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King Solomon
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Kings 1-11
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Introduction |
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When King
David learns that Bathsheba is conceiving his
child, he develops a plan to have her
husband Uriah killed by the Philistines.
When
Uriah is killed, David marries Bathseba and
they have a son. Because of David's evil
plan to have Uriah killed just so he can
have Bathsheba for his own, the LORD strikes
their son, and it dies.
After
the death of their son,
David
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goes to comfort his wife Bathsheba. He goes and
sleeps with her; and she conceives and bears
him a son, who is named Solomon. The LORD
loves him and sends the prophet Nathan to name
him Jedidiah, on behalf of the LORD. |
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The Ambition of
Adonijah
In David’s old age, his servants have to spread
covers over him but still he could not keep
warm. So his servants suggest to King David to
find a young virgin to attend to him. They reason
that if she sleeps with King David, he will be
kept warm. So they seek out and find a beautiful
girl named Abishag the Shunamite, whom they
bring to the king. The young maiden nurses the
king and cares for him, but the king does not
have relations with her.
At this time, Adonijah, son of Haggith, begins
to display his ambition to be king. He acquires
chariots, drivers, and fifty henchmen. His
father, however, does not rebuke him, nor does
he ask why he is doing this.
Adonijah, also a very handsome man and next in
age to Absalom by the same mother, confers
with Joab, son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the
priest, and they support him. However, Zadok the
priest, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, Nathan the
prophet, and Shimei and his companions, the pick
of David's army, do not side with Adonijah.
Then Adonijah slaughters sheep, oxen, and
fatlings at the stone Zoheleth, near En-rogel,
and invites all his brothers, the king's sons,
and all the royal officials of Judah. However he
does not invite the prophet Nathan, nor does he
invite Benaiah,
the pick of the army, nor his brother Solomon.
Then Nathan tells Bathsheba, the mother of
Solomon, of Adonijah’s ambitions to become king
without the knowledge of king David. Nathan advises Bathsheba to go before King David
and remind the King of his promise to make
Solomon king after him to sit upon his throne.
Nathan tells her that while she is still there
speaking to the king, he will come in and
confirm what she has said.
The
Proclamation of Solomon King
So Bathsheba goes before the king in his room,
while Abishag the Shunamite is attending him,
and bows in homage to the king. The King asks
her what she wishes and she replies by reminding
him of his promise her by the LORD that her son
Solomon should reign after him and sit upon his
throne. Then she says that now Adonijah has
declared himself king without David’s knowledge.
Bathsheba tells King David that Adonijah has
slaughtered oxen, fatlings, and sheep in great
numbers; he has invited all the king's sons,
Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the general of
the army, but not Solomon. She tells the King
that all Israel is waiting for him to make known
to them who is to sit on the throne after him.
Bathsheba then adds that if he does not do this,
when King David dies she and her son Solomon
will be considered criminals.
While she is still speaking to the king, the
prophet Nathan comes in, and after he bows in
homage, he asks the King if he has indeed
decided that Adonijah is to reign after him and
sit on his throne, since today Adonijah
slaughtered oxen, fatlings, and sheep in great
numbers. Then nathan says that Adonijah has invited all the king's sons,
the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the
priest, and while they ate and drunk in his
company they shout, “Long live King Adonijah!”
Nathan continues that he was not invited to
this, nor was Zadok the priest, nor was Benaiah,
son of Jehoiada, nor his son Solomon. He
further asks if this was done by his royal
master's order without Nathan being told who was
to succeed his throne. |
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So King
David orders for Bathsheba to come back in.
When she re-enters the king's presence
and stands before him, the king swears that
as the LORD lives, who has delivered him
from all distress, this very day he will
fulfill the oath he swore to her by the
LORD, the God of Israel, that her son
Solomon should reign after him and should
sit upon his throne in his place.
King David summons Zadok the priest,
Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, son of
Jehoiada. When they enter the king's
presence, he orders them to take with them
the royal attendants, and mount his son
Solomon upon his own mule and escort him
down to Gihon. There, the King continues,
Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are
to anoint him king of Israel, and they shall
then blow the horn and cry, 'Long live King
Solomon!' |
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Then the King says that when they come back in
his train, he is to go in and sit upon his
throne and reign in his place. He designates him
ruler of Israel and of Judah.
They all obey the Kings commands and so Zadok
the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, son of
Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and Pelethites go
down, and mounting Solomon on King David's mule,
escort him to Gihon. There Zadok the priest takes the horn of oil from
the tent and anoints Solomon.
They blow the horn
and all the people shout, "Long live King
Solomon!"
Then all the people go up after him, playing
flutes and rejoicing so much as to split open
the earth with their shouting.
Adonijah and
all the guests who are with him hear the
rejoicing, just as they end their banquet. When
Joab hears the sound of the horn, he asks what
the uproar in the city is all about.
As he is speaking, Jonathan, son of Abiathar the
priest, arrives and tells Adonijah the noise
they hear is that of the people rejoicing
because today King David made Solomon king.
All the guests of Adonijah leave in terror, each
going his own way, and in fear of Solomon,
Adonijah also goes and seizes the horns of the
altar. He then says that he will only leave if
King Solomon swears that he will not kill him.
When Solomon hears of what Adonijah has said at the altar Solomon
says that if he proves himself
worthy, not a hair shall fall from his head. But
if he is guilty of crime, he shall die.
King Solomon orders him brought down from the
altar, and when he comes and pays homage to the
king, Solomon tells him to go to his home.
The Death of
King David
When the time of David's death draws near, he
gives instructions to his son Solomon to take
courage and be a man when he is gone. David also
says that Solomon must keep the mandate of the
LORD and follow his ways and observe his
statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as
they are written in the law of Moses, that he
may succeed in whatever he does.
David continues that the LORD has promised
him that if his sons so conduct themselves and
remain faithful to Him with their whole heart
and with their whole soul, He shall always have
someone in the line of David on the throne of
Israel.
David reminds Solomon that Joab slew the two generals of Israel's
armies, Abner, son of Ner, and Amasa, son of
Jether. David continues that Joab took revenge
for the blood of war in a time of peace. He advises Solomon to act
with the wisdom he possesses but he must not
allow Joab to go down to the grave in peaceful
old age.
He also tells Solomon to be kind to the sons of
Barzillai the Gileadite, and have them eat at
his table, for they received him kindly when he
was fleeing his brother Absalom.
David also spoke of Shimei, son of Gera, the
Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed him balefully
during his escape to Mahanaim. Because Shimei
came down to meet him at the Jordan, David swore
to him by the LORD that he will not be put to
death.
Then David says that Solomon must not let
him go unpunished, and deal with him to send
down his hoary head in blood to the grave.
After David reigns over Israel and Judah for
forty years, he dies and is buried in the City
of David.
Consolidating
Solomon's Kingdom
When Solomon is seated on the throne of his
father David, with his sovereignty firmly
established, Adonijah, son of Haggith, goes to
Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon to ask her to
speak for him before King Solomon to give him
Abishag the Shunamite for his wife.
Bathsheba tells him that she will speak to the
king for him. So Bathsheba goes to King Solomon to speak to
him for Adonijah and proceeds to tell
Solomon of Adonijah’s request.
But to King
Solomon who inherited his father’s harem,
asking for Abishag the Shunamite, and a concubine
of King David and part of the king’s harem, Adonijah
has undermined the security of
Solomon's throne. Solomon says that this
request will cost him his life. Then King
Solomon sends Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to
strike Adonijah dead.
Then the king tells Abiathar the priest, to
leave his office of priest of the LORD and go to
his land in Anathoth. Solomon continues that
although he deserves to die for plotting with
Adonijah, he will not die this time, because he
carried the ark of the Lord GOD before his
father David and shared in all the hardships his
father endured.
So Solomon deposes Abiathar from his office of
priest of the LORD, thus fulfilling the prophecy
which the LORD had made in Shiloh about the
house of Eli.
When the news comes to Joab, who had sided with
Adonijah, though not with Absalom, he flees to
the tent of the LORD and seizes the horns of the
altar for refuge. Nevertheless, when King
Solomon learns that Joab had fled to the tent of
the LORD and is at the altar, he sends Benaiah,
son of Jehoiada, with the order to strike him
down.
Benaiah goes to the tent of the LORD and tells
Joab to come out as the king ordered. Joab
refuses and tells Benaiah that he will die
there. Benaiah then reports to the king who
tells him to go back and kill Joab at the altar.
King Solomon continues that the LORD will hold
him responsible for his own blood, because he
struck down two men, Abner and Amasa, better and
more just than he, and slew them with the sword
without his father David's knowledge.
So Benaiah goes
back to the altar and strikes Joab down and
kills him.
The king then appoints Benaiah, son of Jehoiada,
over the army in Joab’s place, and puts Zadok
the priest in place of Abiathar. Then the king
summons Shimei and tells him to build himself a
house in Jerusalem and live there, and not to go
anywhere else. He continues that if he leaves
and cross the Kidron Valley, he shall die
without fail.
Shimei accepts the king’s orders and he stays in
Jerusalem. But three years later, Shimei goes
after his two servants who ran away to Achish,
son of Maacah, king of Gath. When Solomon learns
that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and
had returned, he orders Benaiah to kill Shimei. |
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Solomon's
Dream |
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With the royal power firmly in his grasp,
Solomon allies himself by marriage with
Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He brings his wife,
the daughter of Pharaoh, to the City of
David, until he should finish building his
palace, and the temple of the LORD, and the
wall around Jerusalem.
At that time, the people, including King
Solomon, offer sacrifices on the high
places, for up to that time no temple had
been built to the name of the LORD.
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The king goes to Gibeon, the most renowned high
place, to offer sacrifice there. Upon its altar
Solomon offers a thousand holocausts. In Gibeon
the LORD appears to Solomon in a dream at night,
telling him to ask something of God and it will
be given to him.
Solomon answers that he is just a youth and does
not know at all how to act as a ruler of His
people. Solomon asks the LORD to give him an
understanding heart to judge His people and to
distinguish right from wrong, so he can govern
His people well.
It pleases the LORD that Solomon did not ask for
a long life for himself, or for riches, or for
the life of his enemies, but for understanding
so that he may know what is right. So the LORD
grants Solomon his request and gives him a heart
so wise and understanding that there has never
been anyone like him before.
In addition, the LORD gives Solomon that what he
has not asked for, riches and glory that no
other king will ever posses. The LORD continues
that if he follows Him by keeping His statutes and
commandments, as his father David did, He will
give him a long life.
When Solomon wakes from his dream, he goes to
Jerusalem, stands before the ark of the covenant
of the LORD, offers holocausts and peace
offerings, and gives a banquet for all his
servants.
The Wisdom of Solomon
Later, two harlots come to the king seeking
judgment. The first woman says that
they live in the same house. She continues
that she gave birth in the house while she
was present and the other woman gave birth
three days later. They were alone in the
house.
The first woman claims that the other
woman’s child died during the night
smothered by his mother. Then she continues
that later that night the other woman got up
and took her own son from her side while she was
sleeping. Then she says that the other woman
laid her dead son on her bosom and laid her
own son in her bosom. |
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Then she
continues that she found the dead child in
the morning when she woke to nurse him. But
when she examined the child in the morning
light, she saw it was not the son whom she
had borne.
The second woman answers that that is not
so, and claims that the living one is her
son, the dead one is that of the first
woman. Thus they argue before the king, one
woman claiming that the living child is hers
and the other claiming the living child is
hers.
Then the king calls for
his sword and orders the living child to be
cut in two. He orders further to give half
to one and the other half to the other
woman.
The woman whose son it was, in her anguish, pleads with the king to give
the living child to the first woman instead
and not kill it! The first woman, however,
says that it shall be neither hers nor the
other’s and insists for the king to divide the child. |
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The king then orders to give the second woman
the living child and by no means kill it, for
she is the mother. |
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Solomon's
Fame Grows |
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When all
Israel hear the judgment the king had given,
they are in awe of him, because they see
that the king has in him the wisdom of God
for giving judgment.
Solomon rules over all the kingdoms from the
River to the land of the Philistines, down
to the border of Egypt; they pay Solomon
tribute and are his vassals as long as he
lives. He rules over all the land west of
the Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and
over all its kings, and there is peace on
all his borders. Thus Judah and Israel live
in security, every man under his vine or
under his fig tree from Dan to Beer-sheba,
as long as Solomon lives.
