(14) Jehovah Speaks Again

Narrator: Chris Genthree
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Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared unto him at Gibeon” (1 Kings 9:22That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. (1 Kings 9:2)). It is good to hear the voice of God. But the contrast between Jehovah speaking to Solomon at Gibeon and now in Jerusalem is great. At Gibeon Jehovah said, “Ask what I shall give thee,” and the young king’s answer was a real delight. But several years had passed—years of unparalleled prosperity in the goodness of God, and the Temple was now in being. Israel’s blessing was therefore complete. Now Jehovah speaks solemnly to His servant about his responsibility. His prayer and supplication had been heard, and the house that he had built was now the acknowledged dwelling-place of Jehovah. “Mine eyes and My heart shall be there continually” ―wonderful divine pledge! Solomon’s Temple has long been destroyed; other structures have succeeded it; but Haggai 2:99The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. (Haggai 2:9) teaches us that in God’s sight the house has been one throughout. “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than of the former, saith Jehovah of hosts: and in this place I will give peace” (R.V.). In the same chapter we read, “Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?” Compare Ezra 5:1111And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up. (Ezra 5:11). Even the Temple that was built by Herod for his own aggrandizement was called by the Lord Jesus “My Father’s house” (John 2:1616And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. (John 2:16)). It is perhaps more remarkable that the Temple in which the Man of Sin will sit is called “the Temple of God” in 2 Thessalonians 2:44Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:4) and Revelation 11:11And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. (Revelation 11:1).
Jehovah’s answer to Solomon’s prayer is given at greater length in 2 Chronicles 7 than in 1 Kings 9. First, He graciously promised to hear the supplications of His people in times of trouble. Then He renewed His pledge that David should never want a man to sit upon the throne of Israel; but He pointedly added that this was no guarantee to the line of Solomon. That line has wholly disappeared, but Christ is God’s resource. Men indeed crucified the One whom they hailed as “Son of David” (Matt. 21:99And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. (Matthew 21:9)); but God raised Him from amongst the dead. He came of the Nathan branch of David’s royal house (Luke 3:3131Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, (Luke 3:31)). It will be a great day for Israel when they learn in the school of affliction that all their hopes are centered in in Him
This divine communication shows clearly how everything from that moment depended upon the king. “As for thee, if thou wilt walk before Me, as David thy father walked... then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom... but if ye turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments... then will I pluck them by the roots out of My land, which I have given them.” The subsequent history of Solomon is the more terrible as we contemplate these plain words. He should have realized that his departure from God would wreck the whole magnificent order of things which surrounded him. His foolish son Rehoboam did not help matters. Several of Solomon’s successors were pious men, and God graciously granted revivals in their time; but others of his line—notably Ahaz, Manasseh, and Zedekiah, were the vilest of the vile, and they filled Judah’s cup of iniquity to the uttermost. Josiah was the last king that was worth anything to the nation, and he foolishly threw away his life at the age of thirty-nine in a quarrel which belonged not to him (2 Chron. 35:2020After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. (2 Chronicles 35:20)). Not long after, the princes of the royal house were eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon, and “our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire: and all our precious things are laid waste” (Isa. 64:1111Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste. (Isaiah 64:11)). These calamities were set before the people as far back as the days of Moses, and in due time they came to pass (Lev. 26; Deut. 28:29-3029And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. 30Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. (Deuteronomy 28:29‑30)). Passers by who might inquire as to the cause of the ruin would be told: “Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought forth their fathers from the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped and served them: therefore hath Jehovah brought upon them all this evil” (1 Kings 9:99And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil. (1 Kings 9:9)).
The Lamentations of Jeremiah should be read at this point. There we have one who entered deeply into the mind of God pouring out his bitter grief for the ruin of His people. For Israel’s captivity and desolation was no ordinary incident in the sorrowful history of the nations. The tragedy of Israel is the tragedy of the world; thereby the world’s deliverance and blessing is held up, and has become impossible until the appearing of the Lord Jesus. Alas, the world, although at this time is in the deepest distress, does not want Him yet!