Daily Tanach Thursday Sefer Melachim 1 –Chapter 9: G-d appears to Shlomo

* The article below is an excerpt from the above Sefer

Chapter 9: G-d appears to Shlomo; His Taxes, cities, laborers, and ships

 

1.      G-d reveals himself to Shlomo and promises to fulfill his request if the Jewish people follow his commands:

  • After Shlomo completed building the house of G-d and the house of the king [i.e. his palace] and it was all built as his heart desired to perform Hashem appeared to Shlomo a second time, and spoke to him. This is in addition to His appearance to Shlomo in Givon.
  • Hashem promises Shlomo to always dwell on the temple: Hashem said to him saying, “I have heard your prayer and your supplications which you supplicated before me, and I have sanctified this house that you built to place My name upon it forever. My eyes and my heart shall be on it forever.”
  • Hashem promises Shlomo to establish his monarchy forever if he follows G-d’s will: “Now, regarding you, if you follow in the path of David your father wholeheartedly and with uprightness to do everything that I command you and to guard all of My laws, then I will establish your throne and kingdom over the Jewish people forever as I have spoken to David your father, promising him that no man will be cut off from the throne of Israel.”
  • Hashem tells Shlomo of the consequences that they will face if they do not follow His laws: “If, however, you and your children will stray from Me, and will not follow My commandments that I have placed before you and they will worship other G-ds, then I shall cut off the Jewish people from the land that I have given them. Now, this home that I have sanctified for My name I shall destroy from before My face, and the Jewish people will become a parable of suffering before all the nations. The temple which was very elevated will become desolate and anyone who passes by it will sigh in shock at its desolation and question as to why G-d has done this to the land and to His temple. They will be answered that G-d did this because the Jewish people have forsaken Hashem their G-d who took them out from Egypt, and rather chosen for themselves foreign G-ds to worship them. Because of this, G-d has brought upon them all of this suffering and evil.”

About The Author

Leave A Comment?

You must be logged in to post a comment.