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Blinded by the Blessings
14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; three minas of…

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#1 Kings 10#1 Kings 10:14-29#apostasy#David#distraction#faithfulness#fame#gifts#God#gold#idolatry#obedience#pleasure#possessions#prestige#silver#Solomon#the blessings of God#the kingdom of Israel#the Lord#wealth#wisdom#Yahweh
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No Greater Gift Than God
1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the…

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#1 Kings 10#1 Kings 10:1-13#abundance#gifts#Giver#God#hedonism#Israel#pleasure#possessions#power#Queen of Sheba#Solomon#the blessings of God#the goodness of God#Yahweh#Yemen
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The Danger of Divided Allegiance
10 At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house, 11 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him.…

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#1 Kings 9#1 Kings 9:10-28#daughter of Pharaoh#David#divided allegiance#false gods#God#Hiram#holy#horses and chariots#Israel#Jerusalem#Pharaoh#set apart#Solomon#the land of Israel#the Lord#Yahweh
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Obedience Is Non-Optional
1 As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, 2 the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My…

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#1 Kings 9#1 Kings 9:1-9#commitment#covenant#dedication of the temple#God#holy#Israel#Moses#obedience#set apart#the Book of the Law#the Law#the Lord#worship#Yahweh
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The Risk of Fading Faithfulness
54 Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good…

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#1 Kings 8#1 Kings 8:54-66#commitment#David#dedication#dedication of the temple#faithfulness#God#hearts#holiness#Israel#Jerusalem#obedience#power#presence#sacrifices#Solomon#Temple#the Lord#the temple of God#Yahweh
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Hear, Forgive, and Restore
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you…

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#1 Kings 8#1 Kings 8:22-53#brokenness#confession#contrition#dedication of the temple#forgiveness#God#humility of heart#Israel#judgment#people of God#prayer of dedication#repentance#sin#Temple#the Lord#Yahweh
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One Last Thing
12 Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13 I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 14 Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to…
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#1 Kings 8#1 Kings 8:12-21#Ark of the Covenant#God#holy#Holy of Holies#Moses#Mount Sinai#set apart#shekinah glory#Solomon#the holiness of God#the Lord#the presence of God#the Temple#Yahweh
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The Power of God's Presence
1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders…

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#1 Kings 8:1-11#1Kings 8#Ark of the Covenant#David#God#holiness#power#presence of God#set apart#Tabernacle#Temple#the glory of God#the Lord#the Temple#vessels of honor#Yahweh
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A Priceless But Poor Substitute for God
40 Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the LORD: 41 the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars; 42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks,…

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#1 Kings 7#1 Kings 7:40-51#apostasy#Ark of the Covenant#Babylon#disobedience#Holy of Holies#idolatry#judgment#obedience#Solomon#substitute#Temple#the destruction of the Temple#the fall of Jerusalem#unfaithfulness
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Fame Versus Faithfulness
1 Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house. 2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars. 3 And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars,…

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#1 Kings 7#1 Kings 7:1-12#David#Ecclesiastes#faithfulness#fame#glory#God#honor#meaning#obedience#palace#reknown#reputation#riches#self-promotion#significance#Solomon#Temple#the Lord#wealth#wisdom#Yahweh
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Worthy of Glory and Honor
14 So Solomon built the house and finished it. 15 He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this…

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#1 Kings 6#1 Kings 6:14-38#glory#greatness#holiness#Jerusalem#majesty#Revelation 4#Solomon#Tabernacle#Temple#the Lord#the majesty of God#the throneroom of God#transcendence#Yahweh
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The Heart Is God’s Home
1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD. 2 The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. 3 The vestibule in front of the nave of the…

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#1 Kings 6#1 Kings 6:1-13#David#faithfulness#glory#God Almighty#holiness#house of God#majesty#obedience#reverence#Solomon#Temple#the glory of God#the Lord#the presence of God#Yahweh
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A Costly Endeavor
1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David. 2 And Solomon sent word to Hiram, 3 “You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But…

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#1 Kings 5#1 Kings 5:1-18#conscription#cost#foolishness#God#house of God#Israel#King#poor judgment#Rehoboam#Solomon#the Lord#the Temple#wisdom#Yahweh
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A Wealth of Reasons to Be Wary
20 Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. 21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty…

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#1 Kings 4#1 Kings 4:20-34#Egypt#empire#God#growth#horses#obedience#power#prestige#riches#Solomon#Temple#the house of the LORD#the Lord#the wisdom of Solomon#wealth#wisdom#Yahweh
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Putting Godly Wisdom to Good Use
1 King Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest…
#1 Kings 4#1 Kings 4:1-19#administration#authority#counsel#counselors#David#Jerusalem#kings of Israel#power#Saul#Solomon#taxes#the tribes of Israel#wisdom#wise leadership
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Divine Discernment for Daily Life
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the…
#1 Kings 3#1 Kings 3:16-28#discernment#equity#God#godly wisdom#insight#justice#right from wrong#Solomon#the Lord#the wisdom of God#wisdom#Yahweh
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Godly Wisdom Versus God-Like Wisdom
5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his…
#1 Kings 3#1 Kings 3:5-15#Adam and Eve#David#God#godliness#godly wisdom#humility#pride#self-determinism#Solomon#the blessings of God#the heart is deceitful#the Lord#the wisdom of God#wealth#Yahweh#you shall be as God
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