1 Kings 9:10-19 - At the end of twenty years

9:10-14

We now get a sign of things starting to not go well. Hiram had been on good terms with David, and then with Solomon, supplying him with much of the material for the building of the temple and the royal palace. However, things now start to break down. In return for his help, Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in Galilee. There is the question of whether Solomon had the right, in God’s eyes, to give away these towns. Whatever the case on that matter, Hiram was not pleased. The goods he had given to Solomon, including much gold, were truly valuable, but Hiram did not consider these twenty towns to be up to much at all. Hiram called the “Land of Kabul” (or Cabul, if you are reading ESV)., which means “good for nothing”. And they seem to have retained this title!

9:15-19

Solomon used a lot of forced labour in building the temple and the palace, along with other structures as well. Remember that Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh gave his daughter Gezer as a wedding gift, after he had captured it and set it on fire. So Gezer doesn’t actually seem that much better than the towns of Galilee.  However, Solomon rebuilt Gezer. Solomon was a master planner.

Mark 13:1-4 - Not one stone

13:1,2

The disciples are leaving the temple, and one of them remarks on the “massive stones” and “magnificent buildings”. The buildings were probably other parts of the temple complex. Jesus does not deny that the buildings were magnificent. However, He then goes on to say that the buildings would be completely destroyed. This did indeed happen in AD 70.

13:3,4

What Jesus had just said was quite momentous, and Peter, James, John and Andrew all wanted to know when these things would happen. They also want to know what the sign would be that these things were about to happen. They appreciated the enormity of what would happen, and wanted warning of them being about to happen. 

1 Kings 9:6-9 - If you turn away from me

9:6,7

We then get the alternative, what will happen if they do not walk in obedience? This, of course, is what did happen. The kings, Solomon included, did not observe all God’s commands, and did go off to worship other gods. In that case, then Israel would be cut off from the land, and God would reject the temple. There was no permanent commitment to the temple. Israel, instead of being the head of nations, would become the tail.

9:8,9

The temple would become a heap of rubble. Jer 5:7 warned them against putting a superstitious hope in the temple. And Jesus warned that the temple (the second temple) would become a heap of rubble (Mark 13:2). Israel would become an object of scorn. The nations would also recognise that these terrible things had happened to Israel because Israel had forsaken her God. One way or another, Israel would be a  sign to the nations.

Mark 13:1 - Look, Teacher!

13:1

This chapter contains the longest recorded speech by Jesus in Mark. With its apocalyptic tone it provides controversy and difficulty in interpreting it. I must admit that the problems do not seem to me to be as great as are sometimes made out. The passage refers to both the destruction of the temple, which occurred in AD 70, and to the very end times. There are some extreme views that see it referring predominantly to one or the other. The simplest outline sees vv 5-23 as referring to the destruction of the temple, and vv 24-37 to the second coming. A slightly more complicated pattern is 5-23 and 28-31 refer to the destruction of the temple, and 24-27 and 32-37 to the second coming. Schnabel (from whom I got the above information) simplifies this structure with 5-23 to the destruction of the temple, 24-27 to the second coming, and 28-37 with the consequences to the disciples of the destruction of the temple, and the second coming of Jesus. My own view is that while some parts clearly refer to one or the other, the two are related. With a number of promises in the Bible, and things like the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8) have both an immediate fulfilment and  also look forward to the greater and complete fulfilment in Christ.

1 Kings 9:1-5 - When Solomon had finished building

9:1-3

“The Lord appeared to him a second time”. This would imply that the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, as He had done on the previous occasion (1 Kings 3:5). This time the Lord assures Solomon that He has heard the prayers and pleas that we read about in the previous chapter. “I have consecrated this temple”. In Deuteronomy there was repeated emphasis on the importance of worshipping at the place that God would choose. God confirms that this temple is the place that He has chosen. God’s “eyes and heart” would always be on the temple.

9:4,5

The promise is conditional, and as Deuteronomy, and Solomon’s prayer, show, there was always the expectation that Israel would fail. “If you walk before me with integrity”.  The promise was conditional upon obedience. If Solomon and his successors obeyed the Lord, then they would continue to be on the throne of Israel. 

Mark 12:41-44 - A poor woman

12:41,42

Having seen examples of people who do not understand, or people who have far too high opinion of themselves, and are regarded highly in society, we now get the opposite. We encounter a person who was considered to be of little value by society, but is actually contributing more to God than all the “important” people. Many rich people were making large contributions, and everyone would know about it for the money would be checked before it was put in the temple treasury. Then there was a poor widow who put in two small coins, an apparently very meagre contribution. So the natural assessment of the situation would be that the rich people had given generously, but that the widow had given little.

12:43,44

Jesus gave a very different assessment of the situation. It was the widow who had actually given the most, for she had given “all she had to live on”, she had given out of her poverty. The others had given out of their wealth. Now this does not mean it is wrong to give out of our wealth, nor that it is wrong to be wealthy. The Bible contains a number of good wealthy people. What does matter is our heart attitude. If we are blessed with wealth we should give generously, but we should not think we are anything special.

1 Kings 8:62-66 - Offered sacrifices before the Lord

8:62-64

After all this many more sacrifices are offered. Again it is a vast number, though this time they are counted. Twenty two thousand cattle and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. The numbers do seem to be incredibly large. Thi was the culmination of the dedication of the temple of the Lord. Burnt and grain offerings were offered in order to consecrate the “middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple”. There is a recognition that the altar in the temple itself could not handle all the sacrifices.

8:65,66

The offerings were made in accordance with the requirements of the Law. It seems that all Israel was there. “From Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt” indicates the extent of Solomon’s empire. The whole event took fourteen days in total. The people were then sent away. The people blessed the king and they were “joyful and glad in heart”, and were grateful to the Lord. This was the high watermark of Israel, sadly things would soon go downhill from here.