1 Kings 12:12-24 - What share do we have in David?

12:12-15

And why did Rehoboam choose the foolish advice, rather than the sensible advice of the elders? Maybe it was out of pride, or seeking to demonstrate his own authority. Whatever the case, he answered the people harshly. Note that while the subsequent events were the outcome of Rehoboam's stupidity, the text  makes it clear that it was the Lord’s will that was being fulfilled. The sovereignty of God and human responsibility are not in conflict.

12:16-24

Rehoboam’s decision has the inevitable consequences, the people think they have no part in Rehoboam’s kingdom, nor David’s, so they abandon him and “went home”. 12:18,19 describes the sorry state of affairs. Only Judah remained loyal to David. Benjamin was also with David. There was war between \Israel and Judah. Fortunately the war was stopped by the Lord. The problem was not Israel, but disobedience.

1 Kings 12:12-24 - Taking bad advice

12:12-15

And why did Rehoboam choose the foolish advice, rather than the sensible advice of the elders? Maybe it was out of pride, or seeking to demonstrate his own authority. Whatever the case, he answered the people harshly. Note that while the subsequent events were the outcome of Rehoboam's stupidity, the text  makes it clear that it was the Lord’s will that was being fulfilled. The sovereignty of God and human responsibility are not in conflict.

12:16-24

Rehoboam’s decision has the inevitable consequences, the people think they have no part in Rehoboam’s kingdom, nor David’s, so they abandon him and “went home”. 12:18,19 describes the sorry state of affairs. Only Judah remained loyal to David. Benjamin was also with David. There was war between \Israel and Judah. Fortunately the war was stopped by the Lord. The problem was not Israel, but disobedience. 

1 Kings 14:31,31 - False religion

14:31,32

Shrines were built on the high places, and these would become a snare for the people. He even instituted a festival. Trouble lay ahead.

1 KINGS 12:1-11 - Rehoboam went to Shechem

12:1-4

Solomon had been renowned for his wisdom, one might have expected his son to inherit some of this wisdom, but this proved not to be the case. They were going to make Rehoboam king, Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and was a natural choice as successor to Solomon. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon, who had fled to Egypt to be safe from Solomon. On hearing of SOlomon’s death he returned from Egypt. While Solomon had been very wise and effective, he had imposed heavy burdens on the people, both in terms of taxing them and using them as slave labour. \the people hoped they now had a chance to be relieved of these burdens. There would have been wisdom in doing this. Initially Jeroboam took a wise course. \he wanted time to think about this. It is wise not to answer quickly when people make demands. Jeroboam went to the elders. The elders gave wise advice They knew how things had gone under Solomon, and the simmering problems. They said he would gain the heart of the people  if he gave the people a favourable answer. However, the young men gave a different answer, urging Jeroboam to give a harsher answer. \the young men were urging a more macho approach, which has a superficial attraction, but would lead to disaster. So Rehoboam gave the people a harsh answer. The people predictably reacted by thinking they had no interest in striking with David. Instead they would go their own way. 

12:5-11

Initially Rehoboam acted wisely seeking time to consider the matter. It is usually wise to think about matters, rather than giving a hasty matter. However, the mere act of waiting does not in itself guarantee a wise answer, as proved to be the case here. Rehoboam continued acting in a wise vein by consulting the elders who had served under Solomon, and they did indeed give wise advice. However Rehoboam rejected their advice and sought the counsel of “the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him” They encouraged him to promise to be even harsher than his father had been. \why did they give such stupid advice? Maybe they thought they were being clever, and knew better than the elders, or maybe resentment had built up for some reason.

Resurrection - a look at 1 Cor 15

Video here https://youtu.be/YI4XRujTDrg?si=u9pnaww7-W5r-ibm 

Mark 14:48-52 - Am I leading a rebellion

14:48,49

The religious leaders had sent the mob to arrest Jesus as if He was leading a rebellion, they had co-opted Judas as if they needed special inside information to know who a secret troublemaker was. Jesus points out that He was not leading a rebellion, never having incited any action against the Roman authorities. Moreover, He had often been in the temple courts teaching. They knew exactly who He was and could have arrested Him at anytime. Things happened the way they did in fulfilment of the Scriptures. This does not mean that they were acting as automatons, but God knows the end from the beginning.

