2 Kings 4-6 - Open His Eyes That He May See

The Widow’s Oil

2Ki 4:1, 7 LSB - [1] Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared Yahweh; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves." ... [7] Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you [and] your sons can live on the rest."

The Shunammite Woman Will Bear a Son

2Ki 4:8 LSB - [8] Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she prevailed upon him to eat food. Now it happened, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat food.

2Ki 4:17 LSB - [17] Then the woman conceived and bore a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had said to her.

Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son

2Ki 4:32-34 LSB - [32] Then Elisha came into the house, and behold, the boy was dead and laid on his bed. [33] So he entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to Yahweh. [34] And he went up and lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm.

Elisha Purifies the Deadly Stew

2Ki 4:40-41 LSB - [40] So they poured [it] out for the men to eat. And it happened that as they were eating of the stew, they cried out and said, "O man of God, there is death in the pot." And they were unable to eat. [41] But he said, "Now bring flour." He threw it into the pot and said, "Pour [it] out for the people that they may eat." Then there was no harm in the pot.

2Ki 4:43-44 LSB - [43] And his attendant said, "What, will I give this before one hundred men?" But he said, "Give [them] to the people that they may eat, for thus says Yahweh, 'They shall eat and have [some] left over.'" [44] So he gave [it] before them, and they ate and had [some] left over, according to the word of Yahweh.

Naaman Cleansed from Leprosy

2Ki 5:13-14 LSB - [13] Then his servants approached and spoke to him and said, "My father, had the prophet spoken with you [to do some] great thing, would you not have done [it]? How much more [then], when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" [14] So he went down and dipped [himself] seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy and he was clean.

Gehazi’s Leprosy

2Ki 5:26-27 LSB - [26] Then he said to him, "Did not my heart go [with you], when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female slaves? [27] "Thus the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your seed forever." So he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

The Axe Head Recovered

2Ki 6:5-6 LSB - [5] Now it happened that as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, my master! For it was borrowed." [6] Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw [it] in there and made the iron float.

Horses and Chariots of Fire Around Elisha

2Ki 6:17 LSB - [17] Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Yahweh, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2Ki 6:18 LSB - [18] And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, "Strike this people with blindness, I pray." So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

Aram’s Siege of Samaria

2 Kings 1-3 - Elijah Taken to Heaven

Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah

2Ki 1:2 LSB - [2] And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber, which [was] in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will live from this sickness."

2Ki 1:16 LSB - [16] Then he spoke to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron--is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?--therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'"

Jehoram Reigns over Israel

Elijah Taken to Heaven

2Ki 2:9-10 LSB - [9] Now it happened when they crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." [10] And he said, "You have asked a hard thing. [Nevertheless], if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be [so]."

2Ki 2:11-12 LSB - [11] As they were going along and talking, behold, [there appeared] a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and it separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. [12] And Elisha was seeing [this] and he was crying out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Elisha Has the Spirit of Elijah

2Ki 2:22 LSB - [22] So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

2Ki 2:24 LSB - [24] Then he looked behind him and saw them. And he cursed them in the name of Yahweh. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.

Moab Rebels Against Israel

1 Kings 19-22 - Ahab Humbles Himself

Elijah Flees Jeebel

1Ki 19:3-4 LSB - [3] And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his young man there. [4] But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O Yahweh, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers."

1Ki 19:7 LSB - [7] And the angel of Yahweh came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you."

Elijah at Horeb

1Ki 19:17-18 LSB - [17] "And it will be that the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. [18] "Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."

Elijah Puts the Mantle on Elisha

1Ki 19:19, 21 LSB - 

[19] So he went from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs [of oxen] before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. ... 

[21] So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave [it] to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

Ahab Wars with Aram

Israel Fights the Arameans

1Ki 20:28 LSB - [28] Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Because the Arameans have said, "Yahweh is a god of [the] mountains, but He is not a god of [the] valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.'"

