Archive for the ‘Solomon’ tag
Workers Build the Temple: July 1, 2012
The text for this lesson is 1 Kings 5:1–6:28.
Key Point
- The temple was a magnificent structure that symbolized God’s even more magnificent dwelling with His people: Christ Jesus.
- Law: The temple was a constant reminder of God’s presence with Israel, but we often forget that God is with us. We take for granted that God is with us when we avoid coming to His house.
- Gospel: In Holy Communion, Christ is with us personally in His body and blood. Each time His Word speaks to us and His Sacraments are given to us, He forgives us for our indifference.
Discussion Points
- Where does God dwell? What is God’s purpose for the temple?
- Why did Solomon build the temple? Examine 1 Chronicles 28:1–21. In what ways do these verses demonstrate the hand of God in the building of the temple?
- God dwelled with His people in the temple as He had in the tabernacle. In what other way did God later come to dwell with His people? Read John 1:1 and 1:14.
- How does God dwell with us today? How is God present today for His people?
- Some churches today are magnificent structures. Others are simple in architecture and appointments. What is more important than what a church looks like?
- How do we “remember the Sabbath”?
- We don’t always remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. We show that we don’t appreciate that God is with us when we avoid coming to His house or when we forget that God is with us. But God does not forget us. How does God remember us?
- What attitudes toward worship are suggested by Psalm 95:1–7?
- How did God work through the humans in this story to provide for His people?
September 27, 2009: Solomon Builds the Temple
The text for this lesson is 1 Kings 5:1–6:38.
Key Points
- Though He was hidden, God resided within the Old Testament temple; Jesus is the unveiled, human Most Holy Place and is truly accessible to all, enfolding believers in the arms of His Word and Sacraments.
- Law: In my sin, I want to keep God at a distance; I don’t want Him to see who I really am.
- Gospel: God, in His love, draws me near to Him; in Jesus, He tabernacles (dwells) among all believers through Word and Sacrament.
Context
David desired to build a “house of cedar” for God, to replace the tent in which his Lord had been residing (2 Samuel 7:1–29). But the Lord declared it would be Solomon who would build such a house. Work on the temple was begun 480 years after Israel left Egypt, around 967 BC (1 Kings 6:1), and was completed seven years later (1 Kings 6:38). It consisted of two main parts: the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) and the Holy Place. It was a sight so dazzlingly beautiful that it was deemed an “exalted house” for the King of kings (1 Kings8:13). Yet it was only temporary. The Babylonians bulldozed it in 587 BC.
September 20, 2009: The Wisdom of Solomon
Key Points
- Solomon, though wise, needed what we and all sinners need: Christ, Wisdom Himself, and the forgiveness He brings.
- Law: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, yet, in my sin, I fear many things more than I fear the Lord.
- Gospel: Jesus is wisdom personified, who gives to me and all who believe in Him a share of His wisdom, that is, Himself.
Context
Solomon, the second child of David and Bathsheba, was Israel’s third king. A self-described “little child” when be assumed the throne (1 Kings 3:7), he reigned forty years (tenth century BC). Right after becoming king, he settled some old political scores relating to his father’s reign (1 Kings 2:13–46); then “the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon” (1 Kings 2:46). Though the nation expanded its borders, there was money galore, the temple was built, and Israel was relatively at peace with its neighbors, all was not well. Solomon, though “he was wiser than all other men” (1 Kings 4:31), foolishly overtaxed and overworked his citizens and contracted alliances with Gentile nations. Worst of all, his pagan wives “turned away his heart after other gods” so that he “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” (1 Kings 11:4, 6). As a result, after his death the nation split into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah).
July 5, 2009: Workers Build the Temple
The text for this lesson is 1 Kings 5:1–6:28.
Key Points
- The temple was a magnificent structure that symbolized God’s even more magnificent dwelling with His people: Christ Jesus.
- Law: The temple was a constant reminder of God’s presence with Israel, but we often forget that God is with us.
- Gospel: In Holy Communion, Christ is with us personally in His body and blood.
- Law: We take for granted that God is with us when we avoid coming to His house.
- Gospel: Each time His Word speaks to us and His Sacraments are given to us, He forgives us for our indifference.
Context
Solomon succeeded David as king of Israel (1 Kings 1:1–2:46) and continued the Messianic line (Matthew 1:6–7). He asked for and received a special gift of wisdom from God and Israel prospered in unprecedented ways (1 Kings 3:1–4:34). Solomon’s glory provided a point of comparison for Jesus’ teaching on God’s generous provision for His creatures, which offers Christians a life without anxiety (Matthew 6:25–34). Solomon’s proverbial wisdom set the stage for “something greater than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42), namely, Jesus, “whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Though Solomon’s reign was initially characterized by peace and prosperity, his personal sins later cast a dark cloud over his reign. His decadence and intermarriages with pagans brought outright idolatry into Israel and invoked God’s anger and judgment (1 Kings 11:1-43).
