WALK BEFORE ME FAITHFULLY

1 Kings 9:1-28

Key verse 4

“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,”

1. Read verses 1-9. When did God appear to Solomon? (1, 2) What did God say about the temple? (3) What did he say about Solomon’s throne? (4, 5) What serious warning did God give? ( 6-9) What can we learn from God’s warning?

2. Read verses 10-19. What towns did Solomon give to Hiram, king of Tyre? (10, 11) How did Hiram respond? (12, 13) What did Hiram send to Solomon? (14) What did Solomon build? (15-19)

3. Read verses 20-28. What did Solomon do with the people of Canaan whom the Israelites could not exterminate? (20, 21) How did Solomon treat the Israelites? (22a, Lev 25:39-43) What did the Israelites do in his kingdom? (22b-23). What else did Solomon do? (24-28).

WALK BEFORE ME FAITHFULLY

1 Kings 9:1-28

Key verse 4

“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,”

Introduction

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace and had achieved all he had desired to do, God appeared to him and gave his words. God said that he had consecrated the temple and his eyes and his heart would always be there. He also said that he would establish Solomon’s royal throne forever as he had promised to David if Solomon would walk before God faithfully. But at the same time, God also gave him a strong warning that if Solomon or his descendants would turn away from God and disobey his commands, he would cut off Israel from the land and reject the temple. Through this passage, we can learn how we can keep the right relationship with God and live as his blessed chosen people in Jesus Christ.

1. Read verses 1-9. When did God appear to Solomon? (1, 2) What did God say about the temple? (3) What did he say about Solomon’s throne? (4, 5) What serious warning did God give? ( 6-9) What can we learn from God’s warning?

1-1. Read verses 1-9.

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 faithfully with 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 successor on the throne of Israel.’ 6 “But if you[a] or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[b] 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. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”

1-2. When did God appear to Solomon? (1, 2)

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do,

· God appeared to Solomon a second time when he had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal place and had achieved all he had desired to do.

- God appeared to Solomon when he had finished building the temple and his place and achieved other things he had desired. Based on 2Ch 7:11, we can know that it was the time when Solomon had finished the temple and the palace carrying out all he had in mind. When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, (2Ch 7:11)

- It also shows that the temple and the palace were built very successfully as Solomon had planned without missing anything.

- God blessed Solomon's work to build temples and royal palace as planned in his mind. Proverbs 16:9 says, In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. (Pr 16:9)

· God appeared to Solomon in his dream as he had appeared to him at Gibeon(3:5,15)

- God appeared to Solomon for the first time when Solomon offered thousand sacrifices. It was a very important moment for Solomon because he had just begun his reign as king.

· Why did God appear to Solomon when he completed the temple and the palace?

- It was Solomon’s another important moment.

- Solomon needed the direction and the word of God about how to maintain the temple and his kingdom.

- Building up the temple and establishing his kingdom was important work but how to maintain them was more important.

- Also by the time Solomon built the palace, the prosperity of his kingdom reached its peak. His kingdom’s governing system was well established, and the kingdom became so rich through active trade and kept peaceful relationships with surrounding nations.

- It was the time for Solomon to be proud and get corrupted seeking luxurious and following sinful worldly culture.

- We have seen so many people get corrupted after their great success and fall down so miserably.

· God appeared to Solomon to give him His word and warning so that he and his kingdom may bear God’s blessing well and be blessed by God continually.

• God appears to his people at the very important moment of their life, at the time when they need God’s direction and help.

- When we think about Abraham’s life, we can see that God appeared to him at the very critical moment and gave him his word and directions.

- At important moments in our lives, God comes to us in many ways and gives us the direction and words we need.

- It is critical for us to seek God’s guidance at important moments, because listening to God's words, and following directions will have an absolute impact on our lives.

1-3. What did God say about the temple? (3)

“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.

· ‘I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me’

- God heard seriously the prayer and plea that Solomon did when the temple was dedicated to God. 28 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. (1 Kings 8:28-30)

- It was God’s answer for Solomon’s prayer for the temple.

· “I have consecrated this temple, which you have built”

- God had consecrated the temple to be his holy temple.

- Only God can consecrate the temple and only when God consecrates the temple, the temple can become his holy temple. The temple became God’s temple because of his consecration for the temple.

- Jesus is the temple whom God established and consecrated for us.

· “by putting my name there forever”

- Name represents someone. By putting his name there means God made the temple the place of his presence.

- The temple became a representation of God’s presence.

- Since God’s presence in the temple, the temple became the place where God and his people meet together.

- God promised that he would put his name there forever. It means God would dwell among Israelites permanently and meet with them at the temple.

· “ My eyes and my heart will always be there”

- God promised that he would always pay his full attention to the temple and hear people’s prayers. Solomon prayed asking, “ Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day,(1Ki 8:28,29a)

- Temple is the place where his people cry to God and God hears his people’s crying. The temple is the house of prayer for all nations.

- It was a great blessing and amazing grace that God prepared a place where his people come to him and pray to him for help.

- Jesus is the temple in which we can meet God and pray to him all the time. God’s eyes and his heart are in Jesus always. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.( John 14:13-14)

1-4. What did he say about Solomon’s throne? (4, 5)

4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with 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 successor on the throne of Israel.’

· “As for you” – After giving his promise about the temple, God gave his word about Solomon’s throne.

· “ if” : There is a condition that should be met for God to bless Solomon according to his promise.

· ‘walk before me faithfully’ : It means to live and act before God by fearing him always. Living and doing things before the presence of God is the beginning of righteous life.

· ‘with integrity of heart and uprightness’ : it means to live before God and serve him with sincere heart faithfully and wholeheartedly seeking his righteousness.

- King David showed good example of this: He was able to fight Goliath with is sincere faith in God.(1 Sa 17:25-27) He didn’t kill Saul out of fear of God.(1Sa 24:8-10) When he carried the ark of the Lord, he danced before the Lord with all his might.(2Sa 6:14) He struggled to live righteous life before God all the time. Vindicate me, Lord, for I have led a blameless life I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered 2 Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;3 for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.(Ps 26:1-3) and repented when he committed sin.(2Sa 12:13).

- King David’s life became the standard of being a good king. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. (2Ki 16:2) He (King Hezekiah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. (2Ki 18:3)

· “do all I command and observe my decrees and laws”

- Keeping the right attitude and mindset, Solomon also had to do all God commanded and observe his decrees and laws.

· “I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised”

- God promised that David’ house and his kingdom would endure forever and his throne would be established forever.(2 Samuel 7:11-16)

· Even if God gave the great promise, he said that his promise would be kept only if Solomon and his descendants would walk before him faithfully and obey his commands and laws.

- God doesn’t bless people and keep his promise regardless how people live and obey his commands. He keeps his promise only when people obey his commands that he gave as he gave the promise.

- We should not mock God or deceive ourselves by expecting God’s blessing even if we don’t obey his commands.

1-5. What serious warning did God give? ( 6-9)

· “But if” : God promised his blessing but at the same time he gave serious warning as well.

· “if you or your descendants 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”

- God gave warning for two sins:

1) Tuning away from God and going off to serve others gods and worship them.

2) Not observe God’s commands and decrees.

- Idol worshipping is the most serious sin before God which breaks the foundation of the relationship between God and his people.

- God revealed himself to Israelite as only and true God and commanded them to serve him only (Dt 6) God established his covenant with Israelites with the condition that they must serve God only. Idol worshipping is breaking the foundation of the covenant.

- God also established his covenant with the condition that his people must obey his command so that they may become his holy people. Disobeying his command is another cause of breaking the covenant.

- Serve God only and obey his commands were the basis of God’s covenant and all about what God wanted Israelite to do.

· “then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them”

- There were two components in God’s covenant for Israelites

a) God promised to make them a great nation with numerous people. 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,(Ge22:17)

b) God will be their God and give the Canaan land to them7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” (Ge 17:7-8)

c) Israelites will be God’s precious holy people among all nations. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Ex 19:5,6)

- But if Israelite would commit sin before God, all the blessings that God promised to Israelites would be taken away. Instead they would fall to be most miserable.

- “I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them”: Israelites will lose the land that God gave them and wander in the foreign land.

- They will lose all the blessings that they enjoyed in the land.

· “will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name”

- God will not be among them anymore and cut the relationship with them and will not hear their prayer anymore. The temple will be a useless place.

· “Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples”

- Israelites are God’s precious people and highly honored and blessed to a kingdom of priests and holy nation. But they will be an example of shame and misery and object of ridicule instead of honor.

· “This temple will become a heap of rubble”

- When Israelites commit sin disobeying God, the temple will be useless and nothing place and destroyed completely.

- The temple was completely destroyed in B.C 586 because of Israelites’ sin (2Ki 25:8-10)

· All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’

- People who see the destroyed temple will get shocked and horrified seeing complete destruction.

- People will scoff asking the cause of the destruction.

· People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”

- Israelites and the temple will be destroyed not because of other nations’ invasion or weakness of the nation, but because of their sins, idol worshipping and disobedience to God.

- They betrayed God’s love and salvation for them. Instead of serving God, they followed idols and served them and worshipped them.

- God saved them out of slavery and exalted them to be his holy people and gave them the covenant of love but they betrayed God and worshipped idols.

1-6. What can we learn from God’s warning?

· God’s covenant is a great blessing for us. We should bear the blessing well by walking before God faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness and obeying all his commands.

* The nature of God’s covenant is conditional.

- God’s covenant is a contract of promise: Both sides have responsibility.

- God’s covenant is a covenant of love. (8:23). His covenant is a covenant of blessing.

- God gave his first covenant to Adam (Ge 2:16, 17) The condition of the covenant was his obedience.

- God gave us an amazing covenant in Jesus Christ. God gave us the covenant to us with the condition; having faith in Jesus and obeying him.Even though the covenant was given to us by his grace, there are the parts that we should take care of, which is to serve God wholeheartedly and obey his commands. (Mt 22:27-38)

· When we love God and serve him wholeheartedly and live by obeying his command, we can enjoy fellowship with God and our prayer will be answered and live fruitful life in Jesus.

• Serving God with all our heart and obeying his commands are the key of our spiritual life.

• Even if we have a great covenant in Jesus Christ, if we serve idols and don’t obey his commands, we can't have the blessings of the covenant. Rather we can become byword and object of ridicule in this world losing our saltiness. (Mt 5:14,15)

- Without obeying God’s command, all our religious activities will be useless and God won’t hear our prayer. God said that obedience is better than sacrifice. (1Sa 15:22)

- Solomon built many buildings to protect his kingdom, but God is the one who can truly protect his kingdom. Those who listen to the word of God and obey his command are those who built their house on the rock. But those who don’t obey his command are the people who build their house on the sand and their house will fall terribly. (Mt 7:21-27)

· God called us to worship him and become his holy people.

- The purpose of God’s salvation is to let us know him and worship him and become his holy people by obeying his commands. But if we serve idols and disobey his command, all God’s great salvation work ends in vain. We have to remember the purpose of the covenant that God gave us in Jesus.

· By being united with Jesus through faith and obedience, we can serve God wholeheartedly and obey his command.

- When we have faith in Jesus and obey him, Jesus works in us with his power and enables us to love God wholeheartedly and obey his command well. We are united with Jesus through our faith and commitment to him. When we remain in him Jesus let us bear the fruit of love and obedience.

2. Read verses 10-19. What towns did Solomon give to Hiram, king of Tyre? (10, 11) How did Hiram respond? (12, 13) What did Hiram send to Solomon? (14) What did Solomon build? (15-19)

2-1. Read verses 10-19.

¹⁰ At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— ¹¹ King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted. ¹² But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. ¹³ “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,^[d] a name they have to this day. ¹⁴ Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents^[e] of gold.

¹⁵ Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,^[f] the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. ¹⁶ (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷ And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, ¹⁸ Baalath, and Tadmor^[g] in the desert, within his land, ¹⁹ as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses^[h]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

2-2. What towns did Solomon give to Hiram, king of Tyre? (10, 11)

11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted.

· Solomon took 20 years to build two buildings- the temple and the royal palace.

· King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram King of Tyre because he had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted.

- The twenty towns were located in the northernmost part of Israel, in the region of Galilee, the border area between Israel and Tyre.

- It seems that Solomon gave the land to the king as an additional payment because the building materials the king supplied was so great. When Solomon asked Hiram to supply timbers for temple building they made a contract that Solomon would give grains in return. (1Ki 5:10,11) But when Solomon built the royal palace he needed more timbers and gold and he might have to pay more for the extra materials.

2-3. How did Hiram respond? (12, 13)

..he was not pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,..

· Hiram was not pleased with the towns.

- ““What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” Hiram got disappointed with the lands and expressed his complaint.

- He called the towns the Land of Kabul. ‘Kabul’ means ‘good-for-nothing’ He called the towns the useless lands without value.

· Hiram might want to receive different towns that produced what he wanted.

- The towns Solomon gave were mountain area lands that couldn’t produce that much grains. Hiram might have wanted to receive different lands that could produce a lot of grains that his country needed.

- Later Hiram returned the towns to Solomon and Solomon rebuilt the towns (2Ch 8:2).

· It shows that Solomon had financial difficulty doing a lot of constructions.

2-4. What did Hiram send to Solomon? (14)

· Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

- It shows that the 20 towns were the payment for the gold.

2-5. What did Solomon build? (15-19)

· Forced labor: Canaan people whom the Israelites could not exterminate. They work as slave labor (20,21)

· Solomon constructed many buildings beside the temple and palace.

· The terraces- citadels made of earth and stones. Used military purpose to depend on castles.

· The wall of Jerusalem: Solomon extended and rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem.

· Hazor- Strategically and for military purpose, the city was very important. He built it to defend the northern border of his kingdom.

· Megiddo – it was a military fortress, a transportation hub. Many battles took place in the region.

· Gezer - Pharaoh King of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

- Solomon rebuilt Gezer. He built and defended the southern border of his kingdom.

· Lower Beth Horon : fortress.

· Baalath and Tadmor in the desert, within his land- Oasis area, were store cities that supported the north and east area of the kingdom.

· All his store cities – The cities stored necessary supplies to support people, king’s property, and foods. They were fortified cities.

· Towns for his chariots and for his horses: The towns kept the materials for the war.

· Whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

· Solomon constructed buildings for the purpose of national defense, storage of the national treasury, operation of the state, and supplying of the people.

· Even if he built the buildings for needed purpose, the construction became a big burden for his people. (1Ki 12:4)

3. Read verses 20-28. What did Solomon do with the people of Canaan whom the Israelites could not exterminate? (20, 21) How did Solomon treat the Israelites? (22a, Lev 25:39-43) What did the Israelites do in his kingdom? (22b-23) What else did Solomon do? (24-28)

3-1. Read verses 20-28.

²⁰ There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites). ²¹ Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate^[i]—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. ²² But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. ²³ They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.²⁴ After Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.²⁵ Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.²⁶ King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.^{[j] 27} And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. ²⁸ They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents^[k] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

3-2. What did Solomon do with the people of Canaan whom the Israelites could not exterminate? (20, 21)

· There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites).- Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate( Judges 1:21-36) —to serve as slave labor.

3-3. How did Solomon treat the Israelites? (22a, Lev 25:39-43)

· But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites

· ³⁹ “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. ⁴⁰ They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. ⁴² Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. ⁴³ Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God. (Lev 25:39-43)

· God told Israelites not to make fellow Israelites work as slaves because Israelite are God’s servants and his precious people.

· King Solomon obeyed God’s command instead of treating God’s people for his benefits.

· We should treat other fellow Christians preciously recognizing them as God’s precious children and people.

3-4. What did the Israelites do in his kingdom? (22b-23).

· They were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

3-5. What else did Solomon do? (24-28).

· After Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.

- King Solomon constructed the terraces, citadels at the City of David after building a palace for Pharaoh’s daughter.

· Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

· The three times a year refers to three major festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles (2Ch 8:13)

· “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.¹⁵ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.¹⁶ “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.¹⁷ “Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord. (Ex 23:14-17)

- Feast of Unleavened bread/Passover – to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt.

- Feast of Harvest: Celebrate the harvest/Pentecost : Celebration of harvest

- Feast of Ingathering/ Tabernacles: To remember 40 years of life in wilderness.

· Solomon observed God’s command faithfully fulfilling temple obligation- Even if he was busying do many works to manage the kingdom, but he still served God according to his commands faithfully. (2 Ch 8:12-15)

· King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.^[j] And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents^[k] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

- King Solomon built many ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. Ezion Geber and Elath were important port cities which were well known for trade. He built the Ezion Geber for maritime trade.

- Hiram sent sailors who knew the sea to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. Solomon formed a fleet for maritime trade and Hiram’s people who had good sailing skills worked for the fleet.

- Solomon’s people sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold to King Solomon. Ophir was famous for gold production. (1Ch 29:4, Job 22:24, Ps 45:9)

- 1 Talent: 34.3kg. 420x34.3= 14,406kg, about $824 million

- Maritime trade was one of main sources of Solomon’s wealth. Solomon made huge wealth through the trade.

Conclusion.

God gave us a great covenant through Jesus Christ and he meets us and hears our prayer in Jesus. To keep the right relationship with God and be blessed and live fruitful life we should love him wholeheartedly and obey Jesus’ commands by faith in him. But if we fail serving God and obeying his commands worshipping idols, we will experience the disasters that God mentioned in his warning. Worshipping God and obeying his command is the critical key and core of our spiritual life. May God help us to meditate on the word of God day and night and walk before God faithfully by putting the words into practice so that we may have deep fellowship with God and live a blessed life in Jesus.

One word: Walk Faithfully!

SWM 5-2-21

WALK BEFORE ME FAITHFULLY

1 Kings 9:1-28

Key verse 4

“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,”

The Bible has two parts: the Old Testament and New Testament. Do you know the meaning of the Testament? Testament is an old English word that means ‘Covenant’. And the ‘covenant’ means ‘contract’ or ‘agreement between two parties’. Biblical meaning of covenant is the contract between God and his people based on the promise God gave them. So basically the bible is the contract between God and us and the content of the contract is God’s promise. In the contract, both sides have to do their own part. So believing the bible means to accept all promises that God gave us in the bible and decide to do my own part. And when we do that God’s job is to fulfill all the promises that he gave us. The bible is filled with God’s so graceful and glorious promises. We should take advantage of it. In today’s passage God appeared to Solomon and reminded him of the covenant that he gave to his father David and he said that he would bless him based on the covenant. But at the same time God gave him a very serious warning about what would happen if he and his descendants would violate the covenant. May God help us to know how we can be blessed through the covenant God gave us through Jesus and hear his warning as well meditating today’s passage together.

There are two parts in my message; I. If you walk before me faithfully (1-5) II. If you turn away from me (6-9) III. He built up whatever he desired to build (10-28)

I. If you walk before me faithfully (1-5)

Look at verse 1 and 2. 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. God appeared to Solomon again when he had finished building the temple and the place and successfully carried out all he had in mind for the buildings. Why do you think God appeared at that specific moment? For Solomon, building up the temple and the place was the most important project to do for his kingdom. Now by completing the two buildings, Solomon established a good foundation for his kingdom and it was his great achievement. At the moment of great success, God appeared to Solomon because it was the moment that Solomon really needed God’s word and new direction.

After his great success, there was a good possibility that Solomon would get proud and corrupted and live following his sinful desire. At his very critical moment, God appeared to give him his word so that Solomon may live in his blessing continually. It really shows us that God is a good shepherd who knows his sheep well and leads them by giving his words. Let’s take a moment and think about our last 5 years, or 10 years or 20 years of life. How your life has changed? Have you achieved things? Have you had words of God in your heart that have led your life or you have lived just according to the situations? We could be in a very important moment when we need a word of God and God’s direction.

Couple of years ago, I had a talk with one of our senior church members and he said when our church was in Long Beach more than 20 years ago all church members were very poor and the church building was small, but members were full of faith and spirit and served campus students diligently and the loving relationship among brothers and sisters was very strong. And he said he couldn’t see the same faith and passion now even if we had things a lot more. It made me sad and I realized that I had to repent and pray earnestly for restoration and even better faith and passion for God. Also during last Saturday men’s morning bible study, one missionary said that in his middle age now, he feels like he needs to seriously think about where he is now and what he should do now and in the future. It is very important for us to be led by God and his word. Otherwise we would get lost and end up living an undesirable life before God. May God help each of us and our church to come to God seeking his word and guidance seriously through prayer, repentance and his word. May God appear to us and give us his word so that we may live a life that can please him.

Now God gave his word to Solomon about the temple and his throne. Look at verse 3. 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. God said that he had heard his prayer and consecrated the temple by putting his Name there forever. God also promised that his eyes and his heart would always be in the temple. It meant that he would pay his full attention to the temple and hear their prayer always with his sincere heart. God’s temple was one of the greatest blessings for Israelites. The Holy God was present among them through the temple and they were able to come to God and meet him there and pray to him. It was a great privilege that any other nation couldn’t have.

How about us? We are more blessed than Israelites because we have the perfect temple Jesus Christ. We can come to God and pray to him anytime through Jesus without sacrificing animals continually Israelites did. And God meets us and hears our prayer in Jesus all the time and answers our prayer whatever we ask in the name of Jesus. When we look at the world, people follow so many regions and gods and pray to them for blessing. But all the religion and god are empty and fake. But we can come to the true and living God and pray to him who is almighty, so merciful and generos. This is a great privilege for us. But we need to think about how much we take advantage of it? How often do you pray? Muslims pray five times a day to their god Ala. I believe if all Chrstians pray five times a day, we can see so many miracles and change the world because our God is the true and almighty God. Let’s pray together ealy in the morning. Let’s pray for 300 1:1 and 30 disciples of Jesus by faith in the name of Jesus and experience God’s mighty work together. May God help us to bring many prayer topics to him by faith.

Now God gave Solomon his word about his throne. Look at verse 4, 5. 4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with 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 successor on the throne of Israel.’ God promised that he would establish Solomon’s throne over Israel forever as he promised to David with the condition that he would walk before God and obey his command.

Why did God give this word to him? After finishing building the temple and the palace successfully, Solomon might have confidence that he could build up a powerful kingdom with his wisdom and make many plans. But God told him that he would establish his throne over Israel forever as he promised his father David. By giving this word, God reminded Solomon that it was God himself who could establish his throne forever based on his covenant and what Solomon really needed to do for his kingdom was to comply with the covenant by walking before God and obeying his command.

In 2Sam 7, when king David expressed his desire to build a temple for God, God told him that his son would build the temple and gave him a promise about his throne and kingdom saying, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” (2Sa 7:16). Now God confirmed that he would bless Solomon and his kingdom based on the covenant. This God’s affirmation of his covenant was the best assurance of the future of Solomon’s kingdom. Why is it? It is because God never fails at keeping his promise but fulfills it absolutely with his mighty power and faithfulness. God wanted Solomon to hold the covenant and obey his command by faith.

What was the condition that Solomon had to comply with to enjoy the blessing of the covenant? Look at verse 4 again. “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, ‘Walking before me’ means to live and do everything before God out of reverent fear. ‘Integrity of heart and uprightness' ' means to keep a truthful and fully committed heart and seek what is right and just before God. God wanted Solomon to live before God with a fully committed heart seeking what is right before him and obey all his commands. And God mentioned David as an example who walked before God faithfully. If we take a look at David’s life, we can see that he really lived before God fearing him and serving him wholeheartedly. One time king David had a great chance to kill King Saul who was chasing after him to kill him. Everyone told him to kill Saul but David refused, saying it was not right to kill the one whom God anointed. Instead of seeking his interest, he feared God and did what is right before God. David was not a perfect man and he even committed terrible adultery but repented with a broken heart when he was rebuked. He never turned to idols but served God only wholeheartedly. So David became the standard for good and bad kings, and all later kings were evaluated in comparison with him. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. (2Ki 16:2) He (King Hezekiah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. (2Ki 18:3) Solomon could have made many plans and done many works to build up a powerful kingdom. But God helped Solomon to keep the covenant and walked before him faithfully and obey all his commands. This was the best way for Solomon to let his kingdom last forever.

Just as God blessed Solomon based on the covenant, God always blesses his people based on his covenant. If you take a look at the entire bible you can find that God always made a covenant with his people by giving wonderful promises and blessed them based on the covenant when they obeyed his commands. When God called Abraham, he was a poor old man with no child. He had no hope for his life. But God called him with a covenant, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great,and you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2) Abraham accepted this covenant by faith and lived by serving God and obeying him. Then God blessed just as he promised and made him a great nation and source of blessing for all people on earth. God called each of us to his great covenant so that we may live truly blessed life. This God’s covenant in the bible can be the true foundation of our life that we should live by.

Someone could ask ‘Why does God give promises with condition instead of just giving blessings with no condition?’ It is because God has a purpose that he wants to achieve through the covenant. The purpose is to raise up holy people who fear God, love him with all their hearts and live a holy life obeying his command. In his covenant, the condition that God wants us to comply with is always the same; Serve God only with a faithful heart and obey all his commands. As God commanded Solomon, if we walk before God faithfully serving him only we can build up a deep loving relationship with God and when we obey all his commands we can become his holy people who have God’s beautiful image. This is a true blessing. Even though God’s commands look burdensome but actually it is a great blessing for us and his great gift from his deep love for us. So king David said God’s law is sweeter than honey. May God help us to accept all God’s promises by faith and build up our life on God’s covenant obeying his command so that we may enjoy all the blessings of the covenant.

II. If you turn away from me (6-9)

God blessed Solomon with the covenant. But at the same time, God gave him a serious warning as well. Look at verse 6-9. 6 “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[b] 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. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c]who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’” God warned him about what would happen if Solomon and his descendants turn away from God and disobey his commands and worship idols. First, God would take away all the blessings that he had given them through his covenant. God had given the beautiful Canaan land to Isrealites according to his covenant with them. But God would cut them off from the land. And God would reject the temple, meaning he would not meet them and hear their prayer anymore at the temple. Second, they will become a byward and object of ridicule among all peoples with great shame. God lifted up Israelites over all people and gave the honor and glory as his chosen people. But they would lose all glory and become an object of scorn and ridicule with great shame. Third, the magnificent temple will become a heap of rubble. It means the temple will be totally destroyed and become nothing under God’s great wrath. And all who pass by the temple will be shocked and would scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ And people would answer saying, “Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshipping and serving them” The ultimate reason why God would judge them is they betrayed God who saved and blessed them and embarrassed other gods and worshipped them.

Despite God’s server warning, Israelties turn away from God and worship idols disobeying God’s commands. And 9n B.C 586, Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar invaded Israel and destroyed the temple completely and the temple became a heap of rubbles as God said and Israelites were taken to Babylonia as captives.

God blesses us by giving us his covenant but when we break the covenant by turning away from him and disobeying his commands, he can’t bless us any more but takes away the blessings and let us suffer. Again the purpose of God’s covenant is to make us his people who serve God only whole heartedly and live a holy life by obeying his command. Then if God still blesses them even if they turn away God and do evil things, there is no point of the covenant. Even if we received a blessed covenant, if we disobey we can’t enjoy any of the blessings. Rather God’s server judgment follows so that we may repent and come back to God.

God gave us a wonderful covenant in Jesus Christ. Jesus had to shed his blood to give us the precious covenant. Mark 14:23,24 say 23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. (Mark 14:23,24) There are so many blessings in the covenant. In the covenant, we became children of God and have the hope to enter the eternal kingdom of God. We can live an abundantly fruitful life by remaining in Jesus. Then what is our part in the new covenant? When people asked Jesus a question, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent”(Jn 6:28.29) In the new covenant in Jesus, God wants us to live by faith in Jesus by obeying his commands. When we have faith in Jesus, God works in our life so powerfully and fulfills all the promises he gave in Jesus Christ and makes our life fruitful and powerful. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:5-8) Jesus also gave us warning as well. He warned that if we lose our saltiness, we would be thrown out and trampled underfoot and cut off from the tree and thrown into the fire. Thank God for giving us a blessed covenant in Jesus which is the true foundation of our life. May God help us to meditate all promises that God gave us in Jesus and have deep faith in Jesus and obey his commands so that we may be blessed with all the blessings in the covenant.

III. He built up whatever he desired to build (10-28)

In verse 10-28, we can see other things that Solomon did besides building the temple and palace. Look at verses 10-14. After building the temple and palace, King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre as payment for the king’s supply of building materials. Now Hiram checked out the towns and he was very disappointed with them and said, “ What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” And he called the town Land of Kabul. Kabul means ‘good for nothing’. The towns were useless and good for nothing. King Hiram had provided things for Solomon well with whatever he needed. It was not good and graceful to pay for Hiram’s generous supply with poor quality towns. When we ask others to provide us with what we need, we want to receive the best but when we have to pay back, we want to pay the minimum. It is not right before God. We should be fair and generous and pay back sufficiently and generously. Despite Solomon’s poor payment, Hiram sent King Solomon 120 talents of gold, about 4 ½ tons.

Look at verses 15-19. Solomon did a lot of construction work for his kingdom. He built the terraces, which were military purpose towers, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor and Megiddo, the military fortress. He also built Gezer, the city that Pharaoh gave it to his daughter as a wedding gift. He built up many other fortress cities and stored cities and towns for his christots and his horses. In verse 19, it says, Solomon built whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territories he ruled. Solomon built the building to protect the kingdom but even if he built the buildings for needed purpose, the construction became a big burden for his people later. (1Ki 12:4) It shows that Solomon might do the work out of his ambitious desire, not focusing on his people’s wellbeing.

Look at verses 20-23. Solomon conscripted the descendants of the Canaanites to serve as slave labor. But he did not make any of the Israelites following God’s command as slaves. In Lev 25:39-43, God commanded Israelite not to make fellow Israelites to work as slaves because Israelites are God’s servants and his people. ⁴² Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. ⁴³ Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God. (Lev 25:42-43) All of God’s people belong to God and they are God’s servants. God can be their only true Lord and king. We should treat other fellow Christians preciously by recognizing them as God’s precious children and his servants and should not take advantage of them in any ways. And Solomon let his people work as fighting men, government officials, and captains and commanders. Solomon let his people do the work in the ruling position. It reminds us of the vision that all of God’s people will reign in the kingdom of God together with Jesus Christ forever.

Look at verses 24-25. Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and fulfilled the temple obligations.The three times a year refers to three major festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of harvest and the Festival of Tabernacles (2Ch 8:13) It shows that Solomon served God faithfully obeying his commands and observing decrees.

Look at verses 26-28. Solomon built many ships at a place called Ezion Geber on the shore of the Red Sea. He built the ships for trade through the sea route. Hiram sent sailors to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. They sailed even to Ophir in India and brought back 420 talents, 16tons of gold to King Solomon. Through the trade, Solomon accumulated huge wealth to make him and his kingdom so rich.

Through what Solomon did, we can see that Solomon was successful to make his kingdom strong and rich outwardly. He even served God fulfilling all commands and regulations. But it is hard to see Solomon’s deep personal fellowship with God and eager desire of seeking God. We need to work hard to build up our career and manage our life. But we should always remember that the thing that makes our life truly strong and rich is our relationship with God and our faith in him. We should always make it a priority of our life. Otherwise our life can collapse easily as we will see in the following chapters of this book through Solomon’s case.

In conclusion, God gave us a wonderful covenant in Jesus Christ. God keeps his relationship with us and blesses us based on the covenant. Our life depends on how we believe in Jesus and follow him obeying his command. May God help us to enjoy all the blessings that God gives us through the covenant so that all the people in the world may know God and praise him through us. One word, “ Walk before me faithfully”