His commissaries, one for each month,
provide food for King Solomon and for all
the guests at the royal table.
God has indeed given Solomon wisdom and
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exceptional
understanding and knowledge, surpassing everyone. His fame spreads
throughout the neighboring nations. Men come to
hear Solomon's wisdom from all nations, sent by
all the kings of the earth who had heard of his
wisdom.
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The
Peaceful Reign |
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When Hiram,
king of Tyre, hears that Solomon had been
anointed king in place of his father, he
sends an embassy to him; for Hiram has
always been David's friend.
Solomon proposes to Hiram that they build a temple
of the LORD now that there is peace on all
sides. Solomon asks Hiram to cut down cedar
for him, and he will send his servants to
work with Hiram’s. Solomon also proposes to
pay Hiram whatever salary is needed. |
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Hiram agrees with Solomon’s proposal and
orders his servants to cut down whatever
cedar and fir that will be needed for the
temple. He plans to send the logs to the sea
and build a raft to bring the timber
wherever Solomon needs them. In return
Solomon agrees to furnish provisions for
Hiram’s household. |
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Building
the Temple of the LORD |
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King Solomon
conscripts thirty thousand workmen from all
Israel. He sends them to Lebanon each
month in groups of ten thousand, so that
they spend one month in
the Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram is
in charge of the draft.
Solomon also has seventy thousand carriers and
eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, in
addition to three thousand three hundred
overseers, answerable to Solomon's prefects for
the work, directing the people engaged in the
work.
By order of the
king, fine, large blocks are quarried to give
the temple a foundation of hewn stone. Solomon's
and Hiram's builders, along with the Gebalites,
hew them out, and prepare the wood and stones
for building the temple.
In the four
hundred and eightieth year from the
departure of the Israelites from the land of
Egypt, |
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in the fourth year of Solomon's reign
over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the
second month, the construction of the temple of
the LORD begins.
When Solomon
finishes building the temple, its walls are
lined from floor to ceiling beams with cedar
paneling, and its floor are laid with fir
planking. At the rear of the temple a space
of twenty cubits is set off by cedar
partitions from the floor to the rafters,
enclosing the sanctuary, the holy of holies. |
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The nave, or part of the temple in front of
the sanctuary, is forty cubits long. The
cedar in the interior of the temple is cedar
carved in the form of gourds and open
flowers. In the innermost part of the temple
is located the sanctuary to house the ark of
the LORD'S covenant, twenty cubits long, twenty wide, and
twenty high.
Solomon overlays the interior of the temple
with pure gold. He makes in front of the
sanctuary a cedar altar, overlays it with
gold, and loops it with golden chains. The
entire temple is overlaid with gold so that
it is completely covered with it; the whole |
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altar before
the sanctuary is also overlaid with gold.
Solomon builds a
temple like other before and all to the specification of the
LORD, adorned with finest craftsmanship overlaid
with gold. It took seven years to build the
temple of the LORD.
Solomon’s
Palace
His own palace Solomon completes after thirteen
years of construction. He builds the hall called
the Forest of Lebanon one hundred cubits long,
fifty wide, and thirty high; it is supported by
four rows of cedar columns, with cedar capitals
upon the columns. Moreover, it has a ceiling of
cedar above the beams resting on the columns.
There are three window frames at either end,
with windows in strict alignment. The posts of
all the doorways are rectangular, and the
doorways face each other, three at either end.
The porch of the columned hall is fifty cubits
long and thirty wide. The porch extends the
width of the columned hall, and there is a
canopy in front.
He also builds the vestibule of the throne where
he gives judgment, paneled with cedar from floor
to ceiling beams.
His living quarters are in another court, set in
deeper than the tribunal and of the same
construction. A palace like this tribunal is
built for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had
married.
All these buildings are of fine stones, hewn to
size and trimmed front and back with a saw, from
the foundation to the bonding course.
The great court is enclosed by three courses of
hewn stones and a bonding course of cedar beams.
So also are the inner court of the temple of the
LORD and the temple porch.
