SOLOMON'S DREAM CONCERNING YHWH'S HALLOWING OF HIS HOUSE IN WHICH YHWH WARNS THAT BY ITSELF THE HOUSE MEANS NOTHING. ITS CONTINUED HALLOWING WILL DEPEND ON A FULL RESPONSE BY THE HOUSE OF DAVID TO THE DAVIDIC COVENANT AND THUS SUBSEQUENTLY TO THE MOSAIC COVENANT (1 KINGS 9:1). The importance of thi... [ Continue Reading ]
“ But if you shall turn away from following me, you or your children, and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but shall go and serve other gods, and worship them, then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them,” The contrasting alternative is the... [ Continue Reading ]
“ And this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.” And they are not to see the fact that YHWH has ‘hallowed' the House as an indication that He will give it special treatment. The ‘holiness' of the House is... [ Continue Reading ]
“ And though this house is so high (or ‘this house shall be very high'), yet will every one who passes by it be astonished, and will hiss, and they will say, “Why has YHWH done thus to this land, and to this house?.” And they will answer, “Because they forsook YHWH their God, who brought forth their... [ Continue Reading ]
SOLOMON HAS SO EXTENDED HIS RESOURCES THAT HE FEELS IT NECESSARY TO OBTAIN A SECURED LOAN FROM HIRAM, SECURED AGAINST GALILEAN SETTLEMENTS (1 KINGS 9:11). It is an indication of the wealth that Solomon had laid out on his enterprises, and the great cost involved, that even he had subsequently to res... [ Continue Reading ]
SOLOMON'S EXTENSIVE BUILDING PROJECTS (1 KINGS 9:15). The author now links the building of the Temple and the palace complex with a number of other large scale building works in which Solomon engaged, all of which required extensive slave-labour. The emphasis is on the fact that it caused the raisin... [ Continue Reading ]
SOLOMON'S SEAFARING ACTIVITY AND THE VISIT OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA (1 KINGS 9:26). In this passage we learn of Solomon's international influence and widespread trading activities, while central to it is Solomon's reputation for wisdom as evidenced by the visit of the Queen of Sheba. Even though very m... [ Continue Reading ]