1 Kings 1-8

Who, When, Why

Who: Jewish tradition says Jeremiah but the books themselves seem to object to this by dates, etc. The actual author is not told in the book and is unknown, but it would seem like an unknown prophet may have written it

When: 561-538 BC

Why: Two lines run through 1 & 2 Kings; 1) eyewitness testimony to events 2) the commentary on those events.

Using reliable sources, Kings traces the histories of two sets of kings and two nations of disobedient people, Israel and Judah. The Kings and the people of the nations of Israel and Judah both grow indifferent to God’s law and God’s prophets. That indifference leads them to humiliation, defeat, and captivity.

This morning we’ll go through chapters 1-8;

Chapter 1-2 we see the rise of Solomon

Chapter 3-4 we seethe beginning of Solomon’s wisdom and wealth

Chapter 5 is the preparations for the building of the temple

Chapter 6-8 cover the building and consecration of the Temple and Solomon’s house

1 Kings 1

We have just come out of 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Chronicles for the moment, the Kingdom of Israel is united and David is king

1 Kings 1:1 “1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.”

1 Kings 2:11 “11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.”

Adonijah declares himself king, and gets 2 familiar supporters to follow him: Joab flip flops again and supports Adonijah (proving what we learned, that as valiant a man as he was, he’s mostly just looking to the next horse to hitch his wagon to). Abiathar (high priest who had fled to David for safety when Saul began to put to death Ahimelech and his family to eliminate the competition).

the prophet Nathan tells Bathsheba what Adonijah has done and tells her to remind David of his promise that Solomon would succeed him as king.

David declares Solomon as the next king, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him at Gihon (same place David was) and the people celebrate

Adonijah, Joab, Abiathar, and all the people hear the uproar. The guests all slide out and Adonijah runs to the tent of meeting and grabs the horns of the altar

he begs for mercy from Solomon and gets it for now when Solomon tells him to go home

1 Kings 2

As he was dying, King David charges Solomon to be strong and courageous, to faithfully obey God's laws, and to walk in His ways so that the Lord's promise to establish his royal line on the throne of Israel would be fulfilled.

David warns Solomon to act wisely concerning Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei (the one that had cursed David on his way out of Jerusalem and then ran to greet him on David’s way back in)

Adonijah goes to Bathsheba and asks to marry Abishag, the young woman that had cared for David. Solomon sees it as a threat to his kingship and orders Adonijah to be put to death

Joab sees the writing on the wall and runs to the horns of the altar for mercy, but Solomon has Benaiah to put him to death

Solomon commands Shimei to stay in Jerusalem and warns him of death if he leaves. After 3 years, Shimei leaves to get his two runaway slaves. so Solomon keeps his promise and has Benaiah to put him to death as well

1 Kings 1:46 “46 And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.”

1 Kings 3

and about as fast as he gets there he starts the slow fall away

Don’t intermarry: Deuteronomy 7:3–4 “3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.”

1 Kings 3:1 “1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.”

Don’t worship other gods: Exodus 34:14 “14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:”

1 Kings 3:3 “3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.”

It will be a slow, but ultimately complete apostasy that will drag the kingdom of Israel with him as Israel will be exiled by the Assyrians and Judah exiled by the Babylonians

But for now Solomon will be king, this chapter is one reason Solomon is famous

1 Kings 3:5 “5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.”

1 Kings 3:9 “9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”

1 Kings 3:12–13 “12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.”

Solomon judges between the two women with the babies, one dead and one alive

1 Kings 3:28 “28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.”

1 Kings 4

details the administration of Solomon that God uses to richly bless Israel

Genesis 22:17 “17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;”

1 Kings 4:20 “20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.”

1 Kings 4:25 “25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.”

1 Kings 5

Solomon’s preparations to build the Temple. Details his treaty with the king of Tyre for cedars from Lebanon giving Hiram food for his household and wages for his servants

1 Kings 6

Solomon builds the Temple

1 Kings 7

Then Solomon builds his own house

1 Kings 8

Verses 1-13 sees the Ark of the Covenant brought into the Temple from the tent of meeting and Solomon’s thanksgiving to Yahweh

1 Kings 8:5 “5 And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.”

after this Solomon blesses the people

then Solomon prays for Israel

after the prayer for Israel Solomon blesses Yahweh

then they offer sacrifices for the house of Yahweh

1 Kings 8:10–11 “10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.”

the cloud is the physical presence of the glory of Yahweh in the house of Yahweh.

