Structure of 1st Kings
1st Kgs 1:1–11:43 – Solomon in glory and dishonor
1st Kgs 12:1–16:34 – The effect of folly and sin
1st Kgs 17:1–2nd Kgs 8:29 – Israel and the prophets
1st Kings according to puppets…
1st Kings according to puppets…
Themes of 1st Kings
Apostasy and reform
Apostasy and reform
Similar to the book of Judges in some ways
People turn away from God, turn back again, turn away again…
Davidic kingship
David is looked back on as the model king
David’s descendants continue to reign in Jerusalem
Prophetic word
1st Kings is full of prophets
The prophets interact with the kings to let them know when they get it right and when they get it wrong
Women
Villains
Solomon’s wives
Jezebel
Heroines
Queen of Sheba
Several women interact with prophetic figures
Solomon Asks for Wisdom (3:1-15)
Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh and married his daughter.
Solomon is portrayed as a faithful king who did not remain faithful.
God appeared to Solomon in a dream at night and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
Solomon’s response:
“I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.”
“So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”
God was pleased with Solomon’s answer and made Solomon wiser than anyone who came before him or anyone who came after him.
God additionally gave Solomon what he had not asked for:
Wealth
Long life
Honor
Death to his enemies
A Wise Ruling (3:16-28)
Two prostitutes presented their case to Solomon.
They were roommates
They each gave birth to a son a few days apart
One of the babies died in the middle of the night
Each woman claimed the living baby was hers
Solomon decided to cut the baby in half.
One woman thought it was a fair idea
The other woman begged Solomon not to do this and told him to give the baby to the other woman
Solomon gave the baby to the woman who would rather have no son than half-a-son.
Solomon’s Building Projects
Solomon builds the Temple (5:1-6:38; 7:13-51)
Solomon made the people of Israel work for him:
He had 30,000 men working shifts in Lebanon gathering lumber
“Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills.”
Thirty-three hundred foremen
The temple was designed from the plans for the tabernacle, but larger, and made with much more extravagant materials.
The inside of the temple was made from cedar and was overlaid completely with gold.
After seven years of construction, the temple was completed.
Solomon builds his Palace (7:1-12)
Solomon spent thirteen years building a palace for himself.
He made his palace of cedar wood.
He made a second palace like it for his Egyptian wife.
The Dedication of the Temple (8:1-66)
Solomon had the Ark of the Covenant brought into the temple.
Placed in “The Most Holy Place.”
Text says the two tablets of Moses with the 10 Commandments were still in the Ark.
People sacrificed so much they lost count.
After the priests withdrew from The Holy Place, the glory of the LORD filled the temple and no one could enter because it was filled with smoke.
Solomon stood in front of the altar, stretched out his arms, and offered a prayer of dedication.
“LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.”
“…keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him…”
“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”
“When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.”
The people celebrated for fourteen days.
The LORD Appears to Solomon (9:1-9)
God appeared to Solomon a second time, saying:
“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.”
Instructions for Solomon…
Instructions for Solomon…
If you walk before me faithfully:
I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever
If you or your descendants turn away from me:
I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them
I will reject this temple
Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples
This temple will become a heap of rubble.
Solomon’s Other Activities (9:10-28)
Solomon made the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites who were still living in the land into slaves.
He turned the Israelites into their task masters.
He went to the Temple three times a year to offer sacrifices.
He had a fleet of ships which brought back gold from distant lands, including 420 talents of gold from Ophir.
420 talents of gold could buy 10,054,800 sheep, or 670,320 slaves, or 167,580 houses.
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon (10:1-13)
The Queen of Sheba visited to test Solomon’s wisdom.
He was able to answer all of her difficult questions.
The Queen of Sheba was overwhelmed by the splendor of Solomon’s kingdom and offered him many gifts of spices and 120 talents of gold.
120 talents of gold could buy 2,872,800 sheep, or 191,520 slaves, or 47,880 houses.
Solomon’s Splendor (10:14-29)
All of sudden, in the middle of chapter 10, Solomon's life takes a turn for the worse, and for some unknown reason he begins to turn away from God. This all starts with the use of the number 666 in the text. The story teller intentionally uses the number to show that at this point something has gone terribly wrong with Solomon.
This text begins by saying that the amount of gold that Solomon brought in annually was 666 talents in addition to everything else.
This text begins by saying that the amount of gold that Solomon brought in annually was 666 talents in addition to everything else.
He also made two hundred shields of gold using 600 shekels for each shield.
He also made 300 smaller shields of gold using 3 minas of gold for each of them.
Solomon made a grand throne of ivory and gold for himself.
Six steps leading up to the throne.
Six gold lions on the right and six gold lions on the left.
Everything was made from gold in Solomon’s palace.
Silver was worthless in Solomon’s day.
He had a fleet of trading ships that returned every three years with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons.
He had fourteen-hundred chariots and twelve-thousand horses.
He did all of this even though the law code of Deuteronomy says that the king must not have much gold and must not have many horses.
He did all of this even though the law code of Deuteronomy says that the king must not have much gold and must not have many horses.
Solomon “loved many foreign women” and married the princesses of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and the Hittites.
“He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.”
Solomon began to worship the Asherah of the Sidonians.
“On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.”
God was angry with Solomon and told him that because of his attitude towards the Covenant, God would tear the kingdom away from him and give it to one of his subordinates.
God also said that for David’s sake He would wait to do this until after Solomon’s death, and Solomon’s son would still reign over one of the 12 tribes in keeping with the Covenant.
Solomon’s Adversaries (11:14-25)
Hadad of Edom rebelled against Solomon.
When Isaac “blessed” Esau, he said Edom would become Israel’s slave, but that eventually Edom would break free.
Rezon of Zobah also rebelled and set up his base in Damascus.
Jeroboam’s Rebellion (11:26-40)
Because of his talents, Solomon had put Jeroboam of Ephraim in charge of the people who were building Jerusalem’s walls.
The Prophet Ahijah’s message to Jeroboam:
Gave 10 of 12 pieces of a ripped cloak to Jeroboam and told him that he would one day be leader of 10 tribes of Israel.
The House of David would still have at least one tribe.
“Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.”
Solomon’s Death (11:41-43)
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem for 40 years.
When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.
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