Don’t Forget God # 12 Lessons from the life of Solomon – God is more concerned about the inner condition of our ‘heart’, our ‘heart’ for Him, than our external appearance/our ‘performance’

Our text is 1 Kings 1: 1 – 1 Kings 11: 43 – a summary of the life of Solomon

Last time: 1 Kings 6: 1-14

Here are the lesson from: 1 Kings 6: 1-14

God’s will for us is that we experience Hi indwelling presence

Today: 1 Kings 6: 15-38

The location and history of Solomon’s Temple

Graphic: Location and finished Temple area

It was no accident that Solomon built the Temple where he did

In the Book of Genesis the location was called Mt. Moriah and it was a very important place of worship for the people of God

Abraham and Isaac worshipped the Lord on Mt. Moriah Genesis 22: 2

Abraham called it ‘The Lord will provide…on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided’ Genesis 22: 14

Solomon’s father, King David, built an altar on Mt. Moriah to worship the Lord
2 Samuel 24: 18-25

About 400 years after Solomon built the Temple on Mt. Moriah, it was destroyed by the invading army of King Nebuchadnezzar in 587/586 B.C

About 70 years after that, it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and came to be known as the ‘2nd Temple’ in 517/516 B.C

About 500 years after that, it was re-developed by King Herod and came to be known as ‘King Herod’s Temple’

Graphic: Herod’s Temple

In 70 A.D the Romans destroyed the Temple all that remains of it is the western wall of the Temple area which is also known as the ‘wailing wall’

Graphic: wailing wall

Today, the Temple area is now occupied by the Muslim Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock

Graphic: Muslim Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock

Jesus said this about Jerusalem in Luke 21: 24 ‘Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end’

Here’s a description of the Temple design

15 The entire inside was wood paneled – cypress floors and cedar ceilings and walls

16 The ‘inner sanctuary’ was also known as the Most Holy Place

17 The larger room outside the Most Holy Place was also known as the Holy Place 1 Kings 8: 8, 10

Graphic: Cutaway view of Solomon’s Temple

18-19 The ark of the covenant was to be placed inside the Most Holy Place

Graphic: The ark of the covenant

20-22, 29-32 Pure gold covered the walls, floors and ceilings of the Temple and all the decorations and furniture inside the Temple were also covered in gold

23-28 two large cherubim covered in pure gold were placed inside the Most Holy Place ‘protecting’ the presence of God over the ark of the covenant

33-35 the doorposts and the doors to the entrance of the Temple were also covered in pure gold

36 the walls on the courtyard of the Temple were made of stone and cedar beams

Graphic: Temple courtyard walls

37 the writer of 1 Kings then describes the foundations of the Temple

38 Every detail of the Temple was completed in 7 years, the 11th year of Solomon’s reign

This is very important; please notice the description of the Temple design – it is described from the inside to the outside

15 ‘the entire inside’ 37 ‘the foundation’

Usually a construction project would be designed and described starting with the foundation and then go on to describe the interior features and decorations

What is the Lord saying here?

Now, remember, the temple is a O.T type/symbol to us of God’s indwelling presence in the Church

Here’s the lesson from: 1 Kings 6: 15-38

God is more concerned about the inner condition of our ‘heart’, our ‘heart’ for Him, than our external appearance/our ‘performance’

The entire inside of the Temple was covered in pure gold

Pure gold is an O.T type/symbol of holiness and pure worship towards God

If we are to enjoy the indwelling presence of God, we must have a holy and pure ‘heart’ of worship towards God

Jesus said: John 4: 24 ‘for God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth’

Jesus made his hardest criticism on those people who made a ‘show’/outward appearance/‘performance’, of loving God but on the inside were full of ‘filth(y), greed, self-indulgence, dead men’s bones, impurity, hypocrisy and lawlessness’Matthew 23: 25-28

As we close today: let me ask you ‘what is the inner condition of your heart’?

Let’s consider again the wisdom of Solomon

Proverbs 20: 9a ‘Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am cleansed of my sin’?

Jesus said this Matthew 5: 8 ‘God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God’

Don’t Forget God # 11 Lessons from the life of Solomon – God’s will for us is that we experience His indwelling presence

Our text is 1 Kings 1: 1 – 1 Kings 11: 43 – a summary of the life of Solomon

Last time: 1 Kings 5: 1-9

Solomon the builder

Here are the lesson from: 1 Kings 5: 1-9

As Christians, our first priority is to glorify God through our worship

Solomon the trader

1 Kings 5: 10-18

Solomon was a great trader but Jesus made the greatest trade of all; and with that trade He secured our salvation – on the cross, He traded His righteousness for our sin

Today: 1 Kings 6: 1-14

1

The author of 1 Kings is very careful to tell us that Solomon began to build the Temple ‘480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt’

The Temple was Solomon’s greatest construction achievement

BUT – What is more important; the construction of the Temple was the fulfillment of God’s will to bring His people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land where God would dwell with His worshipping people

Exodus 3: 16-18 18b ‘offer sacrifices to the Lord our God’

Exodus 4: 21-23a 23a ‘let My son (Israel) go so that he can worship Me’

Even when Solomon was a young man his father King David told him that God’s will for his life was to build the Temple for the indwelling of God’s presence

1 Chronicles 22:19 ‘Now seek the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. Build the sanctuary of the LORD God so that you can bring the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the LORD’s name.’

2-10 Gives us a summary of the dimensions of the Temple

The Temple would not be large but it would be, as King David said, ‘a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the World’
1 Chronicles 22: 5

Graphics: the Temple location, external and cut-away views

11-13 The Lord gave Solomon a conditional promise, 12 ‘if you’, to live among His people and never abandon them

As we know, Solomon was unfaithful to the Lord and God removed His blessings from Solomon and Israel

14 ‘So Solomon finished building the Temple’

Here’s the lesson from 1 Kings 6: 1-14

God’s will for us is that we experience His indwelling presence

Here in 1 Kings we see the fulfilment of God’s will for His people – the Temple would become the place of His indwelling presence

In the New Testament Jesus re-states God’s will for us, His people

Speaking of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said to the disciples: John 14: 17 ‘He lives with you now and later will be in you’

That ‘later’ came on the Day of Pentecost and continues till this day

Acts 2: 1-4 4 ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’

Acts 2: 38-39 39 ‘this promise is to…all who have been called by the Lord our God’

As we close today:

Solomon authored several Books in the Bible: Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Psalms 72 and 127

We also know that according to 1 Kings 4:32 ‘He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs’.

But, only once in all his writing does Solomon make a reference to the Holy Spirit

Proverbs 8:30b ‘rejoicing always in His presence’.

That’s great advice from Solomon! – Let’s rejoice in His presence as we close today

Don’t Forget God # 10 Lessons from the life of Solomon – As Christians, our first priority is to glorify God through our worship

Our text is 1 Kings 1: 1 – 1 Kings 11: 43 – a summary of the life of Solomon

Last time: 1 Kings 4: 1-28

Solomon the manager

Here are the lesson from: 1 Kings 4: 1-28

If you want to be successful in Life and in ministry you must manage your life

And: 1 Kings 4: 29-34

Solomon the academic

Here are the lesson from: 1 Kings 4: 29-34

If you want to be successful in Life and in ministry you apply what you learn

Today: 1 Kings 5: 1-9

Solomon the builder

1-5 King Hiram of Tyre had been a friend to King David, Solomon’s father, and had previously supplied building materials and workers for the construction of King David’s Palace in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5: 11)

Solomon was now ready to build the Temple in Jerusalem and was requesting Hiram to help him 5

6 Solomon requested Hiram to send resources from Lebanon and skilled workers from Sidon

Graphics: Map/Tyre, Sidon and the location of King David’s Palace

7-9 Hiram is pleased with Solomon’s request and agreed to send resources to Solomon in return for Solomon providing food for his Household

What would later become known as ‘Solomon’s Temple’ was Solomon’s greatest construction achievement

But, it was achieved at a very high cost!

When Israel first requested to have their own king, Samuel the prophet warned the people that they would regret asking for a king, and that they would eventually beg for relief from the king demands

1 Samuel 8: 10-20

Samuel the prophet’s warning to the people was right

Solomon’s construction projects demanded too much from the people and included:

Taxing the people 1 Kings 4: 27-28

And, forcing them into labor 1 Kings 5: 13-18

Solomon’s construction projects were so hard on the people that later they rebelled against Solomon and his son Rehoboam which eventually split Israel into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms

The Northern Kingdom made Jeroboam their King while the Southern Kingdom retained Rehoboam as their King 1 Kings 12: 4, 16, and 20

Graphic: Northern and Southern Kingdoms

Here’s the lesson from: 1 Kings 5: 1-9

As Christians, our first priority is to glorify God through our worship

Solomon understood this priority and that’s why he built the Temple BEFORE he built anything else

Today, in New Testament times we don’t need to first build a Temple to worship God in

God’s people gathered together, in a building like this one, or outside by a river, or in a cave underground, are His Temple!

1 Corinthians 3:16 ‘Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you’?

Let’s make the worship of God our priority

Solomon the trader

1 Kings 5: 10-18

Another skill that God blessed Solomon with was the skill of a trader
12

Graphic: Solomon’s trade routes

Just like his construction projects, Solomon’s trading also got him into trouble:

In return for Hiram’s support, Solomon traded 20 cities in Galilee (1 Kings 9: 10)

Later, these cities were returned to Israel (2 Chronicles 8: 1-2)

At this point, again, I am reminded what Jesus said about Himself in comparison with Solomon

Luke 11: 31 ‘Now someone greater than Solomon is here’

Solomon was a great trader but Jesus made the greatest trade of all; and with that trade He secured our salvation – on the cross, He traded His righteousness for our sin

Graphic: the cross

2 Corinthians 5: 21 ‘God had Christ, Who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through Him’.

As we close today:

Let’s continue to make worship our priority; let’s praise the Lord together for what He has done for us through Jesus Christ our Savior!