It seems that in today's culture those at the top both in Canada and south of us are doing their best to extinguish Christianity and replace it with their own form of worship. Worship of abortion (Molech), perverted sex (Ishtar), and sex slavery. Is this not the same as or worse than the golden calf ? There are people in our churches that support the LBGTQ 2+ movement and abortion and it seems to me they can't be very serious students of the Word.

There have been many instances where men have made bad choices but the results turned out to be part of God's plan. In addition to the one in this lesson some other notable examples come to mind. Abraham trying to help God out in producing a son resulted in the birth of a nation that has forever given Israel grief even up until today. But God has used them to exact the punishment on Israel that God warned would happen if they worshipped other gods. I think of Jacob stealing Esau's blessing and God used him to form the great nation of Israel. I could list many others but probably the biggest of all was the decision to crucify Jesus. Just think of what would have happened if Israel had acknowledged Jesus as Messiah and treated Him accordingly we Gentiles would have been hung out to dry unless God had a plan B for this. Thanks for the lesson, Ken

Decisions have consequences. Sometimes the results cascade down generations, decades, centuries and even millennia. Starting with Adam , then Abraham/Ishmael, David and Bathsheba, Saul and the Amalekites, Solomon and the foreign gods, Rehoboam, etc. we see the tragic results continuing down through history to today in some cases. Going for advice without seeking prayerful direction from the Holy Spirit can be a dangerous gamble. When we go advice shopping we tend to seek something pleasing to our ears, though not always. Sometimes when we are trying to find God's will we will consult deeply spiritual brothers and sisters to try and determine what God expects of us. They may give us differing advice at times but that doesn't mean we throw our hans in the air and give up. It simply means we continue in prayer and perhaps fasting and wait on God to give us positive direction. Patience also p[lays into the mixture. Thanks for the lesson, Ken

Like the leadership we have here today, Solomon and his successors lived in a bubble where they neither felt nor appreciated the hardship they imposed on the people. As they do today, he taxed them heavily with impunity.As you point out the taxation issue is only a consequence of the real problem idolatry and turning away from God. Had Solomon followed God's commands and led Israel accordingly Jehovah would have blessed themm abundantly without the unnecessary burden. We, today, have neglected to put God first in our lives influencing our family, our community and finally our culture and now we suffer the consequences. Thanks for showing us this, Ken.

That is indeed a difficult question and I must say that I don't know the answer either. Nor do I feel I can make a strong case in either direction. However, I can share how I lean in my thought process. This is not to convince anyone but only to pass on my thoughts. I believe Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes near the end of his life. He seems to be taking an objective look at his own attempts to find meaningfulness during his life outside of the fact that we were created to please God. He concludes Ecclesiastes with these words in Ecclesiastes 12:13 " Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." This resembles a death bed confession to me. Many have gone astray in life , some for many years, and yet have comeback to their first love. Is this perhaps what happened to Solomon ? I compare this path with that of Charles Templeton who, having won many souls for Christ , not only walked away from his faith but spent the rest of his life denouncing it and trying to convince people that the Bible wasn't real. I highly doubt if we will see Templeton in heaven just like we won't see Simon the sorcerer up there. We don't read anywhere in scripture where Solomon renounced Jehovah although worshiping the false gods and leading the Israelites astray were wicked actions for which he is responsible and will answer for someday. Personally I think that will take place for Solomon at the Bema not at the great white throne. That is my thinking on the matter but the bottom line is we will never know this side of heaven.

History's smartest person fails yet again. The lesson for modern man is that the greatest intelligence whether human or computer cannot defeat God's plan. Period.

All I can say is Amen ! to that well delivered admonition, Ken. Thank you.

I was studying this passage today, your video was very helpful thank you! 🙏🏻

This is a very sad turn of events in the life of Solomon and of Israel. Do we know where the 10 "lost tribes" of Israel are today ?

It is sad to see those who have fallen in their latter years and there are quite a few, well known Christian leaders among them. It is puzzling though we have never stood in their shoes and faced the temptations they have faced . Nevertheless, the advice "Take heed lest you fall" applies to us all because we never know what unseen circumstance could befall us and take us down in our arrogance. Some commentaries I have read suggest that Solomon died at about 62 years of age. I can see that with his life style which we would probably see as unhealthy today. I wonder if we will see Solomon in heaven. Hopefully the conclusions he reached in Ecclesiastes point towards a reversal of his downslide but scripture doesn't indicate one way or another I don't believe.

It is impossible to know the mind of God in giving Solomon all those riches since His ways are higher than ours. Maybe it was to show us down through history how a man endowed with wisdom beyond our imagination and given everything he could ever want was nothing without God and would eventually give in to his fallen nature unless he strove to do otherwise. Ecclesiastes sums it up rather nicely. Man by himself is as useless as the wind. We were created to serve God.

Well done, Ken. As you have pointed out, we are tasked with carrying the message. God will look after the results. That is not our responsibility. Noah preached for 100 years and had no converts. Zero. Jonah preached for several days and had hundreds of thousands of converts. Neither profit gets credit or blame for the results.

Thank you for this message brother. Praying with you

For the guy who was the smartest that ever lived, Solomon made some stupid decisions. I guess it proves that no matter how much God gifts us with we can sure mess it up when we don't call on His wisdom to guide us. Also, it has been sad watching the US force Israel's hand over the years to surrender portions of the land that God gave them supposedly to gain peace. The Us suffered natural disasters following each one of these and Israel strengthened her enemies by surrendering these territories. That was a good study lesson, Ken.

We notice that God's conditional promise to Solomon and by extension, Israel is a 2 sided coin - blessing on one side and discipline or withdrawn blessing on the other. If we look at some of God's conditional promises to us -i.e. the beatitudes, the reverse side of the coin is not so much punishment as it is the lack of blessing. Of course there are times when He has to slap us on the side of the head so to speak to get us back on track. Proverbs 3:12 tells us "For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." However, this is a demonstration of love as opposed to Israel's case where worshiping other gods.brought severe punishment. We should be thankful that the Lord treats us the way He does without taking Him for granted. If we are truly saved we find it uncomfortable and miserable when we are not in fellowship with Him.

You add such life and meaning to Old Testament passages that I used to let go in one ear and out the other. I never bothered conjuring up the picture in my mind of such a massive feast and what it would take to pull it off. Furthermore it is great the way you drill down and analyze the meaning for our worship in this day and age even to the preparation and cleanup after church celebrations. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I greatly enjoy your studies, Ken. Keep it up.

Hated reading this!!!! Its why im here; seeking clarity and understanding which wasnt found. Im forever upset to find this and dont know what to do with it...... Im glad God didnt wash his hands of us all. Gods chosen will continue to fail him as I read on, yet I wonder why I never read this before, seem like for me anyways I learn something new every time I reread the Bible. Im sorry Father, we truly are not worthy

I have 2 comments to offer regarding today's lesson. Perhaps I'm a little more soft on Solomon in my observation of his prayer. Each time he talks about Israel repenting for their sins he begins with the word "IF" thus implying that God's forgiveness is conditional on their repentance rather than assumed. My second observation is that I am glad you spoke out against replacement theology which is straight from the pit of hell and is Satan's way of planting antisemitism into the church. Without the need of diving into theology, simple logic tells us that if God's chosen people can't depend on His promises, how can we not expect Him to turn His back on us if we sin. Simple logic tells us that the holy just God cannot lie or go back on His word and so His promises to the Jews will stand forever.

That was a very interesting observation you made about the wars involving the west and the possible war involving China and Taiwan. It seems our politicians don't seem to want to involve God in their decision making. George W. Bush was thought by many to be a solid Christian man, yet like other American presidents he forced Israel's hand in giving up land to the enemy in exchange for peace. This is certainly not in accordance with what God wants. I wonder if his other decisions ever involved any spiritual guidance. On the other hand, Trump, whom everyone viewed as an immoral worldly person didn't start any wars, prevented others from happening and declared some of the territory that the world labelled "occupied" as part of Israel. This just proves once again that man judges by the outside while God sees (and guides) the heart. Just sayin'

Today's lesson reminds me of how I thought about this as a young lad growing up. This true story will add a little humour. My mother used to tell us "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). I took this to mean that if I disobeyed my parents behind their backs God would find a way to punish me without their help. Sure enough when I went to the park against their orders while they were away for a few hours I wrecked my bike. Chalk one up for Team God and Mom. Of course as I grew older and matured I saw all this in the proper light but I must admit it did keep me in line for a few years. LOL.

The concubine woman is treated like a sin animal, a sacrifice and takes the sins and is killed. To save the guest; her master She was treated like an animal, placed their sins on her and let her go..not to the wilderness but out of her misery for she was not pleasant in the sight of the Lord(she cheated and didn't follow the commandments : God's Law)..and in the old testament, God had not sent forgiveness (His Son) so men interpret God's wrath (since Adam: separation between man and God)

My take on Solomon's comment to God was that he was saying " As much as I have built this temple for you, Lord, I confess that neither this temple nor anything else that exists could ever contain you. In other words Solomon wanted to vocalize the thought that let there be no misunderstanding by these people witnessing this dedication and my prayer that this temple is meant to be God's home. That was my understanding for what it's worth. I think Solomon's prayer was as much for the people to hear as it was directed to God.

A question comes to mind here. At the time Solomon had this dedication ceremony for the temple, had he yet begun forming relationships with pagan women ? If he hadn't then this prayer was from a pure and sincere heart. If in fact he had then it would seem a rather hypocritical exercise. I like to think it was the former. What are your thoughts ?

As disappointed as David was on not being allowed to build the temple, he did not hold a grudge against God for His choice. But rather he embraced the thought that his son would be the one to do so to the extent that he gathered much material to enable Solomon to do so. We know that the amount of Gold that David stored up for the purpose amounted to billions of dollars at today's value of the precious metal together with the other materials he provided. This shows that David's heart was fully in the project while at the same time accepting God's plan for its building it. So as you have pointed out in today's lesson, it wasn't the thought that counted but where David's heart was borne out by his actions.

😌 "PromoSM"

Very well done, as I oft find your work Brother Ken. Concerning the question of arrogance, which is an interesting question (got me thinking at least) ... I wonder, because I do not think that I can conclude, that Solomon was simply "convinced" that God was in that cloud regardless of its dark hue, and so he turned and spoke with a degree of confidence we as modern day believers sadly might lack ... and since Solomon faced the alter, it leads me to at least perceive he did not in arrogance elevate himself address God from right within the temple where only certains "chosen" priests had such a perilous privilege to try to stand "in the presence of pure Holiness and address same ... his not going in showed wisdom? showed fear? not sure but methinks arrogance was not in the mix ... from Alberta Canada with love and blessings to you Ken

Your lesson on the Shekinah glory reinforces my concept of God. I know His love is infinite and beyond our understanding.I also know He has promised never to leave us. But I cannot forget who He is. Most references, especially in the Old Testament, of saints of old facing the glory of God fell on their faces. This is not something that was taught them but rather a normal reflexive reaction to the unbearable presence of the holiness of God by a mere human. For this reason I am offended by some of the contemporary "praise and worship" tunes that show up in our services where God is treated as a buddy of some sort rather than who He really is. When I meet Him in glory I won't be looking to dance with Jesus as one song suggests but rather I will fall on my face in the presence of the Almighty One that came out of glory and died for me so that I, a fallen creature could spend eternity - something I don't deserve - with him. It blows the mind and is not something to be taken lightly. So when I think of God I do think of Him as Abba Father but one who is all powerful who holds me in His hands not someone who accompanies me to a singalong. Sorry if this seems more of a rant than a comment

As an aside it boggles my mind how they went about casting these pillars in bronze. As plant engineer at a foundry in Orillia, Ontario, for 5 years, I have a special appreciation for the challenge of making these pillars. First of all you would need the services of a large furnace nearby to melt the bronze to be poured into the mold and a means of transporting it from the furnace then pouring it into the mold. Next, to cast a cylinder you need a two part mold - the top, called the cope and the bottom known as the drag. The bottom could be fashioned in the desert sand which would need to be hardened before having the molten metal poured in. But the big question in my mind is how do you create the cope part. They probably poured the two halves separately then joined them afterwards somehow. No matter how you look at it these were obviously very skilled men that Hiram had in his employ and it is likely that they were unique at that time. It was Solomon's God given wisdom that enabled him to acquire the skilled workmen required to make the items needed for the building of God's temple.

It's called editing.

Thank you for helping me with my Bible Study

I would love to watch this video, but your audio is so low I can’t hear it

Solomon followed through on God's instructions ion building the temple. Too bad that he didn't show the same adherence to God's commands when he allowed foreign wives to lead him astray into the worship of false gods.Given all that he was blessed with: wisdom, immense riches, peace obtained by his father David, imagine how much he could have achieved had he stayed faithful to God

That story about the chief cornerstone really caught my attention. I may be just a Jewish tradition but it gives meaning to the passage in the New Testament that you referenced in this study. That was very interesting. Have a very Merry Christmas , Ken !

Thank you so much for explaining this verses. Im just reading the Judges and came across the Samson story and began to wonder what that honey meant and why he would give his parents of the honey, if it had any meaning to it. Very well explained sir. God bless you 💙

It is both informative and interesting having this passage analyzed by a person who makes a living negotiating contracts. The average Joe like myself would never have dissected and evaluated the components of this contract from the pages of scriptures the way you have. Thank you , Ken.

Amazing Teachings, God bless you ❤

When our desires line up with God's will He is happy to fulfill them. Our hearts are in the right place and we will be blessed in the granting of the desire of our hearts. At other times the thing we want is driven by a selfish nature and most often He will do us a favour by refusing our request. Once in a while, however, God will let us have what we are requesting to teach us a lesson as illustrated in Psalm 106:1 "And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." Or we experience His permissive will and the choices ahead can be good or bad. In the case of King Hezekiah, he became puffed up after having his life extended for 15 years after much pleading. It was down hill from there after having lived A Godly life. Bottom line is we want to make sure our thinking is aligned with His plan for our life and guided by the Holy Spirit.

