Reading
Day 1: 1 Kings 3:16-28, 1 Kings 5:1-18, 2 Chronicles 2:1-18, 1 Kings 6:1-13, 2 Chronicles 3:1-14, 1 Kings 6:14-38
Day 2: 1 Kings 7:1-51, 2 Chronicles 3:15-4:22
Day 3: 1 Kings 8:1-11, 2 Chronicles 5:1-14, 1 Kings 8:12-21, 2 Chronicles 6:1-11, 1 Kings 8:22-53, 2 Chronicles 6:12-42
Day 4: 1 Kings 8:54-66, 2 Chronicles 7:1-10, 1 Kings 9:1-9, 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, 1 Kings 9:10-14
Day 5: 2 Chronicles 8:1-18, 1 Kings 9:15-10:13, 2 Chronicles 9:1-12, 1 Kings 10:14-29, 2 Chronicles 9:13-28, 2 Chronicles 1:14-17
Day 6: 1 Kings 4:1-34, Psalm 72, Psalm 127
Day 7: Proverbs 1:1-4:27
Preview
Hard Questions
- (1 Kings 3:16ff) Why is the first proof of Solomon’s wisdom this story about two prostitutes?
- (1 Kings 5) Observation: David left Solomon some really good relationships, such as this one with the king of Tyre. He was setting him up for success.
- A trend we begin to observe in Solomon—anything for sex, money, and power. It affects his relationships, and we see it in his priorities: (1 Kings 6:38⁄7:1) he takes 7 years to build God’s temple and 13 years to build Solomon’s house; (1 Kings 9:10-14) he gives Hiram of Tyre a cheap gift in response to all the generosity he has received (Hiram calls the cities “cabul,” or worthless); (1 Kings 9:15-28) Solomon’s use of forced labor; he enters into massive building projects, presses Israelites into temporary labor and presses Gentiles into permanent labor. He institutionalizes slavery in his kingdom. There’s a reason he becomes the wealthiest king who ever lived: he doesn’t pay his laborers. People who love money use people to get it, however they have to. Solomon also marries first the princess of Egypt and later 699 other ladies, and takes 300 concubines. They are symbols of his power and also ways to make political alliances and attract more wealth to his kingdom. His love of wealth and power begins to inform almost every decision he makes.
- Then we hit Proverbs at the end of this week’s reading. He’s still so very wise; it’s complex. People are complex. We can learn a lot from Solomon’s example about how to live, and at the same time, an awful lot about how not to live. This is part of how we see that the Bible tells real stories; none of these guys are heroes.
Review
Page Discussion
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