Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

Introduction to the Book of Proverbs Part 4 Meet the Author of the Book, Solomon!

The record of Solomon. 1 Kings 1-11; 1 Chron 29:22-28; 2 Chron 1:1-9:31; Song of Solomon; Ecclesiastes

1. His Birth and Name He was named by his mother Bathsheba, 2 Sam 12: שְׁלמה - SHELOMOH, “his peace, (God) is peace, Salem (a god), intact, or his replacement.” Mainly “peaceful”.

He was David’s second son by Bathsheba, tenth overall. Born about B.C. 1035, 1 Chron 22:5; 29:1. He succeeded his father on the throne between years of age.

1 King 1:13, “Assuredly Solomon my son shall reign after me.”

Nathan, called him Jedidiah, i.e., “beloved of the Lord”. 2 Sam 12:24-25

His ascent to the throne was hastened by the rebellion of Adonijah his elder brother, 1 Kings 1:5-40.

2. His Reign Solomon became the third king of Israel and reigned forty years. Beginning gloriously by asking for the wisdom to lead God’s people, 1 Kings 3:5-14.

The latter half of his reign was clouded by the idolatries that he fell into, mainly from his heathen intermarriages, 1 Kings 11:1-8; 14:21, 31.

He entered into many alliances including Egypt by the marriage of the daughter of Pharaoh, 1 Kings 3:1.

During his reign, trade flourished and he accumulated vast amounts of wealth and the produce of all nations. 1 Kings 9:26-28; 10:11-12; 2 Chron 8:17-18; 9:21; cf Mat 6:29

He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, 1 Kings 11:3.

Many came “to hear the wisdom of Solomon” including “the queen of the south”, Mat 12:42, the queen of Sheba, (Ethiopia), 1 Kings 10:1-13; 2 Chron 9:1- 12; cf Mat 12:42; Luke 11:31.

Solomon was the leader of his people in the uprising of a new intellectual life, as it says in 1 Kings 4:32, “He spoke 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.”

After Solomon, the boundaries of Israel were never again so wide nor united in one great nation.

3. Solomon Builds the First Permanent Temple

3. Solomon Builds the First Permanent Temple David had planned and collected materials for building a temple in Jerusalem, 1 Chron 29:6-9; 2 Chron 2:3-7.

David was not permitted to build the house of God because he had, “shed much blood and waged great wars”, 1 Chron 22:8.

Instead that honor was reserved to his son of peace and rest, Solomon. 1 Kings 2:1-9; 1 Chron 22:7-16; 28:1-21

The Temple was begun in the 4th year of his reign and finished in the 11 th. 1 Kings 6:1, 38; 7:13 ff

To do the work He employed thousands. 1 Kings 5:13-16; 2 Chron 2:17-18

4. His Fall His prosperity and intellectual superiority eventually became more than he could handle spiritually, which is a warning to us all, Jer 9:23-24.

Jer 9:23, “Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches.”

Jer 9:24, “But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD”.”

Yet, by intermarriage with many foreign women, Solomon courted spiritual declension and gross idolatry. 1 Kings 11

Due to God’s promise to David, He did not take the kingdom from Solomon, but broke it into two parts, during the reign of his son Rehoboam. 1 Kings 11:29-12:24

5. New Testament writings regarding Solomon. a. Solomon was an ancestor of Jesus via adoption through his step father Joseph. Mat 1:6-7

b. His splendor is mentioned in Jesus’ teaching about anxiety and faith rest. Mat 6:29; Luke 12:27

c. Jesus noted that the queen of Sheba came to see him, yet, “something greater than Solomon is here.” Mat 12:42; Luke 11:31

d. Jesus walked in “Solomon’s porch,” a part of the Temple area. John 10:23; cf Acts 3:11; 5:12

e. Stephen noted that though David sought to find a place for God, it was Solomon who “built a house for Him.” Acts 7:47

Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, August 21, 2012 Tape # Introduction to Proverbs, Part 4 Meet Solomon 1 Kings 1-11; 2 Chron 1:1-9:31 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2012