as had filled the Tabernacle and led Israel through the wilderness (Exodus 40:33-38).  When Israel saw the cloud enter the Temple, they knew glory of the Lord had come in this special way to dwell with His people.
  • The departure of the glory of the Lord is depicted in Ezekiel 10, at the time of the Babylonian conquest.
  • The next time Israel would see a divine darkness would be at the cross of Christ in judgment (Mark 15:33-38).  By the time that darkness lifted, the curtain in the Temple that had separated God’s people from His presence was torn in two from top to bottom.

Questions to consider:

1. If you had been working at the Temple that day, and had to stop your work because you couldn’t see anything, being surrounded by the glory of God, how do you think you would feel?  What would you be thinking?  How might your reverence for God and thankfulness for His mercy and grace have expanded?
2. How does the fact that darkness came over the land when Christ was on the cross add insight for the previous question?
3. The Temple had been built magnificently.  Everything about it was beautiful.  What was the most amazing thing the nation of Israel and their king saw on this day when the presence of God came down?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 7:13-51

Helpful thoughts:

• This is a different Hiram, not Hiram the king of Tyre.
• Jachin means, He shall establish.  Boaz means, It it is strength. (Verse 21)
  • When you entered the Temple you were to be reminded that God had established the people of Israel and that God remained the strength of Israel.
• “40 Baths” is about 240 gallons.

Questions to consider:

1. What would the nation have been reminded of as David’s contribution was brought into the Temple?  Who had started this process and desired to see it happen?  How was David’s legacy continuing to bear fruit?
2. How are Hiram’s skills compared to those whom God chose to serve earlier in Israel’s history? (Exodus 31:1-5)  How can these attributes encourage us in our work and trades?  How can we serve the Lord and bless people each day with the skills we have?
3. Why would Israel need to be mindful of and remember the truths of “Jachin” and “Boaz”?  How are they still important to the Church today?  Who is building us?  Who is our strength? (Matthew 16:18)

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 7:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• The times at the end of chapter six and the beginning of chapter 7 make for quite a contrast.  These buildings in Solomon’s palace “complex” took longer and are often larger than the Temple.
• The fact that Pharaoh’s daughter received this special treatment either means she was regarded as the political queen or that Solomon understood the need to please his wife’s father.
• Even after Solomon built all these impressive buildings, he was not satisfied (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11).

Questions to consider:

1. What might have been the feeling or perspective of the people as this palace complex was being built?  How does it sound like it compared to the Temple?  How do we often regard people’s efforts and investment in these kinds of endeavors?  On the other hand, why should we be careful to not let our opinions and assumptions become the standard?
2. While Jerusalem was certainly becoming an impressive city, why wasn’t Solomon satisfied in it?  How would Solomon’s understanding of the vanities of this life only increased the more he built and owned?
3. How did Solomon respond to this truth?  What was his conclusion? (Ecclesiastes 12:13)  What did the Apostle Paul learn about true contentment (Philippians 4:11-13)?