14:50-52

In fulfilment of Jesus’s words in 14:27-31, which were themselves based on Scripture, everyone deserted Jesus. The young man of v51,52 is not mentioned in any of the other gospels. The anonymity of this person, along with Mark being the only one to mention him, has led some to believe that this person is Mark himself. The fact that losing his garment rendered him naked may suggest that he had dressed in haste to go and be with Jesus.

Mark 14:43-47 -Judas Kiss

14:43

Judas now appears, along with a crowd armed with clubs and swords. The armed crowd probably included the temple guard. This crowd, or mob, had been sent by the religious leaders to do their dirty work. As mentioned earlier, the purpose of Judas was to provide cover for the chief priests. One of His own betrayed Him, there must be something wrong! Note the last words in v42, “Here comes my betrayer”. Judas may have thought he was surprising Jesus, but Jesus knew what was happening and was ready.

14:44,45

Greeting someone with a kiss was a normal form of respectful greeting in the society, so it should have signified that Judas respected Jesus. Instead it signified that he was betraying Jesus. We may wonder why the guards needed to know who the one was that they were to arrest. We do need to remember that they didn’t have television or the internet in those days! Even so, it is still a little strange. Jesus had been prominent, and in the temple area. Also, one would think it was obvious who was the leader. To make matters worse, Judas even called Jesus “Rabbi”.

14:46,47

The men duly seized Jesus and arrested Him. “One of those standing near ...” John 18:10 tells us that this was actually Peter. So we have here another example of Peter’s influence on Mark’s account. Peter was not wanting to do anything that would draw attention to himself in a way that might be thought to exalt him. 

Mark 14:39-42 - RISE! Let us go!

14:39,40

Jesus went away again to pray the same thing. He had not yet received an answer, or strength , from His first round of praying. Sometimes we need to pray the same thing repeatedly. After He had finished He returned, and once again the disciples were sleeping. This was because their eyes were heavy. The events of the past few days had been emotionally exhausting. Yet they were ashamed at their failure, and did not know what to say to Jesus.

14:41,42

Jesus went away to pray for a third time. Once again He returned to find the disciples sleeping yet again. “Enough!” It seems that Jesus was now settled in His mind. He knew that there was no other way, the cross was the only way, and He was going to receive no help from the disciples. “The hour has come”. He knew He was about to be arrested, and then the “trial” and sentence would all commence. The Son of Man would be delivered into the hands of sinners. “Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” In the words of Isaiah 50:7 Jesus had now set His face like flint. There was no deterring Him from the path God had chosen for Him.

1 Kings 11:39-43 - I will humble David's descendants

11:39,40

“I will humble David’s descendants ..., but not for ever.” Jeroboam and the future kings of Israel would not keep God’s ways, nor will any man. It is only through Christ that we can be saved. Solomon’s response to all this was to try and kill Jeroboam, but in this he failed with Jeroboam fleeing to Egypt. This is a sad end to Solomon’s life. He started off so well, but ended up a pitiful disaster of a man.

11:41-43

Reigned for forty years, about the same length as his father, David. There was a separate book, “the annals of Solomon” recording all that he did, along with the wisdom he displayed. Sadly he did not display much wisdom in the latter part of his life. This is a warning to all of us, even if we have been “successful”, we must not take things for granted. So Solomon was buried in Jerusalem and Rehoboam became king.

1 Kings 11:32-38 - For the sake of my servant David

11:32

As with His words to Solomon, God tells Jeroboam that He is still remembering His promise to David, so David would have one tribe. Now, one plus ten equals eleven, not twelve. I have assumed that this means Judah plus one. Other possibilities are that Benjamin or Simeon were absorbed into Judah, or that the one is Levi. 

11:33-36

“Because they have”, the Septuagint has “because he has”. “They” implies that Solomon took the nation along with him in all his idol worship, which is quite likely. Whatever the case, Solomon and the people are being punished for their disobedience. There are favourable remarks made concerning David. Judah plus one would be allowed to remain so that God’s promise to David would be fulfilled.

11:37,38

We now read of a promise being made to Jeroboam that is very similar to the one made to David and then to Solomon. If Jeroboam would walk in the ways of the Lord, then all would be well and God would bless his dynasty. One could imply that the principle of things going well if someone obeys the Lord is a general principle that applies to all people. 

