Year One • October 1 - 31

Year One, October 1

Let Patience Have Its Perfect Work1

2 Samuel 16:5-14

5When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. (At the very moment when grief had made poor David very sensitive, the foul mouth of Shimei was opened to curse him. When a person turns his abuse on a person who really needs pity, it proves he has a very cruel temperament. It is considered very cowardly to strike a man when he is down. Shimei was just such a coward. All the time that David was successful we do not hear about Shimei. Our trials show us who our friends are. They also reveal our enemies.)

6And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. (His stones and his words were meant to not only hurt the king, but to show his utter contempt for him; contempt which he had found convenient to keep secret for many years.) 7And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! 8The LORD has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”

This was an obvious lie. David had never laid his hand on Saul or any of his family. Did he not execute the Amalekite who said he had killed Saul? Did he not mourn intensely when Saul and Jonathan died? Did he not ask about any of Jonathan’s family who still might be alive, so that he could show kindness to him? Had he not entertained Mephibosheth at his own table? Evil tongues will not be quiet. No amount of innocence can prevent their slanderous lies.

9Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” (No one can be surprised at Abishai’s anger. Shimei was barking like a vicious dog. It seemed only fair to repay his stones with iron. But David was not eager to take revenge, so he rebuked his angry bodyguard.) 10But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” 11And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. 12It may be that the LORD will look on the wrong done to me, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing today.”

How humbly did David submit to the abuse the Lord sent. He refused to take revenge on Shimei for attacking him so furiously, because he understood it was God’s way of chastening him for his past sins. Nothing helps us be patient when being taunted or harassed as humbly seeing the hand of God in it as his discipline for our former faults. David has well said in the psalms, “I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.”2 He took comfort because he believed the Lord would not always scold him, but would eventually return and bring him peace. Nothing brings God to his children’s rescue like the attacks of their enemies. Fathers cannot bear to hear their dear ones abused.

13So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust. (David’s patience only encouraged Shimei’s rude behavior. That horrible person went from bad to worse, but he could not provoke the king to take revenge. The tolerance that David showed here makes him look even greater than when he enjoyed everyone’s praise. Expensive clothes and gold do not look as good on a king as patience and tolerance. Here, David can be compared to our Redeemer who “endured from sinners such hostility against himself,”3 and answered those who criticized him with prayers and blessings.)

14And the king, and all the people who were with him, arrived weary at the Jordan. And there he refreshed himself. (Even when David was at his lowest point, he still had some who followed him. When he and his men were worn out, providence4 gave them refreshment. In the worst of times, let us hope for better days to come.)

^{_______________}

¹ James 1:4 (New King James Version)

² Psalm 39:9

³ Hebrews 12:3

⁴ Providence  - Usually, when used with a capital “P” it refers to God; when used with a lower case “p”, it refers to God’s will, his divine intervention, and his predetermination (predestination).

Year One, October 2

My Sighing Is Not Hidden From You1

David probably wrote this during these sad times when he was fleeing from his son Absalom.

  

Psalm 38

A Psalm of David, for the Memorial Offering.

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath!

I deserve to be rebuked, but Lord be gentle with me. I richly deserve to be chastened,2 but do not strike me so heavily that I perish.

2 For your arrows have sunk into me,

and your hand has come down on me.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh

because of your indignation;

there is no health in my bones

because of my sin.

Spiritual distress is extremely painful. However sweet sin may have been in David’s mouth, it was bitter enough when it reached his inner being.

4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;

like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds stink and fester

because of my foolishness,

His conscience struck blow after blow until his soul was wounded in a thousand places. And the wounds became repulsive as well as painful. No infected blisters or foul-smelling sores can compare to the extreme suffering that our sin causes us.

6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;

all the day I go about mourning.

7 For my sides are filled with burning,

and there is no soundness in my flesh.

8 I am feeble and crushed;

I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

Those who truly regret their sinning feel real pain because of it. Unbelievers feel none of this, but go singing merrily down to hell. Those whom the Lord loves are never allowed to find comfort in sin.

9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;

my sighing is not hidden from you.

The good Physician understands our case without our needing to explain it to him:

“He takes the meaning of our tears,

The language of our groans.”3

10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,

and the light of my eyes--it also has gone from me.

Here begins another story of sadness. While he was in pain on the inside, he was forsaken and persecuted by those he thought were friends.

11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,

and my nearest kin stand far off.

12 Those who seek my life lay their snares;

those who seek my hurt speak of ruin

and meditate treachery all day long.

13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,

like a mute man who does not open his mouth.

He would not listen to Shimei and punish him for what he said. A deaf ear is often a great blessing.

14 I have become like a man who does not hear,

and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,

who boast against me when my foot slips!”

17 For I am ready to fall,

and my pain is ever before me.

18 I confess my iniquity;

I am sorry for my sin.

He would not deny that he was in the wrong, even though he was innocent of the worst charges of which he was accused.

19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,

and many are those who hate me wrongfully.

20 Those who render me evil for good

accuse me because I follow after good.

21 Do not forsake me, O LORD!

O my God, be not far from me!

22 Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

God is not only our Savior, but our salvation. The one who has the Lord on their side already has salvation. In this last sentence, the eye of faith sees her prayers as being already answered and begins to glorify God for the mercy she expects to receive. Our heavenly Father will never forsake us. His grace will come to the rescue, and before long we will magnify his name for saving us out of all our troubles. Have we all repented of sin? Are we all resting by faith in him?

^{_______________}

¹ Psalm 38:9

² chasten, chastening or chastisement - The act of discipline which may include scolding, criticizing or pain inflicted for the purpose of correction or moral improvement.

³ Taken from Spurgeon’s The Treasury of David.

Year One, October 3

Cursed Be Anyone Who Dishonors His Father1

2 Samuel 18:1; 5-18

Hushai returned to the city and offered his service to Absalom as David asked him to do. “Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed.”2 Absalom listened to the counsel of both Ahithophel and Hushai, but he took Hushai’s advice, because “the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom.”3  “When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he…hanged himself, and he died.”4 Absalom gathered a great army and pursued his father. The battle that followed decided who would be king in Israel.

1Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. (But when all the troops were counted, David did not have even half as many as his rebellious son.)

5And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom. (The order to be gentle with his son showed that David expected to win the battle, but hoped Absalom would not be killed in it. This is a picture of that gracious King, who, even while his persecutors were scorning and killing him, prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”5)

6So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

9And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.

The very trees of the forest are lined up against the ungodly. Absalom had made his hair his pride and it became his downfall. People are often defeated by the very things they idolize. What must have been the thoughts of this underhanded young prince when he found himself caught in the forked branch of the oak tree and suspended between heaven and earth to die the death of the accursed? Let children beware of not appreciating their parents. It is a sin that especially earns the anger of the Most High God.

10And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” 11Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” 12But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king’s son, for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’ 13On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.” 14Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. 15And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

16Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. 17And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled every one to his own home.

An old writer says, “One death was not enough for Absalom. He was at once hanged, shot, mangled and stoned. Justly was he lifted up by the oak, for he had lifted himself against his father and sovereign. Justly was he pierced with arrows, for he had pierced his father’s heart with many sorrows. Justly was he mangled, for he had dismembered and divided all Israel. And, justly was he stoned, for he had not only cursed, but pursued his own parent.”6

18Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom’s monument to this day.

Absalom’s pillar is still pointed out to travelers, but its only purpose is to immortalize the shame of this unprincipled son. Children! Love and obey your parents, so you will not fall into Absalom’s sin and destruction.

  

^{_______________}

¹ Deuteronomy 27:16

² 2 Samuel 16:23

³ 2 Samuel 17:14

⁴ 2 Samuel 17:23

⁵ Luke 23:34

⁶ Bishop Joseph Hall (1574-1656).

Year One, October 4

He Will Sustain You1

This psalm most clearly describes David’s condition when he had fled far away into the wilderness to escape from his son. He bitterly describes the treachery of Ahithophel, and prophesies his doom. But his psalm ends with most faithful and cheerful advice. Advice we will all do well to follow.

  

Psalm 55

1 Give ear to my prayer, O God,

and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!

2 Attend to me, and answer me;

I am restless in my complaint and I moan,

because of the noise of the enemy,

because of the oppression of the wicked.

3 For they drop trouble upon me,

and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

5 Fear and trembling come upon me,

and horror overwhelms me.

6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest;

7 yes, I would wander far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness;     Selah.

8 I would hurry to find a shelter

from the raging wind and tempest.”

9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;

for I see violence and strife in the city.

10 Day and night they go around it on its walls,

and iniquity and trouble are within it;

11 ruin is in its midst;

oppression and fraud

do not depart from its marketplace.

12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me--

then I could bear it;

it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me--

then I could hide from him.

13 But it is you, a man, my equal,

my companion, my familiar friend.

14 We used to take sweet counsel together;

within God’s house we walked in the throng.

15 Let death steal over them;

let them go down to Sheol alive;

for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

16 But I call to God,

and the LORD will save me.

17 Evening and morning and at noon

I utter my complaint and moan,

and he hears my voice.

18 He redeems my soul in safety

from the battle that I wage,

for many are arrayed against me.

19 God will give ear and humble them,

he who is enthroned from of old,     Selah

because they do not change

and do not fear God.

