Burunche’s Blog

1 Kings 10:1 – 29 “Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones.

So, she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.  She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard. How blessed are your men! (Some versions read “How blessed are your wives.”) How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!  Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, (120 talents is approximately 4.52 tons or 4.1 metric tons of gold.) a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such an abundance of spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug c wood and precious stones. The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen to this day.)

King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.

The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents, (666 talents is approximately 25.1 tons or 22.8 metric tons of gold not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. (600 shekels is approximately 15.1 pounds or 6.8 kilograms of gold.) He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. (3 minas is approximately 3.77 pound3s or 1.71 kilograms of gold; possibly a reference to double minas, that is, approximately 7.54 pounds or 3.42 kilograms.)

Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest. Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.  

So, King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart. Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.

Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; (Probably an area in Cilicia, a province in the southeast of Asia Minor) the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram. (600 shekels is approximately 15.1 pounds or 6.8 kilograms of silver.  150 shekels is approximately 3.8 pounds or 1.7 kilograms of silver.)”

The amount of wealth pouring into Solomon’s kingdom is truly astounding! Little wonder that the Queen of Sheba was amazed when she visited. Reading the accounts of the amount of gold, silver, jewels, precious metals, precious wood, and other treasures that poured into Solomon’s kingdom every year is mind boggling! But Solomon missed an incredible opportunity. “So, King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.”

Solomon was sharing his wisdom and collecting tribute from his visitors, but he was NOT giving glory to God or telling these people about the One True God of Israel. Solomon had an incredible opportunity to share the truths of God with people coming from idolatrous nations, and he blew it!

The root of Solomon’s problem was disobedience. Deuteronomy 17 ordained that any king of Israel should write out his own copy of the Laws of Moses so that he could study them for himself. It has been shown that students learn far more when they write things out by hand than when they type on computers or copy and paste and download from the internet. There is no evidence that Solomon ever truly studied the Laws of Moses at all, and he certainly never wrote out his own copy. Anyone as wise as Solomon was certainly literate and could have copied the law had he wished. Solomon never asked himself why God would give him all this wealth and wisdom; he simply took it for granted as his due. Solomon suffered from entitlement syndrome.

APPLICATION: These days, there are a number of believers who make the same mistake that Solomon made. Rather than engaging in Bible study and in practices that foster self – discipline, these people hope to become instant saints. Self – indulgence has become a goal for many believers. Having chosen to follow Jesus, there are many who feel that now everything should go smoothly, and that they should be able to do what they want, without changing at all. But spiritual growth demands self – discipline and sacrifice. 2 Peter 1:5 – 9 tells us, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”  

Originally, Solomon humbled himself before the Lord; however, he rapidly turned away, becoming entranced with the trappings of wealth. Later on, in the Book of Ecclesiastes 2:1 – 11, Solomon expressed his disappointment with his choice of lifestyle.

“I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.

I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees. I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me, and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines. So, I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me. Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Solomon had it all and realized it was meaningless. A life that does not glorify God will ultimately result in disappointment and dissatisfaction. May God help us to realize that He does not give us gifts to spend only on ourselves, but for us to bless those around us and to point them to Him!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to receive Your gifts as stewards, realizing that You want us to bless others and to demonstrate Your love to them. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 9:9 – 28 “Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace, King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire. So, Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them.

“What are these towns you have given me, my brother?” asked Hiram, and he called them the Land of Cabul, as they are called to this day. (Cabul sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing. These were small villages, only one of which can now be located. The town marked Karmi’el is the modern location of one of the towns of Cabul.) And Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold. (120 talents is approximately 4.52 tons or 4.1 metric tons of gold.)

This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. So, Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, and Tamar in the Wilderness of Judah, as well as all the store cities that Solomon had for his chariots and horses —whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.

As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction —Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day. But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. They were also the chief officers over Solomon’s projects: 550 supervisors over the people who did the work.

As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.

 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.

 King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. And Hiram sent his servants, men who knew the sea, to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s servants. They sailed to Ophir and imported gold from there—420 talents—and delivered it to Solomon. (420 talents is approximately 15.8 tons or 14.4 metric tons of gold.)”

King Hiram of Tyre had been a good friend to King David, so when Solomon ascended the throne and wanted to build the temple, Hiram readily sent the treasured cedars of Lebanon, skilled workmen, and a huge quantity of gold. But evidently, Hiram was also anticipating a big return for these gestures. When Solomon gave Hiram control of twenty towns in the lower Galilee, Hiram probably anticipated that these towns were in a rich farming area that would yield a great deal of grain. Unfortunately, Solomon was trying to get away as cheaply as possible, and Hiram recognized that fact. Solomon might have wisdom, but character is a different matter!

