1 Kings 9:1-10:29 + Acts 8:14-40 + Psalm 130:1-8 + Proverbs 17:2-3
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Old Testament - Well, we can gather from today's First Kings readings that Solomon was clearly wise and rich! I have to confess... when I was reading today's readings I briefly thought to myself, "well, it was just inherited wealth from his father David..." :) How wrong was this thinking! Yes, David was certainly wealthy and Solomon inherited the throne if you will. But Solomon had to administer the Kingdom, including the building of the Temple and the Palace, which were no small tasks! He was able to do this successfully I think because he asked God for wisdom - rather than riches or wealth - earlier in First Kings. Solomon sought God first and asked for wisdom, and I do think God blessed him with riches too. You'll recall that Jesus referred to "Solomon's splendor" in the Sermon on the Mount when he talked about the lilies of the field and his teachings on not worrying, from Matthew 6:29: "Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." Below is a painting of Solomon in all of his splendor in "The Queen of Sheba before Solomon" by Nicolas Knupfer, c. 1640:
These are very interesting readings today. The thing that I'm thinking about now, after reading about Solomon's wealth and wisdom - and also thinking back to David's warrior skills - is that it is not surprising to me that many people in Jesus' day were expecting a differing kind of Messiah. When Jesus came on the scene, people were reading these sacred texts of King David and King Solomon. They were reading about how wise and wealthy and what great warriors these Kings were. And these Kings were shown great favor by God. So - surely the coming Messiah would be all of this and more! Right?? Well... no. As we know Jesus was not a Warrior-Messiah. He did not come to set free the Jews from the Roman rule by the sword. Jesus did not come into the world with wealth - he came into the world in a stable with animals nearby. Now - in terms of wisdom, yes, obviously Jesus was wiser than David or Solomon of course. But in terms of being wealthy and being a warrior - Jesus was neither - on this earth. However - in the heavenly realm Jesus is obviously wealthy beyond all comprehension. And he is a warrior for you and for me. He is battling for the souls of men and women. He leads a legion of angels against a legion of darkness. Jesus is not meek. Nor is he eternally poor. But... what an interesting contrast of how Jesus was not a warrior nor wealthy during his time here on earth - and he warned us against both of these trappings. What to make of all of this? I'm not sure. I'm full-on going stream of consciousness writing here. :) I think the take-away for me is this - Solomon rightly sought after wisdom above all else. (He wrote many of the Proverbs!) And Jesus was of course wise beyond all measure. So, I think for you and I the key to life is first and foremost to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior - this is the wisest decision we will ever make. And after we have accepted Jesus, then we need to actually follow him. Follow his teachings. Follow his wisdom. And as we follow Jesus, we really should not be concerned about being wealthy or being a warrior. Perhaps these things will be part of our Walk in some regard. But they should not be the focus. Jesus should be the focus. Godly wisdom should be the focus. What is the focus in your life? Is it Jesus? Is it godly wisdom? Are you following Jesus with all that you are? Are taking up your cross daily? Are you following Jesus all the way up that hill?
Okay, back to today's readings. I do think map's can often give us a great overview / understanding of what we're reading about in the Bible. I think now is a good time to show a good map of Solomon's Kingdom compared to modern day Israel, below. Take a few minutes to really study this map and reflect upon places you recognize from today's readings and previous day's readings:
At the very end of First Kings chapter 9 today we read these interesting verses 26-28: "Later King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath in the land of Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea. Hiram sent experienced crews of sailors to sail the ships with Solomon's men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back to Solomon some sixteen tons of gold." You will see the port of Elath in the map above. Then, the big question I had today was where is Ophir? Well, it turns out that Ophir was likely in the land of "Sheba" from whence Queen Sheba comes to visit Solomon! So, it is interesting to see how these last 3 verses in chapter 9 lead us to First Kings 10 today we read about the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon. Below is about the best map I could find with the land of Sheba, and Ophir, in comparison to Israel. The Queen obviously traveled quite a distance in those days to visit Solomon! And I think we can now understand how she learned of Solomon - he built a fleet of ships and sailed them to her land!