King Solomon also brings from Tyre a bronze
worker of such abilities and skills that he is
able to produce any work in bronze for King
Solomon.
When all the work undertaken by King Solomon in
the temple of the LORD are completed, he brings
in the dedicated offerings of his father David,
putting the silver, gold, and other articles in
the treasuries of the temple of the LORD. |
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At the order
of Solomon, the elders of Israel and all the
leaders of the tribes, the princes in the
ancestral houses of the Israelites, come to
King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the
ark of the LORD'S covenant from the city of
David (which is Zion).
All the men of Israel assemble before King
Solomon during the festival in the month of
Ethanim (the seventh month). When all the
elders of Israel arrive, the priests take up
the ark and they carry the ark of the LORD
and the meeting tent with all the sacred
vessels that were in the tent.
King Solomon and the entire community of
Israel present for the occasion sacrifice
before the ark sheep and oxen too many to
number or count. |
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Then the priests
bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its
place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the
sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple. In
the ark are the two stone tablets which Moses
had put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a
covenant with the Israelites at their departure
from the land of Egypt.
When the priests leave the holy place, cloud
fills the temple of the LORD.
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Then the king
turns and greets the whole community of
Israel as they stood. Then he declares that
the promise that the LORD made to his father
David that his son will build a temple to
the honor of the LORD is fulfilled.
Then Solomon stands before the altar of the
LORD in the presence of the whole community
of Israel, and stretching forth his hands
toward heaven, prays aloud to the LORD and
petitions Him to watch over all His people
and to forgive them if they sin and repent.
When Solomon finishes offering his prayer of
petition to the LORD, he rises from before
the altar of the LORD, where he had been
kneeling, with his hands outstretched toward
heaven. Then blesses the whole community of
Israel, reminding them that they must be
wholly devoted to the LORD, observe his
statutes and keep his
commandments. |
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The king and all
Israel with him offer sacrifices before the
LORD. Then Solomon and all the Israelites, who
had assembled in large numbers from Labo of
Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt, celebrate the
festival before the LORD for seven days. On the
eighth day Solomon dismisses the people, who
then return to their homes.
After Solomon finishes building the temple of
the LORD, the royal palace, and everything else
that he planned, the LORD appears to him a
second time, as he had appeared to him in Gibeon.
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The LORD says to Solomon that He heard the
prayer of petition which he offered in his
presence, and that He has consecrated this
temple which he has built. The LORD also
tells Solomon that He confers His name upon
it forever, and His eyes and His heart shall
be there always.
Then the LORD tells Solomon that if he lives
in His presence as his father David lived,
sincerely and uprightly, doing just as He
commands, keeping His statutes and decrees,
He will establish his throne of sovereignty
over Israel forever, as He promised his
father David.
Then the LORD warns that if Solomon and his
descendants ever withdraw from Him, fail to
keep the commandments and statutes which He
set before him, and proceed to venerate and
worship strange gods, He will cut off Israel
from the land
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He gave them and repudiate the temple He has
consecrated to His honor.
The Queen of Sheba
The queen of Sheba, having heard of
Solomon's fame, comes to test him with
subtle questions. She arrives in Jerusalem
with a very large retinue, and with camels
bearing spices, a large amount of gold, and
precious stones. She comes to Solomon and
questions him on every subject in which she
is interested. King Solomon explains
everything she asks about, and there remains
nothing hidden from him that he could not
explain to her. |
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When the queen of Sheba witnesses Solomon's
great wisdom, the palace he had built, the
food at his table, the seating of his
ministers, the attendance and garb of his
waiters, his banquet service, and the
holocausts he offers in the temple of the
LORD, she is left breathless.
The
queen of Sheba tells Solomon that his wisdom
and deeds have surpassed the reports she
received in her country, noting that happy
are his men, happy are his servants, who
stand before him always and listen to his
wisdom.
Then she gives the king one hundred and
twenty gold talents, a very large quantity
of spices, and precious stones. Never again
will anyone bring to King Solomon such an
abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba.
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King Solomon gives the queen of Sheba everything
she desires and asks for, besides such presents
as are given her from Solomon's royal bounty.
Then she returns with her servants to her own
country.
The gold that Solomon receives every year weigh
six hundred and sixty-six gold talents, in
addition to what comes from the Tarshish fleet,
from the traffic of merchants, and from all the
kings of Arabia and the governors of the
country.
King Solomon continues to make the palace into a
wondrous place.
He has made an elaborately decorated throne out
of ivory overlaid with gold. All King Solomon's
drinking vessels and all the utensils in the
hall of the Forest of Lebanon are made of pure
gold.
The king had a fleet of Tarshish ships at sea
with Hiram's fleet. Once every three years the
fleet of Tarshish ships would come with a cargo
of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
Thus King Solomon surpasses in riches and wisdom
all the kings of the earth.
And the whole world seeks audience with Solomon,
to hear from him the wisdom which God had put in
his heart. Each one brings with him his yearly
tribute: silver or gold articles, garments,
weapons, spices, horses and mules.
The Foolishness and Fall of Solomon
King Solomon loves many foreign women besides
the daughter of Pharaoh, from nations with which
the LORD had forbidden the Israelites to
intermarry, because they will turn their hearts
to their gods. But Solomon falls in love with
them, anyway.
When Solomon grows old his wives turn his heart
to strange gods, and his heart is not entirely
with the LORD as the heart of his father David
had been. Solomon adores Astarte, the goddess of
the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the
Ammonites, so he does evil in the sight of the
LORD. He does not follow Him unreservedly as his
father David had done.
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Solomon then builds a high place to Chemosh,
the idol of Moab, and to Molech, the idol of
the Ammonites, on the hill opposite
Jerusalem. He does the same for all his
foreign wives who burn incense and sacrifice
to their gods.
The LORD, therefore, becomes angry with
Solomon and reminds to Solomon that he
has not kept His covenant and statutes which
He commanded him, so He will deprive him
of the kingdom and give it to his servant.
The LORD then says that He will not do this
in his lifetime for the sake of his father
David, but during the lifetime of his son.
And He tells Solomon that he will not take
his whole kingdom but will leave his son one
tribe for the sake of his father David and
of Jerusalem. |
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The Enemies of Solomon
Then the LORD raises up an
adversary to Solomon: Hadad the Edomite, who is
of the royal line in Edom.
Earlier, when David had conquered Edom, Joab,
the general of the army, while going to bury the
slain, puts to death every male in Edom. Hadad,
who was then only a boy, escaped and fled toward
Egypt with some Edomite servants of his father.
The Edomites who escaped left Midian and passing through Paran,
where they picked up additional men, they went
into Egypt to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who gave
Hadad a house, appointed him rations, and
assigned him land.
Hadad won great favor with Pharaoh, so that he
gave him in marriage the sister of Queen
Tahpenes, his own wife. Tahpenes' sister bore
Hadad a son, Genubath. After his weaning, the
queen kept him in Pharaoh's palace, where he
then lived with Pharaoh's own sons.
When Hadad in Egypt heard that David had died
and that Joab, the general of the army, was
dead, he asked Pharaoh to allow him to return to
my own country. He was allowed.
Then
God raises up against Solomon another adversary,
in Rezon, the son of Eliada, who had fled from
his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah, when David
defeated them. Rezon gathered men
about him and became leader of a band, went to
Damascus, settled there, and became king in
Damascus.
He was an enemy of Israel as long as Solomon
lived; this added to the harm done by Hadad, who
made a rift in Israel by becoming king over
Edom. |
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Solomon's servant Jeroboam, son of Nebat, an
Ephraimite from Zeredah with a widowed
mother, Zeruah, also rebelled against the
king.
When King Solomon was building Millo,
closing up the breach of his father's City
of David, he noticed that Jeroboam, a man of
means, was also an industrious young man, so
he put him in charge of the entire labor
force of the house of Joseph.
At one time Jeroboam meets the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite on the
road. The two are alone in the area, and
the prophet is wearing a new cloak. Ahijah
takes off his new cloak, tears it into twelve
pieces, and says to Jeroboam that the LORD
will tear away the kingdom from Solomon's
grasp and will give him ten of the tribes.
