Solomon Blesses the Lord

 

 

 

1 Kings 8:12-21

 

May 5, 2021

 

Solomon Blesses the Lord

Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.   I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”   Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood.   And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying,  ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’   Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.   But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.   Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’   Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.   And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

 

A chosen people a chosen land, and a chosen city, and the One who did the choosing is the Creator of heaven and earth.  He even chooses the king who was to build the building and put into King David's heart the desire to do so and go ahead of Solomon getting all the materials needed to do so.  God did not need a house to stay in, but Israel needs God's presence, and so do you and me.

 

When Jesus came to earth and took your sins and mine to the cross, He took the full wrath and judgment you and I deserved and won a victory over sin, death, and the grave, and made possible the Holy Spirit of God to indwell all who will by faith put their trust in Him.

 

Many have chosen not to do so, some have chosen religion, whereas many in the Church live by Christian Principles but not in a relationship with the living God. If you have the Holy Spirit living in your life, you may still choose to sin, but He will not allow you to enjoy living there.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Ark Brought into the Temple

 May 3, 2021

 

1 Kings 8:1-11

 

The Ark Brought into the Temple

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.   And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.   And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.   And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.   And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.   Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.   For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.   And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.   There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.   And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord,  so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

 

In Solomon's time or today, I cannot think of a greater honor than for God to choose a person and give them the wisdom to build a place for Him.  How I have a lack of understanding about many things when it comes to God, but I’m not alone so do you, and if you thank not, you need to start over in Genesis and read about a big God who is not like you and me.  In that God is all-knowing, He ever-present, and we in the church often use words like, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience, and yet most do not give honor to the God they say they know, and some even believe they are wise and know what His actions will be.  Omnipotence, God is Infinite, Isaiah 43:13,  “Yes, and from ancient days I am he.  No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?”  

 

Omnipresence, God is all ways presence, Acts 17:24-28,  ^“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.   From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, “though he is not far from any one of us.   ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’  As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.”

 

The omniscience of God, Hebrews 4:13, gives this insight; "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."  Psalm 147:5, “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”  And what about, 1 John 3:20,  ^“for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”

 

From The Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Hiram finished the Job

                                                                        1 Kings 7:38-51

 

May 2, 2021

 

And he made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands.   And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord:  the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticework’s to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars;  and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticework’s, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars;  the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands;  and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea.

Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the Lord, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze.   In the plain of the Jordan, the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.  And Solomon left all the vessels unweighted because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.

 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence,  the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;  the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and firepans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.

Thus, all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

It is hard for my small pea-picking mind to grasp the magnitude of what Hiram has done, under the orders of Solomon.  Without a doubt, it had to be the greatest task Hiram ever was part of and yet the Scripture gives us only a small understanding of the man. 

 

But give us great insight into the character of Solomon, who was the wisest man born of an earthly father to live on planet earth.  He delegated authority to others who had wisdom and skill in building and acted more as the architect who builds the design given to him.  I’ve always thought it sad to see a man with no skill set in an area refuse the help of someone with skills in that area, Solomon was very wise in seeking out special men to do these very important jobs.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Hiram picked and gifted by God

 

May 1, 2021

 

1 Kings 7:23-37

“Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.   Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast.   It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward.  Its thickness was a handbreadth,^[h] and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.

He also made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, 

and three cubits high.   This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames,  and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work.   Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each.   Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round.   And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.  The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.   There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands.   And on the top of the stand, there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand, its stays and its panels were of one piece with it.  And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around.   After this manner, he made the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form.”

 

One must wonder if Hiram's dad told him what my dad told me, no shortcut, any job worth doing is worth doing right.  As you read this account of the furnishing of the temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians, much of Hiram's work was either destroyed or carried off to the King of Babylon.  One has to wonder how long it took to destroy the Temple and how much time it took to build it back. 

 

The lesson is to tear down work, it does not take long, but to restore it can take a long time.  Sin never builds, the game plan of sin is to steal, kill and destroy.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Tell the Coming Generation

                                                                     Psalm 78:1-16

July 23-2022

 

Tell the Coming Generation

A Maskil of Asaph.

