I Kings 11
Wives turn Solomon’s heart from LORDverses 1-3
But king Solomon loved many strange women
together with the daughter of Pharaoh
women of the Moabites – Ammonites
Edomites – Sidonians – Hittites
Of the nations concerning which the LORD
said to the children of Israel
You shall not go in to them
neither shall they come in to you
for surely they will turn away
your heart after their gods
Solomon clave to these in love
and he had seven hundred wives
princesses – three hundred concubines
and his wives turned away his heart
Solomon worships false godsverses 4-6
For it came to pass – when Solomon was old
that his wives turned away his heart after other gods
and his heart was not perfect
with the LORD his God
as was the heart of David his father
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians
and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD
and went not fully after the LORD
as did David his father
Solomon builds shrines to false godsverses 7-8
Then did Solomon build a high place
for Chemosh the abomination of Moab
in the hill that is before Jerusalem
and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon
and likewise did he for all his strange wives
which burnt incense
and sacrificed to their gods
LORD angry at Solomon for his sinverses 9-13
And the LORD was angry
with Solomon
BECAUSE his heart was turned from
the LORD God of Israel which had appeared to him twice
and had commanded him concerning this thing
that he should not go after other gods
but he kept not that which the
LORD commanded
Wherefore the LORD
said to Solomon
Forasmuch as this is done of you
and you have not kept MY covenant and MY statutes
which I have commanded you
I will surely rend the kingdom from you
and will give it to your servant
Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it
for David your father’s sake
but I will rend it out of the hand of your son
Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom
but will give one tribe to your son
for David MY servant’s sake
and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen
Hadad the Edomite: enemy of Solomonverses 14-16
And the LORD stirred up an adversary to Solomon
Hadad the Edomite
he was of the king’s seed in Edom
For it came to pass – when David was in Edom
and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain
after he had smitten every male in Edom
(for six months did Joab remain there with all Israel
until he had cut off every male in Edom)
Hadad was exiled to Egypt from a youthverses 17-20
That Hadad fled
he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him
to go into Egypt
Hadad being yet a little child
and they arose out of Midian – and came to Paran
and they took men with them out of Paran
and they came to Egypt – to Pharaoh king of Egypt
which gave him a house
and appointed him victuals
and gave him land
And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh
so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife
the sister of Tahpenes the queen
and the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son
whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house
and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household
among the sons of Pharaoh
After death of David Hadad returned to Edomverses 21-22
And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers
and that Joab the captain of the host was dead
Hadad said to Pharaoh
Let me depart
that I may go to mine own country
Then Pharaoh
said to him
But what have you lacked with me – that behold
you seek to go to your own country?
And he answered
Nothing – howbeit let me go in any wise
Rezon the son of Eliadah: enemy of Solomonverses 23-25
And God stirred him up another adversary
Rezon the son of Eliadah
which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah
and he gathered men to him
and became captain over a band
when David slew them of Zobah
and they went to Damascus
and dwelt therein
and reigned in Damascus
and he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon
besides the mischief that Hadad did
and he abhorred Israel
and reigned over Syria
Jeroboam’s rebellion: Official of Solomonverses 26-28
And Jeroboam the son of Nebat
an Ephrathite of Zereda – Solomon’s servant
whose mother’s name was Zeruah
a widow woman
even he lifted up his hand against the king
And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king
Solomon built Millo
and repaired the breaches
of the city of David his father
And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor
and Solomon seeing the young man
that he was industrious
he made him ruler over all
the charge of the house of Joseph
Jeroboam’s rebellion: Prophet Ahijahverses 29-33
And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam
went out of Jerusalem
that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite
found him in the way
and he had clad himself with a new garment
and they two were alone in the field
and Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him
and rent it in twelve pieces
And he
said to Jeroboam
Take you ten pieces
for thus says the LORD the God of Israel
BEHOLD- I will rent the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon
I will give ten tribes to you
(But he shall have one tribe for MY servant David’s sake
and for Jerusalem’s sake
the city which I have chosen out of
all the tribes of Israel)
Because that they have forsaken ME
and have worshiped Ashtoreth
the goddess of the Zidonian
Chemosh the god of the Moabites
Milcom the god of the children of Ammon
And have not WALKED in MY ways
to do that which is right in mine eyes
to keep MY statutes and
MY judgments
as did David his father
LORD allows descendants of David to still ruleverses 34-40
Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand
but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David
MY servant’s sake – whom I chose
because he kept MY commandments and MY statutes
but I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand
and will give it to you – even ten tribes
And to his son will I give one tribe
that David MY servant may have a light always before ME
in Jerusalem – the city which I have chosen ME to put
MY name there
And I will take you
and you shall reign according to all that your soul desires
and shall be king over Israel
And it shall be – IF you will hearken to all that I command you
and will WALK in MY ways
and do that is right in MY sight
to keep MY statutes and MY commandments
as David MY servant did
that I will be with you
and build you a sure house
as I built for David and will give Israel
to you
And I will for this afflict the seed of David
BUT not for ever
Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam
and Jeroboam arose – and fled into Egypt
to Shishak king of Egypt
and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon
Solomon reigned for forty yearsverses 41-43
And the rest of the acts of Solomon – and all that he did
and his wisdom
Are they not written in the
book of the acts of Solomon?
And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel
was forty years
And Solomon slept with his fathers
and was buried in the city of David his father
and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said to the children of Israel, You shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave to these in love. (1692 “clave” [dabaq] means follow hear, pursued, to cling, stick, hold, keep close, to be glued, joined fast, stay close, or pursue.)
DEVOTION: The LORD makes it plain that HE wants believers to marry fellow believers. Anytime you have a mixed marriage there is going to be trouble. The standards are different between the couple and it causes all kinds of problems for the children because they are getting mixed messages from their parents.
One wants them to go to church and honor the LORD and the other just doesn’t care about church and tells them that church is not necessary. The problem continues to the next generation as well.
Those who are genuine believers want to honor the LORD in all they do around the house and in society. They have different habits than those who are outside of Christ. Too many times the believer will give in to the unbeliever in their actions. This will again cause confusion in the lives of the children.
Solomon was close to the LORD in the beginning of his reign as king. He kept marrying women who were part of a covenant between him and another nation. So he was not being faithful to the practices of the Jewish religion. He was allowing his wives to influence their children and his nation. False gods were showing up in the homes of the foreign wives.
No discipline was given to the wives regarding their spreading their false religion. He loved his wives more than he loved the LORD. This caused confusion in the nation as well.
False gods are present in our society as well. We worship money, cars, sports, movie stars and the list can go on and on. We become very selfish people when it comes to what interests us away from the LORD.
God made it clear to Solomon and the nation of Israel that there was going to be division in the land. Tribes were going to worship false gods because the king was worshiping false gods.
Marriage is very sacred in the eyes of the LORD. Only believers are to marry believers. Stop causing confusion. Ask the LORD to help you set an example of what a Biblical marriage is to your children. Explain why it causes confusion in the home when one is unsaved and the other is saved.
CHALLENGE: There is more to marriage than external beauty. There is internal beauty that is more important. Look for individuals who love the LORD before you date them.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared to him twice (7200 “appeared” [ra’ah] means to come into sight or view, reveal, examine, inspect, to look at each other, to spy, or become visible)
DEVOTION: The LORD had picked David to be king of Israel. He was a man after God’s own heart. Here we have Solomon becoming king and the problem was that it when to his head and not to his heart. He knew that the LORD had given him the kingdom over his brother. He knew that the LORD had blessed his father David.
He knew that the LORD had promised him many blessings. He knew he was the one to build the Temple of the LORD.
The LORD gave him much riches. The LORD gave him a nation but he was not satisfied with these things. He wanted more. He wanted more possessions. He wanted more wives. He wanted to worship more than one God. He wanted to worship the false gods of the other nations where his wives were coming from. He thought that it was OK with God to share this worship.
God doesn’t share very well. HE wants to be exclusive. HE want those who are HIS followers to be totally committed to HIM alone. HE was not one to be one of many.
So we find that the LORD was not happy with him worshiping other gods. HE was not happy with the way he was dealing with other people. HE was not happy with his change of priorities.
The LORD had appeared to him twice to give him special instructions but he forgot about the LORD and went and worshiped false gods. This did not please the LORD. HE was not into sharing.
CHALLENGE: Once we make a genuine commitment to the LORD HE wants us to follow HIM exclusively. Are we trying to share our worship with false gods? This is not God’s plan for anyone who says they believe in HIM.
: 29 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field. (3677 “had clad himself” [kece] means to cover, conceal, to be or become clothed in apparel, put clothes on oneself, to cover over, hide from.)
DEVOTION: Ahijah was a prophet of the LORD. He was used of the LORD to show Jeroboam that he was going to be king over ten tribes in the future. He was to show this fact to Jeroboam by taking a new garment he was wearing and tear it into twelve pieces. He would give ten pieces to Jeroboam.
Then he told him that the LORD was going to take the kingdom from Solomon because of his worship of false gods. He also knew that Solomon’s son would still have Jerusalem and the tribe of Judah.
Division is caused in a nation and families because of one group worshiping false gods and another worshiping the one true God. This is happening in our nation today. Many false religions are coming into our nation. Confusion is reigning. God has sent warnings through men of God throughout the history of our nation. We have to ask ourselves if we are going to let this nation continue on the path it is headed or if we are going to pray for revival.
Revivals can still happen even today. If God’s people are dedicated to revival it can happen in one location and then move to another location if it is staying true to the message of the Word of God.
Solomon lost his wisdom to follow his love of foreign wives. We need to watch to make sure that we gain more wisdom from the LORD the older we get. We can have fire for the LORD when we are young and lose it when we get older.
CHALLENGE: There is no retirement age from our service to the LORD. Don’t get sidetracked like Solomon did.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. (5216 “light” [niyr] means to glisten, lamp, or candle.)
DEVOTION: The LORD was promising David that he would have someone on the throne of Israel for ever. We know that Jesus Christ was a descendant of David. HE is going to reign on this earth for at least a thousand years in the future. HE is the only one that is pure enough to reign during the Millennium.
During this time period after Solomon was not faithful to the LORD there would only be one tribe that would follow the household of David. The rest of the nation would rebel against the son of Solomon.
Judgment was swift when the people moved from following the LORD to following the false gods of the nations around them. We have that happening today as many in this nation are not following the LORD but the gods of the nations of the world.
The Biblical standard set by the LORD for marriage and children has been thrown out the window. The nation thinks that they can move away from God and there will be no consequences. This is wrong thinking.
There were time periods of revival in the nation of Israel but they were few and far between. That is true of this nation as well. We can still have a revival if God’s people humble themselves and pray.
Judgment is still coming to this nation and the nations around the world who have turned their backs on the LORD. No one will have an excuse when they stand before the LORD and say they didn’t have a opportunity to become a follower of HIM. HE will show them all the opportunities they had to change as individuals and as a nation.
God is going to keep HIS promise to David that he will always have a light. Jesus is the Light. Are we following the light or the darkness?
CHALLENGE: God promises blessings to those leaders who honor HIM. HE also promises judgment to the leader that will not follow HIM.
: 39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. (6031 “afflict” [‘anah] means depress, chasten self, force, deal hardly with or humble)
DEVOTION: Those who are followers of the LORD can do one of two things with their life. They can be obedient or disobedient to the commands of the LORD. If they are obedient they will be blessed. However, even in blessing there will be times of trials. Chastening will be the consequence of disobedience. The purpose of chastening is to restore us to fellowship with the LORD again. The purpose of trials is to prune off the dead wood in our lives.
The Bible tells us that the followers of God grow closer to the LORD by the use of chastening and pruning. Solomon was going away from the LORD. The nation of Israel was going away from the LORD. This chapter is telling of how Solomon let his foreign wives lead him away from the LORD. He married seven hundred wives as part of treaty agreements with his neighbors. He had three hundred concubines. They were not followers of the LORD. They worshiped false gods that had evil angels behind them. They were worshiping fallen angels.
The book of Deuteronomy (17: 14- 20) informs us that there were going to be rules for future kings. One of the rules was not to multiply wives.
This is a negative chapter. It shows that someone who has wisdom given to him by God can still stray from the LORD. However, in this verse God tells Jeroboam that he will not deal hardly with David’s household forever. The LORD is merciful even on this occasion.
There was a coming one who would be of the house of David who would die for the sins of the world. That was Christ. In all the negative of this chapter, there is a positive. Jesus Christ of the tribe of Judah would be our substitute on the cross. HE died for our sins, so that, we could become a follower of God with our sins forgiven based on the blood of the cross. We are forgiven only on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. We are not sinless but we can sin less.
In our lives we face the same temptations of Solomon. We are tempted by three sources: the world, the flesh and the devil. We sin daily but we have hope if we have Christ. We can sin less with the help of the LORD. We need to depend on HIM and not on our own minds. Too often we think we are smarter than others and will not get caught in sin. The LORD sees all. The LORD knows all. HE is going to chasten his servants that get out of line with HIS commands.
Praise the LORD we can turn back to the LORD and repent of our sins daily. This is to keep our fellowship with HIM, not for the restoration of our salvation.
CHALLENGE: Remember to keep short accounts with the LORD. HE doesn’t give us grace so that we can sin more. We should want to serve HIM more instead. Amen!!
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Book of the acts of Solomonverse 41
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Covenantsverse 11
Statutesverses 11, 33, 34, 38
Judgmentsverse 33
Commandmentsverses 34, 38
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 2, 4, 6, 9-11, 14, 31
God – Elohim (Creator)verses 4, 9, 23, 31,
LORD his Godverse 4
Anger of the LORDverse 9
LORD God of Israelverse 9
Appeared to Solomon twiceverse 9
Told Solomon HE was taking kingdom from himverse 11
LORD stirred up adversaries to Solomonverse 14
LORD, the God of Israelverse 31
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Strange womenverse 1
Pharaoh’s daughterverse 1
Moabite womenverse 1
Ammonite womenverse 1
Edomite womenverse 1
Zidonian womenverse 1
Hittite womenverse 1
Ashtoreth the Zidonians goddessverses 5, 33
Milcom god of Ammonitesverses 5, 33
Chemosh – abomination of Moabverses 7, 33
Molech – abomination of Ammonverse 7
Strange wivesverse 8
Adversary of Solomon: Hadad the Edomiteverses 14-22
Egyptverses 17-21, 40
Pharoahverses 18, 19, 22
Tahpenes – Pharoah’s queenverse 19
Adversary of Solomon: Rezonverses 23-25
Hadadezer – king of Zobahverse 25
Shishak – king of Egyptverse 40
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Marrying unsaved individualsverse 1
Turned away heartverses 2-4, 9
False loveverse 2
Other godsverses 4, 7, 10
Heart was not perfect with LORDverse 4
Solomon did evilverse 6
Not fully after the LORDverse 6
Solomon built high place to foreign godsverses 5-7
Abominationverse 7
Not keeping the commandmentsverses 10, 11
Not keeping covenantverse 11
Worshiped false godsverse 33
Ashtoreth – goddess of the Zidonians
Chemosh – god of the Moabites
Milcom the god of children of Ammon
Forsook Godverse 33
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Perfect heartverse 4
Covenantverse 11
Chosenverses 13, 34
Walkverse 38
Do what is rightverse 38
Servantverse 38
Afflictverse 39
Wisdomverse 41
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Solomonverses 1-43
had 700 wives and 300 concubines
clave to these in love
700 wives
300 concubines
Wives turned his heart away from the LORD
In old age turned to false gods
Heart not perfect with the LORD
Worshiped false gods
Ashtoreth – goddess of the Zidonians
Did evil in the sight of the LORD
Built high place for Chemosh
Built high place for Molech
Burned incense and sacrificed to false gods of his wives
Heart turned from LORD
Going to only have one tribe
Wanted to kill Jeroboam
Children of Israelverse 2
David – father of Solomonverses 4, 6, 12, 13, 15, 36, 38, 39
Jerusalemverses 13, 43
Joabverse 15
Hadadverses 17-21
Married Pharoah’s wife’s sister
Genubath his son
Rebellion against Solomon by Jeroboamverse 26
Promised 10 tribes
Prophet Ahijahverses 29, 30
Light – David have descendant in Jerusalemverse 36
Rehoboam reigns after Solomonverse 43
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
5–8 “Ashtoreth” (v.5) is a deliberate distortion of Ashtart, the Canaanite fertility goddess. The revocalization is based on the word for “shame” (bōšeṯ). “Molech” (or “Milcom,” as the text reads here; both spellings refer to the same god) is a deliberate distortion of the word meleḵ (“king”; see the note on 2 Kings 16:3). The worship of Ashtoreth involved fertility rites. In not only allowing these practices in his own household but participating in them to some degree, Solomon sinned grievously against the Lord (v.6). Apparently Solomon showed no favoritism but treated all the gods alike, even to the honoring of “Chemosh,” the Moabite equivalent of the Ammonite Molech or Milcom (vv.7–8). (Patterson, R. D., & Austel, H. J. (1988). 1, 2 Kings. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 107). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
As Solomon grew older he got farther away from God (cf. 1 Kings 11:33). Ashtoreth was a goddess of sex and fertility whose worship involved licentious rites and worship of the stars. She was a vile goddess (cf. 2 Kings 23:13). Molech worship involved human sacrifices, especially children, which was strictly prohibited by the Law (Lev. 18:21; 20:1–5). Chemosh worship was equally cruel and licentious. The hill east of Jerusalem on which Solomon built … high places may have been the Mount of Olives (cf. 2 Kings 23:13). (Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 508). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
11:7 Chemosh. The god of the Moabites, to whom the sacrifice of children as a burnt offering was customary (2Ki 3:27). mountain … east of Jerusalem. Probably, the Mt. of Olives. This is the area called Tophet in Jer 7:30–34 and the mount of corruption in 2Ki 23:13. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Ki 11:7). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Solomon marries seven hundred foreign princesses; God had expressly forbidden such intermarriages (11:1–8; Deut. 7:4; 17:17). His love for the Lord grows cold; his heart of wisdom turns from the Lord. His wives lead him to worship their gods. He departs far from the ways of David; he rejects the Lord’s word which had come to him twice (1 Kings 3:14; 9:6–9). Solomon becomes a covenant breaker. (Van Groningen, G. (1995). 1-2 Kings. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 243). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
Ver. 7. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, &c.] Of this idol, see the note on Jer. 48:7. an high place for which he ordered to be built, or at least suffered it to be built, at the instigation of his Moabitish woman or women, ver. 1. this was built in the kill that is before Jerusalem; on the mount of Olives, as Jarchi, called from hence afterwards the mount of corruption, 2 Kings 23:15. and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon, see ver. 5. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 723). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
11:7, 8 The use of a high place in association with the worship of foreign gods shows the terrible danger that the high places presented to Israel (3:2–4; 14:23; Mic. 1:3). Chemosh was the national god of Moab. His worship was practiced repeatedly by God’s people (2 Kin. 23:13). The veneration of this deity is also attested in the recently discovered Ebla Tablets in a form that suggests his association with the city of Carchemish along the upper bend of the Euphrates River. Molech is associated with human sacrifice and with Baal (Jer. 7:31, 32; 19:5, 6; 32:35). (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 443). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
lamp;—always fig. לְמַעַן הֱיוֹת־נ׳ לְדָוִיד 1 K 11:36, i.e. that his family may remain on the throne (Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (2000). Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems.)
נִיר m. (from the root נוּר)—(1) i.q. נֵר a lamp, always used figuratively of progeny. 1 Ki. 11:36, לְמַעַן הֱיוֹת־נִיר לְדָוִיד־עַבְדִּי כָּל־הַיָּמִים “that David my servant might always have a lamp,” i.e. that his race might continue for ever; compare 15:4; 2 Ki. 8:19; 2 Ch. 21:7. (Gesenius, W., & Tregelles, S. P. (2003). Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
chosen rulership, presence, formally, lamp, i.e., the reigning presence of an heir, with a special focus to keep or guard something, as a figurative extension of a lamp that gives light (as in the Temple) (1Ki 11:36; 15:4; 2Ki 8:19; 2Ch 21:7+); (Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding in Cana to demonstrate His deity to His disciples.
INSIGHT
In John 2:24 we read, “But Jesus did not commit Himself to them.” The word commit is the same word that is translated “faith” or “believe” in other places in the Bible. It gives us additional insight concerning the concept of faith in the Bible.
Faith is more than just intellectual understanding. Once someone understands the Gospel, he must make a personal commitment to it. He must entrust himself to it. In reality, to believe in Jesus Christ is to commit one’s self to Him. (Quiet Walk)
THE CROSS AND JUDGMENT
He will judge the world in righteousness. Acts 17:31
Christ on the cross says, “Now is the judgment of this world” (John 12:31). He prophesies what is going to happen. He is to be the judge. “He [God] will judge the world in righteousness,” says the apostle Paul to the Athenians, “by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” And Revelation 20:12-13 tells us that the books will be opened, and every man will have to stand before Him. Those who died at sea, those who died on land, those who were blown to nothing in the air—all will come back before Him in the final judgment.
And the simple message of the whole of the Bible is that the world, everything that is opposed to God and trusts in man and in his own power, is all going to be judged and condemned to everlasting misery and destruction. Now you see why Paul glories in the cross. It is the cross alone that saves any one of us from the destruction that is coming to the world. The whole world lies guilty before God, “for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). The whole world is going to be judged and is going to be destroyed.
We are all born in the world and of it. And unless we can be separated from that world, we will share its fate. God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified unto me, and I am separated from it. How? Let me make it clear. On that cross, the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself the punishment that is coming to all who belong to the world. That is why He died; He was receiving the punishment of the sins of men.
A Thought to Ponder: It is the cross alone that saves any one of us from the destruction that is coming to the world.
(From The Cross, pp. 102-103, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Remember His Benefits
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalm 103:2)
The benefits of the Lord are, indeed, great and marvelous, and it would be an act of ingratitude not to remember and appreciate them. Note the following partial list in this psalm:
- Forgiveness. “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities” (v. 3). God forgives all! He “cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
- Healing. “Who healeth all thy diseases” (v. 3). The greatest and ultimate disease is that of aging and death, but one day “there shall be no more death” (Revelation 21:4).
- Redemption. “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction” (v. 4; see also 1 Peter 1:18-19).
- Glorification. “Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (v. 4).
- Provision. “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things” (v. 5; see also James 1:17).
- Strength. “Thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (v. 5).
- Protection. “The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed” (v. 6).
The greatest benefit of all, of course, is the gift of salvation, by the mercy of God. Note the testimonies of God’s mercy: “Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (v. 4). “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (v. 8). “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him” (v. 11). “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him” (v. 17).
Infinite as the universe, enduring as eternity—these are the dimensions of God’s mercy! “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (v. 12). No wonder this great psalm both begins and ends with the inspiring exhortation: “Bless the LORD, O my soul!” (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Imperfect Plans
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord ’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21
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