The Lord appeared to Solomon near the beginning of his reign when he went up to Gibeon, where the tabernacle was at that time, to make sacrifices and offerings in 1 Kings 3. The Lord appears to Solomon a second time in our study today, approximately twenty-four years later. We can be fairly accurate about the timing because we were told that Solomon began building the temple in his fourth year as king. It took him seven years to build the temple, then he began building the royal palace which took him thirteen years to build. 1 Kings 9:10, which we won't get to until tomorrow's study, says that it took him twenty years total to build these two structures, so we know he wasn't building them concurrently. Our chapter today will open by telling us the Lord appears to Solomon for the second time after the temple and the palace have been completed. Therefore we can be pretty certain that this second visitation occurred no sooner than Solomon's twenty-fourth year as king.
"When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he desired to do, the Lord appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lord said to him: 'I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before Me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting My name there forever. My eyes and My heart will always be there.'" (1 Kings 9:1-3, 2 Chronicles 7:11-12) The prayer He refers to is the one we studied in Chapter 8, which is the prayer Solomon made at the dedication ceremony for the temple.
In the dedication ceremony he asked the Lord to hear the prayers of the people of Israel and to forgive their sins when they go wrong and repent of their wrongdoing. Solomon knew they would make mistakes because, as he said, "There is no one who does not sin." Solomon knew they would sin and he knew the Lord would have to take action to correct them when they go astray. He made mention of some of the methods the Lord uses to correct sin that's occurring on a national scale, such as allowing drought, famine, plague, war, defeat, and captivity. When these corrective measures achieve their intended purpose (that the people would feel convicted of their sins, feel sorry for their sins, and turn away from their sins) he asked the Lord to, "Hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants." The Lord now makes mention of Solomon's prayer and agrees to do as he asks. "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among My people, if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that My name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will always be there." (2 Chronicles 7:13-16)
Solomon prayed for himself and for his descendants, as well as for all the people, during the dedication ceremony for the temple. He asked the Lord to remember the promise He made to David regarding the royal family of Israel. The Lord now refers to that part of the prayer. "As for you, if you walk before Me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe all My decrees and laws, I will establish Your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel." (1 Kings 9:4-5, 2 Chronicles 7:17-18)
The Lord reminds Solomon that this promise is a conditional promise. Solomon and his descendants must remain faithful to the Lord like David was. We know David made mistakes during his life but at no time did he ever fall into idolatry. There is never even the slightest hint that David mixed any pagan practices with his worship of the Lord and he certainly never forsook the Lord in favor of the deities of any of the other nations. David committed some shocking sins but I believe the Scriptures indicate that David always loved the Lord more than anyone or anything. In his weak human form he fell prey to temptations and fears from time to time but his heart was always steadfastly true to his God. The Lord isn't asking Solomon or his descendants to live a perfect life; that would be asking the impossible of frail mortal creatures. He's asking Solomon and his descendants to be true to Him in their hearts and to be quick to repent when they realize they've done wrong, just as David remained true to God in his heart and was always quick to repent.
If Solomon and his descendants do not remain true to the Lord, and if they forsake Him in favor of other gods, He is not obligated to keep a man of the family line of David on the throne of Israel from now on until His own kingdom comes on earth. "But if you or your descendants turn away from Me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for My name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, 'Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to His temple?' People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them---that is why the Lord brought all this disaster upon them.'" (1 Kings 9:6-9, 2 Chronicles 7:19-22)
The Lord issues this solemn warning at the midpoint of Solomon's reign (Solomon will rule for forty years) perhaps because there's always more danger that a person will go off course when life is prosperous and easy. Hard times drive us to our knees but we can become spiritually lazy in easy times if we're not careful. Solomon has achieved some major successes already and he will achieve many more but we don't want to forget that it was after David became king and was enjoying a life of power and prosperity that he committed his biggest sins. I believe the power and prosperity went to David's head and Solomon must guard his heart so that his power and prosperity don't go to his head too. His descendants need to do the same. Some will; some won't. Even Solomon himself will begin doing some of the things the wealthy kings of other nations do. Those things will cause him not to walk as closely with the Lord as David his father did.
No comments:
Post a Comment