I SAMUEL CHAPTER ONE

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2 Samuel 24

David was incited to count the people of Israel and Judah and God becomes angry against them: among Israel, 800,000 warriors and among Judah, 500,000. Then David is struck with remorse after counting the population. He asks God for forgiving him for his foolish act. Then God gives David three options and he must choose one: seven years of famine or three months to flee from his adversaries or three days of pestilence in the country. So God sends a pestilence on Israel and 70,000 die and then God stops the pestilence after David’s offerings and sacrifices.

 

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As we can see, there is always a price to pay for bad actions and they were numerous in Israel. On the contrary, once again, we see the contrary with faithful men like Job, Daniel and Samuel! May we always remember their examples!

 

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Now it's Solomon's time!

 

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1 King 1

David is old and he can’t get warm. So his servants want to bring him a young beautiful girl, a Shunammite, to be his nurse and his lover. Strange ways for a man of God. I can’t imagine Job or Daniel or Samuel doing that! Apparently those who have power have their own way!

Adonijah, Absalom’s brother wants to be king and he makes himself king. So Nathan the prophet tells Bathsheba to tell David what’s going on. So David tells Nathan to anoint his son Solomon as king.

 

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1 King 2

David is going to die so he encourages his son Solomon to be a good and strong king following God’s Law thus God will be with him and his sons will be kings in turn. He tells Solomon what Joab did to it and the two men he killed in time of war and that he must pay for that. He told him about some good and bad men. Then he dies. Adonijah Asks Bathsheba to speak to Solomon so he can marry the Shunammite. But Solomon decides to kill Adonijah because his request was like asking the kingship. Then Solomon does as his father told him about those who acted against him.

 

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1 King 3

Solomon marries Pharaoh’s daughter in a marriage alliance. Solomon lives in the city of David till his house and God’s house are finished. God asks Solomon what he wants from him and he asks for wisdom. Then god tells him that because of what he asks he will get everything that is riches and glory and fame. And if he keeps following God he will have a long life. Then Solomon judges the case of two prostitutes and a child. Both say he is their child. Solomon orders to cut the child in two parts and give a part to each woman. The real mother wants her child to survive and tells Solomon to give the child to the other woman. So Solomon gives the child to his real mother, the one wanting to save her child.

 

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1 King 4

We are told about all the administration of Solomon. So there was security in Israel for all during the days of Solomon. He composes 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. Solomon was famous for his wisdom.

 

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1 Kings 5

Solomon organizes the construction of the house of God, especially bringing all the timbers of cedar from Lebanon at his own cost sending food and workers.

 

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1 Kings 6

God tells Solomon that he will be with him as long as he follows him! So we are told everything about the construction, of the house of God.

 

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1 Kings 7

Solomon needs 13 years to build his house.

 

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1 Kings 8

Solomon brings the Ark of God to God’s house in Jerusalem. All Israel was present. They celebrate the building of God’s house. Solomon asks favor to God when people go to God’s house and repent from their sins. It reminds me of Daniel and Samuel’s words about Israel’s sins: it is a never ending story, always the same story: they will keep sinning and go after other gods and do wrong as if it was an indelible mark, something written in their heart but something bad, as if it was written since birth. And God would forgive many times! What a patience! What to say about human beings! They are proud of what they have done! But look at God’s Earth: what a pity! They have forgotten that they aren’t the Earth’s owners but just tenants: the price for that will be expensive! Israel lost everything again and again!

 

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1 Kings 9

Solomon finishes the house of God who promises to establish permanently his throne on Israel on the condition that he follows him as David did. But if not he and Israel will pay an expensive price and God’s house will become a ruin. That’s exactly what happened!

 

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1 Kings 10

The queen of Sheba wants to know about Solomon’s wisdom by herself so she comes to see and test him. When she sees everything from Solomon she is breathless. Solomon sends his boats to bring precious metals from everywhere. So Solomon is extremely wise and rich or extremely rich and wise! Apparently he gets everything he wants! But it won’t be enough! How strange man is! Does he want to take God’s seat? When we look at history, it seems to happen all the time that’s why we are where we are and that’s why we go to the pit if God doesn’t stop us! Yes a bottomless pit!

 

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1 Kings 11

Then Solomon gets into trouble: it seems that human wisdom is worthless, it doesn’t matter how hard man strives! Solomon loves women, many foreign women especially those God told the Israelites to keep away. Because God knew they would go after other gods, their gods! Think about 700 wives and 300 concubines: what a madness! The more wisdom you get the more stupid you become! And Solomon goes after other gods! End of the story! So Solomon goes against God. And God tells him that he will take his kingdom away, but not during his life because of David. So he will take the kingdom from his son who will only keep one tribe! And God finds opponents to Solomon. And God wants Jeroboam to become king of Israel and Solomon’s son will only lead Judah! Then Solomon dies!

 

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Now there is an important thing to say: the Bible isn’t a book about God and a people but between God and individuals through personal relationships! So if you want to establish a personal relationship with God, you can listen to whoever you want, at the end of times, you need to listen directly to God and read the Bible by yourself and think about it and open your heart to him and see with your own eyes what happens between God and faithful men like Job, Daniel and Samuel and others but also between God and people who lose their personal link with God such as Saul, David and Solomon and many others! Thus if you want to understand the New Testament, you need to get deep into the Old testament, otherwise you may never understand the New Testament! Without the proper key you won’t open the door! And you have to do it by yourself, you mustn’t let the others do it for yourself if you don’t want to get lost!

 

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1 Kings 12

Rehoboham must become king of Israel but the people ask him to listen to them and make his service easier for them as the old counselors tell him but he prefers to listen to the young counselor who tell him to make it more difficult so the people reject him and he will only stay king of Judah and Jeroboam becomes king of Israel. Then Jeroboam makes two golden calves so the Israelites won’t go to Jerusalem to worship. And he makes different religious feasts. So everything goes upside down when people decide to go their own way, the human way.

 

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1 Kings 13

A man of God tells Jeroboam that his altar will be destroyed so Jeroboam wants to kill this man but his hand dries and he must ask him to pray God so he can get his hand back but the altar is destroyed. But jeroboam keeps doing what is wrong and his house will be destroyed.

 

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1 Kings 14

God sends a message of condemnation against the house of Jeroboam and against Israel because they don’t worship God properly. Both Jeroboam in Israel and Rehoboam in Judah act badly against God with high places to worship and having male temple prostitutes. Both kings also fight all the time between each other. What a pity: a world out of control, going nowhere with no leader!

 

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1 Kings 15

Judah’s next king, Abijam, reigns for three years and acting badly like his father. Then Asa reigns for 41 years and he acts in a good way like David, expelling the male temple prostitutes and idols but he keeps the high places. But there is constant warfare between Asa and Baasha the king of Israel. Then Asa asks the king of Syria to fight against Baasha. When Nadab is king over Israel and acts badly against God, Baasha conspires against him and kills him before bercoming king of Israel and destroys all the house of Jeroboam and he acts badly against God. It appears like a chorus, everything goes down and down.

 

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1 King 16

God wants to get rid of the house of Baasha. Elah is king of Israel for two years before one of his servants, Zimri, kills him and becomes king of Israel for seven days. He kills all the house of Baasha. Israel makes Omri, the chief of the army. But Israel divides into two factions: one for Timri, one for Omri. Omri wins and becomes king and reigns for 12 years and builds a city called Samaria. He acts badly against God. Then he dies and his son Ahab becomes king for 22 years. And he acts badly against God and start to worship Baal with his wife Jezebel. He acts worse than all the other kings of Israel.