The Lord Appears to Solomon

 

I Kings 9:1-9

 

May 14, 2021

 

The Lord Appears to Solomon

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace and had achieved all he had desired to do, the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.  The Lord said to him:

“I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.  “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

 “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees, I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.  This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’  People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”

 

Do you enjoy great architecture, Jan and I have always enjoyed it and look for it when we travel, and I can only imagine the temple of Solomon and the other structures it was an amazing accomplishment.  The only thing I can compare it to, and it is not even close, is, in sales, closing that large account you never thought could be done. 

 

A promise with and if, in sales, we call that a carrot if you meet this quota, we will do this.  God promised, Solomon that He will always have a royal throne over Israel forever, with this condition, if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees, I have given you, I will cut you off from the land of Israel. 

 

We have seen the history and know that Solomon's heart was drawn away by his many foreign wives and their gods that had no ability to hear or see, much less part of the Red Sea.  It is hard to understand how a very wise man, could become that big a fool, but then it is also hard to understand why we do not pay attention to history and learn from it.

 

The USA, a nation that was built on a foundation of freedom and the right to own land and travel without asking for approval and to make decisions that may be a blessing or might cost you your freedom, has chosen the little gods and government over a God who loves them.

 

Maybe being a fool is something we choose but it, is not a requirement, is it?  As I observe Washington D.C. and the group of people, the people who have chosen to be our Representatives in the house and senate, maybe we have lost our minds.  So many ungodly, evil people that come with little in the way of wealth, and the longer they stay the more wealth they get, on government pay?

 

If the FBI were not a part of this mob, they would be putting most of them in prison, for taking bribes, and payoff under the table, and for a man who works hard for 41 years and saved his money, I’m saving not close to what they steal in a few months, of being your public servant.  Public Servants, that's a big joke, they are liars and thieves, and we the people have been too busy to acknowledge the truth.  But God, has noticed and payday is coming for each of them, and the sad thing is their actions will bring harm to each of us and our families.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Solomon Turns from the Lord

 

1 Kings 11:1-8

 

May 10, 2021

 

Solomon Turns from the Lord

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.   He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.   For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.   For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.   So, Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.   Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.   And so, he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

 

I have often said it is a wise person who understands the unique type of flesh God has given them, yet Solomon with all his wisdom never checked out his flesh.  As a boy king, he began strong, seeking God and wanting his will.  But the enemy of his soul also had a plan it worked on Solomon, and it will work on you and me.  The old serpent, the devil or thief, is the way Jesus refers to him “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

 

At some point he listened to the wrong voice, I call that Channel One, the deceptive channel, it is a voice that sounds like ours.  But Solomon had to tune out of Channel two the quieter voice and listen to his flesh desires and not the Holy Spirit of God.  It is clear 
Solomon had lustful flesh, and a desire to do what they wanted, and unlike his father David, was not confronted by a man of God, like Nathan.  David always when confronted by his sins, would humble himself, and repent, we do not see that happening with Solomon.

 

Has the church, of 2021 gone the way of Solomon, paying no attention to or teaching its people about their unique version of the flesh?  The old thief, the devil loves ignorant about such subjects, if one thing is their thoughts and not that of the devil, sending it to them, they are fair game for his plan to destroy, their marriage, family, business, and testimony of what Jesus is doing in their life.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

A People Deparing from God

 

1 Kings 8: 31-40

 

May 9, 2021

 

 

“If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house,  then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

 

 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

 

As you read these first two paragraphs, it would be wise to consider your nation: has it departed from the authority of the Lord, and maybe, yes, you need to ask, have I departed from the precepts of the Scriptures? 

 

“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin when you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

 

Often we will hear or quote 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then  will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  I must tell you that most of us would not know how to be humble we have few examples of it in our world.  I have only met a few men that I was able to call humble men.  T.W. Hunt was such a man, he spoke several languages, wrote and published many books, was a professor of music, and a great teacher on prayer and walking with God.  I was honored to be his friend, and in one of our talks, he shared, “ Bob, I am a wicked man, I was shocked, how could he say such a thing about himself?  My reply was if you are wicked, I do not have a change, you are one of the meekest and godliest men I ever know.  As I gave thought to that it became clear, that T.W. was not comparing himself to other men, but to his master, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the older I get and the more time I’ve spent in prayer and the Scriptures,  I know that I also have wicked flesh, my mind often thinks on evil thoughts, I am often a Pharisee, wanting others to think more highly of me than both God and I know to be true.  So if we cannot be humble in our spirit, and action, can we expect God to honor our prayers?

 

“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

 

The bottom line is, that we need to stop going to church, and Bible studies if we have no desire to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith.  2 Corinthians 13:5, is a great place to begin, and if you pass the test, then ask Jesus to show you how to allow Him to live His life in you, we have too many people who have great knowledge of the Scriptures but no application.  

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

 

 

1 Kings 8:22-30

May 8, 2021

 

 

 Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,  and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;  you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.   Now, therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’   Now, therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

 

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!   Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day,  that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.   And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”

 

I can only imagine such a leader of a nation, who understands what God has done and will do for a person, or people, or nation that will look to Him, and obey his statutes and precept.

 

In the next paragraph, Solomon asks a rhetorical question, it was not as if he did not know the answer, but it could be he wanted the people to understand, that no place no matter its size can house the totality of God.

 

When it came to prayer and offering, one must come to God with a broken and contrite heart.  Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  1 Samuel 15:22, “But Samuel declared: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.”

When we come to God we have an agenda, we what our will to be done, but is that a broken spirit and contrite heart, is it obedience to His voice?  Often I found it is not, for we are too impatient to be still and listen for that quiet voice of God.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

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