Do you remember that at the end of chapter 8, we read that wonderful prayer of Solomon’s after the work was completed on the Temple? Well, here in the beginning of chapter 9, we read that God appeared to Solomon for the second time and He said to Solomon, “I have heard you pray to…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
May God bless the reading of His Word. A house is just a house until someone lives there, and then it becomes a home. A sanctuary is just an auditorium until the people of God are there, and then it is a house of worship. And the Temple was just a big, albeit beautiful building…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
In the last chapter we learned that Solomon took seven years to build the Lord’s temple. And in this chapter, we find that once God’s house was built, Solomon began building a place for himself. This structure took thirteen years to complete. You might think he took more care on his own house, or that…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
So now it’s time to build the temple. David couldn’t do it because he was a man of war, even though God gave him the plans…the specifics on how it should be built. God told David that his son would be the one to build it, and now this promise is set to be fulfilled….
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
Well as chapter three begins, we see a couple of things that could be of concern. First is his marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter. Jews were not to marry non Jews, or they might draw them away from God. Many scholars believe that she must have embraced Judaism. In addition, some think that this is the…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
King David is dead. Long live King Solomon. David was king for forty years, many of them turbulent. And on his death bed, he gave his young son words of advice. We’re not sure how old Solomon was when he became king, but some scholars believe he might have been as young as twelve years….
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
Chapter 11 began with a message that would not come from an old, jaded, cynical Scrooge-type man. He started with the advice that you should be generous with those in need, because your giving is like a farmer sowing grain. It will yield a return. And if you have the ability now, you never know…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
At the end of our last reading in Ecclesiastes, the end of chapter 8, Solomon had said that after setting his mind on understanding wisdom, after watching what happens here on earth, he concluded that it is impossible for man to understand it all. And this is coming from the wisest man that ever lived….
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
These chapters, while not entirely inspiring, seem to be a *little* less hopeless sounding than the first two, don’t you think? There’s a lot here to think about, but in our limited time, I’d like to focus for just a moment on chapter four. Halfway through the chapter, Solomon talked about the man who works…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
Today we are beginning the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, the same King Solomon who wrote the book of Proverbs. Like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes is classified as a book of wisdom. But you will very quickly see that Solomon’s approach is much different here. I don’t want to give away too much…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download