1Ki 20:34 LSB - [34] And [Ben-hadad] said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will return, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." [Ahab said], "And I will let you go with this covenant." So he cut a covenant with him and let him go.

A Prophecy Enrages Ahab

1Ki 20:42 LSB - [42] And he said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Because you have let go out of [your] hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.'"

Ahab Takes Possession of Naboth’s Vineyard

1Ki 21:16 LSB - [16] Now it happened that when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Yahweh Speaks Against Ahab

1Ki 21:19 LSB - [19] "And you shall speak to him, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Have you murdered and also taken possession?"' And you shall speak to him, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh, "In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the dogs will lick up your blood, even yours."'"

Ahab Humbles Himself

1Ki 21:25-26 LSB - [25] Surely there was no one who sold himself to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. [26] And he acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom Yahweh dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

1Ki 21:27 LSB - [27] Now it happened when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.

1Ki 21:29 LSB - [29] "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, [but] I will bring the evil upon his house in his son's days."

Ahab and the False Prophets

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

The Death of Ahab

Jehoshaphat Reigns over Judah

1Ki 22:43 LSB - [43] And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; he did not turn away from it, doing what is right in the sight of Yahweh. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places.

Ahaziah Reigns over Israel

1 Kings 16-18 - Yahweh or Baal

Baasha Reigns over Israel

Elah Reigns over Israel

1Ki 16:12-13 LSB - [12] Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke against Baasha by the hand of Jehu the prophet, [13] for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel sin, provoking Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their idols.

Zimri Reigns over Israel

Omri Reigns over Israel

1Ki 16:24 LSB - [24] And he bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

Ahab Reigns over Israel

1Ki 16:34 LSB - [34] In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the [loss of] Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the [loss of] his youngest son Segub, according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by the hand of Joshua the son of Nun.

A Widow Sustains Elijah

1Ki 17:1-3 LSB - [1] Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." [2] Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, [3] "Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

1Ki 17:14-15 LSB - [14] "For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the face of the earth.'" [15] So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for [many] days.

Yahweh Returns Life to the Widow’s Son

1Ki 17:21-22 LSB - [21] Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to Yahweh and said, "O Yahweh my God, I pray You, let this child's life return to him." [22] And Yahweh heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he became alive.

1Ki 17:24 LSB - [24] Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know this: that you are a man of God and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth."

Obadiah Meets Elijah

1Ki 18:1 LSB - [1] Now it happened [after] many days that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth."

1Ki 18:19 LSB - [19] "So now then send [and] gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, [together] with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

Yahweh or Baal on Mount Carmel

1Ki 18:34-35 LSB - [34] And he said, "Fill four pitchers with water and pour [it] on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. [35] And the water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

Yahweh Answers, He Is God

1Ki 18:36-37 LSB - [36] Now it happened at the time of the offering of the [evening] sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your slave and I have done all these things at Your word. [37] "Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Yahweh, are God, and [that] You have turned their heart back again."

Yahweh Sends Rain

1Ki 18:42-43 LSB - [42] So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he stretched himself down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. [43] And he said to his young man, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked and said, "There is nothing." And he said, "Go back" seven times.

1 Kings 13-15 - The Prophet’s Disobedience

A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

1Ki 13:8-9 LSB - [8] But the man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. [9] "For so it was commanded me by the word of Yahweh, saying, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.'"

The Prophet’s Disobedience

1Ki 13:8-9, 17 LSB - [17] "For a word [came] to me by the word of Yahweh, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.'"

1Ki 13:20-22 LSB - [20] Now it happened as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who had brought him back; [21] and he called out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Because you have rebelled against the word of Yahweh, and have not kept the commandment which Yahweh your God commanded you, [22] but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water"; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.'"

1Ki 13:33-34 LSB - [33] After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but he returned and made priests of the high places from among all the people; any who delighted [to be so], he ordained. So they became priests of the high places. [34] And this event became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to blot [it] out and destroy [it] from off the face of the earth.

The House of Jeroboam Is Cut Off

1Ki 14:1 LSB - [1] At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.

The Death of Jeroboam

Rehoboam Reigns over Judah

The Death of Rehoboam

Abijam Reigns over Judah

Asa Reigns over Judah

1Ki 15:11 LSB - [11] And Asa did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, like David his father.

1Ki 15:13 LSB - [13] He also removed Maacah his mother from [being] queen mother, because she had made a horrid image for Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned [it] at the brook Kidron.

Asa Wars Against Baasha

Nadab Reigns over Israel

1Ki 15:28-30 LSB - [28] So Baasha put him to death in the third year of Asa king of Judah and became king in his place. [29] Now it happened that as soon as he was king, he struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone [who drew] breath, until he had destroyed them, according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, [30] [and] because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger.

Baasha Reigns over Israel

1 Kings 10-12 - Solomon Turns from Yahweh

The Queen of Sheba

1Ki 10:1 LSB - [1] Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came to test him with riddles.

Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

1Ki 10:21 LSB - [21] Now all 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 was of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.

1Ki 10:23 LSB - [23] So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

1Ki 10:26 LSB - [26] And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

Deu 17:16 LSB - [16] "Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. Yahweh has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.'

Solomon Turns from Yahweh

1Ki 11:1-3 LSB - [1] Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, [2] from the nations concerning which Yahweh had said to the sons of Israel, "You shall not go along with them, nor shall they go along with you, [for] they will surely turn your heart away after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. [3] And he had 700 wives--princesses--and 300 concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.

1Ki 11:4 LSB - [4] Now it happened at the time that Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father [had been].

Yahweh Raises Up Adversaries

Rehoboam Forsakes the Elders’ Counsel

Israel Rebels Against Judah

Jeroboam Makes Golden Calves

1 Kings 7-9 - The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

Solomon Builds His Own House

1Ki 7:1 LSB - [1] Now Solomon built his own house thirteen years, and he completed all his house.

Hiram’s Work in the House of Yahweh

1Ki 7:13-14 LSB - [13] Then King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. [14] He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

1Ki 7:51 LSB - [51] Thus all the work that King Solomon did [in] the house of Yahweh was finished. And Solomon brought in the things set apart as holy by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, [and] he put [them] in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh.

The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

1Ki 8:6 LSB - [6] Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.

1Ki 8:9 LSB - [9] There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses laid there at Horeb, where Yahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

Solomon Blesses the People

1Ki 8:14-15 LSB - [14] Then the king turned his face around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. [15] And he said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled [it] by His hand, saying,

Solomon’s Prayer for Israel

1Ki 8:41-43 LSB - [41] "Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your name's sake [42] (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand, and of Your outstretched arm); so if he comes and prays toward this house, [43] listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name to fear You, as [do] Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is called upon this house which I have built.

1Ki 8:46-49 LSB - [46] "When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; [47] and if they cause [these things] to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and return and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly'; [48] and if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; [49] then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them,

Solomon Blesses Yahweh

1Ki 8:58 LSB - [58] that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.

1Ki 8:61 LSB - [61] "Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to Yahweh our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day."

The Offering for the House of Yahweh

1Ki 8:66 LSB - [66] On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents with gladness and goodness of heart because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.

Yahweh Appears to Solomon

1Ki 9:2 LSB - [2] that Yahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.

“Brethren, we want renewed appearances, fresh manifestations, new visitations from on high; and I commend to those of you who are getting on in life, that while you thank God for the past, and look back with joy to his visits to you in your early days, you now seek and ask for a second visitation of the Most High.” (Spurgeon)

“We do not need to be converted again; yet we do want that again over our heads the windows of heaven should be opened, that again a Pentecost should be given, and that we should renew our youth like the eagles, to run without weariness, and walk without fainting. The Lord fulfill to everyone of his people tonight his blessing upon Solomon!” (Spurgeon)

1Ki 9:3 LSB - [3] And Yahweh said to him, "I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have set apart as holy this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

“Have you never known what it is to leave off prayer when you are in the middle of it, and say, “I am heard: I am heard”? Have you not felt that you needed not to cry any longer, for you had gained your suit, and must rather begin to praise than continue to pray? When a man goes to a bank with a cheque, and he gets the money, he does not stand loafing about the counter: he goes off about his business. And oftentimes before God, he that is prepared to be a long time in prayer if it should be necessary, feels that he must be brief in petition and long in thanksgiving.” (Spurgeon)

 

Solomon’s Other Acts

 

1 King 4-6 - Solomon Builds the Temple

Solomon’s Officials

1Ki 4:5 LSB - [5] and Azariah the son of Nathan [was] over the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, [was] the king's friend;

Solomon’s Wealth and Wisdom

1Ki 4:20 LSB - [20] Judah and Israel [were] as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; [they] were eating and drinking and being glad.

1Ki 4:28 ESV - [28] Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

“In Solomon’s court all his officers had a service to carry out, ‘every man according to his charge.’ It is exactly so in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we are truly his, he has called us to some work and office, and he wills us to discharge that office diligently. We are not to be gentlemen-at-ease, but men-at-arms; not loiterers, but laborers; not glittering spangles, but burning and shining lights.” (Spurgeon)

“Many a servant girl gives her fourpenny-piece to the offering, and if the same proportion were carried out among those who are wealthy, gold would not be so rare a metal in the LORD’s treasury. A tithe may be too much for some, but a half might not be enough for another. Let it be, ‘Every man according to his charge,’ as to measure as well as to matter.” (Spurgeon)

Spurgeon concluded the message on a high note: “Everything for Jesus, the glorious Solomon of our hearts, the Beloved of our souls! Life for Jesus! Death for Jesus! Time for Jesus! Eternity for Jesus! Hand and heart for Jesus! Brain and tongue for Jesus! Night and day for Jesus! Sickness or health for Jesus! Honor or dishonor for Jesus! Shame or glory for Jesus! Everything for Jesus, ‘Every man according to his charge.’ So may it be! Amen.”

1Ki 4:29 LSB - [29] And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of [understanding] in [his] heart, like the sand that is on the seashore.

1Ki 4:32 LSB - [32] He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.

1Ki 4:34 LSB - [34] And men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Covenant with Hiram King of Tyre

1Ki 5:15-17 LSB - [15] And Solomon had 70,000 who carried loads, and 80,000 hewers [of stone] in the mountains, [16] besides Solomon's 3,300 chief deputies who [were] over the project [and] who ruled over the people who were doing the work. [17] Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, precious stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones.

This speaks to the way we should work for God. We don’t work for appearance only, but also to excel in the deep and hidden things. “I want, dear friends, to urge that all our work for God should be done thoroughly, and especially that part of it which lies lowest, and is least observed of men” (Spurgeon).

This speaks to the way God works in us. He works in the deep and hidden things when others are concerned with mere appearances. “We have been the subjects of a great deal of secret, unseen, underground work. The LORD has spent upon us a world of care. My brother, you would not like to unveil those great searchings of heart of which you have been the subject. You have been honored in public; and, if so, you have had many a whipping behind the door lest you should glory in your flesh… All those chastenings, humblings, and searchings of heart have been a private laying of foundations for higher things” (Spurgeon).

This speaks to the way God builds the church. He wants to do a work of deep, strong foundations instead of a work a mile wide but an inch deep. “To maintain solid truth you need solid people. Vital godliness is therefore to be aimed at. Twenty thousand people, all merely professing faith, but having no energetic life, may not have grace enough among them to make twenty solid believers. Poor, sickly believers turn the church into an hospital, rather than a camp” (Spurgeon).

Solomon Builds the Temple

1Ki 6:7 LSB - [7] The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.

1Ki 6:11-13 LSB - [11] And the word of Yahweh came to Solomon saying, [12] "[Concerning] this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and do My judgments and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will establish My word with you which I spoke to David your father. [13] "And I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel."