American Loon

All Glory to God our Father

Let us turn to Isaiah 46

1 Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle.
The things that you carry are burdensome,
A load for the weary beast.

2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together;
They could not rescue the burden,But have themselves gone into captivity.

3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
You who have been borne by Me from birth
And have been carried from the womb;

4 Even to your old age I will be the same,
And even to your graying years I will bear you!
I have done it, and I will carry you;
And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

5 “To whom would you liken Me
And make Me equal and compare Me,
That we would be alike?

6 “Those who lavish gold from the purse
And weigh silver on the scale
Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
They bow down, indeed they worship it.

7 “They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it;
They set it in its place and it stands there.
It does not move from its place.
Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer;
It cannot deliver him from his distress.

8 “Remember this, and be assured;
Recall it to mind, you transgressors.

9 “Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,

10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.

12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded,
Who are far from righteousness.

13 “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off;
And My salvation will not delay.
And I will grant salvation in Zion,
And My glory for Israel.

So what are we talking about here? Idols? Again? This has been a near constant theme when God is talking through Isaiah to his people. To bring this home just a bit, go back to a time when you were young and raising kids. I believe all of us here have had children and now grandchildren and some of us great grandchildren. Any time you are dealing with a kid, there’s going to be a bit of frustration imparting our wisdom into those small resistant packages that insist on just having fun and doing it their way. You tell little Johnny no, don’t put the cat in the toilet, but since Johnny has already done this once and it was grand fun, he considers your request as optional. 

You laugh at that reference, but my son tried that very thing out at Reflection Farm. Tried to put a kitten in the porta potty. Seemed like a perfect fit to him, where it seemed like a stupid thing to me and therein lies the problem. I told him no, don’t do that. He considered it and disregarded it, ‘cause what fun is it to not put a kitten in the toilet.  

I am using this as an analogy to God and the Jews. He creates his people. Well just one of them at first in Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God put man into the garden of Eden and told him to keep it and cultivate it. You see the problem don’t you? No mechanized equipment to “cultivate” that virgin ground. Not an oversight on our Lord’s part, how do you build character if you don’t struggle some? But our God is a merciful God.

Genesis 2:18
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone;
I will make him a helper suitable for him. 

And I am sure some of us are thinking then,the next thing we expect to see pop into existence is a big shiny John Deere dealership.
I did say some of us, not all. 

Drop down to verse 21 of Genesis 2

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”

Imagine Adam’s surprise when he woke up and saw that sitting there. Keep in mind John Deere was well off into the future and he didn’t have any preconceived notion of it, thereby could not be disappointed by a woman sitting there rather than a big green monster parked in the shade with the keys in it. 

Yes, I am being a bit mirthful, but in a Greek tragic comedy sense. Adam and Eve had it all. They walked and talked with God and had dominion over all the earth. Verse 26 says to “let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

And because of their innocence, they did not know evil, and in that, they were much like children, who don’t know right from wrong. We don’t know why Adam did not follow Eve when she encountered a smooth talking serpent. And here we come to the difference between Men and Women. A man sees a snake, and I am talking a manly man, not a girly man that sheiks at snakey things. So Man knows that he has been given dominion over all, sees a snake, says cool until it starts talking and then smashes it with a rock, because none of the other animals had started talking to him, but mostly ‘cause talking snakes just ain’t right.

Women’s brains are wired differently. They are built to make personal connections. They are ruled by emotions. These are things that help them rearing children. But when it comes to talking serpents, they can be swayed by emotions or feelings more than logic. You may argue with that, but if you are honest you felt it yourself, it you are a woman. You can be swayed by feelings. You know something is wrong, but it feels right, therefore it makes sense to you.

Eve got talked into something. She was told by God that they should not eat from that certain tree. They would die if they ate from that tree. That’s a hard and fast rule, a law. She got persuaded to break that law, because what the serpent told her sounded good. Good enough to circumvent the logic of following the Law because it’s the Law. The snake used their innocence against them. And because Adam was not with her to stomp the snake, here we are left with pining for that John Deere Dealership.

The end result is that they were both cursed by God. Man was consigned to toil in the earth and eat of the plants of the field. Dust you are and to dust you will return.

Genesis 3:15-16
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Genesis 3:15 is important as it is where theologians have pointed to this verse as the Protoevangelion or “the first gospel.” This verse is the first promise of redemption in Scripture. The He is Christ in “He shall bruise you on the head” and satan could only bruise Christ’s heal, symbolic for causing Him to suffer. The seed of woman will defeat the seed of satan.

To the woman He said,

“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And he will rule over you.”

Sin had changed the dynamic between Man and Woman. The harmonious system of God-ordained roles into struggles of self will. Lifelong companions, husbands and wives will need God’s help to get along. The woman’s desire will be to lord over her husband, but the husband will rule by divine design.

Ephesians 5:22-23
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

This interpretation of Genesis 3:16 is based on identical Hebrew words and grammar used in Genesis 4:7 where we find God counseling Cain over his unacceptable offering. 

7 If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Not being a Hebrew scholar, but trusting in Godly men who are, I am thinking that “sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” is what they are talking about. Specifically the word desire. That is the word they focused on in both passages, 3:16 and 4:7 that leads Hebrew scholars and Theologians to believe that women will struggle to be over their husbands.

You’ll note that Adam gave in pretty quickly to Eve’s request to eat of the apple, and that also has a consequence in the scheme of things.

Conflict will be between Man and Woman on who will be the head of House and God makes the call.

These passages in Genesis and in Ephesians are what women will struggle with, specifically their self-will and what the feminist movement has written off as Nope, God didn’t mean that. Did you know that many of the women that were leaders of the original feminist movement in the United States were Jewish. That serpent is still playing that same old game.

You’ve probably wondered if I have wandered too far off into the rhubarb. How does this relate to idols? Well, you can’t have idols if you don’t have sin and it is mentioned in the Bible how women have led men off into the sin of idolatry. 

Numbers 25:1-4
While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.
2 For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
3 So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel.

Another good example is our boy Solomon and we’ll get to that. But let’s pursue the idols that God is talking about in this chapter of Isaiah.

In verse 1, Bel and Nebo are Babylonian gods. Bel means lord, probably referring to Marduk, the most powerful god in Babylonian folklore. Nebo was the god of wisdom, which I am sure they did not use in an ironic sense, but if they had any sense at all, they should have. 

In verse 2, when Cyrus came, even these 2 gods were taken into captivity.

Listen to me Oh Jacob. God is imploring them to pay attention to what he is saying. Versus smiting them where they stand. A Merciful God, who is angry at his chosen people, because He is Holy and that is a concept that they don’t seem to get, nor do we.

God’s Holiness is unlike any other, Hosea 11:9 I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.

his Holiness is essence of otherness, James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Hebrews 6:18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which lit is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

He is high above any other, and no one can compare to Him Psalm 40:5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

His very being is completely absent of even a trace of sin. God’s holiness pervades His entire being and shapes all His attributes. His love is a holy love, His mercy is holy mercy, and even His anger and wrath are holy anger and holy wrath. These concepts are difficult for humans to grasp, just as God is difficult for us to understand in His entirety.

We were raised in His image. We, meaning by extension Adam, used to walk in the cool shade and talk with God. After satan had done his work, we got kicked out of paradise, our innocence was gone. God in His Mercy had a plan B all along. This book, from the very first, talks of the coming of Christ and redemption. What troubles me when reading this is God has to remind them, and us, where we came from, who we are. 

12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded,
Who are far from righteousness.

13 “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off;
And My salvation will not delay.
And I will grant salvation in Zion,
And My glory for Israel.

His righteousness and salvation is the coming of His Son. And His Son came and was rejected by his people, was crucified and suffered what was the hell of His Father pouring out His Holy Wrath on Him, Jesus. He then gave up his Spirit and was buried. He then rose again and now it’s a brand new ball game. The old Laws have been eclipsed by Love and Faith. What is missing in this world is that Love and Faith. We are sinful creatures, have been since Adam. What I want you to think about is how much Love you have in you heart. Not hand wavy stuff they bandy about now, but Love that Jesus spoke of.

John 15:9-17

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends

John 13:34

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Romans 13:8: “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-5: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

1 Corinthians 13:2: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

1 Corinthians 16:14: “Do everything in love.”

That type of Love.

Let us now turn to 1 Kings 10

The Queen of Sheba

10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with difficult questions. 

2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 

3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. 

4 When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 

5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. 

6 Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 

7 Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 

8 How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 

9 Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 

10 She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

I wonder what might have happened if the Queen of Sheba had not found Solomon so smart. I do think she was coming with the thought of possibly dominating Solomon and who knows how that would have gone.

11 Also the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 

12 The king made of the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day.

13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested, besides what he gave her according to his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land together with her servants.

What happens next is basically Wealth, Splendor and Wisdom. The scripture goes on to list all the things that Solomon had. Gold, horses, horsemen, ‘cause horses without horsemen are just expensive lawn mowers. He had 1,400 chariots and so on. 

I hope you can, in your imagination, see how all this stuff, even for a Godly man, could be a very great temptation. And we will leave that right here until next week, when the God speaks to Solomon.

Let us finish with Psalm 8

1 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!

2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?

5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!

6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

All glory to God the Father

All glory to God our Father

Let us turn now to Isaiah 44 and read it together.

The Blessings of Israel

1 “But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,

And Israel, whom I have chosen:

2 Thus says the Lord who made you

And formed you from the womb, who will help you,

‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;

And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

Jershurn is yet another name, and an honored one, for Israel. It means righteous or straight and is in contrast to Jacob, which means over reacher or deceiver. Possibly even trickster. 

Lest you think this is a one time use of this new name, not so. While you were perusing Deuteronomy, you would have encountered it first in: – You were perusing Deuteronomy weren’t you?

Deuteronomy 32:15

“But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—

You are grown fat, thick, and sleek—

Then he forsook God who made him,

And scorned the Rock of his salvation.

Also in:

Deuteronomy 33:5

“And He was king in Jeshurun,

When the heads of the people were gathered,

The tribes of Israel together.

Let’s go back up to the first one, Deuteronomy 32:15 and consider that for a moment. 

Deuteronomy was written by Moses, in Moses’s day, around 1400 BC. The book is right after Numbers, in case you didn’t happen to read it yet. The Hebrew translation is “These are the words”, from the first 2 Hebrew words in Deuteronomy. When the Greek Septuagint translated this book, they got the name wrong. Their version means “Copy of this Law.” A better description of it is “a record of Moses’ words of explanation concerning the Law.”  It is a bit legal and dry to read, but instructive all the same.

Moses wrote that Jeshurun had grown fat and kicked. Meaning that Israel had gotten quite happy with itself and started to rebel against their God. Elohim, and we are dealing with the Hebrew word for God now, because they are all Hebrew and this was well before the Middle Ages came and started dropping J’s all over the place. So Elohim had brought his people out of Egypt and blessed them, because they were his people and He was their God. I keep bringing this up because it is important. This is where God’s plan for bringing salvation to his people, through is Son, Jesus Christ into fruition. And from the word Go, those Jeshurunites, those sons of Jacob were not buying into the program. And as of this day, those stiff necked Jews are still not buying into the program. 

Getting back to Deuteronomy, the book itself does not advance chronologically from the last 2 books and takes place in one location and for a period of about a month. And that month is the last month of Moses’s life. Elohim had told him he would not be crossing over to the promised land. He and his people were encamped in the rift valley, on the plains of Moab, near Jericho. This book is Moses last words of divine revelation from God to the people of Israel. 

Like an ox who has gotten fat and intractable, the people of Jacob were not living up to God’s Law. A more valid question would be, when did they live up to God’s Law? We will have to chase that down another day.

3 ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land

And streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring

And My blessing on your descendants;

4 And they will spring up among the grass

Like poplars by streams of water.’

5 “This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;

And that one will call on the name of Jacob;

And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’

And will name Israel’s name with honor.

6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

‘I am the first and I am the last,

And there is no God besides Me.

7 ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;

Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,

From the time that I established the ancient nation.

And let them declare to them the things that are coming

And the events that are going to take place.

We have heard this same argument from God 2 or 3 times now in Isaiah. God is, quite reasonably, asking “Who is like me? Let them come forward and state their case.”

There must have been a very uncomfortable silence when that was asked.

8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;

Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?

And you are My witnesses.

Is there any God besides Me,

Or is there any other Rock?

I know of none.’”

The Folly of Idolatry

9 Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. 

10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit? 

11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

12 The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 

13 Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house. 

14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 

15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. 

16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 

17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”

18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 

19 No one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!” 

20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Another talk about idols, that we have heard, again, many times. These Jews had a thing choosing poorly. But we must not laugh at their expense. Are we any different? Since Hollywood came into existence, we have had our own idols. In fact it has become so pervasive that now it has just about overtaken our culture. You have a favorite movie star or more modern media personality, maybe a sports team? Would you rather watch your favorite movie, tv show or sports game than read the Bible, go to Church or do the Lord’s work? These media personalities or sports stars that so capture our attention, we now have them telling us how to live, how to be more virtuous. Telling young women that you no longer have to be a slave to a family, raise kids and all that. No, get an abortion, live your own life. And young women are listening. From the Census in 2016, of the 11 million families in America without spouses, 8.3 million of them were single mothers. If the trend continues, single parent homes will eclipse traditional family homes in the not too distant future.

From 1970 to 2015 there were 45.7 million legal abortions in our country.

Hitler only killed about 6 million Jews. Our country, following the lead of satan, has far surpassed that. Stalin said “a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic.” And that is how people are treating it. A mere statistic, not the horror that it is. God is watching and there is a very strong possibility that He has removed his blessing from the USA. I recommend that you all read Romans 1:18-32 later today.

Out of all that bad news, we can take heart that we have a Merciful and Loving God.

God Forgives and Redeems

21 “Remember these things, O Jacob,

And Israel, for you are My servant;

I have formed you, you are My servant,

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

22 “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud

And your sins like a heavy mist.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

23 Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!

Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;

Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,

O forest, and every tree in it;

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob

And in Israel He shows forth His glory.

24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,

 and the one who formed you from the womb,

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,

Stretching out the heavens by Myself

And spreading out the earth all alone,

25 Causing the omens of boasters to fail,

Making fools out of diviners,

Causing wise men to draw back

And turning their knowledge into foolishness,

26 Confirming the word of His servant

And performing the purpose of His messengers.

It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’

And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’

And I will raise up her ruins again.

27 “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’

And I will make your rivers dry.

28 “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!

And he will perform all My desire.’

And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’

And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”

1 Kings 8 to 9

When last we left Solomon, everything was going well. The Lord’s Temple was done but for the details and so was his Palace. Let us turn to 1 Kings 8 and pick up the story.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 Kings 8

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the city of David, which is Zion. 

2 All the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 

3 Then all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 

4 They brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up. 

5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered. 

6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. 

7 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above. 

8 But the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; they are there to this day. 

9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 

10 It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 

11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Then Solomon faced the crowd and addressed the people.

12 Then Solomon said,

“The Lord has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.

13 “I have surely built You a lofty house,

A place for Your dwelling forever.”

He then blesses the people and gives a prayer of dedication and benediction. What do you do after you’ve built the Lord’s Temple, thanked the Lord and blessed the people? Sacrifices, of course. They now had a beautiful temple to do the sacrifices in and this was something they had waited for a long time. In Israel today, they have all the material to build the Lord’s temple anew, just waiting for someone to give them permission to start building. It is thought that it will be the antichrist that will be that person. As I said before, the Jews have still not gotten with the program.

Getting back to Solomon and sacrifices, they offered to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. And I imagine it must have taken more than a day to get that done. 

While all the Levite priests were hip deep in blood, Solomon observed a feast with all Israel, and that was quite a feast. 

1 Kings 8:65-66

65 So Solomon observed the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days. 

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.

Seems like a good time was had by all. One of the few times Israel was happy and aligned with the Lord. 

Let us now turn to 1 Kings 9 and see that God gives a promise and a warning.

1 Kings 9

God’s Promise and Warning

1 Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all that Solomon desired to do, 

2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 

3 The Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 

4 As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, 

5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

6 “But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 

7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. So Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 

8 And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 

9 And they will say, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”

A quote from the 80’s “The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.” I imagine that’s how Solomon was thinking. And could you blame him? God made him the wisest, wealthiest and pretty good looking to boot. Everything is coming up roses. 

Next week, the Queen of Sheba comes a callin’ to see just how dang smart ole Solomon is.

We will find out then.  Let finish this with:

Psalm 145:1-3

1 I will extol You, my God, O King,

And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,

And His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,

And shall declare Your mighty acts.

5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

6 Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,

And I will tell of Your greatness.

7 They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness

And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful;

Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.

9 The Lord is good to all,

And His mercies are over all His works.

10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,

And Your godly ones shall bless You.

11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom

And talk of Your power;

12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts

And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

14 The Lord sustains all who fall

And raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to You,

And You give them their food in due time.

16 You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways

And kind in all His deeds.

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He will also hear their cry and will save them.

20 The Lord keeps all who love Him,

But all the wicked He will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

All glory to God our Father

Revelation 21:5: “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Our King Jesus told John this from His throne in Revelation, but it holds for the whole book. Keep that in mind when you hear that this Bible is too old and outdated to be of use.

Let us turn to Isaiah 43 where we find El Shaddai, that is Hebrew for Mighty One, speaking to Israel, about to redeem them with these words from his prophet.

1 But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel,

We are going to pause right here and find the first reference of Jacob as Israel.

Genesis 32:28

He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

This was right after Jacob wrestled a man till daybreak. That man was Jesus. Jacob had been concerned over meeting his brother Esau again after so many years, remembering that he stole Esau’s birthright and ran off to live with Laban and gain 2 wives. He was thinking it might not go well so he sent his 2 wives, 11 children and all the rest that he had, across the stream and then went back across to spend the night alone, brooding over the coming day. God arranged that for Jacob, just like he arranges our lives for us. Have you ever had something happen at just the right time and place, that you wondered at it? I believe we would call serendipitous, works of God we are too self absorbed or just plain clueless to understand. Never discount how God works in our lives and put it down to luck.

So Jacob gets named Israel and those 2 names become interchangeable and used many times in the Bible. Isaiah uses it this way 21 times in his book of prophecy. And in that form, it is God’s special attachment to the seed of Abraham.

Back to the verse at hand:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

This is the best thing that could ever be said to a people, “You are Mine! This redemption God is talking about will not be complete until Christ returns to reign over his faithful remnant, all those who believed and accepted Christ.

Verse 2:

2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

This is symbolic of all the travails that we will be confronted with throughout the centuries. God promises them, they, the remnant, will survive it all.

3 “For I am the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I have given Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in your place.

God delivered his chosen from Egypt and will also deliver them from Babylon and all future exiles. Cush was Ethiopia and Seba is in Southern Arabia, across the Red Sea. They became compensation, so that God could spare Israel.

Verse 4

4 “Since you are precious in My sight,

Since you are honored and I love you,

I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

5 “Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

And gather you from the west.

6 “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring My sons from afar

And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

We saw this in 1948 when the Jews came back home. Called from the ends of the earth.

Verse 7

7 Everyone who is called by My name,

And whom I have created for My glory,

Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,

And the deaf, even though they have ears.

This speaks of them having their spiritual eyesight and hearing restored.

Back in chapter 6, Isaiah was talking to a people that could not see or hear the word of God.

Jeremiah 5:21 said the same thing:

Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; that have eyes, and see not; that have ears, and hear not.

Verse 9

9 All the nations have gathered together

So that the peoples may be assembled.

Who among them can declare this

And proclaim to us the former things?

Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified,

Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”

Those smooth talking idolatrous soothsayers could not predict Cyrus would deliver Israel from Babylon. The gods of those nations showed no ability to predict anything at all. They had no witnesses to accredit their gods that they could speak prophetically. 

Verse 10

10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“And My servant whom I have chosen,

So that you may know and believe Me

And understand that I am He.

Before Me there was no God formed,

And there will be none after Me.

On the other hand, Israel’s God was able to not only predict the future, but could make the present do what He wanted. Thereby enabling Israel to witness accurately that their God was real and a Mighty God!

Verse 11

11 “I, even I, am the Lord,

And there is no savior besides Me.

12 “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,

And there was no strange god among you;

So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“And I am God.

El Shaddai!

Verse 13

13 “Even from eternity I am He,

And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;

I act and who can reverse it?”

Deuteronomy 32:39

‘See now that I, I am He,

And there is no god besides Me;

It is I who put to death and give life.

I have wounded and it is I who heal,

And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

Babylon to Be Destroyed

Verse 14

14 Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,

And will bring them all down as fugitives,

Even the Chaldeans, into the ships in which they rejoice.

Babylon was very proud of those ships and now the fugitives of the conquering arrny of Cyrus left in those very ships to escape Judgement. 

Verse 15

15 “I am the Lord, your Holy One,

The Creator of Israel, your King.”

The Lord was King over Israel from the very beginning, but the people asked for a human King.

1 Samuel 8:4-7

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

From king, small caps, to KING, all caps

Luke 1:31-33

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

Verse 16

16 Thus says the Lord,

Who makes a way through the sea

And a path through the mighty waters,

17 Who brings forth the chariot and the horse,

The army and the mighty man

(They will lie down together and not rise again;

They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick):

18 “Do not call to mind the former things,

Or ponder things of the past.

Deliverance of the nation in the past will look small in comparison to the future deliverance that the Lord will give his people.

Verse 19

19 “Behold, I will do something new,

Now it will spring forth;

Will you not be aware of it?

I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the desert.

20 “The beasts of the field will glorify Me,

The jackals and the ostriches,

Because I have given waters in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert,

To give drink to My chosen people.

21 “The people whom I formed for Myself

Will declare My praise.

Elohim, that is God in Hebrew, is telling His people that He is God over all, which seems obvious to us, well some of us in this age, but not so much to his people back then. They had a notoriously short memory and a what have you done for Me lately attitude. Idolatry was rampant back then. As evidenced by how many times God asked rhetorically for the idols to come up with something, anything at all. Which of course they could not.

1 Kings 18:21

Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 

450 prophets of Baal and they could not get a response from their god, even after cutting themselves and becoming hoarse from shouting to get Baal’s attention. 

Elijah’s God not only burned the sacrifice, but the stone altar and the water that was in the ditch. That’s a great story and I encourage you to investigate it on your own.

God has a grievance with the people.

The Shortcomings of Israel

Verse 22

22 “Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;

But you have become weary of Me, O Israel.

23 “You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,

Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with offerings,

Nor wearied you with incense.

24 “You have bought Me not sweet cane with money,

Nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;

Rather you have burdened Me with your sins,

You have wearied Me with your iniquities.

Can you imagine what God thinks of us today??? We no longer have to sacrifice or follow the Law. We merely believe and accept His Son as our Savior and Lord. Elohei Chasdi, which is The God Of My Kindness, in Hebrew. For God is my stronghold, the God (Elohim) who shows me lovingkindness (Chasdi). Psalm 59:17.

Today, with all the pull of our modern life style, looking up from our phones takes more willpower than many people have. Our Merciful God has offered us a wonderful gift. He wants our worries, all of them, so that we might not be burdened. And he wants the details of our life, the good things, the bad things, the mundane things. A Father is interested in His children.

Verse 25

25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.

God hates sin and He won’t remember ours. The only thing better than that is eternal salvation.

In spite of Israel’s absolute unworthiness, the turning away, wanting their own king, idolatry and all that, God is still offering His hand and will not remember their sins. A merciful God indeed.

Verse 26

26 “Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together;

State your cause, that you may be proved right.

27 “Your first forefather sinned,

And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me.

Sins of their patriarchal ancestors, like Abraham, kept them from claiming personal merit. 

Verse 28

28 “So I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary,

And I will consign Jacob to the ban and Israel to revilement.

Even though God will forgive the nation in the messianic age, she must still suffer in the intervening interval.

