1 Kings 8 records Solomon bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple, his praising God, his dedication of the Temple and his benediction. The sheer numbers of animals sacrificed in the process of bringing the Ark into the Temple and the dedication service was most likely never rivaled either before or after in any religious service in Israel. Solomon made it quite clear the LORD’s Temple was to be the place for the Israelites to pray, whether it was to thank the LORD for His goodness or to call out to the LORD for his mercy during times when the people had turned away from him either individually or corporately. Take time to note the details of the dedication process. King Solomon took it quite seriously, and made sure the people understood both the importance of the Temple to Israel’s worship, and the connection of David and his line of descendants to the Temple and to the leadership of Israel.
1 Kings 9 tells us the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time in a dream. This time He came to affirm Solomon’s action in building the Temple, and to warn him if he turned away from the LORD he would experience grave consequences. The LORD renewed His covenant with David through Solomon, but He also told Solomon if any of his descendants abandoned the LORD, the LORD would abandon them. After the account of the dream, we are given a list of Solomon’s actions as king. Most of twenty years was devoted to the construction of the Temple and his palace. We’re told Solomon conscripted slaves from the conquered people of the land, but he didn’t enslave Israelites. We’re also told Solomon built a fleet of ships and sent them various places to trade with other nations. Through King Solomon’s efforts, Solomon became one of the great world leaders of his day.
1 Kings 10 tells us of the famous visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. While she was there, she realized that Solomon was even greater and wiser than she had been told. Solomon was extremely wise, and the remainder of the chapter tells us about his wealth. Again, Solomon’s wealth was incredible. We’re told during Solomon’s time was considered nothing, because it was so plentiful. Most everyday utensils were made of gold and even his drinking cups were made of gold.
Today we turn to Matthew’s gospel for the first time. Matthew is the longest of the synoptic gospels. It was written from a Jewish perspective, which isn’t surprising given that Matthew was a Jewish tax collector. Matthew offers many Old Testament references in his gospel to demonstrate Jesus’ fulfillment of them. Matthew starts his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus’ line. Luke’s gospel also starts with a genealogy but they are quite different in their layout. Matthew’s genealogy starts with Abraham, the “father” of the Jewish people and proceeds forward to Jesus. Luke’s genealogy starts with Jesus and proceeds backward all the way to Adam. Luke was a gentile, so his genealogy didn’t stop with Abraham, the “father” of the Jews, but with Adam the “father” of all people.
After the genealogy, Matthew gives us a brief account of how Jesus’ birth came about. Matthew tells us that Mary conceived Jesus, before she and Joseph, her espoused husband had “come together.” As a result, Joseph was going to divorce Mary quietly, but an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream and assured Joseph that the child within Mary was holy. Luke offers an extensive explanation for how the birth of Jesus came about by comparison, but Matthew provides us enough information to make it clear Jesus’ birth was anything but “normal.” That is as we would expect given that He is the Son of the living God!