Beholding is becoming (2 Corinthians 3:7-18)

Do you realise, that if you are a true follower of Jesus, then one day you will stand before God and the angels in heaven will marvel at how like Him you are?  Yes, on that day you will be perfect.  You will perfectly display the fruit of the Spirit.  You will no longer be able to sin.  Your heart will be filled with love.  But, even now, as we look forward to that day we are becoming more like Him. 

This is a key passage on understanding the relationship between the first part of the Bible (the Old Testament/Covenant) and the second part of the Bible (the New Testament/Covenant).  A covenant was a solemn agreement.  The Old Covenant was given to a man called Moses at Mount Sinai after God had rescued His people from slavery in Egypt.  The New Covenant centres on the death and resurrection of Jesus.  This is also a key passage on how we can become more like Jesus, which is one of the great blessings of the New Covenant. 

I have three simple points: God can change you, only God can change you and God changes you as you look at Jesus.

1.      God can change you (7-11)

Believing you are beyond hope is not an act of humility, it is an act of unbelief.  We must not limit the power of the Holy Spirit to break old habits and produce new graces in us.

The apostle Paul planted a church in the city of Corinth, which is in modern Greece.  After he and his team moved on, a group of false teachers came to town and began to contradict what he said.  Paul had said that the new Christians were free from having to obey the law of the Old Covenant, these false teachers said you had to obey the law.

Paul brings his readers back to the second book of the Bible, Exodus, and to the events surrounding the giving of the old law.  While Moses was up the mountain speaking with God the people showed their unwillingness to obey God by making a golden calf and worshipping it.  Moses was so angry that he broke the stone tablets on which God had inscribed the law.  Moses had to go back up the mountain and get the law from God again.  When Moses came back down his face shone because he had been face-to-face with God.  The people were afraid because they were afraid of the glory of God, and so after he had spoken to them he put a veil over his face.  Paul says that this illustrates the difference between what he was teaching and the false teachers were teaching.

The ‘ministry of death carved on letters of stone’, as Paul calls the law was glorious because it was given by God and reflected His character, but the good news about Jesus is more glorious.  It’s more glorious because while the law was given for a time, the good news of Jesus is for ever.  It’s more glorious because the law was unable to change people, but Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out.  The law had sacrifices for sin that had to be repeated again and again, Jesus’ death was the perfect sacrifice for sin that never needs to be repeated.  Under the law the people were scared of the glory of God, the good news of Jesus can remove all such fear.

All this is great news for us.  He says his ministry brings righteousness.  There is no amount of evil in us that Jesus is not willing to forgive.  His ministry is that of the Spirit.  The Spirit can free us from the most enslaving patterns of sinful behaviour.  Believing you are beyond hope is not an act of humility, it is an act of unbelief,

2.      Only God can change you (12-16)

On Monday, Sam organised street outreach.  Alan is particularly gifted in this.  At one stage Alan offered a man a tract and the man replied, ‘I am not interested.’  Alan then said, ‘you need to become interested.’  So, the man replied, ‘talk to the wife.’  We were left a little confused!  By nature, people are not responsive to the idea of being changed by Christ.

Again, the apostle Paul uses the picture of the veil that covered Moses face.  The veil stopped the people of Moses’ day seeing the glory of that covenant.  It also stopped them seeing that the glory reflected on Moses’ face was fading.  The old covenant was fading away.

In Moses’ day the people refused to obey God’s covenant because ‘their minds were hardened’.  The majority of the people simply refused to accept what God was saying.  In the apostle Paul’s day when the old covenant was read the majority of Jews refused to believe that it actually pointed to Jesus.  That was because a veil lay over their hearts.

It’s not just the people of Moses’ day whose minds are hardened, or the Jews of Paul’s day that have a veil over hearts, in the next part of this letter Paul will tell us that the devil has ‘blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.’ (4:4).  ‘But when one turns to the Lord the veil is removed’ (16). 

When someone becomes a Christian, it is a work of God.  The Spirit of God takes the good news of Jesus and brings life.  It’s the Holy Spirit who has softens their hearts and it’s Christ who enables them to see the truth.  Therefore, if we want to be effective in sharing the good news about Jesus we will be praying for people and we will want to be very clear in telling them about what Jesus has achieved through His cross and resurrection.

One of the reasons I know that I am a Christian is that I am willing to accept that the cross of Jesus is the only way of being made right with God and, although I am very far from perfect, I want to become like Jesus.  These things are a gift of God.  But how does the Holy Spirit make us more like Jesus?  That brings us to our final point.

3.      God changes you as you look at Jesus (17-18)

The Apostle Paul calls the New Covenant made through Jesus ‘the ministry of the Spirit’.  Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (17).  This freedom includes the freedom from condemnation, the freedom from the fear of death, the freedom of the fear of God’s glory, the freedom from having to obey all the regulations of the Law given to Moses, and the freedom that gives access to the loving presence of God.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (18).  We are being transformed from one degree of glory to another.  We are not yet perfect.  We are a work in progress.  To paraphrase the hymn-writer, John Newton, ‘I am may not be what I ought to be.  I am not be what I want to be.  I am not what I will be when we see Jesus face-to-face.  But by the grace of God I am different than I used to be.’

How do we change?  We change as we behold the glory of the Lord.  Beholding is becoming.  This is why Paul’s message was greater than that of the false-teachers.  They could talk about laws, but they could not show you how to change.  The apostle Paul shows us that as we fix our gaze upon him He makes us like himself.

The key to transformation is to grow more and more in love with Jesus.  When you sin be quick to acknowledge His forgiveness.  Preach the cross to yourself.  Trust His promises.  Be with His people when we gather He is with us in a special way.  Read the Bible as a love story and not just a text book.  Remember that He wants to see your face and that he delights to hear your voice. 

Conclusion

Do you realise, that if you are a true follower of Jesus, then one day you will stand before God and the angels in heaven will marvel at how like Him you are?  Yes, on that day you will be perfect.  You will perfectly display the fruit of the Spirit.  You will no longer be able to sin.  Your heart will be filled with love.  But, even now, as we look forward to that day we are becoming more like Him.

God can change you.  Only God can change you.  He changes you as you look at Jesus.

1 Kings 11-22 and 2 Kings: ‘The Kingdom Goes’

 

I’m not a regular diamond buyer, but I am told that if you are buying diamonds the seller will place them on a black velvet cloth when you are viewing them.  The purpose of this cloth is to highlight their beauty.  Against this dark background their brightness is seen in its fullness.

In some ways the kings of the Old Testament are like that black velvet cloth to Jesus.  So many of these kings are simply awful and you are left thinking, ‘Israel needs a different sort of king!’  The king they need is Jesus.  When Jesus comes the gloom and darkness of Israel’s sinful kings serve to highlight the beauty of Christ’s kingship.[1]

 

Solomon’s reign was a time of peace and prosperity.  In line with God’s promise to Abraham, God’s people were in God’s place enjoying God’s blessing.  These were the golden days for Israel.  However, the good times are not to last.  Solomon acts as the king was not to act (see Duet. 17:16-17)—hoarding gold, gathering chariots and horses, and marring many foreign wives who turn his heart after their gods.  Just like Israel, as we have observed them right throughout our studies, Solomon refused to follow the LORD wholeheartedly.

The consequences are disastrous.  For David’s sake, God delays his judgement until Solomon dies (see 1 Kings 11:11-13), but then causes civil war and the kingdom begins to disintegrate.     

The rest of 1 and 2 Kings traces the decline of the once great kingdom.

 

Israel and Judah—Samaria and Jerusalem—Jeroboam and Rehoboam

After Solomon’s death his son, Rehoboam,[2] comes to the throne.  However, the ten northern and eastern tribes rebel against him and set up their own kingdom under Jeroboam.[3] The kingdom is divided.

The northern kingdom, confusingly, is called Israel.  Its capital is initially Shechem, and later Samaria.  The southern kingdom, Judah, has Jerusalem as its capital.  1 and 2 Kings can be a confusing read as the narrative jumps back and forth between the two kingdoms.[4]

 

The Northern Troubles: Jeroboam—Ahab—Jehu

In the Full of Promise study book that we looked at in the home groups, we were given a list of verses referring to some of the kings of Israel—the northern kingdom.  It asked us how the kings seemed to be doing.  Of each we read that they did evil in the eyes of the LORD.[5]  They didn’t do well!

Jeroboam is Israel’s first king.  He worries that the people will want to go to Jerusalem, in the southern kingdom, to meet with God at the temple. So he sets up two alternative shrines in Bethel and Dan, putting a golden calf in each.  He declares, ‘Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt (1 Kings 12:28).  He is attempting to combine the pagan calf symbol with the worship of the LORD.[6]  Jeroboam is remembered as the one who caused Israel to sin (1 Kings 14:16 and 2 Kings 17:21-23).

The most notorious of Israel’s kings is Ahab who, as a result of his marriage to Jezebel of Sidon, introduces Israel to the worship of Baal.  The prophet Elijah confronts Ahab about his religious and ethical behaviour.  At Mount Carmel Elijah demonstrates that it is the LORD not Baal who is God (1 Kings 18).

Of all the kings of the northern kingdom only one, Jehu, is commended; he alone rids Israel of Baal worship (2 Kings 10:28).  Nevertheless, he continues to promote the use of the golden calves set up by Jeroboam.   

In the year 722 BC—two hundred years after the kingdoms divided, the Assyrians attack Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom, and destroy it.  We are left in no doubt why this happens: All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of Egypt (2 Kings 17:7).  Both Israel’s kings and its people failed to obey God.

The people of the northern kingdom were largely deported, and their country was colonized with Syrians and Babylonians.  The resulting mixed population was the origin of the Samaritans—who were so despised by the Jews at the time of Christ.

 

 

The Southern Problem: Rehoboam—Hezekiah—Josiah

So the northern kingdom ended in disaster.  What about the southern kingdom—Judah, how did it do?  It didn’t do much better!  Again Full of Promise gives a list of verses, this time with reference to some of Judah’s kings.  Most of the references tell us of kings who did evil in the eyes of the LORD.[7]  

Despite having kings from the line of David, and the temple in their capital Jerusalem, Judah also degenerates into rebellion against God.  Like Solomon they turn their hearts to other gods and are not fully devoted to the LORD their God.  When we read of their failure to be a distinct people, we might ask ourselves ‘are we different from the world around us?’  And when we read of their lack of faithfulness we need to ask ‘are we wholehearted in following God?’  For as Christians we too are called to be distinct (see 1 Peter 1:13-16).

King Hezekiah and King Josiah try to turn the people’s hearts back to God, but ultimately they are unsuccessful.  Josiah promotes religious reform when a copy of the law—which appears to have been some edition or part of the Book of Deuteronomy,[8] is found during repairs in the temple.  But the change does not go far enough or deep enough to deflect God’s anger.  They have broken the covenant and are going to be punished (see 2 Kings 23:26 and Jeremiah 3:10).  In Deuteronomy God had warned his people what he would do if they deserted him—he would drive them out of the Promised Land (Deut. 28:15-68), and this is what happens. 

In 597 BC the Babylonians defeat Judah and take some of its inhabitants into exile in Babylon.  Soon afterwards, in 586 BC, the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the temple, and thousands more are taken away.

Do you remember Bony M’s ‘By the Rivers of Babylon’?  Words from Psalms 137, which was written by exiled Jews.  No wonder they wept, so much had been lost.  The golden age under Solomon surely seemed a very distant memory. 

 

Conclusion

The Bible would be a very depressing story if it ended with 2 Kings.  It seems that everything that we have been working towards—God’s people, in God’s place, enjoying God’s blessing has crumbled before us.  But there is hope because this is not the end of the Bible’s story.

God’s work among his Old Testament people was never meant to be the final fulfilment of the gospel promises.  The history of Israel points towards something bigger and better.  Even at the height of the Old Testament we only have a shadow of the perfect kingdom that God will establish to Jesus Christ. “Yes, it was great for the Israelites to be rescued from slavery to the Egyptians, but that rescue is just a pale shadow of the perfect redemption achieved by Jesus on the cross (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7).  Yes, it was wonderful for the Israelites to have God’s presence in their midst in the tabernacle and the temple, but those structures were just shadows of the one in whom the presence of God was perfectly manifest: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling [or “tabernacled”] among us (John 1:14).  And yes, David and Solomon were great kings, but Jesus is far greater (Mark 12:35-37; Luke 11:31).”[9]   

 

One last thing before we finish.[10]  In the northern kingdom we see the rise and fall of several dynasties (that is a succession of kings from the one family).  However, in southern kingdom God sticks with one dynasty—that of David.  Why?  Because God had promised David that his dynasty would last forever.[11]

So in the north Ahab’s evil leads to the passing of the throne to a new dynasty.  However the behaviour of Jehoram in the south (who is described as walking in the ways of the house of Ahab[12]) does not result in a change dynasty.  The narrator explains that it was, for the sake of his servant David, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah.  He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and  his descendants forever’ (2 Kings 8:19).[13]

2 Kings closes offering hope that the Davidic monarchy will be restored.  Ishmael, ‘who was of royal blood’ (2 Kings 25:25), flees to Egypt; Jehoiachin, king of Judah is released from prison in Babylon and being given ‘a seat of honour . . .’ (2 Kings 25:28 see also Jeremiah 52:31-34).  The survival of these two is surely significant and as Old Testament scholar Dessie Alexander points out, ‘That one should be in Egypt and the other from Babylon is also noteworthy, for the book of Kings contains several examples of individuals returning from exile and being enthroned in order to fulfil God’s purposes.’[14]

The king who will eventually bring the fulfilment to God’s promises will still come from David’s line!

 

 

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[1] Full of Promise, p. 57.

[2] “. . . Rehoboam is portrayed as arrogant and foolish for refusing the advice of ‘the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime’ (1 Kings 12:6).  This is why the majority of Israelites rejected him as king, preferring Jeroboam.”  Alexander, p. 91.

[3] See 1 Kings 11:26-40 and 12:1-24. 

[4] ‘The story of the divided monarchy is not easy to follow, as we try to understand the relations between the two kingdoms, their involvement with the mighty empires to their north and south, and the intervention of the prophets who spoke boldly in the name of Yahweh to kings and commoners alike.  The biblical story is further complicated by the fact that much of it is told twice, once in the Books of Kings and once in the Books of Chronicles, the chronicler (possibly Ezra) writing later with the clear object of emphasising the importance of the southern kingdom, the Davidic dynasty and the temple cultus.’  Stott, Understanding the Bible, p.60.

[5] For example, 1 Kings 15:25-26; 15:33-34; 16:29-33, 22:51-53.

[6] ‘Aaron had said exactly the same after he and the people had made another golden calf while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the law from God (Exodus 32:4).  This idolatrous worship is the besetting sin of Israel throughout its existence.  It is only a matter of time before God acts in judgement’ Roberts, The Big Picture, p.85.

[7] For example 2 Kings 8:16-19; 16:1-4; 21:1-6

[8] Stott, p. 67.

[9] Roberts, p. 87.

[10] This point is taken from Alexander.

[11] Way back in 1 King 11 when God tells Jeroboam that he is going to be king, he says this, I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.  God has a future plan for the Davidic dynasty.

[12] 2 Kings 8:18, 27.

[13] Even when confronted by an evil king, God was firmly committed to keep his covenant with David.

Another illustration of God’s concern for the house of David comes in 2 Kings 11.  There the queen mother attempts to annihilate the remaining members of the Davidic line.  One baby boy is rescued and hidden in the temple, where he remains for six years until he is publicly enthroned.

[14] Alexander, p. 95.

1 Kings[1] 1-11: The Golden Days:

 

The stock market is booming—the economy is on the up.  On the international front the borders are secure and there is peace.  The people are happy.  These are days of prosperity.  The country’s leader is TIME magazine’s person of the year—he is world renowned.  Things have never been better!  But then the leader doesn’t listen to the warnings, he acts foolishly, and the country is plummeted into civil war.  Such was the reign of King Solomon.

Chapters 1-3: Solomon becomes king:

1 Kings opens with King David, Solomon’s father, well advanced in years.  Who is going to succeed him? 

One man who thinks he will, is Adonijah—probably David’s eldest surviving son.  Adonijah decides for himself that he is going to claim the title (1:5)—in so doing he is by-passing David’s right to choose his own successor.

Nathan the prophet knows that something needs to be done about this unfolding situation.  He advises Bathsheba, to go to King David and remind him that he had sworn that her son Solomon would succeed him as king.

So, with David’s approval, Solomon is anointed king (1:39).  Indeed the fact that his enthronement was masterminded by Nathan the prophet suggests that he was also God’s choice.[2]

At the beginning of chapter 2 David, nearing the time of his death, gives Solomon a charge.  He is to observe what the LORD God requires, so that he may prosper in all he does, and that the LORD might keep his promise that if David’s descendants are faithful they will never fail to have a man on the throne in Israel (2:2-4).

David also warns Solomon about two individuals Joab and Shimei, telling him that he ought to deal with these two according to your wisdom (2:6, cf. 2:9).  However, as we read on it appears that he does not deal with these men wisely.[3]  Neither does he act wisely with his hasty execution of Adonijah (2:13-25)[4], or in marrying a foreign princess (3:1).

Despite these shortcomings we get a positive comment about Solomon in chapter 3, verse 3—

Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the statues of his father David, although this positive assessment is immediately qualified, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places—this was not sanctioned, this was ‘do-it-yourself’ religion, rather than what God had decreed should take place before the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem.[5]

Chapters 3-11: Solomon’s reign:

a. Solomon’s wisdom (3-4): An important development occurs in Solomon’s life when the LORD appears to him in a dream.  God invites him to ask for whatever he wishes, so Solomon asks for a discerning heart in order to govern well, and to enable him to distinguish right from wrong (3:7-9).

