Bible Commentaries
1 Kings 9

Verses 1-28

1. Intro: The Lord Appeared...the 2nd Time
   1. Halley’s Bible Handbook, This era of David and Solomon’s was the Golden Age of Hebrew history. David was a warrior. Solomon was a builder. David made the kingdom. Solomon built the Temple. In the outside world, this was the age of Homer, the beginning of Greek history. Egypt, and Assyria and Babylon, at the time, we’re weak. Israel was the most powerful kingdom in all the world; Jerusalem the most significant city, in the Temple the most splendid building, on earth. They came from the ends of the ears to hear Solomon’s wisdom and see his glory. The famous Queen of Sheba exclaimed, the half was not told me.
2. GOD’s APPEARANCE & WARNING (1-9)
   1. (1-3) This second vision was intended to assure Solomon that his prayer was heard and the temple was hollowed and declare the conditions on which both king & people might be assured of permanent prosperity.
   2. Usually, humans serve as the subject of the Hebrew verb used here - meaning they are consecrated by God.
      1. Here, God graces the temple with holiness, and receives Solomon’s gifts, and resides in the temple.
   3. The Lord appeared...the 2nd time - Do you desire a renewed appearance from God? A fresh manifestations, a new visitations from on high?
      1. We walk with God constantly, yet there are seasons when He opens to us the very secret of His heart, and he shows Himself to us. [which is better than “what to do”]
      2. All days in a palace are not days of banqueting, and all days with God are not so clear and glorious.
      3. I think that we should be seeking those 2nd appearances. But not to “see” God, but for sure to experience His presence/Him.
   4. Do you know your prayers are heard? Ask How? [Prov.15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous] + He answers.
   5. Do you know your building/your temple/your body was accepted? How? (He indwells you)
      1. It’s not where you pray (it’s how...Lk.18:9-14, 2 men went up to the temple to pray, Pharisee/Tax col). [trust in God. be humble]
      2. If Grace is like rain, then one is a statue & one is a sponge.
         1. Can you picture that? (Both being rained on yet: 1 repelling water, other absorbing it)
      3. Two men – each was a man; only a man.
         1. Whenever a man/woman crosses the threshold of the temple/church, that is how they are listed by high heaven. [the Pharisee was prob proud of his humility]
         2. Employer can sit next to employee, & cop next to ex-convict.
         3. Both went up to pray, & right their in their prayers the difference was revealed.
         4. Private prayer can be offered in the temple at any time of the day.
   6. Compare vs.3 to 8:29, in what 2 respects did God exceed Solomon’s request?
   7. Note: My Name. My Eyes. My Heart. Ask...[what do you think He means by these 3?]
      1. My Name - this continues the tension between the concept of an earthly abode and the insistence that God does not live on earth, but in the heavens.
      2. My Eyes - In his prayer (8:27-30), Solomon asked God to keep His eyes open toward the temple and to hear the prayers of the people.
      3. My Heart - God saying, I’m engaged. This isn’t just a shrine.
   8. (4,5) If you walk before Me - the Hebrew phrase used here, means to serve and always appears in reference to kings serving God.
   9. This section reiterates the Davidic covenant and its conditions.
      1. As your father David walked - David’s obedience to Yahweh serves as the standard that all Israelite kings should emulate.
         1. Walk as David walked. w/integrity of heart & in uprightness. Not like an Egyptian (Bangels 1986)
   10. (4-9) Warns Israel of the risk of disobedience, using vocabulary reminiscent of the book of Deuteronomy.
   11. The covenant faithfulness of the king and his people determines the fate of both the throne and the nation.
   12. Obedience leads to blessing, disobedience leads to chastening.
       1. As soon as we yield ourselves to God...to be only His, He enters upon a possession, hallowing, infilling, guaranteeing are security.
   13. (7) I will cast out of My sight - or, I will send form My presence/face.
   14. (9) Because they forsook the Lord their God - This describes religious apostasy, which is the reason for the ultimate fall of both the northern and southern kingdoms.
   15. You & I must be wholehearted, not in the miles but in the steps of our daily walk.​​​​​​​ (F.B.Meyer)
   16. It’s obedience to the inner voice. It’s discerning our Father’s voice from every other sound & call.
3. WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT (10-14)
   1. ​​​​​​​What was your best/worse white elephant gift?
   2. (14) 120 talents of gold - May describe a tribute payment. The Queen of Sheba brings the same amount (10:10).
4. ACHIEVEMENTS (15-28)
   1. ​​​​​​​(15) Millo (to be full or to fill) - The consensus among archaeologists is that it refers to a terraced earthwork that was part of a large retaining wall in Jerusalem. [Hezekiah’s tunnel,Gihon spring to Pool of Siloam]
   2. Solomon built a network of fortifications, garrisons, and economic centers at strategic points throughout his kingdom…
      1. These included Hazor, Megiddo, & Gezer - they were on the international highway connecting Egypt and Mesopotamia.
         1. (17,18) Lower Beth Horan & Baalath were on the routes leaving from that highway up to Jerusalem. And Tadmor was guarding the spice route from Eden
      2. Hazor was the largest fortified city in the country.
      3. In the mid-1950s Hazor was the most important dig undertaken by Israel in its early years of statehood. Tel Hazor is the largest archaeological site in northern Israel, featuring an upper tell of 30 acres and a lower city of more than 175 acres.
      4. Of course Megiddo - the most popular from the Armageddon (aka Har/mount-Megiddo)
         1. #14 Archeologists have uncovered similar architectural features at Hazor, Megiddo & Gezer. A 6-chambered city gate built by Solomon.
   3. (19) The large stables at Megiddo suggest that it may have served as one of Solomon’s cavalry cities.[Sheri Hansen] *Slide19 what happens when u fall asleep on our tour bus.
   4. (20-22) Solomon conscripts labor forces from the survivors of the nations he conquers.
   5. (25) 3 times a year - probably a reference to 3 pilgrimage festivals, when the Israelites went to Jerusalem. [Feast of Unleavened Bread/Passover. Feast of Weeks/1st Fruits/Pentecost. Feast of Tabernacles/Booths/Sukkoth]
   6. (26-28) Show Map of Elat & Ophir.
      1. These merchant ships were for trade with Arabia, India, and the east coast of Africa.
   7. Solomon’s Gold...annual income & supply was absolutely enormous.
      1. Within 5 years after Solomon’s death, Shishak, King of Egypt, came and took away all this gold (1 Kings 14:25).
         1. Back in 1939 the mummy of Shishak was found in Tanis, in Egypt, in a gold-covered sarcophagus perhaps some of this very same gold he had taken from Solomon.
      2. Ezion-Geber - also in 1939 these ruins have been identified. They found Solomons smelters, furnaces, crucibles and refineries; also, copper and iron ore deposits, in the vicinity; of which, dishes, nails, spear heads and fishhooks, were manufactured, and exported in exchange for ivory and gold.