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;  incline your ears to the words of my mouth!  I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known,  that our fathers have told us.  We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.l  The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.  They did not keep God's covenant but refused to walk according to his law.  They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.
 In the sight of their fathers, he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.  He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.   In the daytime, he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.  He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.  He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

 

What happens to a generation that the father has not told them the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that he has done?  They begin to do as this generation, they believe the lies being told to them, yes they believe good is bad and bad is good.  The Children of that generation become more foolish and have no understanding, they are arrogant and prideful, and with no respect for authority.   They do not look to worship their Creator, nor do they look and study His written account.

 

They become foolish people looking to others who are eviler than them, to serve to lead them, and they buy into the killing of babies for the convenience of the mother, Climate change as if a man is in control and can control the weather.  They no longer use their mind to seek truth, or they would understand that if oil removal from the earth was terrible, it is bad for the planet no matter who does it.  If coal is terrible for producing energy it will affect the world no matter who does it.  I understand and have the wisdom not because of age, but because I’ve studied the Scriptures and know that man has learned nothing from history, so he keeps repeating it.

 

When it comes to any form of government other than Capitalism, as we have in the USA, that was established by men who believed in freedom from the control of the government, the ability to worship and speak out against the government, and the right to arm oneself if that government set out to take away those rights.  They believe that these rights are not given by man but given by God, to all who obey the laws of God and man.

 

This generation, will not study history, will not open God’s written word, and have chosen to act as if they “can do it their way” how does that work, let me tell you they are headed for a wreck, for they were too foolish to seek truth, and chose the ways of evil.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Temple Furnishings

 

 April 30, 2021

 

The Temple Furnishings

 

And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre.   He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.

He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.   He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.   There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice for the one capital, and a lattice for the other capital.   Likewise, he made pomegranates in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital.   Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily work, four cubits.   The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were two hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital.   He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz.   And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus, the work of the pillars was finished.

 

Have you had a project and knew you did not have the skillset or the time or tools to accomplish it.  So, you look up ads in the phone book or get online to find someone who tells you they have the knowledge and skills to accomplish the projects, only to find they did a poor job.  

 

Solomon must have done some investigating in that he brought Hiram from Tyre who like his father was a worker in bronze.  We do not know about the skills of his dad, but Hiram was known for his wisdom, understanding, and skill for any work in bronze.  Solomon did not ask him to do the woodwork that was not his skill set, but as we read this chapter, it becomes clear the kind of man one should look for if he wants something special, what was more special than the House built for God?

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

                                                                     1 Kings 7:1-12

 

April 28, 2021

 

 Solomon Builds His Palace

Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house. He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars.   And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row.   There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers.   All the doorways and windows had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.

 

And he made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars and a canopy in front of them.

And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.

 

His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for   Pharaoh's daughter whom he had taken in marriage.  All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back, and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court.   The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits.   And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar.   The great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so, had the inner court of the house of the Lord and the vestibule of the house.

 

Solomon's worker finished the Temple in 7 years, but it took 13 years to build his house, did I read that correctly?  Yes, but Solomon makes sure the Temple was designed and built first, and according to all that, his Father in heaven had said.  And when it comes to his house, it was much more than a place to live and entertain a few friends, it was the seat of government, the total government complex, and his living quarters.  Plus, Solomon built a house for the daughter of Pharaoh from Egypt, his wife.

 

No were in the Scripture have I read where God was displeased over these actions of Solomon.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Hand picked by God to build His house

 

April 27, 2021

 

1 Kings 6:23-38

 

 For the inner sanctuary, he made a pair of cherubim out of olive wood, each ten cubits high.   One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wingtip to wingtip.   The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape.  The height of each cherub was ten cubits.   He placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room.   He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.   He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made doors out of olive wood that were one-fifth of the width of the sanctuary.   And on the two olive-wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.   In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall, he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one-fourth of the width of the hall.   He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets.   He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.  And he built the inner courtyard of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.

The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv.   In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.

