Jesus
and His Church
in the Book of
1 Kings
Jesus is our King, our Temple,
the Kingdom of God... we are the temple of God, His
Church
Part 1: Quick Survey
History of Solomon...the
Temple (chapters 1
to 11)
Division of the Kingdom (chapters 12 to 22)
Prophet Elijah (chapters 17 to 22)
The Jerome Bible
Commentary
Jesus Christ and His Church in each book of
the Bible
Expanded commentary
1,093 prophecies and types of the Old
Testament fulfilled in Jesus
1 Kings
The Books of Kings
are two books of the Bible,
originally a single work in the Hebrew canon. They are called First and Second Kings in
modern Bibles, and Third and Fourth Kingdoms in the Greek versions, where the books of
Samuel are called First and Second Kingdoms.
First and Second Kings cover the period c.1000 B.C.–c.586 B.C. and continue the historical
narrative of First and Second Samuel, from the death of David to the fall of Jerusalem.
They show Israel’s kings leading the nation in its
violation of the covenant between God and his people, thus bringing upon the nation the
curses anticipated in chapters 27 and 28 of Deuteronomy.
History of Solomon (chapters 1 to 11)
- Near the end of David's life, Solomon becomes king through the intrigue of Bathsheba and other supporters (1)... Solomon ruled for 40 years.
- Last instructions of David... After David's death, Solomon arrests or kills his opponents (2).
- Solomon
prays for wisdom to rule the people (3:5-13):
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the
night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered... So give your servant a discerning
heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to
govern this great people of yours?"
- The wise ruling of Solomon to the two
prostitutes with one child (3:16-28).
King Solomon had to decide between two women as to which was the mother
of a baby. Solomon said to cut the living child into two halves and to give one half to
each mother. When one woman said she would rather give up her claim than have the child
killed, Solomon knew that she was the real mother.
31
He was wiser than any other man... And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom. (1K.4). The 4 books of Solomon in the Bible:
1-
Proverbs: Wise sayings to live at home, at work... a Jewish
tradition says they are to to be read outside the Temple, in the exterior courtyard
of the Gentiles.
2- Ecclesiastes:
All is vanity of vanities, under the
Sun, under God... to be prayed outside the Temple, in the interior courtyard
for men and priests.
3- The Song of Songs:
When you live in the Sun, in God, the vanity of vanities becomes the song of
songs, the beautiful life of love in God... to be prayed inside the Temple, in
the Holy Place.
4- The Book of Wisdom:
Tells who is the Sun, God, and how to live in Him... to be prayed in the
Holy of Holies... one of the most beautiful and practical books of the Old
Testament, and the closest one to the Gospels.
Some Protestant bibles do not have this book.
The 4 Books of Solomon
Splendor of Solomon:
The weight of the gold that Solomon
received yearly was 666 talents, about 25 tons
(1K.10:14).
Nothing like it had ever been made for any other
kingdom. (1K.10:16-20).
All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all
the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.
Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in
Solomon's days. (1K.10:21).
- Solomon
builds a Temple
and a Palace in Jerusalem (5-8):
Solomon built the "Temple of the Lord" in Jerusalem ,
90 feet long, 30 feet wide, 45 feet high, decorated with cypress and cedar wood as well as
gold, taking 7 years to build... Dedication
of the Temple (8).
A Temple is where God is. In the Temple of Solomon God was there in the
Holy of Holies, in the Ark of the Covenant, containing the the Tables of Moses, the rod of
Aaron, and the manna, symbols of the coming Church of Christ, says Paul, symbols of the
Bible, the Pope, and the Eucharist (Hebrews 9:4-9).
Many modern so called Christian Temples are not Temples but
Synagogues,
"places to meet and pray", but they don't have the real thing after Christ: They
do not have the Christian Tabernacle, and consequently no altar, and no priests to offer the
sacrifice... only pastors and preachers... like the modern Synagogues with only rabbis,
but no altar nor sacrifices...
The Three Temples
- Second
apparition of God to Solomon (9:1-7):
9:1 When Solomon had finished building the
temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to
do, 2 the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to
him at Gibeon.
3 The Lord said to him: "I have heard the prayer
and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have
built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be
there.
