A Study in I Kings Week 9

by Associate Teacher, Jerry Blankenship

I Kings 9:1-28

The Verses:

v. 1-9 GOD'S COVENANT IN A SECOND VISION WITH SOLOMON.

“House of the Most High," notwithstanding its beauty and magnificence, would be destroyed, and would remain in a state of ruin and degradation to be a striking monument of God’s just judgment. The record of this second vision, which rehearsed the conditions of God's covenant with Solomon and the consequences of breaking them, is God’s warning before the narrative about to be given of Solomon’s commercial enterprises and his ambitious desire for worldly glory. This king, by encouraging an influx of foreign people and a taste for foreign luxuries, rapidly corrupted his own mind and that of his subjects and their children, so that they turned from following God (1 Kings 9:6).

v. 10-23. THE MUTUAL PRESENTS OF SOLOMON AND HIRAM

According to Josephus, the twenty cities were situated northwest of Galilee, adjacent to Tyre. Though lying within the boundaries of the Promised Land (Genesis 15:18, Joshua 1:4), they had never been conquered till then, and were inhabited by Canaanite heathens (Judges 4:2-13, 2 Kings 15:29). They were probably given to Hiram, whose dominions were small, as a remuneration for his important services in furnishing workmen, materials, and an immense quantity of wrought gold (1 Kings 9:14) for the temple and other buildings. Hiram refused these cities, probably on account of their inland situation making them unsuitable to his maritime and commercial people.

v. 15. A levy refers both to men and money, and the necessity for Solomon making it arose from the many gigantic works he undertook to erect. These high taxes laid the foundation for the division of the kingdom after Solomon’s death and were also a fulfillment of God’s warning to Israel about rejecting Him for a human king (1 Sam.8:10-18).

v. 24-28. SOLOMON'S YEARLY SACRIFICES

Three times in a year--namely, at the Passover, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles (2 Chronicles 8:13, 31:3). The circumstances mentioned in these two verses form a proper conclusion to the record of his buildings and show that his intent in erecting those at Jerusalem was to remedy problems existing at the commencement of his reign (see 1 Kings 3:1-4).

A Study in I Kings Week 8

I Kings 8 1-66

The Verses:

1-13 This describes how they brought the *Covenant Box into the *temple. They all brought animals to *sacrifice to God. The only things in the *Covenant Box were the stones of the 10 *commandments. Then the cloud which was a *sign of the *glory of the *Lord filled the *temple. Uzzah had died because he touched the box. So the priests carried the box on long poles. They offered very many *sacrifices. After they placed the box in its special place, they left the room.

Any person who saw God’s face would die (Exodus 33:20). Afterwards, Moses’ own face shone so brightly that he had to cover it (Exodus 34:24-35). But Paul says that, in the future, we shall see God’s face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

14-21 The *temple was a *sign of his *presence among the *Israelites. In those days, God lived with his people. Today he lives in his people. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:16, ‘We are the *temple of the living God.’

22-30 Solomon stood to pray. He was the king. But he even called himself God’s servant. Kings often thought that the people were their servants. But, in this prayer, Solomon says that the people in *Israel were God’s servants. For the Christian, God really has come to live on earth in the person of Jesus Christ. *Forgiveness is available for all who put their trust in Jesus. This is because Jesus died for us. He is now in heaven and he is praying for his people. He offers their prayers to his Father.

31-40 Solomon asked God to listen to people’s prayers when people prayed towards the *temple. Today, we do not pray towards a place but towards a person, the *Lord Jesus Christ. We can learn about him as we study the *temple. It is Jesus who can forgive us

41-45 Solomon asked God to accept the prayers of foreigners who came to him. He understood that God’s good news was for all people, not just one nation. Jesus said, ‘My *temple is a house of prayer for the people in all nations’ (Mark 11:17).

46-54 Solomon then prayed for those whom God would punish because of their *sin. Romans
5:6 tells us how God shows his *grace to Christians also. ‘When we were still without power, Christ died for wicked people.’ Ephesians 1:4 says, ‘God chose us in Christ before he made the world.’ 1 John 1:9 says, ‘But if we tell God the truth about our *sins then he will forgive us.’

55-61 He prayed that God would assist them daily with their troubles. Then other nations would know that he is the only real God. In Ephesians 1:11-12 Paul says to Christians, ‘God chose us in Christ…. to give honour to his *glory.’ So as God works in our lives, he receives the *glory.

62-66 This was the beginning of the daily *sacrifices for *sin at the *temple. These lasted as long as the *temple stood. Today Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Jesus prays to God for us. His prayers for us are also continuous. But Jesus’ death as a *sacrifice only happened once. That one perfect *sacrifice was enough for all our *sin (Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 10:10-12).

A Study in I Kings Week 7

I Kings 7 1-38

The Verses:

1-12 Solomon took twice as long to build his own house as he did to build the temple.

However, he made sure that he built God’s house first. Solomon’s own palace had many great
halls. The halls had different designs.

The ‘Hall of the Forest of Lebanon’ used much cedar wood. That wood came from the forests in Lebanon. The hall received its name because of the use of the wood. The hall was a large room with an impressive design. Solomon kept much gold in this hall. He held great parties here (1 Kings 10:16-17; 10:21).

The next room was the ‘Hall of Columns’. The columns were a very splendid entrance for the
room.

The ‘Hall of Judgement’ was a very important room. It contained Solomon’s throne (royal seat). Solomon used this throne when he acted as Israel’s chief judge. The throne itself was magnificent. No other king had ever made such a wonderful throne (1 Kings 10:18-20).

The private rooms where Solomon actually lived were behind these halls. And Solomon built
another palace for his wife, who was the daughter of the king of Egypt.

13-14 The Israelites did not know how to work with metal. So Solomon brought this skilled workmen from Tyre. His mother was an Israelite so he was not a complete foreigner.

15-22 The names of the columns reminded the people about God. Jakin means ‘He (God) establishes’. And Boaz means ‘In him (God) there is strength’. In other words, the people in Israel should receive their strength from God, not from armies or from wealth.

23-26 This was a very large basin, for water. The priests used it to wash themselves before they offered sacrifices. The basin reminded people they must be clean in order to come in front of God. And that would remind them that they also should be holy.

27-39 The ceremonies that happened at the temple were very unlike the ceremonies in a modern church.

People would bring animals to offer as sacrifices. They would hand over these animals to the
priests. The priests would kill the animals at the entrance of the temple.

Then the priests would prepare the sacrifices. There were several different types of sacrifice. The priests had to be careful to obey the right rules for the type of sacrifice. The law permitted the priests to take some meat for their own use. And the priests would burn other parts of the animals as a gift to God. They would do this on the altar in front of the temple.

40 The priests would use the spades to remove the ashes from the altar. They would place the ashes in the pots (Exodus 27:3). The bowls were for the blood of sacrifices. The priests would scatter some blood during certain ceremonies.

41-47 This is a list of what Hurim had made for outside the temple.

48-51 The objects inside the temple itself would be gold. Gold is a pure metal. It is also very
beautiful. It reminds us that God is perfect. God never sins. He is holy.

The temple of the Lord was of supreme importance, and had to represent all that is grand, great and pure about God.

So…what kinds of things do you put inside your temple of the Lord?

A Study in I Kings Week 6

I Kings 6:1-38

The Verses:

1-7 Solomon acted as the temple’s architect. But the plans were not his own. He used the plans that David had already made. And David did not design the plans by means of his own imagination. God’s Spirit put these plans into his mind (1 Chronicles 28:11-12; 1 Chronicles 28:19).

Hebrews 9:24 explains the reason for this arrangement. The temple that Solomon built was a copy of the real temple in heaven. So the design had to be God’s design.

God was using Solomon to carry out his work on earth. And, by means of Solomon’s temple, God would show his power and his honor.

The temple was splendid. But few people would see the beauty of its rooms. Only priests entered the main hall. However, the most special place was the inner room. It was called the most holy place, or “The Holy of Holies.” And only one man, the chief priest, would enter it. Even he could only enter it once each year (Hebrews 9:7).

8-14 And God referred to his promise to David. David’s family would always rule Israel, if they continued to obey him. And that would be God’s promise to Solomon too, if Solomon continued to obey God. The splendid building that Solomon made could not impress God.

What mattered to God was the attitude of Solomon’s heart. And if Solomon obeyed God’s law, God would support Solomon and his kingdom. Hebrews 10:36 says, ‘You need to continue although things are difficult. Then you will receive what God has promised.’

15-22 Solomon covered the building with cedar wood. He covered the most holy place with gold. It contained the box of the Lord’s covenant that Moses had made. Inside the box were the stones of the Ten Commandments.

23-30 The angels were like guards for the Covenant Box. They were half of the height of the room. The room was 30 feet high. There were carvings of angels, trees and flowers on the walls. They were like pictures of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8). God sent people out of Eden because of their sin. They could only come near to God if he forgave their sin. The most holy place was the place where they offered sacrifices for sin. We can only enter heaven if we trust in the sacrifice of Jesus for our sin.

31-38 We are not sure what some of the words in these verses mean. People built such a splendid temple because they recognized the greatness of God. It also taught people that God was with them. It did not keep God in one place. Solomon says this in chapter 8:27.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3:16, tells Christians that they are God’s temple. The Spirit of God lives in them. In Ephesians 2:19-22, Paul says that the church is the temple of God. Jesus is the foundation (the strong base). Christians are like the stones of the temple in which the Holy Spirit lives.