1 Kings 6:11-13 | Bible Study Will God Live in the Temple? God’s Conditional Presence 1 Kings 6:11-13 interrupts a long description of the temple. We do well to pay attention to this interruption because it makes a shocking point. God’s presence isn’t guaranteed to be in the temple forever. As we’ve seen in previous […]

1 Kings 6:1-10 | Bible Study How to Build a Temple (Part 1) The Building Begins The temple was the most important building in ancient Israel. It represented the place where God dwelt among His people. After establishing that Solomon would reign after David and how God would interact with him, the narrative turns to […]

1 Kings 5:1-18 | Bible Study Solomon’s Forced Labor Is Solomon Great? 1 Kings 1-11 tells the story of King Solomon. On the surface, everything seems great! He is the wisest and richest king who ever lived. As we’ve seen in other passages, though, the story beneath the surface is shockingly different (see other guided […]

1 Kings 4:29-34 | Bible Study The Wisest King Who Ever Lived Solomon’s Wisdom Some passages in 1 Kings 1-11 mix positive and negative statements about Solomon. (Check out these passages.) 1 Kings 4:29-34 is not one of those passages. The whole passage describes Solomon as the wisest king who ever lived. Let’s see what […]

1 Kings 4:21-28 | Bible Study Studying Vines and Horses Can Tell You a Lot Solomon’s Prosperity We have firmly moved into a new era of Solomon’s reign. The battle for the kingship is over and God has gifted Solomon unparalleled wisdom and wealth (see previous studies on 1 Kings 1-3). 1 Kings 4:21-28 details […]

1 Kings 4:1-20 | Bible Study Solomon’s Political Structure The First Dynasty After God grants Solomon wisdom (1 Kings 3:1-15), the next several chapters put that wisdom on display. 1 Kings 4:1-20 describes the political structure Solomon puts in place. The passage is full of complicated names and confusing geographic references. It’s one of those […]