First Kings 8:54

The Bible says in First Kings 8:54-56, “And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.[55] And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,[56] Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.” Solomon praised God and was thankful to God because that is what any believer will do who understands what is going on around him. The first thing for which Solomon is thankful in verse fifty-six is that God had “given rest unto his people.” Jesus is our rest. We have spiritual rest once we trust in Him. We cease from our labors in attempting to please God by our own efforts and we rest in Christ. The word “rest” refers to “Sabbath.” That is one reason that we do not follow the Sabbath restrictions of the law of the Old Testament. Instead of symbolism, we have the real thing: Jesus. Jesus is our rest. Solomon said that they had “rest” according to all that God “promised.” God always keeps His promises. Notice also that God gave His promises “by the hand of Moses his servant.” God uses people. That is how He does much of His work on earth. God used people to write the Bible. He used people (scribes) to preserve the Bible. He uses people to speak forth the Bible: preachers and individual Christians in their daily witness for Christ.

The Bible says in First Kings 8:57-61, “The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:[58] That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.[59] And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:[60] That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.[61] Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.” Solomon understood life, and therefore the importance of walking with God. Notice in verse fifty-eight that Solomon said, “That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways.” It takes help from God to walk with Him. We tend to go our own way in life because we are selfish and self-willed. Only by the grace of God through faith in Christ are we saved from our sins. And only by the grace of God can we walk daily with Him. In other words, we are totally dependent upon the Lord and what He does. Part of walking with Jesus is obeying Him. That is why it says at the end of verse fifty-eight, “to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.” How would these Jewish people know what God commanded the fathers? That is the purpose of the Bible. God gave truth to one generation, and He made sure that truth would be given to future generations by inspiring and directing the writing of the Bible. We are fortunate because we have all of the Bible with the New Testament that gives God’s plan for the age in which we live.

In verse fifty-nine Solomon makes it clear that we need God “day and night.” Serving Jesus is not a part time job. We need Him every moment. That is why we are told to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And that is why we are told to pray without ceasing. Verse sixty tells us one reason that we are to serve the Lord twenty-four hours a day: “That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God.” The Lord Jesus wants everyone to be saved, and He wants to use every believer to be a witness for Christ. He can only use us if we are walking in fellowship with Him.

The Bible says in First Kings 8:62-66, “And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD.[63] And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.[64] The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.[65] And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.[66] On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.” Something that is noticeable in these verses is the tremendous number of animals that were sacrificed in these two weeks. Verse sixty-three mentions 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. That is a lot of dead animals. What did they do with all of them? They had a great feast as part of their celebration. It says in verse sixty-five, “And at that time Solomon held a feast.” This is a good place to mention a great truth about all the animal sacrifices, not just the ones done here by Solomon, but the millions that would have been done over the years. All of that blood and all of that death was never enough to take away sin. It took the blood and the death of Jesus to accomplish that important task. The blood of Christ was so effectual that every sin done by every human since Adam and Eve can be forgiven through Christ. Christians are cleansed every day by the blood of Christ. It says in First John 1:7, “…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

The Bible says in First Kings 9:1-7, “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,[2] That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.[3] And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.[4] And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:[5] Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.[6] But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:[7] Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:” Verse two says, “That the LORD appeared to Solomon.” God is invisible. The Bible says, “No man hath seen God at any time,” but God can still make himself known. He can reveal Himself. That is how someone goes from being an unbeliever to being a believer. Jesus is alive. He rose from the dead. He can make Himself known to you. True Christianity is not a religion: it is a personal relationship with Christ.

Solomon was able to build the temple because of God’s blessings upon Solomon and upon Israel. But those blessings could be taken away if the leaders and the people turned away from God. That is exactly what happened. Solomon’s temple ended up being totally destroyed. The lesson is this: if things are going good for you, it is because God has blessed you. God can take those blessings away. One reason that He might do that is to wake you up from your spiritual sleep. Do not go to sleep. Stay close to Jesus.

The Bible says in First Kings 9:8-9, “And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?[9] And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.” God will do this because He is a jealous God. He will honor His name even if people do not. If you will not be a testimony of what God has done, then maybe He will make you an example of what God has undone.

The Bible says in First Kings 9:10-15, “And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house,[11] (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.[12] And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.[13] And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.[14] And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.[15] And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.” Perhaps the Lord is telling us what happened to Hiram in order to emphasize the wisdom and power of Solomon. Solomon definitely got the better side of the deal.

The Bible says in First Kings 9:16-28, “For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.[17] And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,[18] and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,[19] And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.[20] And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,[21] Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.[22] But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.[23] These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.[24] But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.[25] And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.[26] And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.[27] And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.[28] And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.” These verses show the great prosperity and success and riches that God gave to Solomon. God owns everything. Every child of God has these riches available to him or her. There is nothing wrong with being rich as long as you use your riches to honor Christ and to spread the Gospel. You will answer to God for whatever you do with your material substance.

___________________________________________________