1 Kings 3:1-15,28, David and Solomon Contrasted

 What did it mean that David was a man after God’s own heart?  This is not an insignificant question because, as we remember, it was God, through His prophet Samuel, who made this statement about the kind of king He was seeking to replace Saul.  One way we can answer this question is in a comparison of David and Solomon. 

We are told that Solomon loved the Lord (3:3).  That same verse also has an “exception” (except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places).  But remember that even with that God sought a relationship with Solomon.  He spoke with Solomon, and answered his request for wisdom, and then gave him all the things he didn’t ask for that kings like to have.  Asking for wisdom was a good thing: you must have wisdom to properly rule with justice (3:28).

But again, Solomon loved the Lord. A strong characteristic of love is “sacrifice.”  Solomon offered a lot of sacrifices to the Lord.  When the Lord answered his prayer for wisdom, he offered sacrifices.  When the temple was finished, he offered thousands of sacrifices.  We, of course, know the love of God by the sacrifice (propitiation) of His Son (1 Jn. 4:9-11).  Sacrifice is good.  Love is, of course, good.  We must love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.

Of course, Solomon eventually participated in offering sacrifices to other gods, those of some of his wives.  Perhaps this “single-heartedness” that Solomon lacked is a key aspect of having a heart like God’s.  When you come to the end of Solomon’s life this is what you hear from the Lord.  His heart was not loyal (lit. at peace with) to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David (1 Ki. 11:4).  Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David (11:6).

Let us not forget.  David sinned grievously.  But let us not forget: David’s soul was in deep distress in the matter.  Read Psalm 51, David’s Song of Confession.  He was in physical agony.  For the prophet Nathan to confront him was like a relief to him, to finally deal with the matter.  He humbles himself before the Lord.  We do not see this in Solomon.  It appears the idolatry with his wives became part of his life.  And no matter how the Lord disciplined him (1 Ki. 11:14-40) he did not turn away from this unfaithfulness.  The only reason God did not take away all of Israel from Solomon’s son was for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen (11:13). 

David and Solomon both loved the Lord.  But David was loyal to the Lord, to the end of his life.  “Oh Lord, may it be so for me, to the end of my days!”

Psalm 122

Remember that God our Creator is the helper of those who decide to make pilgrimage?  Well look at the first thing He does to help: He gives us some company, some fellow-travelers who are excited to have us join them. 

Did you know that is what is behind the idea of “church?”  When we decide to make the journey to God, that is when we have repented (Psalm 120) and determined to follow Christ (Psalm 121), He places us in the body of Christ, the Church (1 Cor. 12:13).  From the very beginning of the Church, recorded in Acts 2, this is what believers did: to gather with each other (Acts 2:41-47).  This is a foundational way that we receive God’s help: through other pilgrims.  The writer to the Hebrews had this in mind when he told us not to give up these gatherings but to make good use of them by stirring each other up to love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25).  And he made it clear that the longer we live the more we need this.  Don’t ever think you can get along without this.  In the New Testament there are no true believers who are not also part of some local church.

Now look at what else the Creator does to help us as we get set to start our journey.  The pilgrim gets a view of Jerusalem, what it will be like when he arrives.  Jerusalem is the place of true worship (where the tribes give thanks to the Lord) and the place of the House of David (where David has his throne). 

That is exactly what we were missing in our home town that was full of lies and anarchy (Psalm 120).  There was no true worship of the Creator.  Rather people worshiped themselves, doing what was right in their own eyes while doing all they could to keep God out of the picture.  How encouraging to know that when we arrive at the destination it will be everything our hearts truly desired.  I say truly because sometimes we think we know what we want only to find that it doesn’t satisfy.  But when we arrive at the place of true worship, the place where Jesus is Lord, then and only then will we find true joy.

This satisfaction is actually described in the closing verses (v6-9).  It is true prosperity, shalom (peace) that speaks of enjoyment without reservation, of fulfillment without need.  In another famous Psalm David would say it this way: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want (23:1).  Thus David prays that all will be well in Jerusalem for it is the destination of all destinations.  In Jerusalem he can meet with God at His house.

To us who live after the cross and resurrection, we are not simply talking about our destination the New Jerusalem.  Sure, all will be well there (Rev. 22:1-5).  We are actually talking about a destination at which we can arrive and where we can abide (be settled down, at rest) day by day, moment by moment.  Jesus said it thus: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (John 15:7-8).

2 Sam. 7:18-29, David’s Response to God’s Grace

(Having completed our studies on "The Mission of the Church" we want to take a few days on a variety of subjects we hope will be encouraging to you.)

Let me say at the outset that you really ought to read the entire chapter.  The display of God’s superabundant grace in His covenant with David is always worth the read.  It stands tall on its own.  And it reminds us of our own covenant of grace, the New Covenant.  There are some gleanings I want to point out from 7:1-17 before we look at David’s response.

·       It was not Israel’s first king (Saul) who was the model king but the second king (David).  It was not the first king (David) who desired to build a house for the Lord who was allowed to build that house; it was the second one (Solomon) who would fulfill his father’s heart’s desire.  “I was first” is a strong argument for privilege in our world and system.  Not so with God.  He has His reasons for who has what calling, and His reasons are always good.

·       God promised to chasten David’s royal descendents (7:13-14), using the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.  He also promised not to take His mercy from them FOREVER.  Both are compatible.  The same is true of God’s chosen people Israel.  He promised to chasten them; He also promised not to destroy them completely.  And do not forget: the basis for all this grace is bound up in the Greatest Son of David, King Jesus.  He, the Holy and Sinless One, also learned obedience by the things that He suffered (Heb. 5:8).  Who suffered more the rod of men and the blows of the sons of men than our Savior?!

·       David is correct in 7:20: God knows His servant!  God knew David was a man after His own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).  God knew David was a warrior king (1 Chron. 28:3).  The Lord knows His servant!

Thus, God made a covenant with David, to have a man on the throne forever.  God, in Christ, has made a “forever” covenant with those who become His sons today.  How do you respond to such grace?  How did David respond?

ü First, David grew in the knowledge of God (7:22).  He already knew his own frailty (v18-20).  What a great response to God’s grace: Is this the manner of man, O Lord God?  This isn’t how men treat each other.  You know me!  We find out later about David’s faults, in the matter of Uriah the Hittite; we know because God tells us about it in His word.  God knew He was making this covenant with a man who had a great, but not perfect, heart.  What is important is that David knew he was not deserving of such grace.  But, of course, the point of grace is ultimately what it says about God.  Truly, There is none like You (v22).  The gods of men’s creation are not like this. 

ü Second, David remembered that his blessing was to be seen in the context of the people of God over whom he reigned (v23-24).  He is not the king over Edom; they were not a “forever” people so they didn’t need a “forever” king.  He was not king over Egypt or Syria or Babylon or any other kingdom.  He was king over God’s treasured people.  Think about this.  Who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name?  God’s grace in Christ to believers today must be seen in the context of the Church, the Body of Christ.  By the Spirit we have been immersed in His Body, the people the Father gave to the Son. 

ü Third, this covenant of grace became the will of God for David’s life.  He knew this was life-changing for him.  That is why he, in essence, prays for the fulfillment of this covenant in his life.  Why would he pray that God would bless his house, after God just promised to bless his house?  The answer is that it is David’s way of saying, Lord, I know your words are true (v28).  David has a totally different view of himself and his place in history.  For God’s glory (v25-26) he will live according to the promise God has made.  That is exactly the way we are to live our lives as believers: As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Col. 2:6).

Rev. 2:1-7, The Head of the Church (2)

 Jesus is the Head of the Church.  In yesterday’s reading (Rev. 1:10-20) we saw the One who walks among the candlesticks.  It is a powerful picture.  There is fire and bronze, a voice like many waters, and a sword coming out of His mouth.  It is not only a picture of our Head; it is the One who will rule over the nations. 

When you read the seven letters, each includes a description of this Judge taken from chapter one.  In today’s letter to the Ephesian Church, it comes from the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.  The next words are, I know your works.  Each letter contains those words.  This is the point of the fire in the Lord’s eyes: His vision penetrates, cutting away the fluff and verbiage so He sees what is real.  The sword reveals His standard of judgment, God’s Word.  The fact that He walks among the candlesticks means He watches over each church.  Rev. 2-3 is so important to a local church.

We mentioned several churches in the last post.  Hear what Jesus says to each.

·       To the small, suffering church (Smyrna), He says I know your affliction.  Do not fear.  Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.

·       To the church that has tolerated false teaching (Pergamos), He says “repent” or I will come and fight against you.  Be overcomers!

·       To the church that allowed false teachers to be influential (Thyatira), He rebukes and promises to give those who follow the teaching what their works deserve.

·       To the dead church that looks like it’s alive (Sardis), but whose works are imperfect before God, He calls them to strengthen what little they have or He will come upon them at a time they least expect Him.

·       To the church of little strength but that is faithful to the Word (Philadelphia), He promises an open door for ministry.

·       To the self-satisfied church with no passion (Laodicea), He calls them to open the door to Him and let Him into their fellowship!

What about the first church, Ephesus.  What did Jesus see that was troubling?  They had left their first love!  The zealous life that characterized the church at first, a life of faith, hope and love, a life passionate about Christ as Lord, was gone. Remember from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent. 

We believe this is more the problem in a church that closes its doors.  Dependence on programs and other human resources rather than on Christ brings us to leave our first love.  The church becomes a well-oiled machine rather than the “mature man” Christ had in mind.  The study of the “hina” clauses should help us in hearing the desire of Christ for His Church.  Our response is not to redouble our efforts or improve the organization.  It is to fall harder on Christ.  He who seeks his own life will lose it; that is true of churches as it is of individual believers.

Rev. 1:10-20, The Head of the Church (1)

Organizations come and go.  Did you ever hear of the “British East India Company?”  Established in 1600 by charter of Queen Elizabeth, the BEIC virtually ruled trade between India and the rest of the world.  Along the way they acquired great political influence.  They kept their own army and fought wars.  After defeating the French at Plassey the BEIC’s “skirmishes” were with the Indians themselves.  Their heavy-handed rule eventually led to rebellion, ending in a bloody massacre (the Sepoy rebellion).  A year later, after 250 years, the British revoked the BEIC’s charter bringing an end to their power almost overnight.

Local churches come and go.  I have seen it over the years.  A church in an older neighborhood planted a church in a new neighborhood.  The old church eventually folded; the new one continues.  An inner-city church found their congregation moving to the suburbs.  As the congregation diminished, the leadership decided to give their property and facility to others who would seek to minister to in the inner-city and they moved to the suburbs.  Another church saw significant growth, adding not new services but rather forming new congregations out of the same facility.

What I remember about these and almost every other “church story” is that success or failure was seen in programs and organization.  That’s how people “evaluated” the local church.  Organization and programs, at their best, help us serve our Lord decently and in order (1 Cor. 14:40).  But the thought that a program can either make or break a local church likely indicates we are not allowing Christ, the Head of the Church, to do the evaluating.

Rev. 2-3 is a powerful place to go when a church needs to hear from their Head.  The seven letters are designed specifically with His evaluation in mind.  Jesus dictates the letters to John.  One church has a lot of things going on (Thyatira).  Another looks like it is alive but is actually dead (Sardis).  One thinks it is prospering but isn’t (Laodicea).  Another that is small, under and struggling, but is commended by Her Lord (Smyrna). 

One church was threatened with extinction (Ephesus, 2:5).  This church had many privileges.  Paul was there early on for two years (Ac. 19:8-41).  His ministry included many miracles.  Strong leadership was left behind (Ac. 20:17-38).  Apollos (Acts 18:24), Timothy and Tychicus (2 Tim. 4:12) also ministered there. 

Yet, Jesus said that if something didn’t change, they would lose their lampstand (i.e. the church would become extinct).  Jesus has the authority to remove a church’s lampstand.  He is, truly, the Head of the Church, in whom is all authority (Mt. 28:18).  Jesus holds the charter of a local church, using the BEIC illustration.  His reason for this we will examine in the next post.  For now we need to accept the authority of Christ.

Phil. 2:1-11, Our Objective: Edification, What church (5)

What kind of church do we see in the New Testament that promotes edification?

v A serving church. 

o   Knowing God.  Paul was a servant to the churches, even those where he had not visited, that they might come to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ (Col. 2:1-2).

o   Being holy.  Paul was a servant to individual believers.  For example, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble (1 Cor. 8:13).

o   Doing good works.  Epaphroditus served his church in Philippi, coming close to death to supply what was lacking in your service toward me (Phil. 2:30).  Paul was a servant to the church at Thessalonica, setting an example of hard work (2 Thess. 3:7-9). 

o   Love and unity.  Our Lord Jesus was the ultimate Servant, humbling Himself to be the slave of God, and setting an example for us (Phil. 2:1-11, esp. v5).

o   Sound doctrine.  Jesus served His disciples, giving them sound teaching so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them (John 16:1-4).  Paul served the churches and their need to have sound doctrine in the way he stood up to the Judaizers: we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you (Gal. 2:5).

o   Standing firm.  In 2 Cor. 1:3-7 we see service from two sides in the matter of remaining faithful to Christ.  On one hand, Paul was comforted in all our tribulation, tribulation that was the result of his ministry.  Then Paul said that God comforted him that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  He said, our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

Perhaps it has occurred to you that “knowing God” and a “Christ honoring Church” go together.  So does “sound doctrine” with a “Bible teaching Church.”  And “love and unity” with a “fellowshipping Church.”  Likewise, “doing good works” fits a “serving Church.”  The point of this is that when you consider the NT teaching on the Church you are dealing with a “body,” a body with different systems, if you will.  None of the systems exists on its own but they all work together.  If we see this truth, then we have come to see ourselves as Christ sees us.  We are growing up in Christ, our head, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Eph. 4:15-16).

Phil. 4:10-20, Our Objective: Edification, What church (4)

What kind of church do we see in the New Testament that promotes edification?

v A fellowshipping church. 

By fellowship we don’t just mean having potlucks.  Fellowship is the sharing of the life of Christ by the assembly of believers.  One way to see how this works out is through what I like to call, “The All Alone Bible Study.”  It’s taking the Greek word allelon, usually translated one another. 

o   Knowing God.  In the passage about church organization we see that coming to the knowledge of the Son of God is an aspect of church life (Eph. 4:13).  To the beloved (i.e. the body of believers) Peter exhorted them to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pt. 3:17-18).

o   Being holy. Holiness involves fellowship. For example, there is the fellowship of discipline for the destruction of the flesh (1 Cor. 5:5).  In a “body life” passage Paul told the Philippians not to complain and argue that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Phil. 2:14-15).

o   Doing good works.  In the great passage that encourages churches meeting together (Heb. 10:24-25) one of the things the church is to do is to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.  We are also reminded of how much the Philippian Church served as fellow-ministers with Paul (Phil. 1:5; 4:14-16).

o   Love and unity.  By definition “fellowship” is tied to “love and unity.”  Thus we read in 1 Cor. 1:10, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

o   Sound doctrine.  In John’s third letter he deals with the matter of receiving the itinerate preachers and teachers that were common in the NT church.  John said, We therefore ought too receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth (v8).  He then went on to point out Diotrephes who hindered sound doctrine by refusing to receive these ministers, and Demetrius whose testimony was good.  In Eph. 4:14 (again, the great passage on the Church) sound doctrine (not being blown by every wind of doctrine) is a mark of a healthy fellowship.

o   Standing firm.  The writer of Hebrews calls the believers to exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13).  Later, in 12:13, he calls them to make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.  These are issues of steadfastness, of not straying from the path we walk with the Lord.