The Heart of God: David and Solomon (5)

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24.27

Read and meditate on 1 Kings 8-10, 2 Chronicles 9, and Ecclesiastes 1, 2.
The greater part of Solomon’s reign saw the blessings of God abounding to His people. As Solomon led the people to seek the Lord, the Lord responded by increasing their borders and bringing them into a lengthy season of peace and prosperity.

For reflection
1.  Meditate on Deuteronomy 4.5-8. How can you see this promise to Moses being fulfilled in part during the reign of King Solomon? What does this suggest about the continuity of God’s covenant?

2.  Solomon gained wisdom from the Lord, but apparently, not without effort. Meditate on Ecclesiastes 1. How does Solomon’s striving for wisdom fit in with God’s promise to grant him wisdom? What do we learn from this about laying hold on the promises of God’s covenant?

3.  Review 1 Kings 8, then compare this with Ecclesiastes 2. What happened to Solomon?

4.  From Ecclesiastes 1 and 2, it seems clear that Solomon’s success and prosperity caused him to lose sight of the real purpose and substance of God’s covenant. Rather than maintaining an “under the heavens” approach to life, Solomon, at some point, began living more “under the sun.” What’s the difference? How did Solomon feel about where he had arrived?

5.  What do we learn from Solomon about the blessings God intends us to seek in our covenant relationship with Him? Which are the true and lasting blessings of the Lord?

Summary
As often happens, the temporal and material blessings we enjoy in life can distract us from the true and lasting blessings God intends for us – the blessing of being His people and having Him as our God. Suppose you had been a counselor to King Solomon, like Nathan or Gad was to David. How might you have advised him to keep his focus “under the heavens” rather than “under the sun”?

Closing Prayer
Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
And His enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.
And He shall live;
And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.

Psalm 72.9-15

T. M. Moore

Two books can help you gain a fuller understanding of the terrain we will be covering in this series. Kingdom Documentsprovides a concise overview of the primary teaching of the Old and New Testaments, and shows, through early Church creeds, how our forebears understood the primary teachings of God’s Word. (click here to order). I Will Be Your Goddevelops more fully the idea of God’s covenant and leads us to consider the practical implications of our covenant relationship with God (click here).

Visit The Ailbe Seminary, where our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, offers a parallel study of our theme in this series, using brief video presentations and the workbook God’s Covenant: An Introduction. All courses at The Ailbe Seminary are available without charge.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.