New Testament - Wow. Acts chapter 8 verses 18 & 19 should be a warning to each of us to not lose sight of where spiritual power truly comes from - "When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands upon people's heads, he offered money to buy this power. "Let me have this power, too," he exclaimed, "so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!"" Scary stuff... but I have a hunch this type of thing still happens today. People want to "buy" faith or buy spiritual power. God ain't selling it. It's a free gift. Salvation is free. It ain't for sale. I pray that each of us realizes that our faith in Jesus is a free gift. We didn't buy it. We didn't earn it. And we most definitely should not exploit our free gift of faith in any way for $. That is scary to consider. And if we are blessed with what appears to be spiritual power in any way, I pray we realize that this power comes only from God, and not from ourselves. And if we ever happen to think that spiritual power comes from ourselves, then I am sure we will quickly learn the maxim - "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." Spiritual power goes bankrupt quick if we ever try to claim it as our own...
Today in Acts chapter 8 we read about Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch. In verses 34 and 35, just after the eunuch has finished reading verses in Isaiah 53 about Jesus, we will read – “The eunuch asked Phillip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else? Then Phillip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” I wonder about this in our lives today – do you think there are people that you know who are trying to understand who God is and what God is saying, just like this eunuch was trying to understand? Are there people in your life who may be seeking God and Jesus? If so, will you be like Phillip was for this eunuch for these people in your life? Will you begin with wherever these people are (“that very passage”), even if they are very far from God, and begin to share with them the good news about Jesus? Yes, this story about the Ethiopian eunuch is a very quick conversion story. Not all of our stories of having conversations with others seeking God will turn out like this. In fact, I’d venture to say that many will take many months and maybe even several years. But, even if it takes a lifetime of conversations with someone about the good news of Jesus, isn’t it worth it? Who in your life is God calling you to share the good news about Jesus with? Will you begin those conversations now? And, perhaps most importantly, will you begin praying for those that God has placed in your life – praying that they will come to understand who God truly is?
Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "Simon and Simon" is at this link and commentary titled "The Ethiopian Eunuch" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 130 is amazing today! Each verse is jam packed with good stuff to think about.... Actually - if you get a chance - please read through each of these verses again, and meditate for a moment on each one and what each verse might be speaking into your life and your heart. I think you will find tons of relevant meditations in this Psalm for your life. Today in Psalm 130 verse 5 we read - "I am counting on the LORD; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word." Are you counting on God in your life? Really counting on him? Have you put your hope in his Word, the Bible? Do you believe that reading and meditating and reflecting on the Bible can transform your life and your relationship with God? What is your plan to stay in God’s Word each and every day for the rest of your life? (I hope it is the One Year Bible! :) Should you have a plan to be in God’s Word each and every day?
Proverbs - I love Proverbs chapter 17 verse 3 today - "Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart." I think sometimes in our lives we tend to forget to live from our hearts. We live from our minds I think so often - and we can tend to silence our hearts. But God wants our hearts. He wants our hearts to be fully his. God oftentimes will speak to us through our hearts - sometimes I find that God's "still small voice" or God's whisper can only be discerned through my heart. So, let us live from our hearts. And let us realize that God is very interested in our hearts - and will test the purity of our hearts. The heart is so critically important for our spiritual life... how is the landscape of your heart today? What would God find inside your heart right now? Is your heart pure? Is your heart for God?
Worship Video: Philip's evangelism in today's readings in Acts reminded me of the Casting Crowns song "Does Anybody Hear Her" and our call to evangelism of others in our life today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEhRucEVzH8c
Are you running in the wrong direction? Click here and turn around!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart." Proverbs 17:3 (NIV)
Prayer Point: Pray that your heart is pure. Pray that your heart is filled with love. Pray that your heart has faith in Jesus. Pray that your heart is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: What was your reaction today to reading about "Solomon's splendor" in First Kings? Did you view this wealth of Solomon's as a blessing from God or perhaps as excess? What's your reaction to seeing this level of wealth of Solomon's versus Jesus' lack of wealth while walking the earth? What about in today's world - is there such a thing as too much wealth? Should we seek material wealth for our lives? Or should we be seeking other things? Should we seek to be like Solomon? Or like Jesus? Or perhaps like both? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
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BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
I Kings 9-10:29
Reading and visualizing the opulence of Solomon’s palace and the wealth he held in gold can make one forget that although he wrote the majority of Proverbs, Solomon also wrote Ecclesiastes 5:10
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
And
Proverbs 16
16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
Although all that came to visit Solomon, including the Queen of Sheba, understood that it was God’s blessing upon Solomon that gave him the Wisdom from God, which allowed him to get wealth, in spite of the warning given to Israel’s future kings (Deut.14-20), wealth and fame does not by itself mean that one is blessed by God.
Acts 8:14-40
This statement spoken by Peter to the former Sorcerer, Simon, intrigues me because I have understood for several years that the majority of people in the world do not know what a gift is. A gift by its very nature is supposed to be freely given that means no strings attached. Because we don’t know what a gift really is we work hard at trying to earn it, or like Simon the Sorcerer, we try to buy it. We may not use currency to try to gain the gift but we may try to use “works-in-kind” as a means to pay.
A so-called gift giver may be giving a false gift as a way to manipulate or control someone’s behavior or a bribe disguised as a gift. If we have been given so called gifts to manipulate our behavior we may reject a gift if we don’t like the conditions. Either way our image of what a gift really is flawed. Thus when God’s offer of salvation is handed to us we don’t know how to receive. Many reject salvation because they don’t feel they have enough in their personal arsenal of “works” to pay for the gift or think they are unworthy.
This misunderstanding about how we see gifts came to me in two parts. A beautiful women, a nun, handed me something wrapped in tissue paper and said she needed to explain something to me. She asked me, “Do you know the difference between a gift and a present?” A started to fumble for some response that seemed somewhat intelligent then I realized this could be a life changing experience so I said, “No.” She then proceeded to explain to me that a gift was something the giver dearly valued. It was something they really wanted to keep for themselves but because they valued the relationship more than the item or thing, they were willing to give up the gift. A present was something you bought in a store or made just to give away. What she handed me was a cross, made by a Navaho Indian, that had a heart in the center. That heart, she said, was the heart of Christ. That Indian had given this pendent to her and she now giving it to me.
Isn’t that what God did for us? He gave his sinless valuable Son, Jesus, to us, to be a substitute offering and payment for our sins.
The second part of my revelation about gifts came to me when someone told me I didn’t know how to receive a gift. Upon asking them what they meant they explained that receiving a gift did not mean that I was obligated to them. I could either take the gift or reject it; I could use the gift once taken or I could let it gather dust in a corner somewhere, everything was on me. Once the gift they offered left their hands it no longer belonged to them and they would never ask me how I used it, but they would be willing to hear from me what I did with it. That was a true gift giver.
The Ethiopian Eunuch was a recipient of The Gift. As he searched for understanding, God sent Philip, the Evangelist, who left a thriving ministry to hand off a gift that had been given to him. I don’t think this Ethiopian official was a stranger to the text he was reading, I believe he was looking for understanding of the scripture before him. After all as a Jewish convert, he was commanded to study, but so often the case we study but do not understand.
God felt the life of this man was so important that he removed a minister from his large congregation to give him what he, the Eunuch, had been searching for, TRUTH! And please note that Philip do not go back to his congregation in Samaria, God sent him to a new place, Caesarea. God loves us so much that he will disrupt the course of someone’s life to minister to us.
God is not like this Proverb
25 14 A person who doesn't give a promised gift is like clouds and wind that don't bring rain
A promised gift can be something you were told you were getting but didn’t get, or it could be something you received and was told it was a gift but you found out it was a bribe or extortion.
Psalm 130:1-8
Is this not a Psalm for those battling depression or is this not a Psalm.
1 From the depths of despair, O LORD,
I call for your help.
God is just so awesome, isn’t He? No matter what pit we find ourselves in God cares and He hears. It may seem like he has abandoned us but as the sixth verse implies, like the sentry, or watchman, wait for the coming of the dawn, so we who are caught up in the pits of life long for the dawning of God. Moreover, remember the darkest part of the twenty-four hour cycle is right before the Son comes up.
Proverbs 17:2-3
I’ve heard someone say that we are not paid by how much work we do we are paid based on our value. If we seek for and acquire wisdom, a commodity that is definitely lacking in today’s societies, that wisdom will elevate us in whatever situation we find ourselves.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
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Yesterday again I heard someone mention jews in a really degrading way and wondered what"what in the world do you have against them?"Here again I see God warns Solomon that if he/Israel turned to other gods He would reject the temple and make Israel an object of ridicule...exactly what's happening today.
Like the OT days,we are now either serving God or slaves to the devil.David had mighty men who were not Israelites so even foriegners then had a chance to worship God and serve him out of love.Now we see those enslaved to satan going deeper in sin and soon the cup will be filled up like it did in Noah's time,Sodom and Gomorah,etc.
Just a thought...Did Solomon have God's approval to give out towns in Israel to a foreign king?
Should we seek to be like Jesus or Solomon....Wisdom without total surrender to God could lead to pride and separation from God.Jesus was in total obedience....Solomon wasn't.Just a thought...if Solomon had asked for grace to always walk in God's council(totally dependent on God)compared to wisdom to do it all on his own would he not have fared better?Solomon so far sought no one's council for he was the wisest man on earth...so far not even God's council did he seek................
My newest plan to keep up my readings on the OYB is to wake up by 5am so I have sufficient time to have my quiet time with God in prayer and His word:)...I pray God sustains me in my desire and keeps me awake the rest of the day:).....Guess this is my way of literally seeking the kingdom of God first:)
God bless you all
Anka
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One of the things that stayed with me from reading the link re The Stoning of Stephen by Bob is the fact that God does not dwell in those temples (churches). In fact he went on to say that the problem with the Jews is that they were very much into the material----expecting a king living in a huge palace! But that has all been changed by Christ who came into his world not as a king that they expected and was thus rejected for it...
If anything, the physical temple (the big church!) is only secondary. What good is it if we have a huge expensively built temple if we are not truly brothers and sisters
to one another---deeply caring for one another?
God dwells in our hearts, His temple, not in those huge physical buildings...
Roslyn
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>>What is the focus in your life? Is it Jesus? Is it godly wisdom? Are you following Jesus with all that you are? Are taking up your cross daily? Are you following Jesus all the way up that hill?
>>
Hmmm, Anka answered your questions sort of indirectly. Before I clicked on the response and read her (Anka's) comment, my mind ran too the Word's of Jesus:
But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (Matthew 6:33 AMP)
Jesus’ second coming, that last Advent, is when He will return as a Warrior King. The people of the day were confused about the order. They through first the Messiah would conquer the political kingdom first, sin second. Just like today, people are confused on why people sin, do wrong and think wrong. They first think it is the environment, social and political, that causes people to sin. “He/She was raised in a dysfunctional family; the political system, Democratic/Socialist/Communist etc, causes people to violate the law and sin.” No, it is man’s condition first: the sin state, then the political system will follow. God said so to Solomon in answer to Solomon’s prayer/petition:
If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
(2 Chronicles 7:14 AMP)
When Jesus Comes again, man’s choice will be taken away He will return to put all things under His feet. We first must make God the ruler of our heart then everything else follows.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
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1Kings 9&10
Random notes:
Temple and Palace completed 24 years after Solomon came to throne.
"It was the hour when the accomplishment of work means the relaxation of effort. That is always a perilous hour, and the greater the work done the graver the peril. A life which has been full of activity, when that activity ceases, demands some new interest, and will find it, either high or low, noble or ignoble." (Morgan)
vs. 4
Solomon asked to walk as David walked. David is a "human standard", but certainly not an impossible standard. As long as Solomon had a heart for God and sought forgiveness when he transgressed, he would be all right.
vs. 11
King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee: This was not good. Hiram was indeed a friend to both David and Solomon, but the land of Israel was given to Israel by divine decree. Trading Israel's land for a glorious temple and palace was not a good deal....Hiram nicknamed the cities Kabul, which literally means "good-for-nothing." - David Guzik
Even back then the area of Galilee (Jesus' future home) was not thought of very highly.
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The Queen of Sheba:
Sheba (also known as Sabea) was where modern day Yemen is today (Southern Arabia). We know from geography this was a wealthy kingdom, with much gold, spices, and precious woods. History also tells us that they were known to have queens as well as kings.
The Queen came with questions:
"The hard questions were not just riddles, but included difficult diplomatic and ethical questions . . . The test was not an academic exercise but to see if he would be a trustworthy business party and a reliable ally capable of giving help." (Wiseman)
Queen praised the God of Israel:
This is an example of what God wanted to do for Israel under the promises of the Old Covenant. God promised Israel that if they obeyed under the Old Covenant, He would bless them so tremendously that the world would notice and give glory to the Lord God of Israel.
If we take the Queen of Sheba as an example of a seeker, we see that Solomon impressed her with his wealth and splendor, and also impressed her personally. But she returned home without an evident expression of faith in the God of Israel. This shows that impressing seekers with facilities and programs and organization and professionalism isn't enough.
Jesus used the Queen of Sheba as an example of a seeker: The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:42) If the Queen of Sheba sought Solomon and the splendor of his kingdom so diligently, how much more should people today seek Jesus and the glory of His Kingdom.
According to Ethiopian tradition - fanciful stories, perhaps - the Queen of Sheba wanted a son by Solomon, and he obliged her. Her child was named Menilek, and he became the ancestor of all subsequent Ethiopian monarchs.
Sources: John MacArthur, J. Vernon Mcgee, and enduringword
John
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Verses that stood out for me today:
Acts 8:20 "But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought!".
Psalm 130:5 "I am counting on the Lord;
yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word".
Proverbs 17:3 "Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
but the Lord tests the heart".
I LOVE Proverbs 17:3! It makes me think about people who forget that the Lord can look into their hearts. He can test their hearts! I know people that claim to be Christians, they have said 'the prayer', so they are reborn, they come to church on Sundaymorning every week, they come to Bibleclass ... but they gossip, they drink (not only drink but get drunk!), they let mammon rule their lives (everything needs to be expensive AND big) and in Church they act like they are clean and pure. I know these things, not out of gossip, I know these things because I'm talking about some of my relatives. Yes ... it's so painfull for me to see. It's like seeing Jekyll and Hyde in church on Sundaymorning! They lie, they cheat and not on me ... because I don't care what they do and how they do it. Well, I DO care, but there's nothing for me to do to chance this situation. But I wonder if they do know that God can test their hearts. They'll tell our pastor "Yes, I admit that I drink, but not till I'm drunk and not every day!". But I know that's not true ... They talk about me behind my back, I know that for a fact ... and it just saddens me that they really think they're saved. I know, I'm not God and I'm not the one who has to judge them. But I do read the Bible and the Bible is God's Word. I read the Bible a LOT and God is pretty clear about things. The Bible is clear about what's wrong or right. I'm not saying that I'm perfect and without sin, but I'm not doing it on purpose! I'm living in God's Path ... laying my life in His hands, every day ...
Mae
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Great readings. We should strive to be more like Jesus on a daily basis. Its amazing that even though Solomon was very wise he still ended up building alters for other Gods etc. It shows how important it is to surround yourself with the right people. Because you just might end up compromising and lowering your standards.
Terez
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I love when the queen of Sheba says to Solomon, "How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!" Every time we open our Bible we stand in the presence of the King of Kings and hear His wisdom!
Teriann
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Mike and everyone,
As i read today's passage in 1 Kings 9:1-10:29, i feel very sad and very alarmed.
God has made it very clear to King Solomon (1 Kings 9:3-7 NLT)
3 ... "I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.
4 "As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations,
5 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever...
6 "But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods,
7 then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.
As i read it, it is very clear to me that God was very pleased with this Temple, and He intended to bless it and bless His people through it.
And yet, King Solomon, who has acquired supreme wisdom from God, would little by little depart from God's commands:
Deuteronomy 17:16-17 NLT -
16 "The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, 'You must never return to Egypt.'
17 The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
From the passage today i got reminded that as believers we must live our life very carefully, very intentionally, abiding in our God and His Truth at all times, and yielding and pleading for Jesus' help to perfect our faith.
Thank you Father for His life-saving Words! They are truly more precious than silver and gold!
Sincerely,
Joyce
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The miraculous transportation of Philip after he finished with the Ethiopian eunuch really stands out to me this morning. It's mentioned so casually, as one of the many miracles performed by the Holy Spirit in the time of Acts. Thank you for all you do and God bless this ministry.
Fred
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I love reading the stories of Solomon on the throne. Yes he had Riches but his wisdom far outweighed the wealth he bestowed. I love that he asked for wisdom and God gave all the other perks with it and blessings because he thoughts and asking was in the right place. I pray to only be a thimble of that would make me a fantastic woman in God's eyes.
Acts. Reading of poor Saul and his blunder wanting to buy power of healing hands and of Peter, John and especially Phillip and his ministry. What a testimony and witness for the Lord. Again..isn't that all of us reading and studying our fervent wish to be like that?
Psalm..the hope of God and love of God reaches no bounds..God is so good!
Proverbs..wisdom is most purest even over gold and silver..yes!! Hallelulah
Dee
The comparison of Solomon to Jesus was very good. With all the wealth and even wisdom that Solomon had, it's all gone. Solomon ended up being a fool. I am so glad that Jesus is who He is. No pretention. Available to all.
Posted by: Debbie | June 12, 2025 at 09:01 PM