Remember Samuel’s warnings about the behavior of kings? Those prophecies were certainly coming true under Solomon. Solomon conscripted the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites to forced labor. The Israelites became men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. They were also the chief officers over Solomon’s projects: 550 supervisors over the people who did the work. Meanwhile, the Israelite women were undoubtedly conscripted to serve as bakers, perfumers, etc., just as Samuel had predicted. One telling phrase says, “But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery..” SLAVERY??? Wow Solomon! How noble of you! Solomon carried out ambitious building projects throughout the kingdom, including large numbers of stables. (The stables at Megiddo have been excavated, demonstrating accommodations for 450 horses. There is controversy about whether these stables were built by Solomon or by a later king, who might have expanded Solomon’s original stables.)

APPLICATION: While Solomon might have been wise, this wisdom did not necessarily translate into his being a man of character. King Hiram of Tyre must have been a very patient man to have endured the treatment Solomon gave him. But Hiram was a businessman and Tyre was an important commercial center. It’s likely that Hiram figured he could make up in trade what Solomon had failed to give him as payment for all his assistance.

The people of Israel might have been proud of Solomon; but at this point, they were realizing that there was a high price to pay for all this splendor, and they were the ones footing the bill. In accordance with the Law of Moses, Solomon paid these workers; however, they must have suffered. After Solomon’s death, the Israelites came to Rehoboam, his son, begging for some relief from the royal demands.

Wisdom and knowledge do not equal character. As I am writing this, an American billionaire is attempting to buy up huge parcels of farm land in the U.S. This is the same man who is attempting to collapse the livestock industry, forcing people to eat artificial foods instead. Power – drunk, this individual realizes that if he controls the food supply, he can control people needing that food.

King David inspired devotion in people because he cared about them. David’s son had no such compunctions; it was all about him, and the little people were only there to carry out his schemes. Solomon began by worshiping God, but eventually, he worshiped demons and he worshiped himself. May all of us be careful to remember that there is only one God and that we should worship Him and Him alone! Let us not set ourselves up as little gods!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to worship You and You alone. Thank You for loving us and for sending Your Son Jesus to die for our sins, conquering death and the grave in the process. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 9:1 – 8 “Now when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all that he had desired to do, the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.  And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.

And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ And others will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—because of this, the LORD has brought all this disaster upon them.’”

Most people would be thrilled if they heard from God directly once in a lifetime, but Solomon hears God speak to him twice. The first time, God made extravagant promises to Solomon, most of which are already coming true. But now God is issuing a stern warning, one to which Solomon will eventually pay no attention.

““I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.” What an amazing promise! God pledges that no matter what may happen, His Name will remain on the temple forever, and His eyes and His heart will be there forever.

“And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’” Even though David was not a perfect man, his heart attitude toward the Lord remained that of integrity and uprightness. David did keep God’s statutes and ordinances, and God established his throne. But that throne is Solomon’s to keep or to throw away.

 God will definitely keep his side of the bargain; however, now He sternly warns Solomon. “But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.”

Solomon has already taken a wife from Egypt, and God knows that in the future, Solomon will ally himself with surrounding nations by marrying extensively. Eventually, Solomon will have a harem that includes 700 wives and 300 concubines. In addition to Pharaoh’s daughter, these women will be of Moabite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite origins. (https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/women-of-solomon-bible#:~:text=Solomon%2C%20third%20king%20of%20Israel,8%3B%2011%3A1).

Solomon does this, even though Deuteronomy 7:3 prohibits kings from marrying foreign wives and Deuteronomy 23:4 – 9 excludes Moab and Edom from the congregation of the Lord. This means that none of these wives can ever enter this gorgeous temple that Solomon has just dedicated! Now imagine what each of those women is saying to Solomon when she has the chance. “Solomon, honey, your religion doesn’t allow me to worship with you, but you refuse to worship MY religion with me! Why can’t you just bend a little and create a place where I can worship my gods?” Presumably, the lady in question is alluring (Solomon definitely had an eye for beauty!) and will then does everything she can to entice Solomon. What is notable is that the Bible mentions foreign wives but fails to mention any Israelite wives. Driven by sexual urges, it is little wonder that Solomon winds up creating altars to all kinds of pagan gods and burning sacrifices on them!  