4 "As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of
heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my
decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as
I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the
throne of Israel.'
6 "But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not
observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and
worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and
will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword
and an object of ridicule among all peoples. (1K.9).
- The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon (10):
10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon
and his relation to the name of the Lord , she came to test him with hard questions.
6 She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own
country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not
believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told
me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.
(1K.10)
- Solomon
takes foreign wives to secure political alliances, and they bring the worship of
foreign deities to Jerusalem... and the condemnation of God (11:1-13):
He
had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives
led him astray.
Division of the Kingdom into North and South (chapters 12 to 22):
The Divided Kingdom:
After Solomon's death, around 922 B.C., the Hebrews
were divided into two groups:
Solomon's son Rehoboam
vows to rule harshly, and the northern tribes secede, forming the kingdom
of Israel with capital in Samaria (12).
1- The
Northern Kingdom, Israel (Samaria):
With capital in Samaria, ruling the other 10 tribes.
Jeroboam, the first king, placed golden calves in the
sanctuaries of the Northern Kingdom (12:25,13,14).
One king, Ahab, had a wife, Jezebel , who
worshipped the "gods" Baal (1K16:29-33) or Baalzebub and Asherah. Jezebel tried
to kill the Lord's prophets and encouraged Ahab to do evil. Elijah told King Ahab that the
dogs would devour Queen Jezebel's body. (1K.21:23).
2-
The Southern Kingdom, Judah (Jerusalem):
David's descendants continue to rule here, with capital in
Jerusalem, and involved the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (14:21,14,15,16).
Worship to other gods:
Some of the kings of both Southern and Northern Kingdoms had the
worship of other "gods" rather than the only one God of Israel, leading to many
problems and their final fall:
- First, the
Kingdom of the North, Israel, was conquered and brought captive to Nineveh in 722 BC.
- Second, the
Kingdom of the South, Judah, was conquered in 586 BC, Jerusalem and the Temple were
destroyed and the Jews brought captive to Babylon.
The complete list of all the Kings in 2 Kings, including those of Judah of 2 Chronicles.
The Great Apostasy
The fortunes and failures of the Israelites were always related to their obedience or disobedience to God. Often God allowed them to be oppressed because they rebelled against him. Not until they repented toward him would he hear their cries. Judges
In the time of David's great Kingdom, we saw the promised land come at last into Israel's possession. Now we shall watch it lost. The Israelites will lose their land, prosperity, unity, and freedom. Sin does its damage again. At the end, the tribes are all banished from their land and taken into exile.
Sin had often expressed itself in disunity among the tribes. This division comes back with a vengeance after Solomon's death. His kingdom splits into two kingdoms.
Note: Because Samaria is north of Jerusalem, Jeroboam's kingdom is often referred to as the "northern kingdom". The Bible calls the northern kingdom "Israel" and the southern kingdom "Judah". So from this time, the name "Judah" can refer either to the tribe of Judah, or to the two-tribe kingdom. Likewise, the name "Israel" can refer either to all twelve tribes or to the ten-tribe kingdom. This can be slightly confusing if you are not aware of the distinctions.
Prophet Elijah
(Elias) (chapters 17 to
22):
Elijah or Elias was a prophet of God in
the Kingdom of the North, in Israel, during this time.
Elijah is the King of the Prophets
of the Old Testament, the one who
appeared with Jesus in his Transfiguration at Mount Tabor representing
the Prophets, with Moses representing the Law (Mat.17).
The forerunner of the Messiah,
as states the Book of Malachi, the last of the Hebrew prophets,
who proclaims that Elijah would reappear just before
the coming of the Messianic Age (Mal.3:1,
4:5-6), the last words of the Old Testament.
Jesus said Elijah came as John the Baptist,
the greatest prophet
(Mat.11:10-11, 17:12-13).
In
the Book of Revelation: Elijah will be one of the two witnesses
in the streets of Jerusalem. The other one will be Moses, as
most theologians believe (Rev.11)... again, the two persons who appeared with
Jesus in His Transfiguration at Mount Tabor.
8:46 there is no one who does not sin... 8:50
forgive your people, who have sinned against you...
From the Dedication of the Temple (1K.8)
Quotations from the New International Version (NIV-IBS) in The Bible Gateway
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