God appears to Solomon again.

1. (1-5) God confirms the answer to Solomon's prayer.
a. When Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the King's house: This was some 24 years after Solomon came to the throne. The temple and the palace work at Jerusalem were finished. Now Solomon had to deal with life after completing his greatest accomplishment.

i. "It was the hour when the accomplishment of work means the relaxation of effort. That is always a perilous hour, and the greater the work done the graver the peril. A life which has been full of activity, when that activity ceases, demands some new interest, and will find it, either high or low, noble or ignoble." (Morgan)

ii. John Trapp on the words, all Solomon's desire: "The word signifieth such a desire as a young man hath after his mistress, or a bridegroom toward his bride; which showeth that Solomon took too much content in his buildings and furniture, passed over his affections too much unto them, and here began his fall."

b. The LORD appeared to Solomon the second time: God was good to give Solomon a special appearance at the beginning of his reign in (1 Kings 3:5-9). It was even better of God to grant a unique appearance to Solomon the second time.

i. "Brethren, we want renewed appearances, fresh manifestations, new visitations from on high; and I commend to those of you who are getting on in life, that while you thank God for the past, and look back with joy to his visits to you in your early days, you now seek and ask for a second visitation of the Most High." (Spurgeon)

ii. "We do not need to be converted again; yet we do want that again over our heads the windows of heaven should be opened, that again a Pentecost should be given, and that we should renew our youth like the eagles, to run without weariness, and walk without fainting. The Lord fulfill to everyone of his people to-night his blessing upon Solomon!" (Spurgeon)

c. I have heard your prayer: The great prayer of Solomon in 1 Kings 8 meant nothing unless God heard the prayer. The true measure of our prayer is if God in heaven answers the prayer.

i. "Have you never known what it is to leave off prayer when you are in the middle of it, and say, “I am heard: I am heard”? Have you not felt that you needed not to cry any longer, for you had gained your suit, and must rather begin to praise than continue to pray? When a man goes to a bank with a cheque, and he gets the money, he does not stand loafing about the counter: he goes off about his business. And oftentimes before God, he that is prepared to be a long time in prayer if it should be necessary, feels that he must be brief in petition and long in thanksgiving." (Spurgeon)

ii. This answer seems to have come many years after the actual dedication of the temple. Yet God also gave Solomon an immediate answer of approval at the time of dedication, when the sacrifices were consumed with fire from heaven (2 Chronicles 7:1-7).

d. I have consecrated this house which you have built: The building was Solomon's work, done in the power and inspiration of the LORD. The consecration of the building was God's work. Solomon could build a building, but only God could hallow it.

i. "Man builds; God hallows. This co-operation between man and God pervades all life. Man performs the outward and mechanical; God the inward and spiritual . . . We must be careful to do our part with reverence and godly fear, remembering that God must work in realms we cannot touch, and to issues we cannot reach, before our poor exertions can avail." (Meyer)

e. Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked . . . then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever: God's answer to Solomon's previous prayer had a great condition. If Solomon walked before God in obedience and faithfulness, he could expect blessing on his reign and the reign of his descendants, and the dynasty of David would endure forever.

i. God did not demand perfect obedience from Solomon. David certainly did not walk perfectly before the Lord, and God told Solomon to walk before Me as your father David walked. This was not out of reach for Solomon.

2. (6-9) God warns Solomon.
a. But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me . . . then I will cut off Israel from the land: The positive promise of 1 Kings 9:1-5 is followed by a negative promise. If Solomon or his descendants turn from following the Lord, God promised to correct a disobedient Israel.

b. And this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight: God answered Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8, but it was not an unqualified promise to bless the temple in any circumstance. God blessed the temple and filled it with the glory of His presence, but he would cast it out of His sight if the kings of Israel forsook the Lord.

i. With such a glorious temple, Israel would be tempted to forsake the God of the temple and make an idol of the temple of God. Here the Lord made them know that He could never bless this error.

c. Israel will become a proverb . . . everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss: Under the Old Covenant, God promised to use Israel to exalt Himself among the nations one way or another. If Israel obeyed He would bless them so much that others had to recognize the hand of God upon Israel. If Israel disobeyed He would chastise them so severely that the nations would be astonished at the hard work of God among His disobedient people, and they would know that the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.

i. The Living Bible has a vivid wording of 1 Kings 9:7: "Israel will become a joke to the nations and an example and proverb of sudden disaster."

Dedication of the Temple

Portion For Reading 2 Chr 4-6

Msg 2 Chr 6:12-14

The dedication of the Temple had great splendor. Solomon sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep, with celebrations for 7 days. (1K.8:63,65)

The most solemn moment was when the priests placed the Ark of the Covenant with the two tables of Moses in it in the Holy of Holies, which was the reason of the whole Temple... and when the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD, the Glory of the Lord, the same columns of cloud and fire that will appear at the end of times when the Ark of the Covenant will be discovered, as it was just described (1K.8:6-11) .

Speech of Solomon (1K.8:12-53):

Solomon knew the house he had built with the most extravagant resources available to him, and with the finest workmanship, was as nothing in God’s eyes, The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! (1K.8:27).

However, the Temple was the heart and soul of Judaism, as Solomon describes at length in his speech.... today's Temples of Christianity are the heart and soul of the Christians.

Today's Judaism has no Temple, only synagogues, places of meeting, God is not there!... Judaism today is left with the scriptures and morals and teachings, the skeleton of the religion, but it has lost its heart and soul: No sacrifices to God, no priests, only rabies, teaches and preachers, but no altar, no temple... If David or Moses would come today to Israel or New York they would not recognize Judaism... without temple?, without altar?, without priests?... Judaism

In Christianity today happens the same: There are two kinds of Christianity:
- One kind, with temple, altar, priests... with morals and Bible and teachings... with the soul and the skeleton of Christianity!
- Other kind, without temple, nor altar nor priests... they keep the skeleton of Christianity, but they have lost its heart and soul.

The glory of God fills the temple

a. The cloud filled the house of the Lord: This was the cloud of glory, seen often in the Old and New Testaments, sometimes called the cloud of Shekinah glory. It is hard to define the glory of God; we could call it the radiant outshining of His character and presence. Here it is manifested in a cloud.

· This is the cloud that stood by Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21-22)
· This is the cloud of glory that God spoke to Israel from (Exodus 16:10)
· This is the cloud from which God met with Moses and others (Exodus 19:9, 24:15-18, Numbers 11:25, 12:5, 16:42)
· This is the cloud that stood by the door of the Tabernacle (Exodus 33:9-10)
· This is the cloud from which God appeared to the High Priest in the Holy Place inside the veil (Leviticus 16:2)
· This is the cloud of Ezekiel's vision, filling the temple of God with the brightness of His glory (Ezekiel 10:4)
· This is the cloud of glory that overshadowed Mary when she conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35)
· This is the cloud present at the transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:34-35)
· This is the cloud of glory that received Jesus into heaven at His ascension (Acts 1:9)
· This is the cloud that will display the glory of Jesus Christ when He returns in triumph to this earth (Luke 21:27, Revelation 1:7)

i. "There is a parallel to this event in Acts 2:1-4 in which God marks the inception of the church as the temple of the Holy Spirit by making his presence known through the sound of a mighty rushing win and by filling those present with the Holy Spirit." (Patterson and Austel)

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

Portion For Reading 2 Chr 1-3

Msg 2 Chr 1:7-13

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered God, "You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

God said to Solomon, "Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have."

Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the Tent of Meeting. And he reigned over Israel.

And because Solomon didn’t ask for riches or power, God gave him the wisdom he asked for and the riches and power. So, the wisdom, which was supposed to have marked Solomon’s reign as king of Israel, was seen as a direct gift from God.

Pray For Wisdom

Jam 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

Jam 3:13-18

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

Proverbs 2

* My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
*turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,
* and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
* and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
*then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
* For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
* He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
*for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
* Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.
*For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
* Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
*Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse,
* who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways,
* who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
* whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.

* Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.
* For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it;
* but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

The End of King David’s Reign

Portion For Reading 1 Chr 27-29
Msg 1 Chr 29:26-29
Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

The Hebrew Bible places David's reign from around 1005 BCE until around 965 BCE and the end of the reign of the last king of the Davidic dynasty at 586 BCE.

a. The period that he reigned over Israel was forty years: There were other kings over Israel or Judah had reigns longer or more secure or more prosperous than David’s reign – but none were more glorious or godly. David remains Judah’s model king.

b. So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor: David was a great king and his greatness is especially seen in his connection with the Messiah. One of the great titles of Jesus is, Son of David.

i. “Albeit he swam to the throne through a sea of sorrows; and so must all saints to the kingdom of heaven.” (Trapp)

ii. “By birth, a peasant; by merit, a prince; in youth, a hero; in manhood, a monarch; and in age, a saint. The matter of Uriah and Bath-sheba is his great but only blot! There he sinned deeply; and no man ever suffered more in his body, soul, and domestic affairs, than he did in consequence. His penitence was as deep and as extraordinary as his crime; and nothing could surpass both but that eternal mercy that took away the guilt, assuaged the sorrow, and restored this most humbled transgressor to character, holiness, and happiness. Let the God of David be exalted forever!” (Clarke)

David, by contrast, is a far more troubling and even tantalising figure. He is presented in the Bible, with perfect candour and in sizzling detail, as both a man of truly heroic achievement but also scandalous conduct. His ambitions and appetites—as a warrior, as a lover, as a king—are gargantuan and irresistible. Of course, if we read only the biblical passages that are favoured in sermons and Bible study, David comes across as a heroic figure—the man who literally invented biblical Israel, turned it from a band of rival tribes into a strong nation, and made himself both a king and an emperor. But if we read the whole story of David—if we read the Bible with open eyes and an open mind—we see that he is also portrayed, at moments, as a voyeur, an exhibitionist, an adulterer, a trickster, an extortionist, even a murderer.

The single most tantalising theological puzzle in the Bible is the contrast between David’s real life, which is full of human flaws and failings, and David’s high standing as God’s favourite. God enters into covenants with Abraham and Moses, for example, but they are strictly conditional—if the Israelites obey God’s law, then God will bless them; if not, God will curse them. But God’s promise to David is unconditional—David and his heirs will always reign as kings of Israel. Nothing that David is shown to do in the Bible prompts God to revoke his blessing.

One way to work out the puzzle is to credit God with the insight that a human being is not capable of being—or expected to be—a plaster saint. A single human life may have moments of moral grandeur and moments of moral failing, and one does not necessarily cancel out the other. That’s certainly true in the life of David as it is reported in the Bible—he is described as both ‘a bloody fiend from hell’ and ‘a man after God’s own heart’.

Source: Jonathan Kirsch

Ministry of Prophesy

Portion for Reading 1 Chr 24-26

Msg 1 Chr 25:1

Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was:

a. David and the captains of the army separated for the service: Interestingly, the captains of the army took part in the selection and organization of the musicians or “worship leaders” for Israel. David sensed a connection between the security of the kingdom and the worship and honoring of God.

i. “Chapter 25 concerns David’s organization of the four thousand Levitical musicians (23:5) into courses of service that correspond to those of the priests and temple Levites (chapter 24).” (Payne)

ii. “David did give high regard to the counsel of his military commanders (1 Chronicles 11:10; 12:32; 28:1), even in liturgical affairs (cf. 1 Chronicles 13:1; 15:25).” (Payne)

b. Who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals: Their service was connected with the dynamic of prophesy in the sense that it was inspired by God. Their ministry in music was not merely the product of good musicianship; it was a gift of the Holy Spirit being exercised through them.

i. “This work of praise is thrice described by a somewhat singular, and, in this connection, arresting word, ‘prophecy.’ The use of this word here is a revelation of the true value of the service of music in the sanctuary of God.” (Morgan)

ii. “Either they supplied messages direct from God in the manner of the classical prophets, for which the Levite Jahaziel (2 Chronicles 20:14-17) provides an obvious analogy, or their praise was itself seen as ‘prophecy’ in that it proclaimed God’s word with God’s authority.” (Selman)

Prophecy in New Testmanent

1 Cor 14:3

But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.

By the above verses we understand that ministry of prophesy is not only the office of Prophet but also he who are in the ministry of praise & worship, ministry of encouragement,

strengthening & comfort belong to ministry of prophesy. Praise & Worship leaders understand this point very clearly,that you are doing the ministry of prophesy, which means that your ministries focus areas should be comforting, encouraging, strengthing others through your songs and music, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Preparations for the Temple

Portion for Reading 1 Chr 20-23
So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it." So David made extensive preparations before his death.

Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. 8 But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

"Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

"I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."

Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his people. Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."

War with Ammon and Syria

Portion For Reading 1 Chr 17-19

(1-2) David sends ambassadors to the Ammonites at the passing of their king.

It happened after this that Nahash the king of the people of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place. Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came to Hanun in the land of the people of Ammon to comfort him.

a. I will show kindness: David was the dominate ruler of his region, but he was not a cruel tyrant. Here he showed kindness towards a pagan king because in sympathy with the loss of his father.

b. So David sent messenger to comfort him: David wasn’t content to feel kindness towards Hanun. He did something to bring the grieving man comfort.

(3-5) Hanun, the new king of the Ammonites, treats Israel’s ambassadors shamefully

a. Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? It’s hard to explain why these advisers to Hanun said this to the king of Ammon. It is possible that they genuinely suspected David, or they may have just used this as a way to appear wise and cunning to King Hanun. It is common for liars to always suspect others of lying.

b. Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle . . . and sent them away: This was a disgraceful insult to these ambassadors from Israel. In that culture, many men would rather die than to have their beard shaved off, because to be clean shaven was the mark of a slave but free men wore beards.

i. “With the value universally set upon the beard by the Hebrews and other Oriental nations, as being man’s greatest ornament, the cutting off of one-half of it was the greatest insult that could have been offered to the ambassadors, and through them to David their king.” (Keil and Delitzsch in their commentary on 2 Samuel 10)

ii. “The beard is held in high respect in the East: the possessor considers it his greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges it. Nothing can be more secure than a pledge of this kind; its owner will redeem it at the hazard of his life.” (Clarke on 2 Samuel 10)

iii. To cut off their garments in the middle was also an obvious insult and humiliation. “That the shame of their nakedness might appear, and especially that of their circumcision, so derided by the heathen.” (Trapp on 2 Samuel 10)

iv. “This is check to the fashion-mongers of our time, saith Piscator; who wear their clothes so close, and cloaks so short, that they cover not their buttocks.” (Trapp) One must only wonder what the Puritan preacher John Trapp would say about those who today wear their garments so low that they do not cover their buttocks.

v. To insult the ambassador is the insult the king. It was just as if they had done this to David himself. The same principle is true with King Jesus and His ambassadors. Jesus reminded His disciples: If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. (John 15:18)

vi. “The attitude of Ammon does not detract from the nobleness of the action of David. In that action he proved that he had not forgotten the kindness which had been shown to him by Nahash.” (Morgan)

(6-8) The Ammonites and Israelites prepare for war.
When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the people of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Syrian Maachah, and from Zobah. So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, with the king of Maachah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. Also the people of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle. Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.

Victory for Israel

So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai his brother, and entered the city. So Joab went to Jerusalem.

Now when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought the Syrians who were beyond the River, and Shophach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan and came upon them, and set up in battle array against them. So when David had set up in battle array against the Syrians, they fought with him. Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians, and killed Shophach the commander of the army. And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants. So the Syrians were not willing to help the people of Ammon anymore.

Source: David Guzik