SEVERAL IMPERIAL TRANSACTIONS
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
Chapter divides itself into two sections: 1 Kings 9:1-9, Gods answer, of promise and warning, to Solomon’s prayer; 1 Kings 9:10-27, transactions between Solomon and Hiram, with a record of Solomon’s levy of labourers, his officers and servants, his navy and foreign trade.
1 Kings 9:1. It came to pass, &c.—i.e., “at the end of twenty years” (1 Kings 9:10), for 1 Kings 9:1 begins a narrative which 1 Kings 9:2 interrupts; 1 Kings 9:2-9 being a parenthesis. Solomon’s desire, חֵשֶׁק—(1 Chronicles 7:11), “All that came into Solomon’s heart.” Thenius suggests “pleasure buildings” as in distinction from public works. But 1 Kings 9:19 explains his “desire” as having reference to “Jerusalem, Lebanon, and all the land of his dominion”—probably aqueducts, &c.
1 Kings 9:2. That the Lord appeared, &c.—Rather, “for the Lord appeared,” as interposing this section, which continues till 1 Kings 9:10 resumes the narrative. The second time as, &c.—In Gibeon, during the night after his sacrifices (chap 1 Kings 3:5); in this instance, during the night following the dedication prayer and sacrificial offerings; and again “in a dream.”
HOMILETICS OF 1 Kings 9:1-2
THE PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF DIVINE MANIFESTATION TO MAN
At two important eras in the career of Solomon, Jehovah appeared to him. The first appearance was at Gibeon, at the outset of his kingly career, when the Lord gave him not only what he asked for, but also riches, dignity, and fame: the second occurred some years after, when Solomon had completed all his great works, and stood at the highest pinnacle of his external and imperial grandeur. Each appearance had its own peculiar significance and worth. The one afforded the opportunity and power to advance on a pathway of unexampled greatness and authority; the other was fraught with warning as to the danger of apostasy and decline, and that at a time when he had reached the very summit of success. Favoured, indeed, is the man whose life is divinely guided in its beginning, prospered in its progress, and cautioned and guarded in its mid-career. To fall, after being thus divinely fenced, is a saddening proof of the fickleness of human promises, of base ingratitude, of gross criminality. Every revelation of God to man is a distinguished privilege and a grave responsibility.
I. That Divine manifestation to man is an act of gracious condescension. In all ages man has eagerly longed for revelations of the Divine. Heathen authors speak of the appearance of gods on the earth, and of the exaltation of heroic men to the dignity of deity; the former in the incarnations of the Eastern world, the latter in the apotheoses of the Western. Though these are but poetic fancies, they indicate the strong aspirations of the human heart after God. Sin has broken the union that once existed between God and man, and created a moral gulf which man is wholly unable to cross. But the infinite mercy of God has followed man in all his wanderings, met him more than half way, and bridged the otherwise impassable chasm. The yearnings of humanity have been satisfied by Divine manifestations. The revelations of Jehovah in Israel were preliminary and prophetic of the great revelation in which He was Himself to appear in the person of His Son, and thus restore the harmony between God and man that had been disturbed by sin. Sin was the reason for the incarnation: the needs of humanity were met by the gracious condescension of God.
II. That Divine manifestation to man often occurs at a critical juncture in his individual history. Solomon was now at the height of his fame—in the full tide of prosperity. Temptations unlike any he had had before assailed him, and he was, perhaps, less prepared to resist them. There was no one around him who had the courage or the ability to warn him of his dangers. At this crisis, Jehovah appeared to him a second time, and, while encouraging him in the pathway of integrity, cautioned him as to the consequences of disobedience. How deep and untiring is the interest God takes in His children. His manifestations are the most timely, and His words fraught with profound significance. The extremity of the individual life has been the opportunity for Divine interference; the crisis has been successfully passed, and the destiny changed. The Divine manifestations are unmistakable. A poor Arabian of the Desert was one day asked how he came to be assured that there was a God. “In the same way,” said he, “that I am able to tell by the print impressed on the sand whether it was a man or a beast that had passed this way.” The manifestation of the God-Man was at a critical period in the world’s history; and who shall estimate the influence of that manifestation on the destinies of the human race!
