Solomon
offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. (1 Kings
3:4)
Upon
entering the Promised Land, the tabernacle found a temporary home at Shiloh. There
it remained from the time of the judges through Samuel’s childhood. At some
point, probably soon after the Battle of Shiloh (1 Samuel 4), the tabernacle
was moved to Gibeon. But what's a tabernacle without the Ark of the Covenant?
After the ark was captured by the Philistines, and then returned, it would
never again be housed in Moses’ Tabernacle. For years (throughout the reign of
Saul and beyond) it was sheltered at the house of Abinadab. When David
conquered Jerusalem , he set up a new tent for
the ark called Zion , but Moses' tabernacle
remained at Gibeon .
The
Zion tabernacle had no altar for burnt offerings so, after Solomon’s
coronation, he went to Gibeon, where he offered up a thousand sacrifices. Can
you imagine how long it would take to sacrifice a thousand burnt offerings? In
return for this act of worship, or more likely because of Solomon’s heart
behind the worship, God appeared to him in a dream and offered the new king
anything he asked. Solomon could have asked for wealth or power, but asked
instead for wisdom. So in addition to wisdom, God promised Solomon all the
wealth and power he could have
asked for.
Extravagant
worship. Extravagant blessing. Could there be a connection?
I Kings 1:35 Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”
ReplyDeleteSolomon was king over both Israel and Judah -- since he was king over both, I was wondering why they were never reunited as one nation, especially since one king was ruler over both. Wouldn't it make more sense to have one united country, therefore, more powerful and strong, then 2 countries that are kin to each other and yet separate? Do you know why they stayed separate?
David was proclaimed king by the people of Judah before being supported by the rest of Israel. Many in Israel were still supportive of Saul's family, but begrudgingly gave their allegiance to David. When 1 Kings talks about Solomon being king over both, it just means he, like David once the rest of Israel accepted him, was king over "all" Israel. The kingdoms were not divided into Northern and Southern Kingdoms until the reign of Solomon's son Rehoboam.
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