1 Kings 11:26-31 - Jeroboam rebelled against the king

11:26-28

Solomon suffered trouble from without, but also from within. Jeroboam was an able man, and was recognised as such by Solomon. So Solomon put him in charge of the forced labour. However, he later rebelled against the king. When we seek to follow the Lord’s ways, things tend to work out, problems we encounter tend to get solved. When we rebel against the Lord nothing seems to work. All sorts of problems arise, and it doesn’t seem to matter what we do. Nations in the West are experiencing this phenomenon.

11:29-31

Now a prophet, Ahijah, comes on the scene. In 1 Kings 11:9-13 God had told Solomon what He would do. Now He, through the prophet, tells Jeroboam what would happen, and Jeroboam’s role in this. Ahijah begins in dramatic fashion, tearing apart a new cloak into twelve pieces. He gives ten pieces to Jeroboam, these were to represent the ten tribes that the nation of Israel would have and would be given to Jeroboam.

Mark 13:34-37 - Watch!

13:34

Jesus then makes clear how the disciples are supposed to act, and how we are supposed to act. Jesus does this in the form of a parable. The master of the house is Jesus and he goes away. He goes away giving each of his servants a particular task, with one to keep watch at the door. So the thing the servants, and therefore the disciples, and therefore us, are to focus on is carrying out our assigned tasks.

13:35-37

Keeping watch does not mean obsessing about “when”, but being assiduous about the tasks that Jesus has given us to do. For we do not know when the master, i.e. Jesus, will return. The way to be ready is to do the work that the Lord has given us to do. The worst thing to do is to be found sleeping when He returns. Instead, we are to be active and alert.

1 Kings 11:19-25 - So that I may return to my own country

11:19-22

Pharaoh liked Hadad, so much so that he gave him one of his wife’s sisters in marriage. This was Queen Tahpenes. This wife bore Hadad a son, Genubath. Genubath was brought up in the royal household. However, though Hadad was treated very well, he yearned to get back to his own land. So when he heard of David’s death, and of Joab’s, he asked Pharaoh to be allowed to return to his homeland. Pharaoh seemed to be somewhat offended, but nevertheless Hadad insisted on returning.

11:23-25

Hadad was an adversary from the south, God also raised up an adversary from the north, this was Rezon. Zobah was an Aramean king and had been defeated by David. After that Rezon had gathered together an army and they settled in Damascus. He caused trouble for Israel throughout Solomon’s reign. The backdrop to this can be found in 2 Sam 8:3-11, where David killed twenty two thousand Arameans, and captured a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand soldiers. 

Mark 13:32,33 - Only the Father

13:32

It is generally taken that the final section of this chapter refers to the second coming. And I would agree, but I also think we have to admit that our interpretation of chapters such as these does require an element of eisegesis, rather than pure exegesis. We now have “that day”, whereas earlier we had “those days”. In fact on the basis of “those days” one would have to say that 13:24,25 refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, which kind of supports my approach of saying it is a mistake to see any of this chapter as referring solely to AD70 or the second coming. Whatever the case, here the key point Jesus is making is that no one knows the day or the hour. So we should not waste time debating when the day or hour will be. 

13:33

“Be on your guard”. In 1 Peter 1:13 Peter tells us to be alert and to have minds that are fully sober. And remember that Peter’s recollections probably lie behind much of Mark’s gospel. One might think that if we could work out when the event was going to happen then we would know when we needed to be on our guard. That is not what we are called to do, rather we are called to be alert at all times.

1 Kings 11:15-18 - Hadad fled to Egypt

11:15,16

In 2 Sam 5:8-14 we read of how David subdued the Edomites. Here we get more details of what happened, and this included Joab slaughtering the men of Edom. David had only sent him to bury the dead, but in typical fashion, Joab had gone way beyond his remit. Joab had stayed there six months to carry out his “work”. Unrestrained violence does not work in the long run. The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is often criticised for “glorying” in violence. This is not true. What it does say is that sometimes violence is necessary, but unrestrained violence is not good. I am writing this on the day that Israel had agreed a ceasefire with Hamas. I have mixed feelings about this, but the two lessons from the Old Testament are relevant. The attitude of some that the problems are the fault of Israel, and if only Israel was nice to Palestine everything would be fine is utter nonsense, demonstrating the stupidity and/or duplicitousness of those who advance such arguments. On the other hand, unrestrained violence against Palestine is not the way to go. By the way, Israel has not been guilty of unrestrained violence, the truth is that they have been remarkably restrained.

11:17,18

Although Joab had aimed to slaughter all the Edomites, he had not succeeded. Some Edomite officials, and Hadad, had fled to Egypt. This is still true today, completely wiping out a people is almost impossible. Pharaoh gave Hadad a house and provided him with food. This is also part of the reason why Israel was warned against making alliances with Egypt, for she was untrustworthy. Likewise, today we should be wary of secular help. Now this is not to say we should never accept it, for there are examples in the Bible of Israel receiving help from secular sources. But we must never put our trust in secular sources. As an example it is foolish to put trust in Donald Trump, for his heart is not for God (as far as I can tell), and will at times make decisions for other reasons.

Mark 13:30,31 - Truly I will tell you

13:30

“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened”. If “these things” is taken as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, then this verse presents no problem, for it was to happen within about forty years, so some would indeed still be alive. It is only if we take it as referring to the second coming that the words present a problem, for which there is no satisfactory answer.

13:31

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”. The word of the Lord is the most solid thing in the world, the surest foundation that we can ever build upon. The chapter began with the disciples remarking on how wonderful and substantial the temple looked, Jesus tells them what is truly trustworthy. In Jer 7:4 God warns the people not to say “the temple of the Lord”, i.e. putting trust in the temple itself. Note that Jesus says “my words”, the word of Jesus is the word of the Lord.

1 Kings 11:12-14 - The Lord raised up an adversary

11:12,13

Yet the Lord had not forgotten His promises to David. So this would not happen in Solomon’s lifetime, but during the reign of his son. And even then, God would not take all of the kingdom. One tribe would be left with his son, so the son would have two tribes, his own, and one other. God had chosen David and had chosen Jerusalem. Man’s sin has severe consequences, but the Lord’s plans will ultimately be fulfilled.

11:14

Earlier we read of Solomon saying God had given him peace on every side (1 Kings 5:4), now this all comes to an end. We are now in a time when the Lord raises up adversaries against Solomon. When a people seek to follow God’s ways they enjoy His favour, when they abandon God the exact opposite happens. In the West we are experiencing the truth of this. The first of these adversaries is Hadad the Edomite.

Mark 13:26-29 - With great power and glory

13:26,27

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory”. The primary focus of this is on the second coming of Jesus, but has relevance for AD 70, and many other times in between as well! At many points in history, and in many places today Christians face great danger, including death and torture. Even in those times God will be working to “gather His elect from the four winds”. And at some point Christ will come “with great power and glory”.

13:28,29

Earlier, Mark 11:13, we had the incident of Jesus cursing the fig tree. Jesus’ words here could be referring back to that lesson, or it could just be a general lesson to be learnt from fig trees. “These things” in this section (13:26-31) are referring primarily to the destruction of Jerusalem. As the fig tree in chapter 11 did not fare well, there could be a lesson relating to Jerusalem, i.e. God will actually destroy Jerusalem and the temple. If it is a more general lesson from fig trees, Jesus is telling them to take the warnings seriously. In v29 NIV has “it”, with “he” as a footnote, ESV has “he”.

1 Kings 11:9-11 - The Lord became angry with Solomon

11:9

“The Lord became angry with Solomon”. There is no dispute about the attitude of the Lord towards Solomon. The reason for the anger was that Solomon's “heart had turned away from the Lord”. This was even after the Lord had appeared to Solomon on two occasions. People often make excuses for not believing in the Lord. In Solomon’s case there was absolutely no excuse. He had seen the Lord, he had received numerous blessings.

11:10,11

Solomon had been explicitly forbidden from following other gods, it was not as if he could claim ignorance. So the kingdom would be torn away from Solomon. The promises had all been dependent upon Solomon continuing to walk in the ways of the Lord. This he had manifestly failed to do. Disobedience has consequences.

Mark 13:23-25 - Be on your guard

13:23

The answer to these dangers is for the disciples to be “on their guard”. “I have told you in advance”. Sometimes God does miracles, or gives spiritual gifts, at other times He gives sound advice and expects us to use our godly wisdom and common sense. And when miracles happen we are still to use godly wisdom.

13:24,25

The quote comes from Isaiah 13:10; 34:4. Schnabel (and others) see 13:24-27 as marking a clear break from the destruction of Jerusalem and now refers to the very end times. As indicated earlier, I do not think there is any need to see things as referring only to AD 70, or only to the very end times. Some parts may focus more on one or the other, but there are lessons relevant to both. The language in the quoted texts is apocalyptic, but it can refer to actual events, or be a dramatic way of referring to great political upheaval. Again, I think we make a mistake if we think we have to see it as purely actual events, or purely metaphorical language to describe political/military events.