1 Kings 8:12–13 “12 Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.”

“The God of Israel is at once the Creator of the universe, who has ‘established the sun in the heavens’, and the God of Israel who has condescended to fix his throne in the midst of his people Israel, but whose nearness and readily-experienced power and grace never exhaust his revelation (cf. v. 27). He dwells still ‘in thick darkness’ (cf. Pss. 18.11[12]; 97.2), infinitely greater and more mysterious than the sum of his revelation. He is ‘mysterium tremendum et fascinans’.” -John Gray, 1 & 2 Kings

OMNIPRESENCE

Omni-all, presence-existing or located in a particular place

It’s hard for us who think so materially to wrap our minds around the fact that God is everywhere all at once

“If there were any place where God is not, then that place would mark the confines or the limits of God. And if God had limits, God could not be the infinite God...God is infinite and perfect. Whenever you have finitude you have creaturehood, not God.” -Tozer, The Attributes of God

Do we truly believe God is “everywhere”?

Later in 1 Kings 8:27 “27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?”

Jeremiah 23:24 “24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.”

We think God “fills” the places “heaven and earth”; I love Tozer’s example here...”God fills heaven and earth just as the ocean fills a bucket which has been submerged in it a mile down. The bucket is full of the ocean, but the ocean surrounds the bucket in all directions.”

Verses 14-21 the writer reminds us we can trust God to do what he says as Solomon continues to give thanks

1 Kings 8:20–21 “20 And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Verses 22-53 gives us Solomon’s prayer for Israel

Solomon’s seven petitions

1. For God's Forgiveness When People Sin Against Others (vv. 31-32)

When someone sins against their neighbor and is required to take an oath, and they come to swear before the altar in the temple, may God hear from heaven, act, and judge between them.

2. For Restoration After Defeat in Battle (vv. 33-34)

When Israel is defeated by enemies because they have sinned against God, if they turn back, confess God's name, and pray toward the temple, may God hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and bring them back to the land.

3. For Relief from Drought and Famine (vv. 35-36)

When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because of sin, if they pray toward this place, confess God's name, and turn from their sin, may God hear from heaven, forgive, and send rain on the land.

4. For Deliverance from Various Troubles and Hardships (vv. 37-40)

When there is famine, pestilence, blight, mildew, locusts, siege, or any plague or sickness, and people pray with sincere hearts toward the temple, may God hear from heaven and forgive, giving to each according to their ways.

5. For Foreigners Who Come to Worship (vv. 41-43)

When a foreigner who is not of Israel comes from a distant land because of God's great name and prays toward the temple, may God hear from heaven and do according to all the foreigner asks, so that all peoples may know God's name.

6. For Victory in Battle When Going to War (vv. 44-45)

When the people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever God sends them, and they pray toward the city God has chosen and the temple built for God's name, may God hear their prayer and maintain their cause.

7. For Restoration from Exile (vv. 46-50)

When they sin and are carried away captive to enemy lands, if they repent in the land of their captivity, return to God with all their heart and soul, and pray toward their land, the city, and the temple, may God hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and make their captors show them compassion.

Verses 54-61 Solomon blesses Yahweh in the benediction to the people of Israel

1 Kings 8:56 “56 Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.”

1 Kings 8:61 “61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.”

Verses 62-66 Sacrifices are offered to dedicate the Temple

1 Kings 8:63 “63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.”

1 Kings 8:66 “66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.”

Conclusion

If I hadn’t gotten to go through the 1st 4 chapters due to no Sunday school I would have spent more time in Chapter 8, there’s so much to learn from and be helped by there!

What’s this mornings take away?

God is good and keeps His promises

God is not just everywhere, but everywhere only exists in God

John 1:3 “3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Acts 17:28 “28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

Colossians 1:17 “17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

If God is everywhere and you don’t know it, if you deny or can’t see it, that’s a you problem being separated from God by sin and the only solution is Christ and the Cross

Ephesians 2:12–13 “12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

Romans 8:38–39 “38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”