III. That Divine manifestation to man involves a solemn responsibility.
1. Because it is made to one who can apprehend and appreciate its significance. It is not a display to insensate and unthinking matter. However gorgeous might be the revelation in its external aspect, there is nothing in star, or flower, or tree to catch and respond to its meaning; they robe themselves in the glory, while all unconscious of the truth it unfolds. But the revelation to man is to one gifted with intelligence and formed in the Divine image. “If we think of God, we think of Him after our image; and we do not think incorrectly. And as God has ever thought of and willed Himself, so has He ever lovingly willed man, in order to impart Himself to him.” Thus having affinity with the Divine nature, man is competent to understand the meaning and appreciate the value of Divine manifestations.
2. Because it is made to one who is capable of carrying out the Divine behests. Man has capacity for accomplishing great things. Vast, indeed, is his power for good or for evil. Marvellous are the productions of human genius. Solomon had just exemplified what one man could do, when divinely aided, in building up an empire which was the wonder of succeeding ages. Man is exalted to the highest dignity when he becomes a medium for carrying out Divine ideas and purposes.
3. Because it is made to one who may abuse the blessings it confers. The will of man is free, and that which may be the instrument of the greatest good may become a power for propagating terrible mischief. The noble may become ignoble, the refined base, the honoured contemptible. Few great men exercise the questionable caution of a certain celebrated musical composer who spent the last forty years of his life in almost complete idleness, saying, “An additional success would add nothing to my fame; a failure would injure it. I have no need of the one, and I do not choose to expose myself to the other.” Mayhap, it would have been well for some lives if they had terminated when, to all appearance, they had reached the highest point of moral goodness, rather than be prolonged to present such pitiful examples of degeneracy and sin.
LESSONS:—
1. God honours man by His manifestations.
2. The most blessed manifestation is that which is made to the heart. 3 Every manifestation of God is a prelude and motive to loftier enterprise and toil.
4. To disregard Divine manifestation is to incur unutterable calamity.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Kings 9:1-2. The second appearance of Jehovah to Solomon.—
1. The point of time at which it occurred: after the completion of the great works of the kingdom.
2. The object of the appearance: promise and warning.
—The appearance with which Solomon was favoured after the completion of his many grand edifices, as the text clearly and positively says, is expressly placed in relation to and contrasted with that which he had in the beginning of his reign at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:5). He had succeeded in all that he had undertaken. Not only did he himself stand at the summit of fortune, but his people had never before reached such a great and prosperous state, being blessed with peace and quiet without, and with prosperity and comfort within. Then came the second appearance, which contained, with the remembrance of the prayer answered at the dedication of the Temple and the promise of blessing in the future, a threatening and warning very wholesome, and even necessary now, for Solomon himself, who, though hitherto loyal and faithful to the Lord, was open to the temptation to fall away, as the after-history shows. It was also needed by that ever-restless, fickle people which, in the enjoyment of the greatest happiness, were in danger of forgetting their Lord and God, and of relapsing into the idolatrous worship which was more agreeable to the flesh.—Lange.
—This was a great engagement upon Solomon to cleave close to that God who had appeared unto him twice (1 Kings 11:9). See an analogical appearance to all that love Him (John 14:21); and be instructed, lest God’s soul depart from us (Jeremiah 6:8), for our evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God (Hebrews 3:12).—Trapp.
—The danger of transitions in life.—
1. Every period in life has its special dangers.
2. The greatest danger is present when in a state of transition from one period into another.
3. In every such transition special help and wisdom should be sought.
4. It is an unspeakable boon to be conscious at such times of the Divine presence and guidance.
5. To ignore the lessons of such periods is to invite disaster and ruin.