The LORD was pleased with Solomon’s request.  Indeed not only does he grant Solomon what he asked for he also promises him riches and honour—and if Solomon walks in God's ways, a long life (3:10-15).

The rest of chapters 3 and 4 illustrate Solomon’s God-given wisdom.

Immediately we see him settle a dispute between two women over the ownership of a baby. When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice (3:28).

Then Solomon appoints officials to govern the different regions of the land, a plan that brings harmony and prosperity within the kingdom (4:20).

As well as prosperity he ensures national security ruling over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt (4:21).

Solomon’s knowledge and understanding become so famous that chapter 4 ends telling us that, Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom’ (4:34).

b. Solomon builds the temple (5-8): Last week we saw God promise David that his son would build his house—the temple (2 Samuel 7).  We see the building of the temple in chapters 5-8.  The importance of this event can be seen in the fact that while the many years of Solomon’s reign are merely summarized, on either side of these chapters, the narrator goes into detail when telling of the construction and dedication of the temple.

The construction of the temple is the only event in the Old Testament dated with reference to the Exodus (6:1)—with the temple the Exodus is complete.  The temple replaces the tabernacle as the focus of God’s presence in the land (1 Kings 8:6-10).[6]  In chapter 8 we have the moving prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, and his blessing of the people: God has kept the promise to David (8:24) and not one word has failed of all the good promises God gave through Moses (8:56).

However, in these chapters there is a question mark placed above Solomon.  The account of the building of his palace tells us that it took him longer to build it than the temple.  Does this reveal anything about his priorities?

c. Solomon’s disobedience (9-11):  In chapter 9 the LORD appears to Solomon a second time.  God reminds him of the importance of obedience and warns him especially against the worship of other gods.  These words have an ominous ring to them—there may be trouble ahead!

Then we read of the great wealth that Solomon acquires (9:10-10:29), the horses he imports from Egypt (10:28-29), and the many foreign wives who turned his heart after other gods (11:1-8)![7] 

Deuteronomy 17 had warned: The king . . . must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, ‘You are not to go back that way again.’  He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.  He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold (Duet. 17:16-17).  Solomon is acting in disobedience.

And so in chapter 11 the situation is summarized.  NB Read 11:9-13.[8]  The next instalment of the drama, which will take place after Solomon dies, will be civil war.

Conclusion:

1.  The story of Solomon’s reign is a story of God’s faithfulness to his promises:  Solomon’s reign marks the very pinnacle of the Old Testament (apart, of course, from the time before the Fall).  These are great days for God’s people.  As Solomon points out at the dedication of the temple, God has acted in line with his promises.  His promises to David—that his son would build the temple; his promises through Moses—all of which have been acted upon (8:56); and what about those promises to Abraham (people, place and blessing)?

Chapter 4 tells us that God’s people . . . were as numerous as the sand of the seashore’ (4:20); just as he had promised Abraham (Genesis 32:12).  That they were in God’s place, ‘Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt (4:21)—the area of land promised to Moses in Exodus (Exodus 23:31) and before him to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21).  And that they were enjoying God’s blessing[9], During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own fig-tree’ (4:25).  God’s promise to Abraham included other nations too—that ‘all the peoples of the earth would be blessed through you’ (Gen. 12:3)—we can see signs that this is happening during the reign of Solomon, e.g. in the visit of the queen of Sheba, who praises God for the king’s wisdom and benefits from his prosperity (10:1-13).

God’s faithfulness is all the more amazing when we remember how unfaithful his people have been.

2.  The story of Solomon adds to our expectations for the ideal king:[10] Finally, over the last couple of sermons we have being looking at the qualities that will be found in God’s ideal king.  God’s ideal king will be marked by humility, trust and obedience (1 Samuel).  Add to this wisdom—wisdom which will enable him to govern justly, bringing prosperity and security to his subjects, and imparting God’s blessing to the peoples of the earth.[11]

This ideal king, is ‘one greater than Solomon’ (Matthew 12:42).  Whose reign puts Solomon’s into the shade.  Jesus, the Messiah, perfect in humility, perfect in trust and obedience, and perfect in wisdom.

Questions [Adapted from Full of Promise] Read Matt. 12:42; 27:37; and 28:18-20. 1) How does Jesus reign compare with Solomon’s?  How is it more glorious?  How is it less glorious? 2) How does the scope of Jesus rule compare to that of Solomon? (See 1 Kings 4:21). 3) What does it mean in practical terms that Jesus has authority over you? 4) What does Jesus call his disciples to do in light of the authority that has been given to him through his death and resurrection?

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[1] 1 and 2 kings were originally just one book—like Samuel, Kings was divided to fit on two scrolls.

[2] Alexander, The Servant King, p. 80.

[3] ‘While the narrator does not deny the guilt of Joab and Shimei, doubts are raised regarding Solomon’s treatment of them.  Joab is killed, still holding the horns of the altar (1 Ki. 2:28-34), an action that clearly contravenes the instructions of Exodus 21:12-14 which require that a guilty party be taken away from the alter before being executed.  In a similar fashion, the account of Shimei’s death strongly implies that Solomon overreacts when he accuses Shimei of breaking an oath prohibiting him from leaving Jerusalem (1 Ki. 2:36-46).  Whereas the original wording of the oath refers to Shimei’s leaving Jerusalem by crossing the Kidron Valley (that is, travelling eastward), Shimei in fact goes to Gath, west of Jerusalem.  Strictly speaking, Shimei does not break his oath to Solomon.  Moreover, even if Shimei is truly guilty, the punishment announced by Solomon seems overly severe.  Both of these incidents raise doubts about Solomon’s ability to govern wisely. Alexander, The Servant King, p.82.      

[4] ‘. . . the hasty execution of Adonijah because he asks to marry Abishag [see 1:1-4], suggests a considerable lack of magnanimity on the part of Solomon (1 Ki. 2:13-25).  This is especially so because Adonijah comes peacefully to Bathsheba, acknowledging Solomon as king and asking the queen mother to intercede on his behalf.  Furthermore, in spite of having promised his mother that he would not refuse her request, Solomon disregards it completely (1 Ki. 2:20-25).  Finally, Solomon’s action appears to contradict the oath that that he takes before God.  Why, one might ask, should Solomon fear Adonijah when, as he states, the Lord had established him upon the throne of his father David (1 Ki. 2:24; cf. 2:12)?’ Alexander, p.82.   

[5] Jackman, Bible Overview Lectures.

[6] ‘When the ark is brought to the sanctuary the glory of the Lord fills the house (1 Ki. 8:6-10).  This is now the place of sacrifice and of reconciliation with God.  When sin clouds the relationship of the nation to God, repentance and prayer towards the temple secures forgiveness.  Through this house and its ministry the covenant relationship is maintained (1 Ki. 8:15-53).  Even the promise to the Gentiles is focused here, for it is at the temple that foreigners can finds acceptance with God . . . a foreigner can be joined to the people of God only by coming to the temple, for it is here that God chooses to deal with those who seek him (1 Ki. 8:41-43).  Goldsworthy, According to Plan, p. 220.

[7] It needs to be stressed here that this is not a racial issue.  Ruth was a foreigner, who became a member of God’s people and whose marriage to Boaz appears to have been approved of by God.  The problem with these ‘mixed marriages’ is that these women had not turned to the LORD, they were not a part of the covenant community—God’s people, and indeed turned Solomon away from the LORD.

[8] The LORD instructs the prophet Ahijah to inform Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s official’s that he will rule over ten of the twelve Israelite tribes (11:27-39).  Solomon tries to kill Jeroboam (11:40).  Jeroboam takes refuge in Egypt.  But we are left with the impression that Jeroboam’s stay in Egypt will only be temporary.  ‘This is suggested by the immediately preceding account of King Hadad’s temporary exile in Egypt, from where he returns to Edom to become an adversary of Solomon. Alexander, p.87.

[9] To live under God’s rule is to enjoy God’s blessing—here we see the ark, the symbol of God’s rule, placed in the temple (8:21).

[10] In 1 Kings 2:4 and 8:25-26 the promise to have a descendant of David’s on the throne is conditional on that descendant’s obedience.  In 2 Samuel 7 the promise speaks of the Davidic dynasty being established forever.  Some have thought that these promises contradict each other.  However, it is possible to reconcile them.  As Alexander points out, ‘taken together, they allow for the possibility that there may be a period when the throne will not be occupied by a member of the Davidic line.  This, however, would be only a temporary situation, for God would later reinstate a descendant of David upon the throne at a later stage’.  See 1 Kings 8:46-51.  As we will see, this is what will later unfold.

[11] Alexander, The Servant King, p. 88.