With this many wives, Solomon can’t possibly keep track of his children, nor can he raise them in the ways of the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:4 – 9 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Children generally receive much of their spiritual teaching from their mothers, and Solomon has married women who worship demons. Little wonder then, if his kids grow up serving their mothers’ gods. It is not a stretch to affirm that the same individual who has created such a magnificent place of worship for Israel is already laying the groundwork for its destruction by his refusal to obey God completely.

APPLICATION: God does not joke about spiritual things! The structure known as the Wailing Wall is the only part of Solomon’s temple that is left intact. Even today, if you go to the Temple Mount and visit the Wailing Wall, you can feel the holy atmosphere. Each year, millions of people pray at the Wailing Wall, leaving petitions written on small pieces of paper in hopes that God will honor these petitions. But, this wall with its enormous stones is the only remnant of Solomon’s temple. Why is this?

“And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ And others will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—because of this, the LORD has brought all this disaster upon them.’”

Solomon’s temple was magnificent and God put His Name and His Presence there. But one of the many lessons we must learn from Solomon is that works without faith are worthless. God has no step children. The fact that our parents have served God faithfully can only serve as a guide. Each of us must choose to serve God for ourselves. Solomon began well; however, he was actually coasting on the coattails of his father’s faith. Rather than copying David’s devotion to God, Solomon copied the weakest parts of David’s character. Having created an incredible place of worship, Solomon may have thought that was enough and that now he was spiritually set for the rest of his life, but he was wrong.

The walk of faith is a daily one in which we repeatedly choose to serve the Lord. One of our close friends used to pray, “Lord, help me to love You more today than I did yesterday. Help my love and service for You continue to increase each day.” To the end of our dear friend’s life, this was her constant prayer. Those who knew her could testify that indeed, her prayer was answered. May this simple prayer be ours as well!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, please help us to love You more each day than we did the day before. And may our love for You be evident in every part of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Hundreds of years ago, St. Richard of Chichester wrote this prayer that was later turned into a worship song.

 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:

“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need,so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

The Dedication of the Temple: Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So, the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord.

On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.

So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all.On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.”

22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats go up in smoke! There are so many burnt offerings, grain offerings, and other offerings that the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple has to be consecrated to accommodate all these offerings. By this point, the smoke and the smell of burning flesh must pervade all of Jerusalem. The fellowship offerings probably represent animals whose fat is offered to the Lord while the meat is distributed to the people. The celebrations wind up lasting fourteen days. By any standards, this is an amazing event.

Solomon’s final prayer is well worth noting. Solomon affirms that God has given rest to His people Israel and that not one of Gods’ promises has failed. Then Solomon invokes God’s blessings on Israel. “May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

As was pointed out yesterday, God’s blessings have never left Israel. God has remained faithful, even as people have wandered away to serve demons. Amazingly, many times it is the pagan nations to which the Jews are exiled who will develop respect for the God of Israel. Sadly, God knows full well that the same people who are busy shouting his praises during this celebration will eventually turn away from worshiping Him to idolatry.

APPLICATION: There’s nothing wrong with worshiping God. When done properly, worship lifts us out of ourselves and places the focus squarely on God, to whom all praise and worship is due. But we must be careful to distinguish performance from worship. These days, Christian music videos are abundant. While the words of the songs and their tunes may be meaningful, these videos frequently show the artists posed in attractive clothing against multiple striking backgrounds involving expensive cars, houses, etc. If you turn off the sound and only watch the video, you will never get the message that is supposed to be conveyed.

Clearly, these videos are not worship but are performances and must be considered as such. The performance mentality has ruined much of Christian worship. Rather than allowing the Lord to be the center of attention, performers focus all the attention on themselves. Even in our small Ghanaian village, worship leaders frequently appear to be auditioning for Christian music videos. Those handling sound systems are so fond of the “echo” or “reverb” settings that words are distorted beyond the point at which they can be understood. Somewhere along the line, the total focus becomes the performance. Ironically, if the electricity goes out, the older people take out their traditional drums and begin singing the songs written when their fathers and grandfathers first rejected their fetishes. Real worship breaks out, and everybody can tell the difference.

The celebrations surrounding the dedication of the temple were awe – inspiring, lasting for two glorious weeks. But one wonders what happened when those who had taken part in the festivities returned home. Did they continue to worship God, or did they merely remember the extravagant trappings of the dedication? And did they use the fact that they could not stage such worship services themselves as an excuse not to worship at all?

There’s nothing wrong with celebrations. But daily life demands a daily re – dedication of our hearts to God. Church attendance on Christmas and Easter might be thrilling, but demanding that your spiritual life will be nourished by two celebrations a year is tantamount to demanding that you only eat a meal twice a year.   

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help everyone who reads these words to realize that You want them to worship in spirit and in truth and that such worship is not showy or performance – oriented. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

“When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.

 “May your eyes be open to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you. For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign Lord, brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

There are moments of supreme inspiration in our lives, high points that only come once. Solomon is moving under the leading of the Holy Spirit, and his prayer is both a petition and a prophecy. Here are two more prophecies that were fulfilled well after Solomon’s death.

1. “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them” This prophecy came true several times, even in the days of wicked King Ahab. (1 Kings 20)
2. “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; “ The prophet Daniel, while in exile prayed on behalf of all his people. God heard Daniel’s prayers and eventually moved Cyrus, King of Persia, to call for volunteers to return to Jerusalem to build the temple. It was Daniel’s practice to pray facing the direction of Jerusalem five times a day, and it was this practice that allowed Daniel’s enemies to manipulate the king so that Daniel wound up in the lion’s den. Ezra and Nehemiah both prayed prayers of repentance as they led groups back to Jerusalem.
3. “Cause their captors to show them mercy…”  In fact, this prayer also came true. Daniel was particularly shown favor and mercy, as were Mordecai and Esther.
4. “May your eyes be open to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you. For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign Lord, brought our ancestors out of Egypt.” Many believe that this prophetic prayer is still being fulfilled. The rise of Israel after World War II has been little short of miraculous. The survival of Israel under multiple attacks continues to amaze those who are aware of the constant bombardment. There are miracle stories of deliverance coming out of the Six Day War in June 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. The Yom Kippur War of 1973 was particularly notable because at the beginning, many Israeli soldiers were not at post but at home with their families celebrating the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Despite multiple handicaps, Israel wound up in control of territory four times its previous size! (https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/yom-kippur-war)  

APPLICATION: We cannot depend on mountaintop experiences to carry us through our daily lives; however, we should also take care to live in the light of what God shows us on the mountaintop. Solomon’s prayers on behalf of his people are masterful, but they are also bittersweet. For after building the temple and inspiring all of Israel, Solomon himself wanders away from God. Although God has promised Solomon wisdom and wealth, He has never said anything about Solomon having innumerable wives and concubines. It is the demonic religions of these women that eventually entice Solomon away from God. And Solomon never writes out a copy of the Laws of Moses, nor does he even study someone else’s copy as God has ordered in Deuteronomy 17. Demons transfer through sex, and it is a sad mistake to ignore this fact!

Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple is a literary masterpiece. This prayer has been copied and re – echoed during the dedication of many church buildings. Parts of this prayer have found their way into popular praise songs. If only Solomon would remain as enthusiastic and as steadfast for the rest of his life!

One of the challenges of growing older is maintaining a vibrant spiritual life. These days we have all kinds of entertainment available to us. While much of this entertainment is not bad, we must not allow it to take the place of prayer and Bible study. My mother used to say that as we become older, we become more of what we always were, only more so. Let us be careful so that as we age, our passion for God and the things of God increases, rather than dwindling into useless frivolities. The high point of Solomon’s spiritual life came early on, and from then on, it was all downhill. May God help us so that our spiritual lives will always be moving upward and not downward!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to listen for Your voice and to love You more each day than we did the day before. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 8:22 – Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication “^Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven ²³ and said:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

“Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.

 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.

 “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

 “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, ³⁸ and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

Solomon is dedicating the temple to the Lord and acting as prophet, priest, and king. From this point onward in human history, there will only be one other figure who is qualified to act in this fashion, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God. Solomon’s prayer of dedication is one of the most magnificent prayers recorded in the Bible and is well worth close examination. One amazing thing is that Solomon has no illusions about what may happen to Israel in the future, although he can scarcely be blamed for not foreseeing the destruction of the temple and the sacking of the temple. Let’s look at Solomon’s petitions.