Our builder often sent us invitations to a new home he had built that was in the parade of homes, I refer to that as a want creator.  My wife saw some things she liked in one of the homes Kyle had built and told him how much she would have liked to have those features in our house.  Kyle's reply was “Jan when you enter the candy store you must have the money to buy.”  That home cost about double the one he had built for us and had many features that were out of our price range, but it did not come close to the Temple Solomon built for the LORD.  Can you imagine walking into a home where all the floors were covered with gold, and the builder and the men in charge were hand-picked by God, to build His house?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice 

                                                                     1 Kings 6:11-22

 

April 26, 2021

 

 

Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.   And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”

 So, Solomon built the house and finished it.   He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress.   He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place.   The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long.   The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen.   The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.   The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid^[g] an altar of cedar.   And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold.   And he overlaid the whole house with gold until all the house was finished.  Also, the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

 

As you read verses 11-13, God’s promise to King Solomon, the question is not can God do what He is promising?  The question for Solomon, as well as you and I, will we obey, will we comply with God's terms?  Will we agree, and then later after we are receiving the blessing and the hand of God, begin to get proud and arrogant and do what our flesh desires?  Will we begin to believe we have a lot going for us, and we begin to steal just a little of the glory that belongs to God?

 

My livelihood was in sales, I worked for a great Company that required a college degree, but they hired me for an outside sales job, a job I had never done.  At first, I was not very good, I worked hard, but was fearful each time I saw a young man enter the office looking for employment.  I did what I was told and made at least 10 cold calls a day.  In the months that follow I had a little success but was still very fearful of losing my job to someone who had a degree or had experience in sales.  My barber asked me to go to a Bible Study, and he was not the Bible study type, so I went to see why he would go.  How I was religious, a church member, who just did not have time on Sundays to attend church, it was my day for other things.

 

That Bible Study was not on my agenda, in fact, I never plan to go back, but each Wednesday at noon I was there; for six months.  I checked out the men that were coming to see if what they said they believed was true in their business lives, and found they were the real deal, and I was the possessor.  One night in Victoria, Texas in a hotel room I opened a Bible on the nightstand and it opened to Roman 10, and it was verses 9, and 10 that got my full attention.  I was like so many church members, only a member of a church, but had never bowed my knee to a holy God.  Had never asked Jesus to forgive my sin that was many, but that night around 10 p.m. I did.  And guess what I enter into the promise God the Father and God the Son had made for “Whosever will” and that night I enter into the family of my heavenly Father.

 

God keeps all His promises, but we often fall short. I began to receive God’s bless and one day when a young man enters the office as I was loading a machine in my car, that old fear from the enemy came on me, and I hear this voice in my head, Bob, your good at what you do, so do not fear anymore about your job.  I knew it was God who told me, and no longer did I fear that.  I did not say I was free from fear but was free in that area.  I became very successful, won many rewards, and some great trips, and for the most part for years gave the credit to God, but pride began to enter into my life and  God will always discipline his kids, when they get full of themselves.

 

So, please give thought to this question, are you taking credit for the skills and talents God has blessed you with?  He often allows us to do so for a while, but if you are in His family, He hates pride, and must allow you to have a wreck, it may come in many areas of your life, but it not to bring harm, but to humble you so you come to your senses.  He is God and you are not!

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

                                                                            1 King 6:1-10

       April 24, 2021

 Solomon Builds the Temple

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord.   The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.   The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house.   And he made for the house windows with recessed frames.   He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around.   The lowest story was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house, he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

 When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

The entrance for the lowest story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third.   So, he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar.   He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

 

Do you understand that the Ark of the Lord was always in a tent from the time God instructed Moses to build it and put the ten commandments in it?   King David wanted to build a house for it and for God but was not allowed to do so, but God said your son will build the House for me.

 

We visited Israel many years ago almost 15 now and were told by our guide that all the items for the temple have been made the priest have been trained and on the day it is built they will once more have sacrifices.  The guide told us they were ready, and it would not take long to build the Temple.  I do believe that is in keeping with the Scriptures, that a Temple will be built, and the world will not what this to happen.

 

As we see the darkness of evil enclosing this world, I am looking forward to the Temple being rebuilt and Jesus soon returning.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

God had given David a wise son

                                     

                                                                1 Kings 5:7-18

 

 April 23, 2021

 

As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.”   And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber.   My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes by providing food for my household.”   So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired,  while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year.   And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

 

A friend will always find great pleasure when he sees a child of his friend, becoming a man of Integrity.  Hiram had great respect for David, and it brought joy to him to see Solomon being a wise leader.  He did all that Solomon asked of him and in return, Solomon supplied his household food, year after year.  

