1 Kings 9:1-28
Q.1. How were God’s promises and warnings to Solomon an act of grace on His part? How high and how low could Israel go? – (1 Kgs.9:1-9)
God set boundaries for our protection. and gave us warnings, to keep us from losing His blessing. God told Solomon that He had heard his prayer petitions. He promised to establish Solomon’s kingdom forever – … if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever … (1 Kgs.9:4-5). God reminded Solomon of His unconditional guarantee to David – … just as I promised to your father David saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel (1 Kgs.9:5). However, God also warned that He would bring adversity upon Israel if they disobeyed Him and turned to other gods. God forewarned – 7 I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 And they will say, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore the Lord has brought all this adversity on them’ (1 Kgs.9:7-9). Israel would fall disastrously.
Q.2. What do we learn about Solomon’s gifts, abilities, and character, from his dealings with others? – (1 Kgs.9:10-28)
Solomon spent twenty years constructing the temple and his own palace and gardens (1 Kgs.9:10). He was devoted to God, and – three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built to the Lord, burning incense with them on the altar which was before the Lord (1 Kgs.9:25). He was ably supported by Hiram, king of Tyre, who supplied him with cedar and cypress wood and much gold (1 Kgs.9:11 & 14). His alliance with Hiram gave him access to great shipbuilders and sailors … and the wealth of the nations. The Tyrians travelled westward, to the nations flanking the Mediterranean Sea, through the Strait of Gibraltar and beyond. Solomon brought these skills to Zion-Geber on the Gulf of Aqaba, sailing east perhaps to SE Asia and beyond. They very likely traded with all the nations of the world (1 Kgs.9:26-28). Solomon drove a hard bargain, and repaid Hiram with ten worthless cities (1 Kgs.9:12-13). He formed an alliance with Pharaoh and married his daughter, for whom he built a special palace. His love of women caused his downfall – his wives turned his heart away (1 Kgs.11:3). He built towns, storage cities and stables, with forced labour from the surrounding nations – But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; For they were men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen (1 Kgs.9:22). He was a great architect and builder, but there was a disappointing gap between what he said and wrote, and how he lived (c.f. Rom.7:14-25).