1 Kings 9
McGeeCHAPTERS 9 AND 10THEME: The fame of Solomon; the visit of the queen of ShebaGod appears to Solomon a second time to encourage him, and He sets up David as a standard of measurement for him. The remainder of these two chapters gives proof of Solomon’s greatness and of the prosperity of his reign.
1 Kings 9:1
GOD APPEARS TO SOLOMON A SECOND TIMEGod is saying to Solomon, “I will meet with you here at the temple. This is the place for you to come, for the people to come, and for the world to come. This is the meeting place.”
1 Kings 9:4
Now God charges Solomon, “And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked …then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.” David is a human standard, not a high standard according to God’s standards. David had a tremendous capacity for God. He loved God but he failed, fumbled, faltered, and fell. But he got up and came to God in confession. He wanted to have fellowship with God. God told Solomon that He wanted him to walk before Him as David his father had donein integrity of heart. Integrity of heart is important for us today because there is so much subterfuge and hypocrisy in Christian circles. I spoke at a church banquet some time ago where there were over one thousand people present. One of the politicians of that area got up and said a few words. You would have thought he was the most pious fellow in that crowd. But he managed to leave before the message. Do you know why?
He did not want to hear it. He was not interested in God’s Word. There is so much of that kind of hypocrisy today. One sees dishonesty and hypocrisy revealed on Sunday morning. Here comes a man out of the business world. He has been careless in his life; he has not been a good example in his home.
Yet he walks into church with a Bible under his arm and talks about God and God’s will, using all sorts of pious expressions. Whom is he attempting to fool? Does he think he is fooling God? My friend, we don’t fool God. We might as well tell Him the facts because He already knows them. David walked before God in integrity of heart. When he sinned, he confessed it and asked for cleansing. Although his faith failed for a moment, beneath the faith that failed was a faith that never failed. Imperfect though he was, God set him up as a standard: “walk before me, as David thy father walked.”
1 Kings 9:5
As long as Israel had a king, he was in the line of David. And there is One today in David’s line whose nail-pierced hands hold the scepter of this universe.
1 Kings 9:6
The Jews are certainly a proverb and a byword today. This has come to pass literally.
1 Kings 9:8
This also has come to pass literally. If you go to the spot where the temple once stood, you will see that it has been destroyed. The Mosque of Omar now stands there. Why is the land of Israel like it is? Why is the Mosque of Omar there? Israel forsook God, friend. That is the answer.
1 Kings 9:10
SOLOMON’S FAMENext we are told that Solomon and Hiram had a little difficulty. When Hiram saw the twenty cities, he felt that he had not been given full payment for all that he had done for Solomon in the building of the temple. Actually there was a misunderstanding, and this is the thing that caused a breach between these two men.
1 Kings 9:13
This last sentence should read “Hiram had sent …“explaining that the cities were in payment for the gold he had furnished (the timber, stone, and labor had been paid for in corn, wine, and oil).
1 Kings 9:15
This passage describes the extension of Solomon’s kingdom and his tremendous building program.
1 Kings 9:17
This passage describes the extension of Solomon’s kingdom and his tremendous building program.
1 Kings 9:26
Solomon just about cornered the gold market in that day. He also had quite a navy. Ezion-geber was situated on the eastern arm of the Red Sea. This was Solomon’s seaport. It was situated near Israeli Eilat. It is thought that his navy extended its navigation as far away as Ophir in southwestern Arabia.