 

Now as you read the remainder of Chapter 5, you will see it was a great task and required a lot of men to do all that was required, so shall we pick up the account in Chapter 5:13-18.

 

 King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men.   And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft.   Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country,  besides Solomon's 3,300 chief officers who were over the work, who had charge of the people who carried on the work.   At the king's command, they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones.   So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.

 

Now, most of you younger folks may not understand the term (drafted), but it was very popular when I was getting out of two years of college.  It was the military, and you were drafted because we had a war going on with the Vietcong, it was referred to as the Vietnam War and many young American soldiers died in that war.  Solomon drafted 30,000 men to go to Lebanon, he also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country. 

 

They had a great task to undertake and God was blessing Solomon and at this point, Solomon was pleasing to the LORD.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Preparations for Building the Temple

                                                                        1 Kings 5:1-6

 April 21, 2021

 

 Preparations for Building the Temple

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David.   And Solomon sent word to Hiram,   “You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.   But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune.   And so, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’   Now, therefore, command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servant's such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

I often wonder, if today the children we raised will value the relationship of their parents.  We live in such a time of the urgent taking preference over the important, if our children do not take time to spend seeking after the Lord, and spending time in prayer and in His word, do you believe they will care to put a value on friends of their parents.

 

My wife of many years who is an amazing lady, has a love for cats, but do you understand, cats are at best fickle, they care only for themselves.  I often wonder if my generation's desire to give our children the best has produced children with the same nature as cats.  Let me share an account, a lady calls a large church  Vacation Bible School, and they have about 1200 little ankle-biters; we refer to them as precious children running everywhere.  A young mother calls the church, to inform them she is running late and wonder if they will wait to start till her child gets there, in that she does not want him disappointed.  That is not a fictional account, it happened, and unlike Solomon, who valued as a child his dad and those who loved his dad.  Unlike a child who has a mother who is so self-centered to expect a request this foolish, will have a hard time in a world that is all about getting what it wants. 

 

Now, King David was not a great dad, but Solomon's mother must have taught her son to value the things of God and to remember those who value and loved his dad. 

Note: to the few who are teaching their children, to value the things of God, to understand He is a good and loving Father that unlike our parents will always listen to them.  Will discipline His children when it is required, and guide them to love their neighbors as themselves.  But He never punishes His children, for He took his full wrath out on His One and only Son, Jesus Christ, for your sins and mine.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God gave Solomon everything He needed to be a great Leader

1 Kings 4: 20-34

April 20, 2021

 

 Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.   Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

Solomon's provision for one day was thirty corp^] of fine flour and sixty cors of meal,  ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.   For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him.   And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.   Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12,000 horsemen.   And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon's table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking.   Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

 

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,  so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.   For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.   He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.   He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish.  And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

 

If you wonder what a man might have the ability to be and do, one only has to look at Solomon.  But then will it help if we study all that he did, but God’s hand is not on us?  Have you heard the saying, ladder against the wrong wall?  Solomon was the earth suit, but it was God who gave him riches, and wisdom, and when you have a man who is following God’s will, and not his own, you will find a man who walks in this life full of peace and contentment.   We have many people who have gained wealth, power, and even authority, but have no understanding of what it is like to have an understanding of the ways of God, they seek peace, and they would pay any amount to have peace, but they have no room for the giver of peace and contentment.

 

Solomon understood this, I must look to and obey God’s will if I am to lead such a people as Israel.  He was a young child when He believed in God, and sought Him, and guess what Jesus said, we must come to the Father with the faith of a child, if we desire mercy and grace, if we want to live at peace with God and men.  What value do you put on living at peace with God and man?

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Solomon's Officials

 

1 Kings 4:1-6 – 7-19

 

April 19, 2021

 

 

Solomon's Officials

King Solomon was king over all Israel,  and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest;  Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;  Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;  Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;  Ahishar was in charge of the palace, and Adoniram the son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.

We might refer to these men as the movers and shakers or the power brokers of Solomon’s Kingdom.  Eleven men to carry out the desires of Solomon, and to make the part of government they were responsible for, to run in a way that met the king's requirements.

Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year.   These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;  Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan;  Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher);  Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);  Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;  Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;  Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);  Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;  Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;  Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.

 

As stated the twelve deputies' job was to provide food for the royal household, each had a month.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice