PRAYER - "Bring Your Gifts To The Altar"

Solomon wrote, "A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men," Proverb 18:16. Before Solomon dedicated the temple in prayer, he was careful to present all the gifts that had been dedicated by his father, David, into the treasury of the house of the LORD. Before you make your prayers and requests, give your all to God.

1 Kings 7:51 - "Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.

PRINCIPALS - "The Cherubims"

Two golden cherubims spread their wings across the Mercy Seat covering the Ark of the Covenant. Cherubims decorated all the tabernacle curtains. Inside the Holy of Holies of Solomon's temple, two gigantic cherubims (about twenty feet tall) stood side by side, each made of olive wood overlaid with gold. The wings between them touched. Their outer wings touched the walls. All were constant reminders that God dwells between the heavenly cherubims.

1 Kings 6:29 - "He carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without."

PRINCIPLES - "The Two Pillars"

Hiram placed two enormous, free-standing bronze pillars in front of the temple entrance. Each was about 27 feet tall, 6 feet across, with huge ornamental caps, about seven and a half feet high. The ornaments were seven rows of chains and two rows of pomegranates, capped again with ornamental lilies. The south pillar was called "Jachin," meaning "established." The north pillar was called "Boaz," meaning "strength." Everyone who enters the house of God can plainly see the "established strength" of Jehovah.

1 Kings 7:21 - "He set up the pillars in the porch of the temple.


PROPHECIES - "Solomon's Temple"

King David wanted to build a glorious Temple, a permanent structure to replace the tent-like tabernacle. God refused to give David permission, because he had been such a bloody man of war, but He prophesied to David that his son would build the Temple. Solomon fulfilled that prophecy.

1 Kings 5:5 - "And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name."

PRAYER - "The Queen Blesses the LORD"

Solomon's wisdom and wealth overwhelmed the Queen of Sheba. She had to see it for herself. Her camel train brought gifts; spices, very much gold, and precious stones. God pours out His blessings on us, intending that everyone will glorify Him.

1 Kings 10:7,9 - "Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. ...Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel."

PRINCIPALS - "Solomon's Throne"

Contrast Solomon's throne with Abraham's tents, Jacob's exile, Joseph's prison, and Moses' wilderness. The king's house had pillars; harps and psalteries for singers; 300 golden shields, 200 golden targets. The ivory throne was overlaid with the best gold. Fourteen golden lions surrounded it. Drinking vessels were gold. His navy brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks from afar. 1400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen attended. God's chosen king earned about $1 billion annually.

1 Kings 10:14 - "The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold."

PRINCIPLES - "Never Satisfied With Enough"

Solomon's unspeakable wealth was not enough. He wanted more. The Garden of Eden was not enough. Adam and Eve wanted the forbidden thing. The flesh always lusts against the Spirit. Solomon wanted women that God had forbidden: Egyptians, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians and Hittites. 700 wives. 300 concubines. They turned his heart to their gods: Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, Molech, and others. Many wise people have become fools by unrestrained lust.

1 Kings 11:9 - "The LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice."

PROPHECIES - "Solomon's Demise"

Solomon threw away the greatest blessings any man had ever received from God. He turned to evil women and false gods. Before it was over, Solomon built altars and idols to just about every imaginable god. Temptation can destroy ANYONE, with shocking results! Beware!

1 Kings 11:11,14 - "The LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. ...And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon."

PRAYER - "God Responds Dramatically to Moses' Prayer" 
Numbers 11 records a dramatic exchange between Moses and God. The people were tired of manna and wanted meat. Moses was desperate for help. God vindicated Moses with two great miracles. He anointed seventy elders to prophesy over the people, then sent TONS of quail for thirty days.

Numbers 11:30 - "And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp,...as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth."PRINCIPALS - "Leviticus" Leviticus is a seminal document, in many ways more profound than the United States Declaration of Independence or Constitution. How? First, Leviticus sets in order the priesthood, and organized religious service to God. Secondly, it contains the germ form of the universal code of civil and moral law that now rules not only Israel, but most of modern civilization. Although Hammurabi's Code (Babylon) predated "Moses' Law," Judeo-Christian ethics can be seen far more predominantly in governments worldwide.

Leviticus 8:5 - "And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done."

PRINCIPLES - "Fellowship" 

The Peace Offering was shared three ways. Part was burned on the altar unto the Lord. Part (the Heave Offering) was given to the priest to eat. The remainder was eaten by the people. It is often referred to as the fellowship offering because it brings the people together with God and the Priesthood.

Leviticus 10:14 - "And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings.".

PROPHECIES - "Killed By The Beneficiary" 

It seems somehow ironic that God required each person to slay their own sacrifice before presenting it to the priest for placement on the altar. The murderer would be the beneficiary of the atonement. That is exactly how Jesus' sacrifice was enacted. He was killed by the very people He came to save.

Leviticus 3:2 - "And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about."

PRAYER - "The LORD Was Intreated"Among David's last words was this statement: "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, ...even a morning without clouds." David was brilliantly aware that leaders must be a shining light to the people. When did you last see your King or President intreating God at an altar?

2 Samuel 24:25 - "David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel."

PRINCIPALS - "David Charges Solomon"

Here are two of the most revered men in all human history - David and Solomon. The old king is passing the torch to his son. "I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, ...that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest." All the world needs that wisdom.

1 Kings 2:10 - "So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David."

PRINCIPLES - "Time To Clean House"

David felt Solomon should dispose of some old problems. David remembered how Joab killed Abner and Amasa in cold blood. "Let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace." Solomon sent Benaiah to execute Joab. David also reminded Solomon of Shimei's cursing the king. "Hold him not guiltless." Solomon promised Shimei that if he ever left Jerusalem, he would die. He did, so Solomon had him slain. Sooner or later, righteousness demands a house-cleaning.

1 Kings 2:12 - "Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly."

PROPHECIES - "Asking For Trouble"

Adonijah should have recognized how fortunate he was to be alive after stealing his father's [and his brother's] throne. But he did not. He foolishly asked Bathsheba to petition Solomon to give him David's concubine, Abishag. That was the last straw. Solomon sent Benaiah to execute him. Ignoring prophetic destiny is asking for trouble.

1 Kings 2:15 - "Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the LORD."

PRAYER - "Solomon Prays In A Dream"
"Solomon loved the LORD," and made a thousand burnt offerings to the LORD in the high place at Gibeon. At night, the LORD appeared in a dream to Solomon, saying, "Ask what I shall give thee," to which Solomon answered, "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" God responded generously. Some dreams come from God and have authentic prophetic meanings.

1 Kings 3:10 - "And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing."

PRINCIPALS - "God Gives Wisdom To Solomon"

In a dream, God asked Solomon what he desired. Solomon asked for wisdom to judge the people. God noticed that Solomon did not ask for long life, riches for himself, nor for the life of his enemies. God delights in granting your petitions that are according to His good pleasure.

1 Kings 3:12-14 - "Behold, ...I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour."

PRINCIPLES - "Dreams and Visions"

God spoke to many Bible characters in dreams and visions: Abraham, Abimelech, Jacob, Laban, Joseph, the butler and baker, Pharaoh, Gideon's enemies, Samuel, Nathan, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Obadiah, Nahum, Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel, Zacharias, Joseph of Nazareth, Pontius Pilate's wife, Peter, Ananias, Paul, John and many others. "I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD," Jeremiah 23:32. "Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions," Joel 2:28. A dream from God can be life-changing. Take it seriously.1 Kings 3:15 - "Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream."

PROPHECIES - "Solomon's Wisdom Fulfilled"

Two harlots approached Solomon. One's baby died overnight "because she overlaid it," but she secretly swapped it with the other's living baby. They argued about whose baby it was. Solomon called for a sword, and commanded that the child be cut in two - half for each mother. One begged him not to. The other was smugly pleased. Solomon gave it to the first, knowing she was the true mother.

1 Kings 3:28 - "All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and ...they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment."

PRAYER - "Sound in the Mulberry Trees"

As soon as the Philistines heard that David was King of Israel, they declared war. David always prayed to God for instructions in times of crisis. The LORD said to go after them. David attacked the Philistines. They fled, leaving their idols behind. David burned them. The Philistines regrouped. David prayed again. The LORD told him what to do. David obeyed, and smote them soundly.

2 Samuel 5:24 - "When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, ...bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines."

PRINCIPALS - "David Takes Jerusalem"

Jebusites inhabited Jerusalem, so David and his army took Mount Zion, renaming it "the City of David." He promised to promote the man who would climb up the watercourse, penetrate the walls, and smite the Jebusites. Thus Joab became General (I Chronicles 27:34). David moved into the citadel and "grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him." Hiram of Tyre sent cedar, carpenters and masons, and built David a house.

2 Samuel 5:12 - "David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake."

PRINCIPLES - "Celebrate God's Presence"

David brought the Ark of the Covenant from Kirjath-jearim on a new cart. Uzzah handled the tottering Ark, and God angrily killed him. David stored it at Obededom's house for three months, then finished the trip. David made sacrifices and danced before the LORD with all his might. Tens of thousands celebrated and played instruments. Moses' tabernacle had everything else, but no glory. David's tabernacle had nothing but glory.

2 Samuel 6:17 - "They brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it."

PROPHECIES - "Cursed for Criticizing"

Bringing the Ark to Jerusalem was an epic event. God's glory was finally in the city of David. David demonstrated wildly, dancing in the streets while multitudes celebrated. His wife Michal despised his worship, and harshly rebuked him. But God loved it, and David persisted, "It was before the LORD, which chose me ...ruler over the people, ...therefore will I play before the LORD. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight."

2 Samuel 6:23 - "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death."

PRAYER - "David's Repentance"
David's sin with Bathsheba was devastating, and Nathan prophesied grievous punishment. Psalm 51 records David's repentance.

Psalms 51:1-4 - "[A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.] Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight...."

 

PRINCIPALS - "Bathsheba and Uriah"

Bathsheba and Uriah were victims of David's lust. Uriah was at war. His wife had to obey the king. When she discovered she was pregnant, David called Uriah home, so the child would seem to be his. But Uriah refused to sleep with his wife while his brethren were at war. David sent Uriah to the battlefront to be killed.

2 Samuel 11:27 - "And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD."

 

PRINCIPLES - "Thou Art The Man"

At first, nobody knew Bathsheba was pregnant or that Uriah was killed on purpose. But God always knows. Nathan came with a story about a man who owned great flocks, but stole a poor man's only lamb to feed his guests. "The man that hath done this thing shall surely die!" David exclaimed.

2 Samuel 12:7 - "Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD, ...I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, ...thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite, ...and hast taken his wife to be thy wife."

PROPHECIES - "The High Cost of Low Living"

David had enormous favor with God and men. But when lust took over, his flawless reputation was forever stained. The price of adultery and murder cost him throughout his lifetime. One son betrayed him and tried to overthrow his kingdom. Another raped his daughter, and was murdered by a brother. Trouble came in waves, beginning with Nathan's pronouncements. Count the high cost of your bad behavior.

2 Samuel 12:14 - "Because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die."

PRAYER - "Joab's Prayer"
The Ammonites hired tens of thousands of Syrians to war with them against Israel. David sent Joab with his mighty men. But they faced Syrians in front and behind. Taking half his army one way, and sending the other half with his brother, Abishai, Joab said, "Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good." The Syrians lost 40,000 men and 700 chariots.

2 Samuel 10:19 - "So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more."

PRINCIPALS - "Mephibosheth"

David asked Saul's servant, Ziba, if any of Saul's family were still alive. He discovered that the day Jonathan died, a nursemaid fled with his 5-year-old son. He fell down, becoming crippled for life. Mephibosheth required constant care. David had him brought to Jerusalem, and adopted him. David's compassion should inspire us to be compassionate toward the underprivileged.

2 Samuel 9:7 - "I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually."

PRINCIPLES - "Distrust and Suspicion"

Nahash the Ammonite king showed some unknown kindness to David. When he died, David showed kindness to his son, Hanun, by sending his servants with condolences. But the Ammonite princes distrusted David and suspected the men were spying to overthrow them. They shaved off their beards, cut off their skirts, sent them shamefully away, hired mercenaries, and declared war on Israel. David sent Joab with an army, who whipped them soundly. Distrust and suspicion cause unnecessary wars.

2 Samuel 10:19 - "When all the kings ...saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them."

PROPHECIES - "David's Sin and Curse"

While his armies were off to war, David saw Bathsheba washing herself and ordered his servants to fetch her. He committed adultery with her, then conspired to have her husband killed on the front lines. But Nathan prophesied sorrowful tragedies to come. Beware the awful anguish and high price of sin.

2 Samuel 12:10-12 - "The sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house."