June, 1939
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
225
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L E S S O N Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children s Division ■ Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson Bv B. B. S utcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain
JULY 2, 1939 SOLOMON: A RULER WHO BEGAN WELL 1 K ings 3:5-15
God gives without any reference to our characters or actions; there are other things that are dependent upon our obedience (cf. 1 Ki. 3:16-28; 4:29, 30; 11:1-13). The for mer are all of grace; the latter are in the nature of rewards. Returning to Jerusalem, Solomon entered into covenant with God by offering burnt and peace offerings. The consecration is seen in the burnt offering, and the com munion is revealed in the peace offering. The truth at the heart of this lesson may be expressed in New Testament language: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things"—that is, all needful things—-"shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33). 'In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon” (1 Ki. 3 :5 ). Why ' in Gibeon”? The explanation is found in the preceding verse. The king had gone there to “sacri fice." Upon the altar there he offered “a thousand burnt offerings.” And at this place of sacrifice the Lord appeared and spoke. It is always so. The eternal God meets and speaks to men at the altar of sacrifice, the place which is called Calvary. Nowhere else can a holy God meet with men who are sinners. There must be poured out blood upon the altar before the altar can become a "mercy seat." If we would see God and hear His voice, we must go to. Him who is called the ’ Lamb of God." His one sacri fice once for all is better than the thousand sacrifices of King Solomon. The sacrifices at Gibeon pointed to the final Sacrifice at Calvary. 2. "In a dream by night" (v. 5). More than once in the Biblical record God has used the “dream" as a channel of revela tion. This does not mean that the dreams of men in general are to be taken as the voice of God. Even the false prophets have their dreams. "I have heard," saith the Lord, “what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed . . . The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully” (Jer. 23:25, 28). How shall we distinguish the true from the false? No dream can ever be pronounced a reve lation from God unless so interpreted by one who bears the credentials of a true prophet of God, or unless so declared by the written Word. The dream of Pharaoh was interpreted by Joseph. The dream of Solo mon is declared to be of “the Lord" by Scripture. In all cases the dream must be tested objectively by the known revelation of God. 3. "And Solomon said" . . . "And Solo mon aw oke” (vs. 6, ,15). Evidently the humble and beautiful prayer of the king was uttered while he was sleeping under the spell of the dream, a fact which demon- Points and Problems 1.
I Kings 3:5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and Goa said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6 And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, accord ing as he walked before the4 in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great Icind- ness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 3 And thy servant is in the midst of thy peo ple which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern be tween good and baa: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. I I And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding 'to discern judg ment; 12 Behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an under standing heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood be fore the ark of fhe covenant of the Lord, and of fered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offer ings, and made a feast to all his servants. Golden Text: "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart . . . that I may discern between good and bad” (1 Ki. 3 :9 ). Devotional Reading: Prov. 3:1-6. Outline and Exposition I. T he O pportunity (5) B ECAUSE both the tabernacle and al tar were at Gibeon, Solomon went there to present sacrifices and offer ings to the Lord. He was about twenty years old at the time. He was.accompanied by the leaders in the kingdom, judges, gov ernors, and chief of the fathers. While Solomon was at Gibeon, God said to him, “Ask what I shall give thee," and He stood ready to'bestow it, whatever was requested. The Lord is still giving oppor tunity to His people to express their chief desires, and it is glorious to know that He is able to do for us even more than we ask or think (cf. Eph. 3:20). [These lessons are developed from out lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons o f the Interna tional Council. The outlines are copy righted by the International Council o f Religious Education and used by permis sion. Scripture portions quoted are from the King fames Version unless otherwise stated.]
II. T he R equest (6-9)
In connection with his request, two things reveal Solomon's humility. First, he ac knowledged that both his place and posses sions as king had been given to him by the Lord God of his father David. He said, in effect, “I am what I am by the grace of God.” Second, he confessed his insuffi ciency for the work of being king in Da vid’s stead, saying, “I know not how to go out or come in” (v. 7). W e may well presume that Solomon did some deep thinking before he made his request. Contemplating history, he would sense his need of wisdom in order to rule the people properly. He asked for “an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad" (v. 9 ). In this request, he recognized God’s rights; the people were God’s, not Solo mon’s. He was choosing that which would fit him to fulfill God’s purpose concerning him as king over God’s people. Doubtless such a choice would impress the leaders who were with him and would cause them to give attention to Solomon's subsequent utterances. III. T he P romise (10-15) Following Solomon’s wise request, the Lord gave him an unconditional promise of blessing to be bestowed upon him. He was assured that he should have a wise and understanding heart, so that he would be wiser than any human ruler before or after him. Added to this bestowal of discernment was the promise that, as long as he lived, Solomon should have riches and honor— more than were enjoyed by all other kings. W e have only to read the after story of Solomon’s life, together with his writings, to know how abundantly this unconditional promise was fulfilled to him. Moreover, he was given an additional promise—conditional in this case—of long life, if Solomon would walk in obedience to his God. W e sometimes fail to make clear distinctions between God’s conditional and unconditional promises, and this failure leads to confusion. There are some things BLACKBOARD LESSON
'GIUE THEREFORE TH 9 SERUPFIT Fin UnOERSTOnDinG HEART-THAT I X , m i a BETUJEEn e o o g x ; \ 1 AAD BAD ik i . 3:9
I H FUIERLSO GiUEII THEE - RICHES, ROD HOnOR'iKi.v.13
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs