19: Kings — Introduction & Solomon

God’s power: The author of Kings uses miracles by Elijah and Elisha to attack Baal worship and demonstrate God’s power. The most well-known was Elijah’s challenge to the Baal prophets on Mount Carmel: send lightning bolts from the sky to ignite the fire for the sacrifice and bring rain to end the drought that was ravaging the country. 450 prophets of Baal tried for most of the day to get their god to light the fire, but nothing happened. As evening approached Elijah poured water all over his wood and, at the time for sacrifice, asked God to light the now-soaked wood. God sent a fire that burned the wood and sacrifice plus the stones of the altar – the fire even evaporated the water in the trench around the altar. Elijah had the Baal prophets executed. And then the rains came and ended the drought.

The “Good” Kings: Judah had four kings who “followed David’s path,” according to the author:

Asa was the third king after Solomon died. He shut down the cults and idol worship and began many religious reforms during his 41-year reign.
Jehoshaphat was Asa’s son. He continued his father’s reforms and deployed teachers of the law to towns and villages in Judah. He also gave Judah a rare period of peace during his 25-year reign.
Hezekiah ruled 29 years. He began major reforms, including re-establishing Passover and eliminating places for cults and idol worship. He followed Isaiah’s advice and God gave him a major victory over Assyria to keep Judah independent for a few more years.
Josiah ruled 31 years, beginning when he was eight years old. The priests discovered the “Book of the Law” during his reign and he began major religious reforms based on its teachings. His onemistake was to challenge Egypt, against the advice of Jeremiah. He died during the campaign and Judah never recovered.

3³ Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. ⁴ The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵ At Gibeon the Lord  appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” ⁶ And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. ⁷ And now, O Lord  my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
⁸ And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. ⁹ Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”

¹⁰ It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. ¹¹ God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, ¹² I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. ¹³ I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. ¹⁴ If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.”

9When Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, ² the Lord  appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ The Lord  said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you made before me; I have consecrated this house that you have built, and put my name there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
⁴ As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, ⁵ then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David, saying, ‘There shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.’

⁶ “If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, ⁷ then I will cut Israel off from the land that I have given them; and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel will become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples. ⁸ This house will become a heap of ruins; everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord  done such a thing to this land and to this house?’ ⁹ Then they will say, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord  their God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshiping them and serving them; therefore the Lord  has brought this disaster upon them.'”  NRSV

Get into the Word:

1. How does the author describe Solomon? What kind of person is he? Who does he follow? What are his worship practices?

2. What happens to Solomon at Gibeon? Why is he there? Who comes to visit him? What does the visitor want? 

3. How does Solomon respond to the question? Who does he talk about? What does he say about God? About his father? About the relationship between them?

4. What does Solomon ask for? Why does he want this? How does God feel about the request? What does he do with the king’s request? What else does he do for Solomon? What else does he promise?

5. What happens when Solomon finishes his construction projects? What does God say about Solomon’s efforts? How does he respond to the temple?

6. What does God say about Solomon’s future? How should Solomon conduct himself. What will happen if he follows God? What will happen if Solomon fails to follow God? How will people remember him?

Get Personal:

Have there been times when God has linked a promise to his expectations for you? How did this affect your walk with Christ?

3:3. High places — even devout Israelites adopted the practice of worshipping at high places, as the Canaanites did, even though the Mosaic Law allowed sacrifices only in the tabernacle.
3:4. Gibeon — a town 5 miles north of Jerusalem, evidently a major center for worship.
Thousand burnt offerings — even though the number of offerings has no relationship to the worshipper’s heart, Solomon did everything to excess.
3:5. Dream — a fairly common way for God to communicate with a person in the Bible.
3:6. Because he walked — Solomon understands the relationship between David’s (usual) obedience and God’s presence and support, and that he is the beneficiary of that support.
3:7. Little child — Solomon is a young man so he probably is referring to his lack of experience in leading God’s people – which he asks for in v. 9.
3:13. I give you also — God responds to Solomon’s heart in giving him the wisdom he asked for and the wealth, fame and power that he did not request, along with the promise of a long life. Solomon ruled a united kingdom from the Euphrates

River to the Red Sea and his “wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east,” [4:30]. But he also had 700 wives and 300 concubines in violation of the law [11:3 – see note on 9:6, below].
9:3. Consecrated — “set apart” – God agreed with Solomon’s efforts and made the temple his holy place (interestingly, it was on Temple Mount, one of the highest places in the city).
9:5. Over Israel — God shifts to warning Solomon about continuing to follow David’s path. God’s promise to David was a royal house over the united Israel; when Solomon fails his line remains ruler of the much smaller kingdom of Judah and Benjamin.
9:6. Turn aside — when Solomon is old his many foreign wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David, [11:4]. God tells Solomon he will give the kingdom to a servant (Jeroboam), but not until Solomon has died, and he will preserve “one tribe” (it turned out to be two) for Solomon’s descendants.
9:8. Hiss — the Hebrew word, also translated “skoff,” means “whistle in amazement.”