1 Kings 8
This is
one of the great prayers in the Bible. It has faith, emotion and truth and even
the idea that for a time, Solomon grasped some aspects of the redemptive
purpose of God.
This prayer
and the dedication of the temple highlight a point in Israel's history that had
never been reached before, and hasn't happened since. They were at peace. You
can see Solomon's reign as a partial fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.
Look for
all sorts of recurring words and themes. There is a very clear structure in
Solomon's prayer that is given from the Spirit of God. Take time to observe the
progression. The progression of this prayer will be true of Israel's history.
As you read these progressions or situations, think of what you know of
Israel's history where something like this happened. God was preparing the
nation. On the positive side of things, look for words like hear, forgive, pray, plea, turn,
acknowledge. Look for references to the nations. On the cautionary side of
things, notice Solomon's use of I.
Vs. 1-11
The older southern side of Jerusalem was called the city of David. The ark and the tabernacle had been located
there, but everything was moved to the north side of the city where the temple
was.
There is a
map in the Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT on p. 506 that might help here.
If you can find it online, it is called “Jerusalem in the Time of the Kings.”
It is
interesting that immediately after the ark was placed and the priests left, the glory of the Lord filled the house of
the Lord. This is exactly where Isaiah will see the glory of the Lord in
those famous verses of Isaiah 6.
Vs. 12-26
The desire David had, years ago, which led to the covenant with David, was now
fulfilled probably more than 30 years later. As we'll see in Chronicles, the
temple was David's passion, and it had become Solomon's passion. Solomon asked
for God's blessing by recounting both the promise to David and the promises to
the fathers. I notice the use of "I" by Solomon. I might be reading
something into that, because I know what is coming in Solomon's history.
Vs. 27-30
This sort of reminds me of Moses pleading with God to allow His presence to
dwell in the midst of His people. What is interesting is that God was willing
to bless and heed this request. Even when the temple was destroyed (ironically,
something Solomon helped initiate) God blessed the prayers of men like Daniel
who obeyed God and prayed toward the temple ruins. The great significance of
what Solomon accomplished in building the temple and in this prayer was that
God chose Zion as His city and His resting place. God’s acceptance of this
worship and the promise He makes to this city and this mount will resonate
throughout all time. When the new heavens and the new earth are established
after the Millennium, we don’t know if there will be a new Milwaukee, but we
know there will be an eternal new Jerusalem.
Vs. 31-53
This is the catalog of events that Solomon prayed God would forgive when the
people prayed toward the temple. This is a good exercise for you, and the
paragraph breaks will help you see the different situations and themes. One
thing to see here is that there is a definite prophetic element. Solomon is
predicting the Babylonian exile and the restoration of the people to the land
and to Jerusalem.
Vs. 54-61
Verses 56-58 are like the program of God for Israel that will unfold over
thousands of years and be completed in the Millennium. The Millennial Kingdom
of Christ is where Israel will find its rest, where God will prove that He did
not leave or forsake them and where the inclination of their hearts will be to
worship the Messiah.
V. 60 This
seems to give the idea that Solomon did have a sense for God's purpose in
Israel. It is interesting to me, that in all of what he says, Solomon speaks of
the promises to Moses as having been fulfilled in David and in himself. He
never mentions Abraham. If history has depth, Solomon doesn't go deep enough to
really understand, that what is happening is really a partial fulfillment of
God's plan of redemption as spoken to Abraham. God revealed His truth
progressively, a little at a time, and Solomon might have been one of those
kings who desired to look deeper and see the truths that you and I know and
often take for granted.
V. 61 At
this time Solomon and all the people were as wholly devoted to the Lord as they
would ever be.
Vs. 62-66
With these large numbers of sacrifices you wonder about the timeframe. Just
think logistically, how long it would have taken to march these animals in,
kill, prepare and burn them. Most likely this happened over two weeks as the
Septuagint reading (note at the bottom of the page) suggests.
Also, if
only the priests and Levites could eat of the sacrificial offerings, and all of
Israel was at this 1-2 week feast, there were probably animals being prepared
for meals all over the place, and the entire area must have been packed with
people. Interestingly enough, this would have taken place around the Day of
Atonement and the Feast of the Tabernacles. We are told in Nehemiah that they
didn't celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles, but the Day of Atonement was the
key national event.
My only
comment here for us is that each of us has experienced a day or an emotional
high like this. They're nice, but they don't last. All of that emotion and
devotion is real on that day, but our race lasts a lifetime, or as long as God
gives us to follow Christ in the harvest on earth. Worshipping God in Spirit
means that daily worship is spirit on spirit, not based on the flesh or what
the flesh needs, craves or recognizes as worship. Each day as we follow Christ
in the harvest we are to worship in spirit and in truth. That makes for a very
stable and unswerving walk.
Acts 7:51-8:13
Vs. 51-53
You know, when you preach, as your mouth speaks, you notice sometimes that your
brain can be thinking completely different thoughts. It's almost like thinking
ahead of your mouth and weighing or deciding how to formulate something or even
anticipating the result. I wonder if, as Stephen was saying v. 51, he was
thinking, "Spirit, you know, if I say that, they'll probably kill me."
I wonder if he heard the Spirit say back to him, "Yeah, I'm cool with
that. How about you?"
We are
about to head into some examples of Christians whose lives were used as martyrs
to make a statement. What would we think if God's purpose for our lives was to
show that someone was willing to die for Him? Again, it all comes back to our
spiritual understanding of God, life and the world. A disciple lives for Christ
in the harvest to bring glory to God. If death is how we glorify Him, great. We
know that we end up in heaven, getting R&R, sitting on a lounge chair with
something cool to drink, looking at the ….(fill in the blank), enjoying the
presence and glory of God. Now, God uses the lives of His martyrs for many,
many purposes, but they don't see that. They only know that hot, pulsing moment
when they bear witness for Christ.
Vs. 54-60
You'd want to attribute this rabid reaction to Stephen to the work of Satan,
but since Satan isn't mentioned, it must be that we humans can do this all by
ourselves.
It is
interesting that Stephen saw Jesus standing, as if to welcome him, and he kept
on speaking.
Now, Saul
is mentioned here. It is thought that Saul was a very young member of the
Sanhedrin and was also a member of the synagogue where Stephen had been a
member. They probably knew each other. Whatever the reason was for Saul's
anger (8:3), he was about to go postal. The fact that they laid their garments at
Saul's feet probably means that he took some organizational responsibility for
what was happening. If in fact, he was a member of the Sanhedrin, then giving
his approval meant he was representing the religious leadership of Israel.
Acts
8:1-13
Vs. 1-3
Saul (Paul) will mention this again, particularly that he took the women too.
That he took women also, making families parentless, seems to show the violence
and intensity of his hatred for Christians.
Vs. 4-8
I've heard some preachers say that this persecution was because the Christians
didn't obey Acts 1:8 and were becoming cemented into Jerusalem. I can't see
that. There was nothing negative. God brought the church to a full and complete
"ripeness," and then sent them out. It doesn't mention that they went
crying. Actually they went with joy, preaching.
V. 5 All
directions from Jerusalem were "down." Actually Philip went north.
Now, Philip was a Hellenistic Jewish Christian. A Hebraic Jewish Christian
would never have preached to the Samaritans. Philip was another one of the
seven and now he was being put into action by the Spirit.
Vs. 9-13
Simon recognized that the power Philip had was legitimate and from God the
Spirit. Simon had performed acts using assistance from demons. What we are
seeing in Simon is the beginning of seeking power in Christianity, without
seeking the Lord of Christianity. We saw the seeking of position in the church
with Ananias and Sapphira. This is another kind of sickness that has crept in.
Satan is no fool. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Now you
won't hear this until tomorrow because this reading for today ends here, so
I'll tell you now that this situation is not normal. Not normal how? The people
had believed in Jesus and been baptized, but they had not received the Spirit.
That is not normal. Today, the instant a person confesses Christ as Savior they
are baptized, sealed and indwelt with the Spirit. In this situation in Acts, it
would not be until Hebraic Jewish Christians came to see what had happened, so
the Spirit could use their testimony to defuse their Jewish sense of
nationalism and hate for the Samaritans, that the Spirit would be given. This
"giving of the Holy Spirit" is not "normal" for today. What
is being underscored is that many of the events in Acts were for the time of
the beginning of the church.
Psalm 129
This song
of pilgrims approaching Jerusalem for worship was probably written after the
exile. Zion is the city that had been destroyed by the nations, and though they
and their fathers had been swept into other lands, God had shown His
faithfulness by bringing them back to Zion.
Vs. 1-4
Israel was a target from its inception. Satan sought to ruin it using the
nations to corrupt the witness of God among the nations. They became the
"everyman" for humanity to show how each of us would act in the
presence of God. We would rebel and seek to kill God, just like they did to
Jesus.
Vs. 5-8 Yet
Zion stands as the place where Jesus will reign. God has set a place and a
city. All who rail against Zion rail against God, and the day will come when
God will bless Zion and He will stand in that city. Then those who refuse to
bless Zion and its King will fail to bless the only God. And they'll be in
trouble.
Proverbs 17:1
Amen. The
mind that is set on the Spirit is life and peace. As Jesus said in John 4, the
will of the Father becomes our food and our delight.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/
and click on “Every
Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are
following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple,
following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship
culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging
each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make
disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here
or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some
explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My
comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on
Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups
will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with
and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the
harvest.
If you would like a complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is
still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's
keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you
what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in
fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is
encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the
comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding,
that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but
only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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