1 Kings 11:4-8 - His wives turned his heart after other gods

11:4

“As Solomon grew old ...” God had warned that marrying foreign women would lead to one being led astray to worship other gods. As Solomon grew old , this happened. Solomon’s heart went after other gods, and he was no longer “fully devoted to the Lord”. David also sinned in the sexual area, (though not to the same extent as Solomon), but he never went in for idol worship.

11:5-8

Some of the false gods that Solomon went after are named. Molech was associated with child sacrifice. “So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. The phrase “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” is one that will appear many times in 1 and 2 Kings. Solomon built high places for these “detestable” idols. He seems to have made offerings and sacrifices to the gods of all his wives. The text makes clear that these gods were “detestable”.  Solomon was active in worshipping idols, building high places for the false gods.

Mark 13:20-22 - Do not believe it

13:20

The Lord cut short the number of days of the siege. The siege lasted “only” five months. This was quite long enough, but sieges could go on for a lot longer than that. If it had gone on much longer then no one would have survived. Why did God cut the days short? “For the sake of the elect”. Note that in all this while men are taking actions, ultimately it is the Lord who is in control. This should induce both fear and hope. Fear because God is a God of judgement, and judgement comes. Hope, because God is also a God of mercy. If we focus on only one of these aspects we will not have a complete or accurate picture.

13:21,22

When there are times of great crisis people are desperate for an answer, so are particularly prone to believe “answers” proffered by all sorts of people. Jesus warns the disciples that “at that time” false messiahs will appear. Schnabel reports a number of false messiahs and false prophets who appeared in the time leading up to AD70. People will also be looking for a messiah. Jesus also says that the false messiahs and prophets will “appear and perform signs and wonders”, with the intention of deceiving the elect. Now these people claimed various things were signs, but were not great at doing wonders! These words also apply to the very end, for Revelation also speaks of the beat out of the sea performing signs and wonders (Rev 13:12-14).

1 Kings 11:1-3 - Solomon loved many foreign women

11:1,2

We now come to the absolute downfall of Solomon. He had sinned earlier by marrying Pharaoh's daughter, and we have seen his excesses with regard to wealth and horses and chariots. We now see that Pharaoh’s daughter was only the start. Solomon “loved many foreign women”. These included women of Israel’s enemies, and the Lord had warned the Israelites not to intermarry with.  The Lord had also given them the reason for this warning, for “they will surely turn your hearts after their gods” (Deut 7:3,4). “Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love”.  The words here imply that these were not mere political marriages, but that there was a much deeper connection.

11:3

The numbers are simply staggering! 700 wives and 300 concubines. Solomon was a deeply disordered man. I find it amazing that a man who on the one hand was so wise, was, at the same time, an utter fool. He did everything to excess. I think it is also worth noting that the scale of his sacrifices were also excessive. He did everything to excess. 

Mark 13:17-19 - How dreadful it will be

13:17,18

Jesus remarks on how dreadful it would be for “pregnant women and nursing mothers”, and presumably for the old and infirm. Remember that Jesus is talking, in immediate terms, about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, things that the people held dear. “Pray that this will not take place in winter”. Things would be bad enough for the weaker people, but would be even worse if they occurred in winter. So Jesus urges them to pray that these events would not happen in winter. This actually implies that while these events would certainly occur, the prayers of the people could have some influence on what God did.

13:19

“Days of distress unequaled from the beginning ... until now”. It is always difficult to compare terrible events, but the days of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple were certainly terrible. At one point the Romans were crucifying up to five hundred people a day in front of the city walls in an attempt to persuade the people to surrender. Josephus claimed that over a million people died, now these may be exaggerated figures but still indicate the size of the suffering. “Never to be equalled again” is a hyperbolic statement (Schnabel) pointing to the continuation of history.

1 Kings 10:23-29 - King Solomon was greater inriches and wisdom

10:23-25

Solomon became the richest person on earth, though that actually means the region they lived in, rather than physically the whole world, for the writer did not know about the whole world. However, it is possible he was actually wealthier than anyone else on earth. The people of other nations did know that Solomon’s wealth had something to do with the God of Israel. People brought more gifts to Solomon.

10:26-29

Solomon also accumulated chariots and horses. All of this was in direct contravention of Deut 17:16,17 where the Law says:

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

As we see, Solomon broke everyone of these prohibitions. We haven’t had much mention of the wives yet, but we will soon see that he broke that one in a big way. At the beginning I wondered why God gave Solomon wealth. Perhaps the case was that God gave him wealth, but then Solomon just wanted more and more and went to all sorts of lengths to get it.

Mark 13:14-16 - The abomination that causes desolation

13:14

Now we come to the interesting bit! Of course, all this chapter is interesting, but this part causes all sorts of debate and problems, “the abomination that causes desolation”. Let’s start on solid ground, there are three references in Daniel that this is referring to: Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. The term “abomination that causes desolation” is a translation of a Hebrew term that means “detestable thing”, and standing where it does not belong means standing in the temple. 1 Maccabees 1:54 refers to Antiochus Epiphanes IV erecting a desolating sacrifice  on the altar of burnt offering in 167 BC. Josephesus tells us that pigs were sacrificed. The immediate fulfilment may have been in August of AD 70 when Roman troops made sacrifices in the temple court. However, this is contested. Other possibilities can be seen in Schnabel. This does not mean that related events would not happen later.

13:15.16

The “let the reader understand” in the previous verse shows that the people of the time would, or at least could, understand the meaning.The warning in v14 was not an esoteric comment on the book of Daniel, but a very practical warning, and in these two verses they are warned that when these things happen there is no time to lose. They will need to flee, and it will not be an orderly departure. There will be no time to gather up one’s possessions.

1 Kings 10:14-22 - The weight of gold

10:14-17

Gold features prominently in this section. The amounts of gold seem enormous, but are comparable with figures found in  other records of the region and time. 666 is of course the number of the beast in Revelation, but that is probably coincidental. The gold came from far and wide. Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold. One might comment that he had nothing better to do with the gold, and is just accumulating wealth for its open sake.

10:18-22

Solomon also made “a great throne”. We get more details of the things he did with the gold. We are also told about the size of his merchant navy, and the journeys they went on. On these journeys they brought back gold, silver and ivory, along with apes and baboons. Again I note that none of this is actually achieving much good.

Mark 13:11-13 - Brother will betray brother

13:11

The prospect of being hauled before councils and others is not in itself a very enticing one. But there are two things they needed to bear in mind, as do we if we ever find ourselves in a similar position. One is the purpose, and it is God’s purpose. It is not us doing something and hoping God shows up. Rather it is God involving us in what He is doing. The second is that the Holy Spirit will help us. On our own merits and abilities we are not up to the task, but it is not about us doing things in our own strength. And note that God involves men and women in all that He does.

13:12,13

However, Jesus makes no attempt to sugar-coat the issue. Jesus is utterly realistic, both about the cost, and about the purpose. We need to have both in view, to focus on just one or the other is a half-truth. So Jesus warns that “brother will betray brother to death”. Schnabel says that there was limited evidence of “brother betraying brother” before AD 70, but so what? There certainly was persecution, for we read about it in Acts, and trying to see things purely in terms of events leading up to AD 70 is, in my view, a mistake. There was partial fulfilment in the events leading up to AD 70, and to ignore that is foolishness, but so is trying to see it all as pertaining to AD 70. Children would rebel against their parents and have them put to death. “Everyone will hate you”, this is hyperbolic, though it may seem as if everyone was against them. And there are many Christians today who encounter such things.

1 Kings 10:6-13 - I did not believe these things

10:6-9

The queen had heard the great reports, but did not believe that they could be true, until she came and saw for herself. What she saw was even greater than the reports she had heard. She believed that the people and officials must be very happy.She accredited the well being and wealth of Solomon to the Lord. She was also impressed with Solomon’s ability to “maintain justice and righteousness”. All peoples desire “justice and righteousness”, though many individuals and groups will be less keen on this if they gain power.

10:10-13

The queen gave Solomon 120 talents of gold. Reports from the time indicate that these vast amounts were not that unusual. There were also large quantities of spices and precious stones.Hiram’s ships brought more gold, and also almug wood. This wood was used for the supports for the temple, and for the royal palace. Solomon also gave many gifts to the queen, and she eventually returned to her own country.

Mark 13:9,10 - You must be on your guard

13:9

The things mentioned in 13:6-8 were general, affecting everyone. Jesus now turns to things which are more personal, and affect us because we are Christians, “on account of me”. They would be “handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues”, and we read of these things happening in Acts. Today Christians in many places face persecution. If they were not Christians they would not be persecuted, but there is a purpose in the persecutions. They would “stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them”. In the trials of Jesus it was ostensibly Jesus who was on trial, but in reality it was the Jewish religious leaders, the Roman authorities and, indeed, all of us, who were on trial.