He says that one tribe shall remain to
Solomon for the sake of David and of
Jerusalem. But the ten He will give
Jeroboam, because Solomon has
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forsaken the LORD and has worshiped Astarte, goddess of
the Sidonians, Chemosh, god of Moab, and
Milcom, god of the Ammonites; he has not
followed His ways or done according to His
statutes and His decrees, as his father David
did.
The prophet continues that the LORD will have
him reign over all that he desires and shall
become king of Israel. The prophet continues
that if he heeds all that He commands of him,
follow His ways, and please Him by keeping His
statutes and His commandments like David, the LORD will be with him. The Lord
will establish for him, as He did for David, a
lasting dynasty.
The prophet tells Jeroboam that the LORD
promises that He will punish David's line for
this, but not forever.
Then Solomon tries to have Jeroboam killed for
his rebellion. Jeroboam escapes to King
Shishak, in Egypt, where he remains until
Solomon's death.
Solomon reigns in Jerusalem over all Israel
for forty years. Later when he died he is
buried in his father's City of David, and his
son Rehoboam succeeds him as king.
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For further
reading on the heroes of the Old Testament: |
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The First Book of Kings (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament) This
volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of the First Book of Kings
follows the pattern of the now well-established series on the Old and New
Testaments. The main divisions of the text are those provided by the New English
Bible itself, but these are further subdivided for the purposes of the
commentary, which is printed in short sections following the relevant portion of
the text. |
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Canon Robinson suggests that the editors of I
Kings compiled their history in order to teach
the Hebrews that their existence as Israel, the
covenant people of God, depended upon their
continuing loyalty to their own religious
traditions, and their refusal to exchange them
for the very different traditions of the
Canaanites among whom they lived.
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I & II Samuel: A Commentary (Old Testament
Library)
First sentence in
the book:
""THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL contain that
part of the history of Israel which describes
the foundation of the State, running from the
close of the period of the Judges to the
establishment of the united kingdom." |
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The Sunday Readings |
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July 29,
2007: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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First Reading From the
Book of Genesis: |
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Gn 18:20-32 |
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In those days, the
LORD said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah
is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must
go down and see whether or not their actions fully
correspond to the cry against them that comes to
me. I mean to find out.”
While Abraham’s visitors walked on farther toward
Sodom, the LORD remained standing before Abraham.
Then Abraham drew
nearer and said:
“Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?
Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the
city; would you wipe out the place, rather than
spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people
within it?
Far be it from
you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die
with the guilty so that the innocent and the
guilty would be treated alike! Should not the
judge of all the world act with justice?”
The LORD replied,
“If I find fifty innocent people in the city of
Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their
sake.”
Abraham spoke up
again:
“See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes! What if there are
five less than fifty innocent people? Will you
destroy the whole city because of those five?”
He answered, “I
will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there.”
But Abraham
persisted, saying “What if only forty are found
there?”
He replied, “I
will forbear doing it for the sake of the forty.”
Then Abraham
said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?”
He replied, “I
will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty
there.”
Still Abraham
went on,
“Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what
if there are no more than twenty?”
The LORD
answered, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of
the twenty.”
But he still
persisted:
“Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up
this last time. What if there are at least ten
there?”
He replied, “For
the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.” |
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Responsorial From the Book of Psalms:
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Ps 138:1-2, 2-3,
6-7, 7-8 |
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R. Lord, on
the day I called for help, you answered me.
I will give
thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing
your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help,
you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help,
you answered me.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve
me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise
your hand.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help,
you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for
me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not
the work of your hands.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help,
you answered me.
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Second Reading from
the Letter to the Colossians |
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Col 2:12-14 |
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Brothers and
sisters:
You were buried with him in baptism, in which you
were also raised with him through faith in the
power of God, who raised him from the dead.
And even when you
were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, he brought you to life along with
him, having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal
claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed
it from our midst, nailing it to the cross. |
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Reading From
the Gospel of Luke:
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Lk 11:1-13 |
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Jesus was praying in
a certain place, and when he had finished, one of
his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his
disciples.”
He said to them,
“When you pray, say:
Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”
And he said to
them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he
goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a
friend of mine has arrived at my house from a
journey and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been
locked and my children and I are already in bed. I
cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give the
visitor the loaves because o | | | | | | | | |