Let us now turn to 1 Kings Chapter 3, and pick up where we left off last week.

God had blessed Solomon with great wisdom and here we find that he is judging a complaint made by 2 women. Harlots living in the same house and had babies within days of each other. One woman slept upon her baby son and smothered it. On finding this she took her dead son and swapped it out with the other woman’s live son. The other woman, waking in the morning and trying to nurse her son, found it was dead. But looking closely, she was able to tell it was not her son at all. So now they are standing before their King and Judge. 

Turn now to verse 23 and let us read how Solomon judged.

1 Kings 3:23

23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” 24 The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!” 27 Then the king said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.” 28 When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down, they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

A very well known story, I think I heard a more sanitized version of it in Sunday school. We didn’t talk about harlots in those days, possibly just women living together and we were left to draw our own conclusions as to why women did things like that. I still wonder sometimes.

Solomon had indeed been given great wisdom. He now acquired much wealth and power to go with that, like bookends. The scripture talks of how many horses and chariots he had, how much stuff it took to run the kingdom from day to day. A staggering amount of provisions that were brought in from all over the kingdom. Everybody shared the burden of keeping the King and his people well fed and happy. While this was going on, Solomon was said to have spoke 3000 proverbs and over 1000 songs. He was known far and wide as the wisest King. 

1 Kings 4:34

Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Solomon now forms an alliance with King Hiram of Tyre, which is just North of Solomon’s Kingdom. Hiram had been a friend of King David and was happily surprised that Solomon turned out to be a chip off the ole block, so to speak. Hiram lived in the hill country with all the trees and his people were known for their skill in lumbering and shipbuilding. 

1 Kings 5:3-6

3 “You know that David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. 5 Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ 6 Now therefore, command that they cut for me cedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

And Hiram was pleased…

1 Kings 5:7

7 When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.”

So Solomon starts work on the house for the Lord. A big job like that takes a lot of people. The conscription of forced labor, malcontents, people conquered and captured in war, 30,000 of them were levied from all across Israel. He sent them in relay, 10,000 a month. They worked 1 month in Lebanon and 2 months at home. This project required a tremendous amount of skilled labor also.

1 Kings 5:15-18

Now Solomon had 70,000 transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, 16 besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work. 17 Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

It was the 480th year, since they walked out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, taking a slight 40 year detour in desert for bad attitudes and now the Lord’s house is being built. So far, so good. Solomon is getting busy, building things, astounding all with his wisdom. He seems to have his head in the game. This is where pride lurks, when you are doing well and feeling good about it. I’ve felt it, back in the day when I rebuilt an entire School District’s technology backbone. Basically stuff I learned and I have always been good at learning on my own. Came up with a plan, gave it to my Boss and he said make it so, and I did. The best part was, it was free. I used technology that they already had and made it work my way. I actually felt pride flowing through my fingertips as I typed this. Dangerous stuff.

1 Kings 6:11-14

Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, 12 “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. 13 I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”

I think God had seen in Solomon, the beginnings of the corrosive agent of pride and gave him a little pep talk. “You’re doing good Son, keep up the good work and I will not have to take off my belt and give you a whoopin.”

1 Kings 6:37-38

In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

The Lord’s House is done and it is beautiful! Gold and Cedar, it must have smelled wonderful, until they started sacrifices again. Now Solomon starts on his palace, because what good is it to be King if you don’t have a super swell palace to lounge in. He also hires a skilled bronze craftsman named Hiram from Tyre. It must have been a common name, either that or the King of Tyre named Hiram, moonlighted in bronze for walking around money. Whoever this Hiram guy was, he was good at what he did. He outfitted the Lord’s house, gave it all the bells and whistles it needed. A very handy guy to have around.

We finish it out here with Solomon being just about done with the Temple.

1 Kings 7:51

Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

Everything is going well. The Temple has a few details left to get done. Solomon’s house is also about done. What is Solomon going to do with his time now? We will find out next week.

Let us end with a couple of proverbs from Solomon about pride. 

Proverbs 11:2

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 27:2

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;

A stranger, and not your own lips.