Excellent practical lessons from the passage! Thanks, Ken

It is true as you said that we sin, are forgiven, then we go and do it all over again. Hopefully, when that results in broken fellowship with the Lord (a condition which I find extremely uncomfortable) we seek His forgiveness once again. We serve a God that understands our weakness and our failings and because of His infinite love, wishes to draw us back to Himself. Solomon, being human, has to work within the normal human framework and so he does not have the capacity of infinite forgiveness. In the end, Shimei, in his carelessness or whatever the reason, broke a royal covenant and thus ended his protection. I find it hard to believe that he forgot he was under these "bail conditions". My impression is that he probably thought he could get the task done and return before anyone noticed. Whatever the case there is a lesson for us in this episode.

I live for now with the promise of whats to come.

What a mess David created by killing Bathsheba's husband Uriah. Now I will acknowledge that the players from Absalom on down made their own decisions but I wonder if maybe their hearts may have been different had that original sinful act had not been committed. Solomon needed to kill his cousin in order to stop the hemorrhaging of family blood that had resulted. May we not take selfish actions born out of human emotions and desires that bring evil upon others. We need to daily walk in the Spirit that our words and deeds will not only honour God but be an example to others.

This is very interesting. Sometimes we are given the responsibility, such as being on the board, of taking action or making a decision regarding a pastor who is definitely preaching or acting contrary to God's word. In such a case we have been appointed stewards for the congregation and our actions or lack thereof can determine the spiritual future of the congregants. While it might be easier to just back off and let things be, we would answer to God for failing to carry out our responsibility. My parents were in this exact situation when I was a small child. The pastor who had a winning personality and was a very persuasive person was popular with about half the congregation while the rest felt that there was something spiritually wrong that they couldn't put their finger on. It was revealed to my dad that the pastor was having an affair with one of the young girls in the choir. When that became known the congregation stood behind those like my dad who had voted to relieve him of his position . As it turned out, he had cut off support for some missionaries so that he could use the funds elsewhere. I learned a lesson from my dad that when God shows you something is wrong, don't question it no matter what the crowd thinks, just do what is right.

The request was an innocent request . solomon did not forgive him and want to kill his half brother

clearly not every wise and gifted genius has an intelligent mother

It is a complex and difficult mixture of emotions, culture, protocol and tradition at work here all being brought about by a surprise request coming to Solomon without warning. It is a continuation of sexual craving and overwhelming desire that started with David and Bathsheba and that Nathan promised would follow through his family for generations. Yet in spite of it all, God continued to work His plan and David was known as a man after His own heart. This is a thought to be kept in mind.

I am amazed at how you are able to take something that most of us would pass over without noticing such as references to the Dung Gate and pull out the significance of the humiliation of our Saviour Jesus Christ and how one points to the other. Thank you for the digging and sharing of your findings, Ken. It is greatly appreciated.

Very interesting study. I wonder how long David had planned to extract revenge during his lifetime. Obviously It would have unleashed unimaginable chaos within the family if he had done so to Joab during his life time. And of course he wanted to keep his promise to Shimei although his method may seem to be a tad disingenuous. Maybe today they would call that plausible deniability. In any event, it gives us something to think about.

After all the lessons we have learned in our study of the life of David, it is sad to have to say goodbye. David started out good and ended well with a lot of bumps and curves in between. I wonder if we will be able to say the same about Solomon after we have done a study on him.

I guess this a kind of "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" moment for Adonijah. Seriously though I can identify with the disappointing moment you spoke of when I was job hunting about 40 years ago after I had been laid off due to the company downsizing. I had been flown to Toronto for an interview with a large (global) high tech company for a management position. The interview had gone extremely well, I had established a rapport with the interviewer. He made me a job offer and said he would send me the papers that needed to be filled out and signed in order to complete the hiring process. He gave me the names of who my supervisor would be as well as others that I would be interfacing with. We confirmed my starting date and he said he looked forward to seeing me again at that time. I went home and celebrated with my wife as it had been a long search and we were happy to see it finally concluded. Then came the call. A couple of days later the interviewer called to inform me in a genuinely regretful tone that the company had been forced into a hold on hiring mode and in fact were laying people off for the first time in 25 years. That bubble having been popped, the Lord opened another door that resulted in my getting a job with the Canadian gov't that lasted 15 years. That is a story for another day. But it was a God thing which we could properly celebrate since He not only knows the future but controls it.

It is interesting to note that earlier in David’s life his sin routed in his carnal passion over Bathsheba created a sequence of tragic events throughout his family yet God was able to use this woman to give birth to a king that would reign over the most successful Israeli kingdom in Jewish history. In one of his last acts David has allowed God to bring good out of bad. The takeaway for me is that we are never beyond God’s ability to use us for good no matter how badly we mess up if we are willing to turn our hearts back to Him and seek forgiveness as David did.