All Glory to God our Father

Let us start out with a bit of Thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Now turn to Isaiah 47, where we find God focusing on Babylon. Babylon today is just a ruin, as prophesied in Jeremiah 51. Jeremiah was a fellow prophet with Isaiah at about the same time and lived in the small village of Anathoth which today is called Anata. It is located 3 miles NE of Jerusalem. This prophet lived through the invasion and exile of his people to Babylon and had this prophecy about the fall of Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:1-4
Thus says the Lord:

1 “Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon
And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai
The spirit of a destroyer.
Leb-kamai is a cryptic name for Chaldea; or the heart of those who rise up against Me.
2 “I will dispatch foreigners to Babylon that they may winnow her
And may devastate her land;
For on every side they will be opposed to her
In the day of her calamity.
3 “Let not him who bends his bow bend it,
Nor let him rise up in his scale-armor;
So do not spare her young men;
Devote all her army to destruction.
4 “They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
And pierced through in their streets.”

Babylon was a very ancient city. Mentioned first in Genesis 10. Founded by Nimrod, the grandson of Ham, who we know was a son of Noah. So Babylon was founded not too long after Noah’s boys got off the boat.
It seems probable that the name given to the city actually supplanted the original name at this time, and this incident contributes to the long history of Babylon as a center of religious significance, and as a source of false religion and rebellion against the true God.
Genesis 10:10
10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
And from here we can turn to Genesis 11 and find out why it was called Babel.
Genesis 11
Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.
2 It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
4 They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
6 The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.
7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.
9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

This city was known far and wide for its splendor and wonders. I have read, in doing research for this chapter, current day writers wistfully stating that Babylon was a great city, as great as San Francisco or New York. And I thought to myself, truly, nothing is new under the sun and that can be found in:
Ecclesiastes 1:9
That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.

Whoever wrote that really nailed it. And in looking into that, because I couldn’t resist chasing down another interesting factoid in the Bible, it turns out that they, the people who translate, interpret and ponder such things in the Bible, think that Solomon wrote it. Figures. Smartest guy ever, blessed good and hard by God and he writes something that turns out to be an eternal truth.

Now, I will carefully step back out of the rhubarb and continue my original point. You have a modern unbeliever, pining for an ancient city, destroyed by the Judgement of God, comparing it favorably to a couple of modern and equally godless cities. And none of them sees the irony.

Babylon back then was a wondrous jewel of the desert, now currently in a permanent state of ruin and inhabited only by jackals and owls, about 700 miles from Jerusalem with a prime slice of desert separating the 2 cities.

We round out our Biblical smack down of Babylon by turning to
Revelation 18:1-10
1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.
2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;
5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
6 Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.
7 To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’
8 For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.

Lament for Babylon
9 “And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,
10 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

I am spending a bit of time with Babylon because it is a major theme and subject in the Bible and the life of the Jews. There are 113 verses in the Bible that refer to Babylon. That in itself is quite amazing. And in those 113 verses, it is mentioned in the beginning, in Genesis, in the middle, the exile, which is a major topic of Jewish writing and where we are at right now, and the end of the Bible in Revelation. I think perhaps that in Revelation, the city’s name is being used symbolically, because the place is just a ruin now. Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild the city in 1983, building on top of the ruins with bricks with this inscription: “This was built by Saddam Hussein, son of Nebuchadnezzar, to glorify Iraq.” It didn’t work out though, I think he was hung in or near Babylon and there is quite a bit of Jewish online talk of having old texts that predicted this event, but there is a code that only certain Jews understand. That’s nice and all but if God wants the place to stay rubble, it will stay rubble.

Let us turn back to Isaiah 47 and read that.

Lament for Babylon
1 “Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.
2 “Take the millstones and grind meal.
Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
3 “Your nakedness will be uncovered,
Your shame also will be exposed;
I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.”
4 Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit silently, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans,
For you will no longer be called
The queen of kingdoms.
6 “I was angry with My people,
I profaned My heritage
And gave them into your hand.
You did not show mercy to them,
On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’
These things you did not consider
Nor remember the outcome of them.
8 “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one,
Who dwells securely,
Who says in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will not sit as a widow,
Nor know loss of children.’
9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your spells.
10 “You felt secure in your wickedness and said,
‘No one sees me,’
Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you;
For you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’
11 “But evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.
12 “Stand fast now in your spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to profit,
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
13 “You are wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the astrologers,
Those who prophesy by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.
14 “Behold, they have become like stubble,
Fire burns them;
They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;
There will be no coal to warm by
Nor a fire to sit before!
15 “So have those become to you with whom you have labored,
Who have trafficked with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own way;
There is none to save you.

Some verses that stood out to me.
Verse 4 – I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.
Verse 6 – “I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage
And gave them into your hand. You did not show mercy to them.
Verse 10 – “You felt secure in your wickedness and said, ‘No one sees me,’ Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you.

Let’s talk about this. Our society is rife with this very thing. Have you ever done something and thought “Nobody knows or has seen this, so it’s OK.”
Think about it and how we can change our lives to what our Lord Jesus wants them to be. To be righteous, or as righteous as we can be.

Verse 11 – “But evil will come on you which you will not know how to charm away.

Let us now turn to 1 Kings 11 and see what’s up with our boy Solomon.

It was bound to happen. So much wealth, wisdom and women. The first verse in chapter 11 tells the story.
1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,

The Old Testament allowed polygamy, but did not encourage it. Then the Romans took over and said it was disgusting and immoral. They allowed the Jews to continue practicing polygamy in Palestine, but everywhere else, the practice was prohibited. Rome is quite a few hundred years off into the future, so in Solomon’s day many people did have more than one wife. And it is not always a bad thing. Women that could not be married for whatever reason would be added as wife and now another widow is not begging on the streets.
I am not sure anyone could have told Solomon to restrain himself when it came to wives. Let’s read on and find out how this plays out.

2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.
4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.
6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon.
8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded.
11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.
12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

God then raises adversaries against Solomon. You have to remember that during Solomon’s reign, things were unusually calm, within his government and without. An Edomite named Hadad, who was in the royal line of Edom, had a long time grudge with David, Solomon’s Father. Actually, it was Joab the Commander of David’s army, well let’s just read it in Verse 14:
14 Then the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal line in Edom.
15 For it came about, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, and had struck down every male in Edom
16 (for Joab and all Israel stayed there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom),
17 that Hadad fled to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy.
18 They arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land.
19 Now Hadad found great favor before Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.
20 The sister of Tahpenes bore his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh.
21 But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Send me away, that I may go to my own country.”
22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that behold, you are seeking to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must surely let me go.”

And so it went. More adversaries, more problems to deal with and most importantly, God was angry with him.
God then uses a prophet named Ahijah that happened to have a new cloak when he met Jeroboam, the soon to be new king of Israel. They were walking down the road together and suddenly Ahijah tears his new cloak into 12 pieces. He hands Jeroboam 10 pieces of cloak and tells him this represents the 10 tribes he would rule over. As God had said, He would tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hands but let Solomon have 2 tribes, (Judah and Benjamin) for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. God would allow Solomon to rule his pieces of the cloak all the days of his life. Which was pretty generous considering how Solomon had been acting.
Look at Verses 39 and 40;
39 Thus I will afflict the descendants of David for this, but not always.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt to Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

I guess Solomon was not feeling real grateful for God letting him keep his much diminished kingdom and his life.
Let’s finish this out and read verses 41 to 43;
The Death of Solomon
41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 Thus the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.

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.