1. “Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ Solomon begs God to remember His promises to establish David’s throne forever. Unfortunately, several of David’s descendants do not walk faithfully before God; however, this promise is ultimately fulfilled in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. “May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,” Solomon is begging God to perpetually remember Jerusalem and the prayers made in the temple and toward the temple. Later on, when Daniel is in exile in Babylon, he prayers toward the temple in Jerusalem five times a day, even though he knows that the temple has largely been destroyed. God has never removed His Presence from the temple mount.
3. “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven and act.” This petition is a very serious one, invoking God’s judgement on anyone swearing a false oath before the altar. Any student of the Scriptures will be careful to remain truthful. One wonders how many times people swore false oaths in that temple and what happened to them as a result. Certainly, Solomon is pronouncing a strong curse on liars!
4.  “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. Here Solomon is already foretelling the attacks of Babylonia and Assyria, the ensuing exile, the edicts of Cyrus, and the return of a remnant under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah.
5. “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them…”  Only a few generations later, King Ahab ascends the throne and the prophet Elijah calls for a three – year drought. It is the miraculous lifting of that drought that will help bring revival to Israel.
6.  “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, ³⁸ and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple—” Nowadays, we obsess about climate change without stopping to consider our heart attitudes toward God. We will readily blame God for disasters without considering our neglect of His worship. Here Solomon is making it clear that disasters befall people who turn their backs on God, but that God will send relief to the penitent.
7. “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name” Again, Solomon is moving in the prophetic. Not only do foreigners come during Solomon’s reign, but even today, thousands of years later, millions of people come from all over the world to pray at the Wailing Wall, the only part of Solomon’s temple left in Jerusalem. I have personally visited the Wailing Wall twice, and each time it has been an extremely moving experience. Even in ruins, Solomon’s temple remains a very holy place, and the presence of God is quite strong there.

APPLICATION: Don’t overlook Solomon’s prayer or discount it because of Solomon’s later behavior. At this moment in time, Solomon is the Lord’s anointed one and is acting in that capacity. Later on, it is true that Solomon becomes distracted by all his wives and concubines and eventually joins them in worshiping demons. Solomon is human and fallible. But at the time of the temple dedication, Solomon’s heart is still right before the Lord.

What about the climate disasters Solomon mentions? The Sentinel Group has a series of videos documenting the environmental changes that can take place when revival comes to an area and people turn their hearts to God. This series is called the “Transformations” series and may be accessed at http://www.sentinelgroup.org. The series documents reversal of climatic disasters in far – spread places from Guatemala to Alaska to the South Pacific. For more information, you can also check out “George Otis Junior,” the founder of the Sentinel Group.

James 5:16 tells us that “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.^” Tomorrow we will continue to examine the rest of Solomon’s prayer. But as we do so, ask yourself this: what are you praying for? Your prayers may be far more powerful and long – acting than you realize!

PRAYER: Lord God of Israel, there truly is nobody like You in heaven or on earth. Father, help us to take our prayers seriously and to be persistent in our intercessions for others. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 8:1 – 21 “Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.

 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.

Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”

While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. Then he said: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’

 “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’

“The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

The work on the temple is done, and now Solomon and all the elders and heads of tribes and chiefs and priests are bringing the ark up from the tabernacle where it has sat since David returned it to Jerusalem. Now Solomon is giving the introduction for the ceremony. At the beginning of the ceremony, Solomon and the others sacrifice so many animals that they cannot possibly be counted. The smoke of these sacrifices fills the entire temple compound.

When the priests carry the ark into the Most Holy Place and set it down, the glory of the Lord fills the temple so completely that the priests can only withdraw, unable to perform their duties. Solomon then gives a small account of David’s desire to build a temple and God’s assurances that David’s son would accomplish that. Solomon reminds all the people that the ark contains the stone tablets with the covenant of the Lord written upon them.

APPLICATION:  The dedication of the temple is one of the high points of Solomon’s reign. This magnificent structure is now complete, and Solomon is acting as a kind of priest by offering sacrifices and then admonishing the people. If only the rest of Solomon’s reign would be as wonderful! After the offering of sacrifices and the arrival of the ark, God’s glory fills the temple, overwhelming the priests. Solomon reminds the people of God’s covenant. All the focus is on glorifying God, and all Jerusalem must feel the presence of the Lord God of Israel.

There are times in our lives when God enters in a very special way, and all we can do is to worship Him. We should never overlook these times, but we also cannot depend on them to give us the spiritual energy necessary for our daily lives. At one point, Jesus took Peter and John up on a mountain top. Suddenly, Peter and John saw Jesus glowing with heavenly glory and speaking with Moses and Elijah. This experience was definitely amazing; however, once Jesus and the others came down off the mountain, the first problem they encountered was a demon – possessed boy with epileptic fits. There is an important lesion here. Spiritual high points are important because we glimpse the glory of God in new ways. But eventually we must return to the stresses of daily life.

When Solomon dedicated the temple, there was a huge crowd of leaders from Israel who witnessed the dedication. One wonders what happened to these people afterwards. Were these people changed for the rest of their lives, or did the memories gradually fade so that they returned to a low spiritual level?

Holiness may intrude into our lives at any moment. The question is, what do we do after mountaintop experiences? Jesus told his disciples that overcoming demons demanded prayer and fasting. There is nothing particularly attractive or dramatic about either of these practices, and yet they are most necessary. May God help us so that we will celebrate the moments of glory but continue to move steadily towards heaven.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You daily and consistently. Help us not to try to depend on occasional moments of inspiration for our walk with You. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 7:48 – 51 “Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar;

the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence; the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple. So, all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed.

Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.”

After the long recitation of all the bronze items in the temple, the gold items almost seem like an afterthought, until we look more closely at the details. All the items used in the Most Holy Place were of pure gold as God ordered Moses on Mount Sinai. But then even the doors of the main hall of the temple and the hinges for the doors of the Most Holy Place were also made of gold. The outer part of the temple was adorned with bronze, but the Most Holy Place was adorned with gold. In addition, the temple also contained a treasury of silver, gold and furnishings collected by Solomon’s father King David.

Where did the plans for the temple come from? Did these plans originate with Solomon, or did David discuss them with Solomon before he died? David wanted to build a temple to the Lord; however, God told him that since he, David, was a man of war, it would be his son Solomon, a man of peace, who would build the temple. But the dreams may well have started with David. Perhaps it was David’s passion for the Lord that drove Solomon to decorate the temple as lavishly as possible, even to having gold hinges on the main doors to the Holy Place.

APPLICATION: We read these descriptions and marvel at the wealth that was lavished on this temple. How much of our treasures are we willing to give to God? How passionately do we love God? If God asks us to give up those things most precious to us, will we do so, or will we try to negotiate?

In an earlier age, West Africa was known as “The White Man’s Graveyard.” Missionaries embarking for West Arica would pack their belongings in their coffins, assuming that sooner or later they would need those coffins. Several years ago, I attended a Christian Medical and Dental Association meeting where certain physicians described their experiences of deliberately moving into inner city slums to minister to those around them. Foregoing comfortable suburban lifestyles, these men and women and their families courageously settled in places as medically underserved as most remote parts of Africa and Asia.

God’s calling is different for each of us; God does not make cookie cutter Christians. But in the end, either we will say “Thy will be done” to God or God will say “Thy will be done to us,” and leave us to our own devices. An old hymn says, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live. I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be willing to surrender everything in our lives to You, knowing that You will do marvelous things if we follow Your leading. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 7:13 – 47 “Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre.  He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So, he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.

He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. Each pillar was approximately 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference (8.2 meters high and 5.5 meters in circumference). He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high.

(5 cubits is approximately 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters.) For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital. Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars. And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high. (4 cubits is approximately 6 feet or 1.8 meters) On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.

Thus, he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, (He establishes) and the pillar to the north he named Boaz. (In Him is strength) And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So, the work of the pillars was completed.

The Molten Sea  

He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference. The Sea was approximately 15 feet from rim to rim, 7.5 feet in height, and 45 feet in circumference (4.6 meters from rim to rim, 2.3 meters in height, and 13.7 meters in circumference).   Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center. It was a handbreadth thick, (A handbreadth is approximately 2.9 inches or 7.4 centimeters) and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths. (2,000 baths is approximately 11,600 gallons or 44,000 liters.)  

The Ten Bronze Stands

In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.  

This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights, and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work. Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side. The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep, with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide. And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round. There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter. The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.

Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand. At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high. The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.

He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around. In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

The Ten Bronze Basins He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths (40 baths is approximately 232 gallons or 880 liters) and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands. He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

Completion of the Bronze Works Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD: the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars; the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars); the ten stands; the ten basins on the stands; the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea; and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.

All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze. The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.”

Whew! By now, the temple is really beginning to glisten inside! Bronze is a slightly darker color than gold; however, all that bronze would mean that the temple would look amazing whenever light hit the columns, the sea, or the basins with their portable stands. No wonder that Huram had to cast all these things in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan.

There’s no doubt that Solomon’s temple was an incredible building with phenomenal features. The saddest part of this situation is that eventually, Israel and Judah both stopped worshiping the Lord and turned to demons instead. The Assyrians and the Babylonians raided Jerusalem, cutting the bronze into pieces and carrying it off.

APPLICATION: There is a Latin phrase sic transit gloria mundi, which means, “So passes the glory of the world.”  1 John 2:15 – 17 tells us, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father, but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.” God is the only safe Person to trust. Politicians, religious leaders, heads of corporations, movie stars, sports heroes – all these people are fallible and will eventually disappoint you. Wealth can evaporate, and your health may fail suddenly without warning. As I am writing this, our hospital is in mourning for a young nurse, a beloved wife and mother of two small children, who suddenly dropped dead a few days ago.

When Solomon built this temple, there were probably people who assumed that it would stand forever. But only a few hundred years later, invading armies would tear the temple to pieces, looting the gold and silver and bronze, and carrying the spoils away. Eventually, Solomon realized that his wealth did not satisfy him and expressed his disillusionment in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Where do you look for help? Psalm 46:1 says that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever – present help in times of trouble.” Put your trust in God! Your Heavenly Father will never disappoint you.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help all who read these words to trust in You and rejoice in Your Love. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 7:1 – 12 “Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.

He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams. (The house was approximately 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high (45.7 meters long, 22.9 meters wide, and 13.7 meters high).

The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row.  There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers. All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.

Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico. (The colonnade was approximately 75 feet long and 45 feet wide (22.9 meters long and 13.7 meters wide).

In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.

And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.  All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard. The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long (15 feet) and some eight cubits long. (12 feet) Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.

The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.”

We read these accounts and think, “Ho hum! Just another set of lists.” But these descriptions have been preserved for a reason. The cedar described here is the giant cedars of Lebanon, the image of which still appears on the Lebanese flag. These trees were enormous and their wood was highly prized. Many rich people might have a single room paneled in cedar, but Solomon was making colonnades and paneling rooms with cedar in the palace as well as the temple. King Hiram of Tyre had his men cutting huge numbers of cedars and floating them down the Mediterranean Sea to ports in Israel where they were off – loaded and brought to Jerusalem. Part of the timber work force was also from Israel, with thirty thousand men working in three – month shifts – ten thousand men at a time would work for one month in Lebanon, be home two months, and then return to Lebanon.

Notice that Solomon only used dressed stones, which meant that the stones were already carved to specification at the quarry and were then brought to Jerusalem to be set in place. This way Solomon didn’t have to put up with the nasty noise of stone masons chiseling stone.

APPLICATION: We work in a remote part of northeastern Ghana. Most of the patients who come to the mission hospital where we work are subsistence farmers who struggle from one rainy season to the next to grow enough food for their families. There are many times when we pay medical bills so that families will not use up their meager resources, only to starve later. We regularly see heart – breaking situations. Several years ago, the movie of Les Miserables came out while we were in the U.S. Some friends took us to the movie as a treat; however, I only made It through the first twenty minutes and then broke down sobbing and had to leave the theater. The movie is an excellent portrayal of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece and deserves all the awards that it has garnered. My problem was that I identified so closely with the very poor portrayed in the movie that I couldn’t stand to be entertained by their poverty.

Before I began working among very poor people, I could read the accounts of Solomon’s temple and his other buildings and simply marvel. But after years of experience, I now wonder what the average Israelite thought about the palaces Solomon built for Pharaoh’s daughter and for himself. Were the Israelites delighted, or did they wish that this magnificence had not come at such high a price? There’s no doubt that visiting dignitaries would be astounded when they saw the temple and the palaces employing such expensive materials. Perhaps the Israelites thought it was all worth it for the sake of national pride. But on the other hand, perhaps they didn’t. At any rate, who would dare to question King Solomon?

Wealth is one of the most difficult things for most people to handle. R. G. LeTourneau was a prolific inventor who developed innovative earth moving equipment. Le Tourneau was a dedicated Christian and made so much money that he donated 90% of his salary to various Christian endeavors and lived off the remaining 10%. Le Tourneau lived well but simply, never allowing his wealth to distract him from serving God. For many of us, we are far safer with modest means. Solomon is no exception, and we will later learn what happened to him as a result of all this wealth.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You and no after money. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.