Fr. Daoud Lamei

• 1 Kings 9
• 1 Kings 12

1 Kings 9

God's Second Appearance to Solomon

9 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, ² that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 

• Solomon saw the Lord Jesus Christ two times - once in Chapter 3 when Solomon in humility and genuineness prayed for wisdom, and the second time after Solomon finished building the Temple and tired and struggled
  • The Lord's appearance (or revelation) to people is when they are humble (like in Ch 3) or else when they faithfully serve Him and struggle with Him
  • King David said "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:4)
  • We don't need to see the Lord in Revelation or Vision here on earth (lest we fall into pride), but we will see Him in heaven. There are people who saw the Lord with their eyes and in the end did not walk in His way
    • Solomon after these two times, we'll see in the next chapter that he starts to mess up
    • Judas not only saw Christ, but lived with Him, ate with Him, walked with Him
  • Seeing the Lord in Revelation or Vision does not mean someone is going to heaven... but they must complete their struggle and sojourn in this world
  • The more someone is dedicated, genuine, humble, asking wisdom from all his heart, holding vigil in prayer and praise - the more the Lord will visit Him with His grace and encourage him and fill him with the Holy Spirit. The more someone struggles and tires and gives his all to the service of the Lord, the more the Lord may visit Him with grace and comfort him and encourage him.
• The whole time Solomon was building the Temple, he did not see the Lord with his eyes - but when he finished the Temple
  • All of our struggle and service and persecution and endurance is with this goal in mind: to hear the Lord say "well done good and faithful servant"

 ³ And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 

• The Lord said "I have consecrated this house"
  • Every heavenly gift requires human effort and divine grace
    • Holiness: does it come only with human effort? impossible. Is it a grace from God only? No, or else all would be saints. But rather, it is a cooperation between God's grace which sanctifies and makes holy, and human effort to strive for holiness.
      
    • Faith
    • Love for others
    • Prayers
    • Knowledge and Understanding
    • For all of these, do your part and the Lord will complete
  • You build an expensive house, with the best wood and adorned with gold, and an altar and all of the best materials and yet "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it have labored in vain." (Psalm 127)
• The consecration of the Temple of Solomon is a symbol of the consecration of our hearts
  • "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" (1 Cor 6:19)

7:45

⁴ Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, ⁵ then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ ⁶ But if you or your sons at all ^[a]turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, ⁷ then I will ^[b]cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ⁸ And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ ⁹ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts

¹⁰ Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house ¹¹ (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ¹² Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. ¹³ So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of ^[c]Cabul, as they are to this day. ¹⁴ Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

Solomon's Additional Achievements

¹⁵ And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, ^[d]the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. ¹⁶ (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) ¹⁷ And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, ¹⁸ Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, ¹⁹ all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

²⁰ All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— ²¹ that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. ²² But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.

²³ Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.

²⁴ But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which ^[e]Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.

²⁵ Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the temple.

²⁶ King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near ^[f]Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ²⁷ Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸ And they went to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

1 Kings 12

The Revolt Against Rehoboam

¹ And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. ² So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), ³ that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴ “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

• The Lord Jesus says: "for my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30)
• The people are asking for something good! Maybe they couldn't talk to Solomon in his old age, and in his political environment. They aren't coming in with a revolt or a protest, but with a request; with an intention to serve him as their king.
• Some people think that if they appease anyone, then they'll be over you or they'll run you... the request of the people is not wrong unless it is against the command of God
• If someone asks something of you and you say "okay" or "of course" (min 3enaya) does that show weakness? Definitely not!
• King Rehoboam will seek the advice of the elders and the advice of his friends.

⁵ So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.

• So far, he has acted wisely - he isn't going to make a big decision on the spot... to take time and study the situation is wisdom. I'll get back to you, let me think and let you know, let me pray about it, etc.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

• So far, he has acted wisely - asking the elders and the wise men is good!

⁷ And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

• Wisdom!
• If you serve the people, they will serve you. If you love them, they will love you. If you put yourself under them, they will raise you to be over them.
  • The Lord Jesus said the same: "Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave" (Matthew 20:26-27)
  • "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4)
  • "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be ^[c]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:8)
  • "So the last will be first, and the first last." (Matthew 20:16)
• This is an important message for servants
  • Our service is not top-down
  • St Mary said: "He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly." (Luke 1:52)
  • The Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory, sat at the feet of His disciples and washed their feet
  • Whoever takes the service as authority, title and glory - people's hearts are closed to him. Whoever takes his service as washing the people's feet, putting himself under them, the people's hearts are opened to him and they follow him
  • The servant should examine himself - am I before them or after them? Am I above them, or am I below them? Am I enduring them, or are they enduring me? Am I serving them or am I expecting them to serve me?
• This advice was a prophecy about the King of Kings
  • "but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:7)
• Rehoboam did not like this advice - how could I, a king, be a servant? Did I become king just so I could be a servant?
  • Some people cannot withstand a WORD
    • King Saul could not stand the words sung about King David - Saul has slain his thousands and David his myriads
  • Although he started with wisdom of waiting to make a decision, and the wisdom of seeking the advice of the elders, he fell
  • (Notice that he rejected the advice of the elders BEFORE consulting the young men)

⁸ But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. ⁹ And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

¹⁰ Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ”

• The words of youth who have no experience, no responsibility, no maturity, no wisdom, no purpose, "fighting words", etc. Are these words even realistic? Can you compare yourself to the great King Solomon? That the world admired? Will you compare yourself to him on day 1 of your kingship?
• Pride is the enemy of wisdom, and cultivating the virtue of humility brings with it wisdom

So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” ¹³ Then the king answered the people ^[c]roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; ¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with ^[d]scourges!” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

“What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!”

So Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

²⁰ Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

²¹ And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²² But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ²³ “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, ²⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam's Gold Calves

²⁵ Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel. ²⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: ²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

²⁸ Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” ²⁹ And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. ³⁰ Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. ³¹ He made ^[f]shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

³² Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. ³³ So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ^[h]ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.