20 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

21 His speech was smooth as butter,

yet war was in his heart;

his words were softer than oil,

yet they were drawn swords.

22 Cast your burden on the LORD,

and he will sustain you;

he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

23 But you, O God, will cast them down

into the pit of destruction;

men of blood and treachery

shall not live out half their days.

But I will trust in you.

Let us dwell a moment on the twenty-second verse, “Your burden.” Whatever burden your God lays on you, lay it “on the Lord.” In his wisdom, he brought this burden on you. In your wisdom, you should give it right back to him. God will give you your share of suffering. Accept it with cheerful patience and then take it back to him with confident assurance. “He will sustain you.” He who placed the burden on you will also give you the strength to endure it. Everything you need, and then some, will be provided for you to live through all your labors and trials. “As your days, so shall your strength be.”2 “He will never permit the righteous to be moved.” He may seem to move away from us, like a tree bends away from the windy storm, but he will never be moved like the tree that is torn up by the roots. The person who stands with God stands firm. Many seek to destroy the saints, but God has not allowed them to perish and he never will. The godly stand like pillars, “steadfast, immovable,”3 to the glory of the Great Designer.

^{_______________}

¹ Psalm 55:22

² Deuteronomy 33:25

³ 1 Corinthians 15:58

Year One, October 5

See How He Loved Him1

While the great battle was raging in the forest, the elderly king was anxiously watching for news.

  

2 Samuel 18:24-33

24Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. 25The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he drew nearer and nearer. (If there were many men running from the fight they would probably be deserters, but only one would naturally be a messenger from the camp.) 26The watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the gate and said, “See another man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” 27The watchman said, “I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man and comes with good news.” (It is a great blessing when this can be said of the son of a priest. The children of pastors should always be blessings, but it is not always so.)

28Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” 29And the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” (There was a tender place in David’s heart for his son. If we see such love in an earthly father, how much greater is the love of our heavenly Father! He certainly does not delight in the death of any, but prefers that they would turn to him and live.)  Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.” (He had learned to hold his tongue. He was in no hurry to grieve the king.) 30And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

31And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the King! For the LORD has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” 32The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.” (The honest Cushite told his devastating news as reasonably as he could, but a dagger went to the father’s heart as he heard it.) 33And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (This was love! Intense, great, passionate love. But the love of Jesus to us was even greater. Jesus did not say, “Would I had died instead of you,” but he has actually died that we might live. Oh love, amazing and incomprehensible! David’s tears were a display of his love, but Jesus actually dying is an even more incredible expression of love!)

  

2 Samuel 19:2; 4-8

2So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.”

4The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines, 6because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. 7Now therefore arise, go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the LORD, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.” (Joab was probably right, but his manner was rough and unfeeling. It is always good to speak gently, even when we are required to be firm.) 8aThen the king arose and took his seat in the gate. And the people were all told, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the king. (Joab’s harsh intervention produced a good result. Good people follow sound advice, even when it is presented incorrectly. We must not act foolishly just because the person giving the advice is not courteous.)

^{_______________}

¹ John 11:36

Year One, October 6

Let Me Fall Into the Hand of the LORD1

After many trials, David again enjoyed a time of peace. But this inactivity again brought him into temptation. He decided to take a measurement of his own greatness so he could glory in it.

  

2 Samuel 24:1-4; 9-15

1Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” (In the Book of Chronicles, we read that, “Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.”2 Satan certainly was the one who tempted David and the blame for doing so falls completely on him. But the writer of the Book of Second Samuel saw the hand of the Lord in it. He informs us that the Lord used the sin of David as the way to punish the sins of the people. Both statements are true. There is no reason to try to force them to agree, because one truth must agree with another whether we see it or not.) 2So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3But Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?”

This time, Joab was not only right, but courteous as well. He knew that the people would think the reason for the census was for either new taxes or a military draft. Either way, numbering the people would make them uneasy and rebellious. Therefore he thought David’s plan was unwise. According to the law of Moses, “Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD’s offering.”3 Even though this law had been ignored, Moses numbered the people because God instructed him to. But David acted as if they were his own people and counted them without asking God. The Lord would not put up with this.

4But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel.

9And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

10But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. (David ordered the census to give him something to brag about, but in the end it only gave him something to be ashamed of. His army of over one-and-a-quarter million warriors gave him no joy, because he ended up bringing sorrow to his God. ) And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” (God’s grace was in David and when it came to the front, he was quite ready to regret his mistake. Oh that we all had a tender conscience like David’s!) 11And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12“Go and say to David, (Just “David”. Not “David my servant” as it had been before. If we oppose God, he will oppose us.) ‘Thus says the LORD, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’”

13So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 14Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.” (He had a hard decision, but he chose wisely. David showed that for all his straying from the will of God, he still had a solid and loving trust in the Lord his God. A child of God always feels safest in his Father’s hands.)

15So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men.

^{_______________}

¹ 1 Chronicles 21:13

² 1 Chronicles 21:1

³ Exodus 30:14

Year One, October 7

It Is Enough; Now Stay Your Hand1

David’s pride tempted him to number the people. Seventy-thousand of those men were swept away by the plague God sent by his angel.

  

2 Samuel 24:16-25

16And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. (The angel of pestilence appeared in visible form. Actually being able to see the angel added special terror to the judgment. What frightening thoughts must have entered their minds as they saw the destroyer unsheathe his sword to strike the empire’s capital city.) 17Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

These were brave and well spoken words. Like a true patriot, the king is moved by the misery of his subjects. Like the father of his country, he would rather perish himself than see Israel in such great distress. These people had often acted like wolves to him, but he forgets all their injuries and calls them sheep. They had been guilty of a thousand sins, but, in his zeal for their safety, he makes himself out to be a far greater sinner. He would rather have the punishment fall on him and his, than on those who had sinned against him. In the same way, “our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep”2 stands between the destroying angel and his own redeemed. “If you seek me,” he says, “let these men go.”3

18And Gad (the prophet) came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” (God held back the sword of the destroying angel at the very spot where his angel had held back Abraham from killing his son with a knife.) 19So David went up at Gad’s word, as the LORD commanded. 20And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground.

21And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be averted from the people.” 22Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.” 24But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Here we have two generous spirits entering into holy competition. One hardly knows who to admire most. True devotion is never stingy. For godly people, the more costly service to God is, the sweeter it is. When giving to God, nothing is too precious. The cost of the gift is not to be thought about when the gift is for him. Some only give to God what they can collect from other people. Our gifts should be from what we actually possess.

25And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

The hill where this threshing floor was located became known as Mount Zion, where Solomon built the temple of the Lord. The temple is a picture of Zion, the church of God, which was also established on a hill of sacrifice. Spiritual Zion, the church of God, is a living memorial in praise of the mercy of God that spared his people. It is where the sword of justice is forever sheathed. Have we come to Mount Zion? Are we safe in the precious blood of sprinkling? These are extremely serious questions that must be answered. Each one of us will one day be required to answer them before the great heart-searching God of heaven.

^{_______________}

¹ 2 Samuel 24:16

² Hebrews 13:20

³ John 18:8

Year One, October 8

The LORD Has Chosen Zion1

Psalm 132

This psalm brings us to the close of David’s active life. It introduces us to his last thoughts and concerns. He had a strong desire to see the temple built on the holy spot where the Lord stopped the angel that brought the plague against Israel. He repeats the story of his longstanding hope to build a house for the Lord. Then he talks about the covenant2 that the Lord, in his mercy, made with his servant.

1 Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor,

all the hardships he endured,

David endured many of these hardships for the Lord’s sake and because he worshiped the Lord. He talks at length about his desire to build a temple for his God and asks the Lord to remember him.

2 how he swore to the LORD

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3 “I will not enter my house

or get into my bed,

4 I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5 until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

As a boy living in Bethlehem Ephrathah, he had heard about the ark and loved it. At last, he found it in the forest city of Kiriath-jearim. Happy are they who love the cause of God in their youth; who are determined to be with his church and his people, even if they are as hard to find as a small object in a great forest.

7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool!”

David wanted to be where God was worshiped. Let us have the same holy desire. Even if the saints are few, poor, and despised, we would rather worship with them than with the great congregations of the worldly rich.

8 Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

This was the song of Israel when the ark was moved from place to place. We may use it in these days when we are pleading for the presence and power of the Lord in his church.

9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your saints shout for joy.

10 For the sake of your servant David,

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

Let this always be our prayer. Pray that the church will move forward and that the Lord will be praised by his people. David, as the anointed king, asked the Lord to not turn away from him. Let us ask the Father, for the sake of our anointed greater king Jesus, to not turn away from us.

11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

12 If your sons keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them,

their sons also forever

shall sit on your throne.”

13 For the LORD has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his dwelling place;

14 “This is my resting place forever;

here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”

What God has chosen, let us choose. Where he dwells, let us dwell. Where he rests, let us rest. The church of God should be very dear to our hearts. We should be eager to unite with those who follow the Lord in all things. And when we are joined to their fellowship we should work toward building up the church by our prayers and efforts. What precious promises are these that follow!

15 “I will abundantly bless her provisions;

I will satisfy her poor with bread.”

The gospel is our food. May the Lord give us grace to feast on this rich provision and make us poor in spirit so that this heavenly bread will always be sweet to us.

16 “Her priests I will clothe with salvation,

and her saints will shout for joy.”

No one is so full of joy or so determined to show it as those who fellowship with God.

17 “There I will make a horn to sprout for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.”

The glory of Jesus, the Son of David, is great in his church. He is the light of truth that shines from her among mankind.

18 “His enemies I will clothe with shame,

but on him his crown will shine.”

King Jesus shall reign. Oh, to be found among his friends! Who would wish to wear the clothes of shame?

^{_______________}

¹ Psalm 132:13

² covenant - A contract, promise, guarantee, pledge or agreement between two or more persons.

Year One, October 9

The People Rejoiced Because They Had Given Willingly1

David never turned away from his desire to see a glorious temple built to the honor of the Lord his God. Although he was not allowed to build it himself, he worked hard to provide the materials for it and eagerly encouraged Solomon to follow through with the construction. At last the time came to gather the people and turn this great work over to his son.

  

1 Chronicles 29:1-9; 20-23

1And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the LORD God. (God must never be served in a careless manner. We should feel under obligation to do our best in all religious work, because the work is not for us, but for the Lord God.) 2So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony,2 colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble.”

David had given a lot of thought about having the temple built and provided many things of the best quality. He has given us an excellent example of serving God with clear thinking and sacrificial giving.

3“Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 43,000 talents (about 112 tons) of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents (about 262 tons) of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house, 5and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?” (Those who give freely have a clear conscience to ask others to give. Those who ask others to give but never contribute are inconsistent.)

6Then the leaders of fathers’ houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king’s work. 7They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents (about 187 tons) and 10,000 darics (about 156 pounds) of gold, 10,000 talents (about 375 tons) of silver, 18,000 talents (about 675 tons) of bronze and 100,000 talents (about 3,750 tons) of iron. 8And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.

David kept a very accurate record of what was given. God’s business should be done in a well organized way. Church funds should be very carefully accounted for. This also helps to prevent someone from stealing from the church treasury and bringing disgrace on God’s name.

9Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

The joy of giving to the Lord is a very great one. Angels might well envy us such happiness.

20Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless the LORD your God.” And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king. (They gave worship to God and respectful honor to the king.) 21And they offered sacrifices to the LORD, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. (The threshing floor of Araunah was saturated with blood. The foundation of the temple was built on the blood of sacrifice. Happy are those who are built on the substitutionary death of Jesus.) 22And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. (Our sacred worship should not be done in sadness. It should be considered a special celebration.)

And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the LORD, and Zadok as priest.

23Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father, And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

For a while, Solomon acted as his father’s representative, then he succeeded him with the approval of the whole nation.

^{_______________}

¹ 1 Chronicles 29:9

² antimony - A shiny, silvery white metal often mixed with other metals to produce a higher quality metal.

Year One, October 10

His Name Shall Endure…As Long As the Sun1

Psalm 72

David wrote this psalm about his son Solomon, but it applies even more to our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Give the king your justice, O God,

and your righteousness to the royal son!

2 May he judge your people with righteousness,

and your poor with justice!

3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,

and the hills, in righteousness!

4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

give deliverance to the children of the needy,

and crush the oppressor!

5 May they fear you while the sun endures,

and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!

6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,

like showers that water the earth!

7 In his days may the righteous flourish,

and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth!

9 May desert tribes bow down before him

and his enemies lick the dust!

10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands

render him tribute;

may the kings of Sheba and Seba
      bring gifts!

11 May all kings fall down before him,

all nations serve him!

12 For he delivers the needy when he calls,

the poor and him who has no helper.

13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,

and saves the lives of the needy.

14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,

and precious is their blood in his sight.

15 Long may he live;

may gold of Sheba be given to him!

May prayer be made for him continually,

and blessings invoked for him all the day!

16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;

on the tops of the mountains may it wave;

may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people blossom in the cities

like the grass of the field!

17 May his name endure forever,

his fame continue as long as the sun!

May people be blessed in him,

all nations call him blessed!

18 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

who alone does wondrous things.

19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

Amen and Amen!

20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

David’s heart was glad to look ahead to the glory his son Solomon would have as king. But he rejoiced even more as his prophetic eye looked to the greater reign of the Messiah. At the second coming of the Lord Jesus, this psalm will have a grand fulfillment. Until then, our job is to pray and work for the increase of his kingdom. If anything can warm the heart of the Christian, it is knowing the Redeemer will reign over everything and his enemies cannot stop it. The Lord Jehovah has promised to give our Lord Jesus the nations for his inheritance.2 His almighty power and faithfulness stand behind that promise and therefore, we may rest fully assured that it will be done. Jesus has fought the fight and won the victory. His reward from the Father is great! There is no reason for hopelessness or fear. God is on our side and he has sworn to give the victory. There is no danger that he will be defeated. David’s wishes had reached their summit. He had nothing more to ask for. 

He ended his prayers when he prayed for the filling of the whole earth with Messiah’s glory.  With this prayer on his lips he is content to die. In the presence of his royal Messiah he is no longer King David, but only “the son of Jesse.” He is only too happy to become nothing before the ruler of the universe. His believing eyes see Jesus reigning, like the sun, filled all around with light. His heart rejoiced. He felt like that holy man, Simeon, when he said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation.”3 May our one great wish be like David’s—that the glorious name of the Lord be blessed forever and the whole earth be filled with his glory.

^{_______________}

¹ From Psalm 72:17

² Psalm 2:8

³ From Luke 2:29 & 30

Year One, October 11

Bless the LORD, O My Soul1

Before we proceed to the reign of Solomon, we must read two or three of David’s most familiar psalms. We only regret that we do not have time to read them all in our family worship. However, in our private devotions, we should study every one.  They are all more precious than fine gold. Today, we will read one of the sweetest and best known.

  

Psalm 103

Of David.

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

Music from the heart is the most precious music. When we praise the Lord it should rise up from deep within us.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

We have poor memories when it comes to good things. Still, let us try to remember them when we praise the Lord.

3 who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

5 who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The sweet singer threads a few of the best pearls of mercy on the string of memory, then places them around the neck of gratitude, where they sparkle as she sings the joyful praises of her God.

6 The LORD works righteousness

and justice for all who are oppressed.

No person in need will ever plead their case to the Lord and be disappointed. Woe to those who oppress the poor.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,

his acts to the people of Israel.

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

His very love will cause him to chasten2 us at times, but the hand of discipline is soon withdrawn.

10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

What a glorious fact. The east is infinitely distant from the west and so our sin is removed an infinite distance from us. In fact, it is washed away. It disappears and is forgotten forever.

13 As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

At their best, children need their father’s compassion. At their strongest, they are defective and weak.

14 For he knows our frame;

he remembers that we are dust.

We are not iron, and not even clay, but dust held together by a continuous miracle.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

and its place knows it no more.

17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,

and his righteousness to children’s children,

18 to those who keep his covenant

and remember to do his commandments.

Children who reject the Lord will not be saved because their parents are. Living unsaved in a Christian home will only increase the judgment against them. Their parents cannot remove their guilt. They must accept the Lord’s promise for themselves personally or they will have no place in heaven.

19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the LORD, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his word,

obeying the voice of his word!

21 Bless the LORD, all his hosts,

his ministers, who do his will!

22 Bless the LORD, all his works,

in all places  of his dominion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

The psalmist was so full of praise that he wanted all of creation to join him in glorifying the Lord. But he did not forget that the most important thing is that our own soul adores the Lord. He concludes, as all good composers do, with his main point. Let our motto be today and every day, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”

^{_______________}

¹ Psalm 103:1

² chasten, chastening or chastisement - The act of discipline which may include scolding, criticizing or pain inflicted for the purpose of correction or moral improvement.

Year One, October 12

O LORD My God, You Are Very Great!1

This is another of David’s grandest psalms. Our space forces us to include only a few comments.

  

Psalm 104

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!

O LORD my God, you are very great!

You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,

stretching out the heavens like a tent.

3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;

he makes the clouds his chariot;

he rides on the wings of the wind;

4 he makes his messengers winds,

his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be moved.

6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

He is probably referring to the great flood of Noah’s day.

7 At your rebuke they fled;

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.

8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down

The force of the water was so great that mountains were pushed upwards, causing valleys to sink lower.

to the place that you appointed for them.

9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,

so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills;

11 they give drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;

they sing among the branches.

13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock

and plants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth

15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine

and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

16 The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17 In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has her home in the fir trees.

18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

Each place has its creature and each creature its place. Even the loneliest spots on earth abound with wildlife.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

20 You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

21 The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

22 When the sun rises, they steal away

and lie down in their dens.

23 Man goes out to his work

and to his labor until the evening.

Night and day each have their purpose. The wheels of providence2 never stand still.

24 O LORD, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom have you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

25 Here is the sea, great and wide,

which teems with creatures innumerable,

living things both small and great.

26 There go the ships,

and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

27 These all look to you,

to give them their food in due season.

28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;

when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;

when you take away their breath, they die

and return to their dust.

30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.

God oversees all things, great or small. He has not left the world to mere laws and forces of nature. He is always working everywhere. Let us see his hand in all things and adore him.

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in his works,

If the Lord rejoices in his works, we would not be wise to close our eyes to nature’s beauties or think they just happened by some huge accident.

32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,

who touches the mountains and they smoke!

33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the LORD.

35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more!

For they alone damage creation and spoil the Maker’s handiwork.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

Praise the LORD!

^{_______________}

¹ Psalm 104:1

² Providence  - Usually, when used with a capital “P” it refers to God; when used with a lower case “p”, it refers to God’s will, his divine intervention, and his predetermination (predestination).

Year One, October 13

Wait In Silence for God Alone1

This psalm is very typical of David. We are in the habit of calling it the ONLY Psalm, because it uses the word “only” or “alone” so often. David rejoiced to place his trust in God “only.”

  

Psalm 62

1 For God alone (or, “for God only”) my soul waits in silence;

from him comes my salvation.

Our salvation comes to us only from the Lord. Therefore we should wait on or depend on him alone. If depending on God is worship, then depending on anything in creation is idolatry. If depending on God only is true faith, then thinking we need others to help us is reckless unbelief. Very few of us avoid this evil way of thinking and really depend on God only.

2 He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

Shaken about, but not shaken off our foundation. Moved like a ship at anchor, that swings with the tide, but is not swept away by the current. Nothing keeps the soul secure like a faith that depends on God only. Faith stands alone. Faith is the only string in our bow, the one pillar for our house.

3 How long will all of you attack a man

to batter him.

like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.

They take pleasure in falsehood.

They bless with their mouths,

but inwardly they curse.     Selah.

The world is full of flatterers, but they secretly plan against our success. Let us run quickly away from them, to the only certain hope of the saints. “If God is for us, who can be against us?”2

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

Knock at no other door except that of your God. God is one. Let your hopes look toward him only. The eye that sees only God will be filled with the light of understanding.

6 He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Notice how David brands his own initials on every title he gives to God. He rejoices in my hope, my rock, my salvation, my glory, and so on. There are seven my’s in two verses and there can never be too many.  The faith that applies divine blessings personally is the faith we all need.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us.     Selah.

God has shown the fullness of his love to us. We should show our emptiness to him. Turn your soul upside down in his presence and let your innermost thoughts, desires, sorrows and sins be poured out like water. To keep our misery to our self just increases our hopelessness. The end of our deep distress is close when we freely acknowledge it to the Lord.

9 Those of low estate are but a breath;

those of high estate are a delusion;

in the balances they go up;

they are together lighter than a breath.

Humans, whether great of small, are still only humans, and humans are dust. To trust what the majority thinks is foolishness, to depend on the advice of the famous is madness. To be controlled by the Lord’s counsel is the only sanity.

10 Put no trust in extortion;

set no vain hopes on robbery;

if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

This is a difficult rule. Worldly wealth is a slimy thing and is too likely to stick to the heart. Maybe this is why so many of the saints are poor. Perhaps the Lord is protecting them from being tempted by growing riches. Our hope must be in God alone. Placing our confidence in the treasures of this life is as hopeless as trying to bottle the wind.

11 Once God has spoken;

twice have I heard this:

that power belongs to God,

Do not look to people or their money for power. God is all powerful. Those who are wise will look only to him for help.

12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.

For you will render to a man

according to his work.

The Lord gives us the strength we need for each day. All power is his and he will provide as much as our work requires. Let us go to God for our needs and to him only.

^{_______________}

¹ From Psalm 62:5

² Romans 8:31

Year One, October 14

Give Your Servant Therefore An Understanding Mind1

We will now return to the historical record with the beginning of the reign of Solomon.

  

1 Kings 3:1; 3-15

1Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall around Jerusalem. (A questionable beginning. A step full of danger.)

3Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. (Worshiping at the high places was expressly forbidden.2 But the Lord saw that Solomon’s heart was right and did not treat him harshly in this matter.) 4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” (Solomon worships God by day and God appears to Solomon by night. The night must be happy when the day has been holy. The king had offered a thousand burnt sacrifices to God and now the Lord rewards him in a divine way with a wonderful gift. “Ask what I shall give you.” God is no less generous to each of us today, for Jesus has said, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”3)

6And 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 throne this day. 7And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

It was a wise choice to choose wisdom. Young Solomon was already wise when he asked the Lord for wisdom. He did not ask for grace. That would have been the best gift of all. But he did choose the second best and his reasons for asking for wisdom should be applauded. He must have given this a lot of thought when he was awake to make such an excellent decision in his sleep.

10It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. (The greater includes the less. Wealth and honor may not bring wisdom, but wisdom brings wealth and honor. Let us first seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to us.4 Jesus Christ is infinite wisdom and is the choice of every believer.) 14And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

15And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. (Solomon showed his thankfulness by bringing his sacrifices to the right place—to Jerusalem. Our love to God should always lead us to pay closer attention to his commands. Solomon now had a spectacular life ahead of him and for many years he lived it in the right way. Those who begin life by seeking wisdom may expect success.)

^{_______________}

¹ 1 Kings 3:9

² Deuteronomy 12:1-7

³ John 16:23

⁴ A reference to Matthew 6:33

Year One, October 15

The LORD Reigns, Let the Earth Rejoice1

Solomon used his wisdom to bring great prosperity to his nation. Israel became a major center of trade and commerce. His royal government was conducted in a very expensive style.

  

1 Kings 4:22-34

22Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors (over six tons) of fine flour and sixty cors (over twelve tons)2 of meal, 23ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, beside deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.

But what is this compared to what is piled high on the table of the King of kings from which all the saints are fed?

24For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. 25And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. (There was peace where Solomon ruled and there is peace that surpasses all understanding where Jesus reigns.) 26Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. (This was a forbidden luxury. The Hebrew kings were commanded not to acquire many horses.3 Solomon was wrong to do this.) 27And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 28Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, 30so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

See how well the Lord fulfilled his promise. He gave him wisdom overflowing.

  

1 Kings 10:14-15; 18-23

14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents (about 25 tons) of gold, 15besides 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. (He built caravan rest stops and charged the merchants for their use. He also gained great wealth by buying the produce of the East, and selling it to the Western nations.)

18The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19The throne had six steps, and  the throne had a round top, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 20while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom.

But how much more glorious will the throne of our Lord be in the day of his appearing?

21All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 22For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

23Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

So again the promise was fulfilled and wealth followed wisdom. Who would not trust a God who is so faithful?

^{_______________}

¹ Psalm 97:1

² These are conservative estimates. The volume of a cor or kor is not certain.

³ Deuteronomy 17:16

Year One, October 16

We Are the Temple of the Living God1

1 Kings 5:1-11; 13-18

1Now 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.

Close friends with a strong bond are rare. It was a happy thing for Solomon that his father passed on to him the love of such a useful ally.

2And 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.  (Like a good son who honored his father, he does not say that David could not build the temple because he had shed blood, but because he was busy with wars. We should always say the best things regarding our parents.)

4“But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. 5And so I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ 6Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.” (The tabernacle, which was temporary, was constructed by Jews only. But the temple, which was to be permanent, is not built without the help of Gentiles. Jews and Gentiles together make up the church that is the temple of God.)

7As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” 8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. (We should think very carefully about what we promise. Are we really willing and able to be true to our word? It is good when our hearts are full of liberality toward the work of God even after we have thoughtfully weighed the matter.) 9My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes by providing food for my household.” (Palestine was a fruitful agricultural country, so Solomon would do Hiram a service by paying him from the produce of the land.)

10So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, (When God’s house is to be built, he will certainly find everything he needs for it.) 11while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors (a little less than 2,000 tons) of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 cors (over one million gallons) of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year.

13King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. 14And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft. 15Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, 16besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief officers who were over the work, who had charge of the people who carried on the work. 17At the king’s command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones.

Even the foundation stones were not rugged and rough, but cut and expensive. God would have everything that is done for him done well. He does not care so much for that which pleases human eyes; his delight is with the beauty of those living stones of his spiritual temple that are hidden from view.

18So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house. (The stones and timbers arrived at the worksite already prepared. So, “When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.”2 Here below, the preparing us for heaven is a work of toil and noise, but in heaven all will be rest and quietness. May the Lord prepare us to be built into his temple above.)

^{_______________}

¹ 2 Corinthians 6:16

² 1 King 6:7

Year One, October 17

You Yourselves Like Living Stones Are Being Built up as a Spiritual House1

2 Chronicles 3

1Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

This was the place where Abraham offered up Isaac and near the spot where the Lord Jesus suffered as the Lamb that God had provided for sacrifice. It is a place that reminds us of sacrifice and atonement.2 As the living temple of God, the Church should be a constant reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the atonement he purchased for lost sinners.

2He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 3These are Solomon’s measurements for building the house of God: the length, in cubits of the old standard, was sixty cubits (about ninety feet), and the breadth twenty cubits (about thirty feet). 4The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and its height was 120 cubits (about 180 feet). He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. 5The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold and made palms and chains on it. 6He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. (The woodwork was expensive, but it was covered with pure gold of the best kind and then decorated with precious stones. The Lord’s church is also built at a huge cost, because it is very precious in his eyes.) 7So he lined the house with gold--its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors--and he carved cherubim on the walls.

8And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talents (over 20 tons) of fine gold. 9The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels (a little over one pound of gold for each nail). And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

10In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood and overlaid them with gold. 11The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits (about seven feet), touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub, 12and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. 13The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits (about thirty feet). The cherubim stood on their feet, facing the nave.

Did these symbolize angels? We think so. They are here represented as standing on their feet as servants and not as sitting on thrones like gods. We do not worship angels, but we worship with angels, joining in their holy song of praise to the Lord of all.

14And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it. (This curtain hid the Most Holy Place. The gospel of Christ had not been made clear yet.)

15In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits (about fifty-two feet) high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. 16He made chains like a necklace and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. 17He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, (the Lord will establish) and that on the north Boaz (in him is strength).

These pillars were enormous columns intended for glory and for beauty. The Church is the greatest design of the Great Architect. Holy Scripture gives us a full description of the various parts of the temple and the different pieces of furniture. Everything was decided by God and is full of instruction. Those seeing the completed temple must have thought it was magnificent beyond compare.

^{_______________}

¹ 1 Peter 2:5

² atonement - A payment made to satisfy someone who has been wronged. An animal sacrificed as an offering to restore a relationship. Jesus is the Lamb of God and offered himself as a sacrifice to restore the relationship between God and man that was broken when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden.

Year One, October 18

God Has Blessed You Forever1

Psalm 45

In this psalm, Solomon is just visible in the background as a type,2 but the Lord Jesus fills the foreground in the fullness of loveliness and majesty.

1 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;

I address my verses to the king;

my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe

No subject can be as good as that which bubbles up from a warm heart and is about the King of saints. The psalmist decided to speak only from personal experience. He believed he could use his ability as a successful writer to deliver his message completely and with wisdom. Oh to have warm hearts whenever Jesus is the theme! Are we able to speak about King Jesus from personal experience? The question deserves an answer.

2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men;

grace is poured upon your lips;

therefore God has blessed you forever.

He speaks as if he had seen the Well-beloved One and the sight gives the psalmist great pleasure. He hears him speak and adores him. We will do the same if Jesus shows himself to us.

3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,

in your splendor and majesty!

4 In your majesty ride out victoriously

for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;

let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!

This should be our prayer: “Oh Immanuel, the mighty prince, display your power, conquer men and make them your servants. Oh most sweet Prince, as Solomon reigned over a wide-ranging kingdom, may you also.”

5 Your arrows are sharp

in the heart of the king’s enemies;

the peoples fall under you.

His gospel pierces the hearts of people and they surrender to his love.

6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

Here we see the divine and human natures combined in one person. As man, the Lord Jesus is like other men. But as God, his throne is for forever and ever. Let us make no mistake on this essential point and believe in Jesus as both God and man.

8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.

From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;

9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;

at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

The church is dressed in the best of the best, the righteousness of God. How lovely she is in the loveliness of Jesus!

10 Hear, O daughter, and consider and incline your ear:

forget your people and your father’s house,

11 and the king will desire your beauty.

Since he is your lord, bow to him.

The church must not be worldly. The kingdom of God must be her first priority. This must be the case for each one of us. And then, as the next verse teaches, all other things will be given to us.

12 The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,

the richest of the people.

13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.

14 In many-colored robes she is led to the king,

with her virgin companions following behind her.

15 With joy and gladness they are led along

as they enter the palace of the king.

16  In place of your fathers shall be your sons;

you will make them princes in all the earth.

May this household have many generations of those who are saved by grace. May holy children follow godly parents. May the King of our hearts have servants in this family as long as the world stands.

17 I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;

therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

Jesus can never be forgotten. Solomon died, but Jesus lives on and reigns on, and will forever and ever. Blessed be his name.

^{_______________}

¹ Psalm 45:2

² type - A type is something that represents something else, usually in the future. In this case, King Solomon represents, pictures, or, is a type of, the future King Jesus.

Year One, October 19

Will God Indeed Dwell on the Earth?1

1 Kings 8:1-6; 10-11; 22-30

1Then 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.

Solomon prepared the temple before he brought the ark to it. An old writer observes that before we pray, we should prepare our heart as a temple of the Lord.

2And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. (They stopped at different spots along the way and offered sacrifices. Josephus2 tells us, “The ground was moist with drink-offerings and sacrifices.” It was the year of jubilee and the time of the feast of tabernacles. The crowds were great and the joy overflowing. When shall we see the whole earth celebrating and adoring the risen Savior?) 6Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.

10And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. (The cloudy pillar was the sign that God was present. It filled the sanctuary to show that the Lord accepted the temple. We do not know whether the cloud was bright and awe-inspiring or dark and threatening. Either way, it overwhelmed the minds of the priests. It is a glorious thing to be so overcome by the presence of the Lord among his people that all our works become as nothing and we feel that we can no longer “stand to minister,” because the Lord himself is there.)

22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, (He was not a priest and therefore could not present the sacrifices on the altar. But as the king, he represented the nation and it was proper for him to offer up the national prayer.) 23and 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, 24you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.” (Notice how he dwells on the covenant. Praying is more delightful when we can remind God of his promises.)

25“Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! (So even in the dim light of Judaism it was understood that the Lord does not live in temples made with hands. How astonishing it is that under the gospel people still cling to the idea of holy places.) 28Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”

In our highest joys we still have need to pray “Forgive.” Our hearts are out of order when that word does not rise to our lips. Let us plead with God to bless us throughout our lives and always to forgive.

^{_______________}

¹ 1 Kings 8:27

² Flavius Josephus was a Jewish historian who lived during the first century A.D.

Year One, October 20

Blessed Are Those Who Dwell in Your House1

The dedication of Solomon’s temple makes us think about his father’s delightful psalm, in which he expressed his love of worshiping the Lord his God.

  

Psalm 84

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD of hosts!

The gathering for divine worship is more delightful than the tongue can describe. It is delightful to anticipate, delightful at the time and delightful to remember. Under heaven, no place is so heavenly as the church of the living God.

2 My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

Do we feel the same burning desire after God? If so, we will not need urging to attend his worship. Some people need to be coaxed to worship, but David is crying for it here. He did not need to hear the clanging of a church bell to call him to worship. He carried his own bell in his heart.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God.

He envied the little birds that built their nests near the tabernacle. When he was far away from the Lord’s altars, he wished he had wings to fly to them, as the sparrows did, or build near them like the swallows did.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise!     Selah.

He wished he could be like the Levites who worked for the Lord in the service of the tabernacle. He thought that even those in the lowest positions would always be praising him. The joy of those living so close to the presence of God would never stop; their praises could be heard both day and night.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Or, “whose heart is to do your will.” Only those who put their whole heart into worshiping the Lord find joy in it. Neither prayer, nor praise, nor the hearing of the word will benefit people who have left their hearts behind.

6 As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

The worshipers who traveled a long distance to the temple found water even in the driest parts of their journey. Even their gloomy trials became delightful to them. They even made the uninhabited desert valleys to be as cheerful as the town water well where men and women would meet to talk about the day’s news. There is no end to what holy fellowship and wholehearted praise can do.

7 They go from strength to strength;

each one appears before God in Zion.

God’s people continue on their way, grow stronger, and at last reach the end of their journey.  They have an almighty Helper who will not allow them to fail.

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob!     Selah.

9 Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

The doorkeeper is the first to arrive and the last to leave. He gets less sympathy than anyone. Yet David would rather have the lowest job in God’s house that the highest position in the tents of sin. Quaint old Secker says, “Happy are those persons who God will use as brooms to sweep out the dust from his temple or who are allowed to pull at an oar of the boat where Christ and his people are on board.”2

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

the LORD bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

What a great promise, or rather, what a great set of promises! Here we have all we need for all time and for all eternity. What an encouragement to pray! If all things are freely given to us by God, then let us open our mouths wide when making our requests. What more can God himself say than he has said in this most precious verse?

12 O LORD of hosts,

blessed is the one who trusts in you!

^{_______________}

¹ Psalm 84:4

² William Secker (died about 1681). From The Nonsuch Professor first published in 1660.

Year One, October 21

My Beloved Is Mine, and I Am His1

It is possible that in those golden days when Solomon walked with God, he was inspired to write the matchless book of The Song of Solomon. It is the Holy of holies of the Scriptures, standing like the tree of life in the midst of the garden of inspiration. The song is highly allegorical or symbolic. It describes Christ and his church as a bride and bridegroom who sing to each other and about each other.2 The passage we are about to read is a dialogue.

  

Song of Solomon 2

The Bridegroom speaks first.

1 I am a rose of Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

2 As a lily among brambles,

so is my love among the young women.

Who can this person who is both a rose and lily be except Jesus?

“White is his soul, from blemish free,

Red with the blood he shed for me.”3

He paints his church as a single lily growing in the middle of a wilderness of thorns. Among the thorns, but not of them. The beauty of his church is all the more easily seen in contrast to the prickly brambles of the world.

Then the Bride or the church exclaims:

3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

so is my beloved among the young men.

With great delight I sat in his shadow,

and his fruit was sweet to my taste,

Fruit trees are superior to other trees. They provide shade and fruit. Jesus is more excellent than all others. He provides protection and all our needs. To us who believe in him he is everything!

4 He brought me to the banqueting house,

and his banner over me was love.

5 Sustain me with raisins;

refresh me with apples,

for I am sick with love.

Love to Jesus sometimes becomes such a strong feeling that the soul cannot handle it. The body is so frail, it is ready to faint under the supreme excitement.

6 His left hand is under my head,

and his right hand embraces me!

7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love
      until it pleases.

The bride now hears the voice of her husband. She rejoices to see him coming to her with all the sacred haste of omnipotent4 love.

8 The voice of my beloved!

Behold, he comes,

leaping over the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle

or a young stag.

Behold, there he stands

behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

looking through the lattice.

10 My beloved speaks and says to me:

“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away,

11 for behold, the winter is past;

the rain is over and gone.

12 The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of singing has come,

and the voice of the turtledove

is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree ripens its figs,

and the vines are in blossom;

they give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away.”

Dark days may come and go. Let us spend our joyful times walking with our Lord in the light while the light lasts. When doubts, fears, trials and distresses are over and the heart is full of music, we should make the most of it; rejoicing in holy fellowship and delighting ourselves in the Lord Jesus.

The Bridegroom continues speaking and calls to his beloved:

14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,

in the crannies of the cliff,

let me see your face,

let me hear your voice,

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.

Come out from the hiding places of fear or worldliness and acknowledge the Lord.

15 Catch the foxes for us,

the little foxes

that spoil the vineyards,

for our vineyards are in blossom.”

The church (the Bride) sings again:

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his;

he grazes (or pastures his flock) among the lilies.

17 Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle

or a young stag on cleft mountains.

If we have lost our sense of the presence of the Lord, it is our duty and our privilege to cry to him to return swiftly; like the nimble deer that leaps over every barrier and obstacle.

^{_______________}

¹ Song of Solomon 2:16

² This view is not held by all Christians. Most Jews saw the Song of Solomon as a picture of Jehovah and his chosen people, Israel. For the first eighteen centuries after Pentecost, most of the Church understood it as a love song about Christ and his Church. Many now view it as simply a historical love poem. In the New Testament, Christ alluded to himself as the groom and the Church as his bride. Perhaps in the future, the Church will once again more fully appreciate the intimate relationship between Christ and his bride.—editor

³ Believed to be quoted from a book of pulpit helps by William Nicholson (circa 1862).

⁴ omnipotent, omnipotence - all powerful, almighty, absolute and supreme power, having unlimited power.

Year One, October 22

Let Me Sing for My Beloved My Love Song1

We continue in the poetic book of the Song of Solomon. This book is also known as Canticles which means songs or hymns.

  

Song of Solomon 3:6-11

The first speakers are the Daughters of Jerusalem.

6 What is that coming up from the wilderness

like columns of smoke,

perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?

The friends of the Bridegroom reply.

7 Behold, it is the litter2 of Solomon!

Around it are sixty mighty men,

some of the mighty men of Israel,

8 all of them wearing swords,

and expert in war,

each with his sword at his thigh,

against terror by night.

9 King Solomon made himself a carriage

from the wood of Lebanon.

10 He made its posts of silver,

its back of gold, its seat of purple;

its interior was inlaid with love

by the daughters of Jerusalem.

11 Go out, O daughters of Zion,

and look upon King Solomon,

with the crown with which his mother crowned him

on the day of his wedding,

on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Then follows a song of The King, in which he praises the beauty of his bride.

  

Song of Solomon 4:1-7

1 Behold, you are beautiful, my love,

behold, you are beautiful!

Your eyes are doves

behind your veil.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

leaping down the slopes of Gilead. 

2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes

that have come up from the washing,

all of which bear twins,

and not one among them has lost its young.

3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread,

and your mouth is lovely.

Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

behind your veil.

4 Your neck is like the tower of David,

built in rows of stone;

on it hang a thousand shields,

all of them shields of warriors.

5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle,

that graze among the lilies.

6 Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

I will go away to the mountain of myrrh

and the hill of frankincense.

7 You are altogether beautiful, my love;

there is no flaw in you.

In the first song, beginning with verse seven, the king is seen in his traveling palanquin or chariot, coming up from the wilderness. We may explain this scene as picturing our Lord and King going up to his glory from this wilderness world. His escort includes attending angels and warrior angels; or, as John Milton calls them, “the [guiding] cherubim and the sworded seraphim.” They have kept watch around him in the wilderness of this world and continue with him to increase the magnificence of his ascension.3 Jesus will return to earth a second time the same way he left. Then his church will see him in all his glory. The purple of that glorious chariot of love represents the atoning blood. The church will ride with him, rejoicing in his salvation. Happy are those who by faith are part of this event.

In chapter four, the king sings about the beauty of his bride. Believers understand that this beauty is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus that he has given to them. In the sight of God, the saints are “altogether beautiful.” That is, they are perfect and without sin. Every single line in this book has special meaning. Spiritual minds will find great delight in discovering them.

  

^{_______________}

¹ Isaiah 5:1

² litter - That is, the sedan chair on which servants carry a king.

³ ascension - Refers to the resurrected King Jesus leaving the earth to take his rightful place on the throne of heaven.

Year One, October 23

Come With Me From Lebanon, My Bride1

Our last reading gave us two parts of a delightful Canticle. We will now read the third part, where the King is the main speaker. He happily praises his bride, even as the Lord Jesus rejoices over his church.

  

Song of Solomon 4:8-16; 5:1

The King speaks.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;

come with me from Lebanon.

Depart from the peak of Amana,

from the peak of Senir and Hermon,

from the den of lions,

from the mountain of leopards.

Jesus wants us to look above the highest earthly pleasures and withdraw from all earthly loves for his sake. Will he say, “Come with me,” and will we refuse to follow him? Hear how he directs his love to us and the joy he has over us.

9 You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;

you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one jewel of your necklace.

Jesus lowers himself to love even lowly us. If he spies out even one good thing about us, he is charmed with it.

10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!

How much better is your love than wine,

and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!

11 Your lips drip nectar, my bride;

honey and milk are under your tongue;

the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

In Jesus’ eyes, the love, the spirit, the words, and the outward conduct of his people are all received with joy.

12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,

a spring locked, a fountain sealed.

13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates

with all choicest fruits,

henna with nard,

14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,

with all trees of frankincense,

myrrh and aloes,

with all chief spices--

15 a garden fountain, a well of living water,

and flowing streams from Lebanon.

Jesus praises his beloved Church, but then he prays for her that the Holy Spirit may visit her, because what would she be without him? Listen to the Redeemer’s prayer.

16 Awake, O north wind,

and come, O south wind!

Blow upon my garden,

let its spices flow.

Inspired by the love of her Lord and influenced by the Holy Spirit, the Church begs the Lord to come nearer to her.

Let my beloved come to his garden,

and eat its choicest fruits.

The King lovingly responds.

5:1 I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,

I gathered my myrrh with my spice,

I ate my honeycomb with my honey,

I drank my wine with my milk.

Eat, friends, drink,

and be drunk with love!

Jesus accepts us and the fruit of the Spirit we bring. Therefore let us rejoice in him and feast on him.2

^{_______________}

¹ Song of Solomon 4:8

² Galatians 5:22-23a “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” John 6:53-58, "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.'"

Year One, October 24

And He Is Altogether Desirable1

We will again read from the Song. The bride hears the Bridegroom knocking at her door, but she excuses herself from getting up and letting him in. She acts in an unkind way to him. Sadly, we have too often done the same to our Lord Jesus. The whole story is told using graceful singing.

  

Song of Solomon 5:2-16

The bride speaks.

2 I slept, but my heart was awake.

A sound! My beloved is knocking.

“Open to me, my sister, my love,

my dove, my perfect one,

for my head is wet with dew,

my locks with the drops of the night.”

She then continues by giving poor excuses. How cruel she is to her friend! How selfish! How self-indulgent! Her excuses are embarrassing! But do we not see ourselves in her?

3 I had put off my garment;

how could I put it on?

I had bathed my feet;

how could I soil them?

4 My beloved put his hand to the latch,

and my heart was thrilled within me.

5 I arose to open to my beloved,

and my hands dripped with myrrh,

my fingers with liquid myrrh,

on the handles of the bolt.

6 I open to my beloved,

but my beloved had turned and gone.

My soul failed me when he spoke.

I sought him, but found him not;

I called him, but he gave no answer.

7 The watchmen found me

as they went about in the city;

they beat me, they bruised me,

they took away my veil,

those watchmen of the walls.

8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

if you find my beloved,

that you tell him

I am sick with love.

Sadly, the spouse had neglected her duty and in doing so she grieved her Lord. She made him hide his face from her. However, she still loved him and became very anxious about finding him again. She hoped that her Lord might listen to others, even if he had closed his ear to her for a time. She begged the daughters of Jerusalem to speak to him for her. When we are in darkness, the prayers of our fellow believers may be of great help to us.

The Daughters of Jerusalem question the Bride.

9 What is your beloved more than another beloved,

O most beautiful among women?

What is your beloved more than another beloved,

that you thus adjure us?

The Bride responds to these questions.

10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,

distinguished among ten thousand.

11 His head is the finest gold;

his locks are wavy,

black as a raven.

12 He eyes are like doves

beside streams of water,

bathed in milk,

sitting beside a full pool.

13 His cheeks are like beds of spices,

mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.

His lips are lilies,

dripping liquid myrrh.

14 His arms are rods of gold,

set with jewels.

His body is polished ivory,

bedecked with sapphires.

15 His legs are alabaster columns,

set on bases of gold.

His appearance is like Lebanon,

choice as the cedars.

16 His mouth is most sweet,

and he is altogether desirable.

This is my beloved and this my friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem.

^{_______________}

¹ Song of Solomon 5:16

Year One, October 25

Hear, That Your Soul May Live1

It was in the days of his glory, before sin had darkened his sun, that Solomon collected and composed the Book of Proverbs. It is a goldmine of wisdom, a treasure chest of instruction.

  

Proverbs 1:20-31

20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

The right way is not to be kept secret or mentioned to only a few. Wise teaching and counsel should overflow whether it is popular or not. The Bible and those who faithfully preach it should not be avoided. If any perish, it should not be because the plan of salvation was not made public. Wisdom is among us and speaks clearly and in earnest.

21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

23 If you turn at my reproof,

behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.”

The Lord Jesus, represented by wisdom, pleads with loving words from the heart. People are foolish and they love their foolishness. Some of them are so in love with sin that they sneer at the only instruction that can save their souls. The Lord reasons and pleads with them. It is not the will of the Redeemer that the sinner should die. His infinite love is put on display to prevent them from committing suicide of the soul. Notice how seriously he asks, “How long?” and how graciously he promises the help of his Holy Spirit so they can understand his instructions. Jesus pleads with each one of us. Have we obeyed his call?

24  “Because I have called and you refused to listen,

have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

25 because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,

26 I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when terror strikes you,

27 when terror strikes you like a storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29 Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

30 would have none of my counsel

and despised all my reproof,

31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,

and have their fill of their own devices.”

Not until calls of love have failed does the Lord change to words of stern rebuke. But when grace has been ignored, and even insulted, justice must speak in tones of thunder. The Lord Jesus wept over sinners in the days of his flesh. He continues, through his Church, to plead with them, warn them and offer his love to them. But he will not always do so. The time is coming when he will have no pity on those who reject him. Then he will reject the cries and pleas of his enemies. They say that the sweetest wine makes the sharpest vinegar. And so the very gentleness and tenderness of Jesus will make him the more terrible when his patience finally turns to wrath. Oh! may none of us ever be spoken to with the terrible words we have just read. They are full of weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.2 Is it not right that the ones who perish are the ones who refused to be saved? Should not those be rejected at the last day who willfully rejected the Redeemer all through their day of grace? Is it not a most righteous rule that people should reap what they sow?3 Is it not only fair that those who choose to follow their own fantasies will not be rewarded for turning their backs on the Savior?

Will any member of our family be so insanely wicked that they refuse to accept God’s loving invitations to follow his Son? May God not let that happen!

^{_______________}

¹ Isaiah 55:3

² Matthew 13:42; Luke 13:28

³ Galatians 6:7-8

Year One, October 26

Those Who Seek Me Diligently Find Me1

In this chapter we once again hear the words of heavenly wisdom, in the person of the Son of God, warning us against foolishness. Let us not be unconcerned when God himself takes issue with us.

  

Proverbs 8:1-21

1 Does not wisdom call?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

2 On the heights beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

3 beside the gates in front of the town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

4 “To you, O man, I call,

and my cry is to the children of man.”

All around, in his word, in providence, by his ministers, and by his Spirit, Wisdom still calls out to the children of man. In this country where Bibles are easily available, the Lord Jesus calls to young and old, rich and poor, to consider him and turn to him.

5 “O simple ones, learn prudence;

O fools, learn sense.”

Jesus invites the foolish to come to him. How kind he is. The masters of old wanted only wise men for students. Few teachers nowadays would invite fools to their schools. Jesus is gentle and lowly in heart. He includes those of humble means. He is ready to be the teacher of even slow learners. No one needs to stay away from Jesus because of their ignorance. It is even a good reason for coming to him. But for some who might ask, “Is his teaching worth hearing?” he goes on.

6 “Hear, for I will speak noble things,

and from my lips will come what is right,”

But does he speak the truth? Yes! He does.

7 “for my mouth will utter truth;

wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;

there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.”

But can we understand his teaching? Can less educated people learn from him? Can little children respond to his teaching? Yes! His words are simplicity itself.

9 “They are all straight to him who understands,

and right to those who find knowledge.

10 Take my instruction instead of silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold,”

Soul-saving knowledge is worth more than any amount of money.

11 “for wisdom is better than jewels,

and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

and I find knowledge and discretion.”

Eternal Wisdom designed the Cross to bring peace between God and people. The plan of salvation—by using a substitute to pay for sin—is the very peak of wisdom. Let us make every effort to get this wisdom.

13 “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.

Pride and arrogance and the way of evil

and perverted speech I hate.”

And what God hates, we must also hate with all our heart.

14 “I have counsel and sound wisdom;

I have insight; I have strength.

15 By me kings reign,

and rulers decree what is just;

16 by me princes rule,

and nobles, all who govern justly.

17 I love those who love me,

and those who seek me diligently find me.”

This is a thick slice of meat for the children of our families. Let boys and girls take hold of it and go to Jesus in complete confidence in this promise.

18 “Riches and honor are with me,

enduring wealth and righteousness.

19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,

and my yield than choice silver.”

Nothing can be so useful, so valuable, so really good for us as to know Christ and to be in fellowship with him.

20 “I walk in the way of righteousness,

in the paths of justice,”

In the middle of the road, which is the path of safety.

21 “granting an inheritance to those who love me,

and filling their treasuries.”

They will be truly rich in grace. Even if they are poor in this world, they will be infinitely rich in the world to come, where there is a kingdom for the very least of them.

^{_______________}

¹ Proverbs 8:17

Year One, October 27

The Hand of the Diligent Makes Rich1

The first nine chapters are a kind of introduction to the Book of Proverbs. Its short, to-the-point sentences begin at the tenth chapter.

  

Proverbs 10:1-16

1 The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

This is the first of the proverbs. Let each child pay special attention to it. Who among us would wish to be a lifelong grief to father and mother? Yet such will be the case if we live in sin and despise heavenly wisdom.

2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,

but righteousness delivers from death.

Judas gained his thirty pieces of silver, but what good did they do him? Paul was given the righteousness of Christ and has the joy of heaven forever.

3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,

but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

The godly may experience hunger, but not extreme hunger. The wicked may increase in wealth, but their hope for happiness will not be reached.

4 A slack hand causes poverty,

but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

No pains, no gains. No sweat, no sweet.

5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,

but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

Not using our time productively leads to sin. Our idle days are Satan’s busy days. He who does not use his time wisely, will never have enough time.

6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing,

but the name of the wicked will rot.

8 The wise of heart will receive commandments,

but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

Wise people listen more than they speak. They are willing to listen to practical instruction. Foolish people talk on and on until they prove their foolishness.

9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,

but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,

and a babbling fool will come to ruin.

Cowards are afraid to say things they know they should not, but express their feelings with a clever wink of the eye. They cause much misery. No honest person will behave that way.

People who talk too much prove that their religion is not real. Their profession of faith will soon become a shipwreck.

11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

(sending out refreshing and saving streams from the water of life),

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

They are like stagnate ponds that are full of putrid water. They are deadly to others, as well as harmful to themselves.

12 Hatred stirs up strife,

but love covers all offenses.

Loving spirits will not take offense, but will patiently endure for Christ’s sake. Those who actually enjoy being evil, will take offense over the smallest thing. They are always fanning the flames of hostility. Let us not act like that.

13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,

but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

14 The wise lay up knowledge,

(because they still feel their own lack of it),

but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

They think they know it all and therefore will not learn. They blabber on to their own destruction.

15 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;

the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

Sadly, this is often the case, even in our own country. Poor people are despised and few are willing to assist them. May the Lord send to us such a spirit of justice that we are always ready to stand with the weaker side and see to it that they are not treated unfairly. It is meanness itself to flatter the wealthy. True religion lifts us above such littleness.

16 The wage of the righteous leads to life,

the gain of the wicked to sin.

Work, not idleness, is the badge of a servant of God. With the wicked, it is always “what’s in it for me?” Their actions are sinful in the sight of the Lord.

Oh Lord, cause us to work because of the life of Christ within us and give us life even more abundantly.

^{_______________}

¹ Proverbs 10:4

Year One, October 28

The Desire of the Righteous Will Be Granted1

Proverbs 10:17-32

17 Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,

but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

No one can do us a greater kindness than to instruct us in the right way and warn us of the wrong. But it is probably just as difficult to accept advice in the proper spirit as it is to give it wisely. A sensible person is always ready to listen to words of wisdom and never think they are above learning from anyone.

18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,

and whoever utters slander is a fool.

The first part of this verse shows us that hiding hatred from someone is hypocritical as well as sinful. The last part is a harsh blow to many. Does it include any of us? Are not some of us far too ready to gossip by repeating things that are hurtful to others?

19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Talking too much is a common problem. People talk so much because they think so little. Drums make a great noise because they are hollow. There is one characteristic of a wise man that any of us can have. We can be quiet! Let us try it.

20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;

the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

The ungodly person at their best is not worth much. That is God’s opinion of them. That should humble them and make him think seriously about their life.