13:10

The purpose went much further than the immediacy of Judea, but “the gospel must first be preached to all nations”. This matches up with the Great Commission in Matt 28:18-20. The first disciples undoubtedly did not appreciate the full extent of the world, and therefore of the meaning of “all nations”, but God certainly did! God’s purposes are greater than ours, or as it says in Is 55:5,8.

1 Kings 10:1-5 - The queen of Sheba

10:1

We are now gently on the downhill slope for Solomon. At this stage it is probably safe to say that it is the deceptiveness of wealth that is the snare for Solomon. Now remember that Solomon did not ask God for wealth, but for wisdom. This does raise the question, to which I don’t know the answer, as to why God gave him so much wealth, knowing it would be a snare for him. Perhaps it is a demonstration that we all need to be born again, otherwise we cannot handle God’s blessings. Whatever the case, the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame, “and his relationship to the Lord”. So the world sees a man of God, and the blessings of God, yet the man is actually heading for a fall. We do not know for sure where “Sheba” was, possibly near modern day Yemen. The queen may have been the ruling queen, or the king’s partner. Again, we do not know.

10:2-5

The queen went to Jerusalem to see if all the talk of Solomon was true. She went there with a great caravan and many precious items. She had come to test Solomon with questions, and he answered them all. The queen was mightily impressed with Solomon’s wisdom and his wealth, and also the burnt offerings he made at the temple.

Mark 13:7,8 - Wars, and rumours of wars

13:7

The AD 30-70 period was a time of relative peace, but even so there were a number of conflicts in that period. Every period in history has “wars” and “rumours of wars”, and our age is no different. Jesus tells us that these things must happen, but the end is still to come. There can be a natural tendency to view our own times as the most dangerous times there have ever been. This is natural because they are the risks that we face, and so are the most real to us. But Jesus tells us “do not be alarmed”. This does not mean that these things do not matter, but does affect how we are to react. We do not “head for the hill” in panic, but react calmly, seeking to help where we can.

13:8

“Nation will rise against nation”. This clearly goes beyond the immediate situation that the disciples would face. The world is unstable, for it is a world that has abandoned God,a world run on human lines, not godly lines. Today we see kingdom rising against kingdom. We see America, China and Russia rising against each other. We see Iran and Israel rising against each other. We see kingdoms like “wokism” seeking to exert its power, and we see counter kingdoms rising against “wokism”. We may rejoice when we see “wokism” being exposed for the nonsense that it is, but we should also be careful about what might be seeking to replace it. There are also natural disasters like famines and earthquakes. We must not be alarmed.

1 Kings 9:20-28 - Three times a year

9:20-23

The land had not been completely cleared of non- Israelites. Various groups of people are mentioned, though there is no mention of the Girgashites or Canaanites. These people were conscripted into slave labour. The text does note that “the Israelites could not exterminate” these people, though it does not say why they were unable to do so. It notes that no Israelites were enslaved, though they were appointed to other duties.

9:24-28

Pharaoh’s daughter came to the palace that Solomon had built for her, and he then constructed the terraces. We are then told that three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offering and fellowship offerings at the temple. So we see Solomon observing the form of religion, though his heart is drifting away. Solomon also established a navy, and it seems that the rift between Hiram and Solomon had been healed.

Mark 13:5,6 - Watch that no one deceives you

13:5

Jesus, as was often the case, took a slightly different tack. They needed to beware of being deceived. Throughout history there have been false predictions of the return of Christ, none of them proving to be accurate! We sometimes ask the wrong questions, or are concerned about the wrong things. Now look at the disciples' question. It was natural for them to want to know when these things would happen, even sensible for them to want to know. But in fact, that was not the most important thing, they had work to do in the meantime. We too can be concerned about the wrong things, when God has something different He wants us to be concerned about.

13:6

Jesus then goes on to warn them about the sorts of things that might seek to deceive them. It is worth noting that the things mentioned here did have a relevance to the immediate future, but also a much wider relevance. There were a number of false messiahs in the pre AD 70 times, Josephus mentions a few of them. And there have, of course, been many false prophets throughout the ages, and even today. We need to be careful who we listen to.