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JUNE 13
1 Kings 11:1-12:19
1 Kings 11
The issue here is not that Solomon fell, it is how he fell and what he
fell into. He disobeyed and we all disobey, but what happens here is in a class
by itself.
Vs. 1-8 Notice that it mentions the foreign women. This number of wives
is beyond excess. Of course, it seems limiting to even try to think of a normal
marriage in this kind of harem; but if Solomon were to have gone through the
wives, spending a day and a night with each, it would have taken him three
years to have made the rotation. In reality, Solomon had no wife as we
understand a wife and as God planned Eve for Adam. What a lonely guy. You might
have thought having so many wives would have tamed his sexual appetite, but
actually, I think that “appetite” might have been all Solomon really had. He
certainly did not have a soul mate and he died an empty, lonely man.
V. 4 So, how old was Solomon when this happened? We know that David was
30 years old when he became king of Judah in Hebron. That means he was 37 when
he moved to Jerusalem as king of the entire nation. David reigned for 40 years:
Seven in Hebron and then 33 years in Jerusalem. Solomon had to have been
younger than 33 when he became king. David needed some time to lose
perspective, have the first baby with Bathsheba that died, and then to marry
Bathsheba and have Solomon. Let’s say all of this took 3-5 years. Solomon would
then have been made king when he was 28-30.
It took Solomon four years to begin building the temple, and we know
that the Lord spoke to Solomon after he had spent 20 years building. Those were
the first 24 years of his reign. Solomon reigned for 40 years and this happened
somewhere in the final 16 years. So Solomon, like David, would have died when
he was about 70. If Solomon began the slide toward idolatry in his last 16
years as king, he had to be in his mid to late 50s. These are the years when
you would think a man would be mature and wise.
I would suspect that after Solomon stopped building, he had no more
goals in life. The redemptive mission of Israel wasn't a burning passion for
him, so what do you do in midlife crisis? In the beginning of Ecclesiastes,
which are the reflections of a backslidden and bitter Solomon, there is a
progression of Solomon "trying out stuff." I'll bet that was his
50's. If so, his 60's were his ruin. Like his father before him, Solomon's
faith was "alive" when he was young, but he fell when he was older
and stopped building.
Vs. 5-8 When I was younger, I was often very puzzled about what could
have made Solomon leave God in such a repulsive way. I don't think it had
anything to do with his reason or logic. We are much more emotional/need-driven
than mind-driven. When it says that Solomon clung
to these (his wives) in love, my guy sense tells me, with this kind of
harem, it was probably a very hormonal, fantasy-driven "love." I think
that the more Solomon worked, the further away from God he drifted until he was
emotionally empty. Ashtoreth was a fertility goddess, and the worship thereof
was very X-rated. These wives had no inhibitions and gave Solomon more than he
asked for. They lavished him with unrestrained sex, just what a spiritually
drifting guy in midlife crisis didn't need. Solomon wouldn't be the only man in
service for God who walked away from God because of his emptiness and his
sexual needs. Milcom, Chemosh, and Molech were practically the same demon with
different names. These monsters received the babies born from the fertility
rites, as the parents sacrificed the unwanted children in fire, basically
throwing them into a furnace. Today we've "cleaned it up" and call it
abortion.
I know this is weird, but with as many wives as Solomon had, don’t you
think he might have had two or more sons? Yet we only hear of one. David had
many sons and we have the record of their names. It may just be that no other
sons are mentioned. Most of the other kings do not have any sons mentioned
other than the one that succeeded them. I think Solomon must have had lots of
kids. I doubt he would have sacrificed all of them, but we do know that he must
have sacrificed some children.
V. 5 makes it clear that Solomon was involved in the worship himself.
It would have been horrible enough to have allowed his wives to do this, but he
was part of the proceedings. Solomon became bent, and then was broken.
V. 6 This is a place where we can define David's devotion to God and
why he is called “a man after God’s own heart,” because of this contrast with
Solomon. David always followed the Lord, except in the situation with Uriah and
Bathsheba. David always worshiped the Lord only. David's heart was always
undivided. David never flirted with any pursuit that became a god to him or
forced him to dishonor God, except in the situation with Uriah and Bathsheba.
Solomon, on the other hand, went after horses, gold and foreign women and all
those things they represented. From now on, David's devotion to the Lord will
become the godly measure of all of the other kings.
Vs. 9-13 Now, with all we have read, isn't it amazing that God didn't
just strike down Solomon? For the sake of the promise God made to David, God showed
him mercy and grace.
Vs. 14-40 Notice that two of these foes who afflicted Solomon during
his last years were hidden and helped by Egypt. So much for the usefulness of
that "wise" marriage alliance with Egypt. It still makes me wonder
that Solomon made that alliance without God’s direction, and yet God never
judged him for it. I don’t think God’s silence is a comfort.
Vs. 26-40 You would think that this would have caused Jeroboam to have
considered himself honored by God and that he would have responded to God with
devotion and obedience. God made him a pretty amazing promise, but sin is a
pretty awesome and powerful thing.
V. 31 The math seems off here, but the tribe of Benjamin was within the
land allotment of Judah, and by this time, considered as almost one with Judah.
It is interesting that both were "royal" tribes, both having had
kings of Israel.
V. 40 It seems that Solomon knew of the promise to Jeroboam and tried
to kill him to somehow short circuit God's plan. That's just what Saul tried to
do to David.
Vs. 41-43 We are not leaving Solomon for good. We'll revisit him in Chronicles,
the Song of Solomon and in Ecclesiastes. But before we move on, we need to
reflect on this terrible end to his life. Was he a man of God? Yes. Did he
stray from God and dishonor Him? Yes. Was Solomon saved? I think so and I think
he'll be in heaven. Even today, the harvest field is filled with ruined and
broken harvesters, disciples of Christ, who, at one time, served fearlessly and
rescued many in the harvest. All of us have something in us that can and will
ruin us. If we let down our guard long enough or if we live in isolation from
the Word and others who love us, that "something" can become
dysfunctional and draw us away from our Lord.
There is the lesson, "there but for the grace of God go I,"
or let anyone who thinks that he stands,
take heed lest he fall (1 Cor. 10:12). But there is another lesson too. God
still loved, reached out to, and restored David; and, if Ecclesiastes is the last
thing Solomon wrote, maybe that bitter man was restored too. Later we'll meet a
king who trumped both David and Solomon, who was totally evil, who reigned the
longest of all the kings, who did utterly irreparable damage and whom God
redeemed and restored. Where there is true repentance, there must be
forgiveness and restoration. We cannot be the army that shoots its own wounded.
We all have the same disease, and though there is a volitional element to our
sin, there is a power in sin that is beyond us, even if we are indwelt by the
Spirit. Our only hope is in our weakness, being led by the Spirit, cleansed
daily by the Word and following Christ in the harvest.
Our challenge as disciples, working in the harvest, is to shake the
stuff off of us that seems to gather in the course of a day, week, month or
year. We need to be cleansed in the Word and constantly focused on our love for
Christ, keeping our hearts, souls, spirits and desires undividedly fixed on
Him.
1 Kings 12:1-19
The first part of the book of Proverbs is written from Solomon to his
son. As I mentioned earlier, I would think that Solomon had hundreds of sons,
but Rehoboam is the only one mentioned. So knowing how Solomon ranked as a
husband, how do you think he ranked as a father? It is interesting to think
that we have a book written by a dad to make his son wise, but in the end,
neither truly was. How tragically sad. The truth of Proverbs stands as inspired
by the Spirit, but so do God's words, Whatever
one sows, that will he also reap (Gal. 6:7).
Vs. 1-5 It is interesting that Jeroboam was the spokesman and was
willing to let the will of God play out.
Vs. 6-11 Verse 8 has to be one of the saddest verses in the Bible,
especially after all we've read in Proverbs.
Vs. 12-19 What did Rehoboam expect? Israel would never again be united
until after the exile.
Acts 9:1-25
Vs. 1-9 One question is why God waited until now to stop Saul. By this
time, Saul had been involved in the deaths and beatings of many Christians. In
his later testimony in Acts, Saul (Paul) will claim personal responsibility for
these deaths and will say he punished Christians, trying to force them to
blaspheme or renounce Jesus.
V. 4 Can you imagine Jesus being this gentle with Saul? In Acts 26:14
we learn that Jesus spoke to him in Hebrew and observed that it was hard for
Paul to kick against the goads. This means that Saul was under conviction, yet
he kept on going. Deep in his heart he knew something was wrong. I tend to
think it was because of the testimony of the people he was persecuting and
beating. These people stood up to Saul with a devotion to Jesus, which more
than matched his zeal for the law. That reality of faith and conviction, in the
face of death, as they were beaten and humiliated, and as they died, must have
begun to shake him. Now Saul was ready to listen.
V. 9 Everything you do during intense emotion is remembered. Anger is
like pressing the "record" button. If you are in an argument, you can
replay the audio and video for years, maybe for the rest of your life: every
shout, every scream, every slap, every expression. Imagine Paul, blind for
three days. I'll bet he played back every beating, every crying woman, every
man pleading for his wife, and every refusal to renounce the name that Saul had
hated. Imagine realizing he had been killing and beating the wrong people. At
the end of Paul's life, he still called himself the chief of sinners. Paul was
forgiven, but I think he still had all the memories and lived as a man humbled
by God's grace to him. I think this is why God waited until this point.
Vs. 10-19 This was a tough assignment for Ananias.
V. 16 The Lord not only selected Paul, but the Lord announced very
clearly that Paul was actually called to suffer for Him.
V. 18 I wonder if Paul put those in a scrapbook?
Vs. 20-25 Paul's natural passion was immediately redirected. Now that
he really knew the truth, he pursued it as deeply as he, thinking he had the
truth, had fought against it.
Paul's early
Christian life is a bit of a riddle. He says some things in Galatians that are
hard to fit into Luke's writing. Notice that in v. 25, Paul has disciples. That
would take some time. It is usually thought that there is a time gap between
vs. 22 and 23. Galatians 1:17 says, nor
did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away
into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. So apparently, Paul worked in
Damascus and left for three years
to pray and study alone. Then he returned to Damascus, and then they tried to kill him. From Damascus, Paul went to Jerusalem
and met and stayed with Peter for 15 days, meeting only James, Jesus' brother,
but not the other apostles. Too bad, I think he would have liked John.
What's interesting to see in Paul is that Jesus will always lead him
into trouble and suffering. That was the Lord's design. It looks like it
happened because Paul was so deeply passionate. The fire in Paul attracted
disciples and it inflamed enemies. It wasn't that Paul didn't have social
skills; it was that he was so fully convinced of the message and the urgency of
the mission, that people didn't respond with indifference to him or his message
about Jesus.
Psalm 131
This is a song written by David for those coming to Jerusalem to
worship to prepare their hearts in humility and quietness to learn from God. I
know that isn't always my attitude in walking into a worship service. But even
if we mastered that on Sundays, for a disciple, worship is 24/7, in spirit and
in truth.
Vs. 1-2 Humility is very hard for us to manage, especially in public.
V. 3 Hope actually means complete dependence. Complete dependence in
faith is also hard for us to manage.
Proverbs 17:4-5
We all know deep inside, that there is a God and that He keeps track of
stuff like this. God is not mocked. Respecting Him in humility and dependence
helps us care for those who might be dependent on Him and us.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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, making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive
commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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