21 The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for lack of sense.

Fools cannot feed others with wisdom, because they are starving from a lack of truth and understanding.

22 The blessing of the LORD makes rich,

and he adds no sorrow with it.

Other riches always include sadness; only the Lord’s roses do not have thorns.

23 Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,

but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

24 What the wicked dreads will come upon him,

but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

25 When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,

but the righteous is established forever.

The tornado is only remembered by the destruction it leaves behind. The same is true of many bad people. But the reputation of good people is like an ancient castle. It remains strong for a very long time. People have good memories of them long after they have passed from this life.

26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

so is the sluggard to those who send him.

The sluggard is unpleasant and obnoxious, irritating and annoying. The person who wants to please their employer must be hard working, prompt, and cheerful. 

27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life,

but the years of the wicked will be short.

Anyone can see that the soberness, peacefulness and clean living of true religion tend to help a person live longer. It is just as easy to see that drunkenness, immorality, bad tempers and rough lifestyles tend to bring people to their graves sooner than would otherwise be expected. Godliness is often rewarded with more years in this life.

28 The hope of the righteous brings joy,

but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

29 The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless,

but destruction to evildoers.

30 The righteous will never be removed,

but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

There will come a day when wicked people will not be found on this earth. They will die and holy people will fill their places. We wait for the coming of the Lord and the new age of holiness.

31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,

but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

The tongues of the wicked try to make others mad and sad. They do not know how to be polite. They talk about anything that enters their mind without thinking first. May none of us have wild, uncontrollable tongues that hurt others for no good reason. Instead, let our conversations be holy and gentle, using words that bless both the hearer and the speaker. This would be a little heaven on earth for our family.

^{_______________}

¹ Proverbs 10:24

Year One, October 29

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow1

Proverbs 27:1-18

1 Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring.

Providing for the future is a duty, but to boast about the future is sin. Only an unbeliever would dare to brag about what he will accomplish tomorrow. Eternity is just around the corner. We may find ourselves brought to it before the sun goes down today or rises again tomorrow. The rich man thought he could relax, eat, drink and be merry for many years to come, but that very night, “God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you.’”2 Young people have no guarantee they will live to a ripe old age. There are little graves in the cemetery. Flowers in the bud are cut off from the bush. We are called today to repent and believe. To delay is to be like the rich man who boasted about tomorrow. It may result in our eternal ruin.

2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;

a stranger, and not your own lips.

3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

Because a fool will not forgive, they are pouty and eager for revenge. Their anger crushes their own heart and they will crush the hearts of others if they can.

4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,

but who can stand before jealousy?

Adam and Satan both fell because they envied God. If we give in to jealousy, it will certainly take away our happiness. Envy spits its venom on the best of people. It is a horrible and devilish emotion. Those who follow the loving Jesus must fight against resentment and overcome it.

5 Better is open rebuke

than hidden love.

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

7 One who is full loathes honey,

but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet

8 Like a bird that strays from its nest

is a man who strays from his home.

Therefore we should avoid an aimless life that always hopes a change will make things better. If we have not succeeded where we are, let us try again. How can a tree grow if it is always being transplanted?

9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,

Jesus was our father’s best friend; let us not turn our back on him. We will never find a better.

and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.

Better is a neighbor who is near

than a brother who is far away.

Relatives should be close friends, but unfortunately, selfishness often gets in the way. Jonathan was a better friend to David than Joseph’s brothers were to him.

11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,

that I may answer him who reproaches me.

12 The prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but the simple go on and suffer for it.

13 Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.

Do not trust the immoral person. They are bad at heart and their faults will soon leave them begging for money. If you must do business with them, do it on the strictest terms, or they will rob you.

14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,

rising early in the morning,

will be counted as cursing.

Sensible people find excessive praise distasteful. There is good reason to think it is given with a sinister motive in mind. We should wish our friends well, but to loudly sing their praises all the time is not doing them a favor. It is probably just the opposite!

15 A continual dripping on a rainy day

and a quarrelsome wife are alike;

16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind

or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.

Arguing with a neighbor is like a spring shower and soon over. But quarreling with a wife at home is exhausting work and makes life miserable. Even worse, strong disagreements in the home cannot be hidden. The noise and bad temper of a bad woman become obvious to everyone. You might as well try to cover up the wind or hold oil in your hand. Let us never fight, unless it is fighting to make each other happy.

17 Iron sharpens iron,

and one man sharpens another.

Good friendship is great help to growing in grace. Fellowship with the saints helps us in the service of God.

18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and he who guards his master will be honored.

And if Jesus is that Master, our honor will be great and long lasting; our reward will be sweet indeed.

^{_______________}

¹ Proverbs 27:1

² Luke 12:20

Year One, October 30

Something Greater Than Solomon Is Here1

1 Kings 10:1-13

1Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to him with hard questions. (As far away as the queen of Sheba was, the glory of Solomon reached her and she was motivated to visit him. She was curious and wanted to see his splendor. She was also prompted for religious reasons and wanted to know more about Jehovah God. Sadly, there are thousands who show no interest in Jesus even though he is near them and the gospel is preached around them. It is sad that Solomon attracted a stranger from so far away and Jesus is overlooked by those who are nearby.) 2She 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.

3And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. (When sinners come to Jesus they will find solutions to all their difficult questions. He will both reveal and remove all their secret uneasiness. He is always ready to share his wisdom to all who come to him. There will never be a situation that he cannot work out.) 4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.

6And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”

In the same way, although the good news about King Jesus seems unbelievably wonderful, the believer discovers his grace and goodness are even greater than they were told. Jesus must be known by each one of us personally or we will never know him. Oh that many who look down on the Redeemer now will see him for themselves. That would instantly change their indifference to adoration.

10Then she gave the king 120 talents (about four and one-half tons) of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

When a heart truly knows King Jesus it brings gifts to him. Nothing is too good, too costly or too precious for Jesus. If we could lay the whole world at his feet, it would be “a present far too small.”2

11Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

13And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants. (And we may add with great confidence that our Lord Jesus will be in no one’s debt. Everything that we can possible give to him, he will return a hundred times over. Yes, he will grant us whatsoever we ask, he will give us the desires of our heart.3)

  

Matthew 12:42

“The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

The queen of Sheba came a great distance, with great difficulty, and ran great risks to see Solomon. Yet the majority of humanity is completely indifferent about a greater than Solomon. They will hardly ever even cross the street to see Jesus, who has power to bless them eternally.

^{_______________}

¹ Matthew 12:42

² From the hymn When I Survey the Wondrous Cross by Isaac Watts (1707).

³ Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” 1 John 5:14-15, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

Year One, October 31

Abstain From the Passions of the Flesh, Which Wage War Against Your Soul1

We now come to the sad part of Solomon’s life, when the wise man played the fool to a great extreme. He proved that without the grace of God the greatest of people may lower themselves to commit the worst of sins. Who would have believed that Solomon could become so lustful and the son of David become a worshiper of idols?

  

1 Kings 11:1-5; 9-13

1Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

9And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded. 11Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”

Dr. James Hamilton has beautifully described the events of this part of Jewish history. “The people murmured. The monarch wheeled along with greater pomp than ever; but the popular prince had soured into the tyrant. The crown sat defiant on his unpredictable head. His subjects bowed down to him without feeling and their hearts were not in it when they sang his praises. The people of Zion were in mourning. The unused temple courts sprouted grass and weeds while mysterious groves and unholy shrines were popping up everywhere. The palace was defiled by lust. Chemosh and Ashtoreth, and other Gentile abominations, defiled the Holy Land.

“In the disastrous darkness in the land, beasts of the forest crept abroad. Hadad the Edomite ventured out of Egypt and became a lifelong torment to the God-forsaken king of Israel. Rezon the Syrian pounced on Damascus and made Syria his own. From the Pagan palaces of Thebes and Memphis harsh cries were soon heard; Pharaoh and Jeroboam taking counsel together, screeching forth their threats, and hooting insults at which Solomon could no longer laugh.

“Amidst all the gloom and misery a message comes from God: The kingdom is torn. Solomon’s successor will have only an inferior piece and a fragment of Israel, while God hands ten tribes over to a rebel and a runaway.

 “Luxury and sinful wives made him an idolater, and idolatry made him yet more lustful. Finally, in the lazy exhaustion and idle daydreaming of the pleasure seeker, he lost the discernment of the wise man and the bravery of the sovereign. And when he rose from his drunken daze and picked up his tarnished crown from the mess, he woke to find his powers, once so clear and unclouded, all troubled and his strong reason paralyzed and his healthy imagination poisoned. He woke to find the world grown hollow, and himself grown old. He woke to see the sun in Israel’s sky now dark. A special gloom surrounded him. Like one who falls asleep amidst the lights and music of the orchestra, and who awakes amidst empty benches and tattered programs; like a man who falls asleep in a flower garden, and who opens his eyes on an empty and locust-blackened wilderness; the life, the loveliness, was vanished, and all the remaining spirit of the mighty Solomon yawned forth that verdict of the tired pleasure seeker: ‘Vanity of vanities! vanity of vanities! all is vanity!’”2

^{_______________}

¹ 1 Peter 2:11

² From the Royal Preacher: Lectures on Ecclesiastes by James Hamilton (1814-1867).