1 Kings

And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.1 Kings 3:1

Pharaoh - As being a powerful neighbour, whose daughter doubtless was first instructed in, and proselyted to the Jewish religion. It seems, this was designed by God to be a type of Christ, calling his church to himself, and to the true religion, not only out of the Jews, but even out of the Gentile world.

Then Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?1 Kings 1:11-27

Adonijah, in common with the people generally, expected that this natural arrangement should be followed in the Hebrew kingdom as in all others. Nathan, who was aware of the old king's solemn promise to Solomon, and, moreover, that this promise was sanctioned by the divine will, saw that no time was to be lost.

And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone.1 Kings 5:17

Work done without the Lord's command may be nothing more than mere will-worship, unacceptable with the Lord. Where the word of a king is, there is power. And you may expect that power to go forth with you when you go forth under the guidance and authority of the Divine command. Solomon began to build the temple at the foundation. You smile and wonder how he could have begun anywhere else. Ah, dear Friends! I wish common sense ruled people in religion as well as in building temples. For many Brethren begin their building at the top.

And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.1 Kings 18:12

I SUSPECT that Elijah did not think very much of Obadiah. He does not treat him with any great consideration, but addresses him more sharply than one would expect from a fellow-believer. Elijah was the man of action’bold, always to the front, with nothing to conceal; Obadiah was a quiet believer, true and steadfast, but in a very difficult position, and therefore driven to perform his duty in a less open manner. His faith in the Lord swayed his life, but did not drive him out of the court.

Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.1 Kings 1:1

Now - Rather, “and.” The conjunction has here, probably, the same sort of connecting force which it has at the opening of Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, etc., and implies that the historian regards his work as a continuation of a preceding history. King David - The expression “king David,” instead of the simpler “David,” is characteristic of the writer of Kings. (See the introduction to the Book of Kings) The phrase is comparatively rare in Chronicles and Samuel. Stricken in, years - David was perhaps now in his first year.

I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;1 Kings 2:2-4

We never let fall the promise till we let fall the precept. God had promised David that the Messiah should come from his loins, and that promise was absolute: but the promise that there should not fail him a man on the throne of Israel was conditional--if his seed behave themselves as they should.

Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Jehovah until those days.1 Kings 3:2

The people sacrificed in high places - Could there be any sin in this, or was it unlawful till after the temple was built? for prophets, judges, the kings which preceded Solomon, and Solomon himself, sacrificed on high places, such as Gibeon, Gilgal, Shiloh, Hebron, Kirjath-jearim, etc. But after the temple was erected, it was sinful to offer sacrifices in any other place; yet here it is introduced as being morally wrong, and it is introduced, 1Ki 3:3, as being an exceptionable trait in the character of Solomon.

And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to him.1 Kings 13:4-6

But when in the temple of our God, that wicked king Jeroboam took away the gifts that his father had laid up and offered them to idols on the holy altar, did not his right hand, which he stretched, wither, and his idols, which he called on, were not able to help him? Then, turning to the Lord, he asked for pardon, and at once his hand, which had withered by sacrilege, was healed by true religion.

And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him.1 Kings 22:21-22

I think every evil and deceitful spirit is a lie, and whenever anyone of these speaks, it speaks from its own resources and by no means from the resources of God. And the father of these [spirits] is the liar, the devil. We will now present what moved us to say that every inferior spirit is false.

And Jehovah raised up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom.1 Kings 11:14

The adversary has no power against us unless God has previously permitted it, in order that all our fear and devotion and obedience may be turned to God, since in temptations nothing is permitted evil, unless the power is granted by God.… Moreover, power is given to evil against us according to our sins, as it is written: "Who has given Jacob for spoil and Israel to those who despoiled him?

But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded!1 Kings 8:27

Solomon the son of David, in the books styled The Reigns of the Kings, comprehending not only that the structure of the true temple was celestial and spiritual but had also a reference to the flesh, which he who was both the son and the Lord of David was to build up, both for his own presence, where, as a living image, he resolved to make his shrine, and for the church that was to rise up through the union of faith, says expressly, "Will God in very deed dwell with humans on the earth?"