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
revdotdavid 