1Ki 9:1-9  Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?

[Study Aired February 3, 2022]

1Ki 9:1  And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 
1Ki 9:2  That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. 
1Ki 9:3  And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 
1Ki 9:4  And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: 
1Ki 9:5  Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. 
1Ki 9:6  But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: 
1Ki 9:7  Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: 
1Ki 9:8  And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? 
1Ki 9:9  And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. 

God’s word helps us gain the right spiritual perspective as to what these type and shadow events we are reading of in 1 Kings 9:1-9 reveal about ourselves as the body of Christ today (1Pe 1:12), and in order to receive these truths for what they mean for us personally, we are told in the next two verses what we must do:

1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

We are fashioning ourselves through Christ’s grace (Php 2:12-13), which favour manifests through the chastening and scourging we endure in this life (Heb 12:6), teaching us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts in this age (Tit 2:11-12). He gives us the power and wisdom to be able to see all these physical events of which we read in the word of God, comparing spiritual with spiritual, using the physical as we overcome, fighting a good fight of faith (1Co 2:13, 1Ti 6:12). That exercise takes the girding up of our minds, along with hope within that the grace of God will continue to be brought to God’s elect, which favor is to receive the wedding garments, the righteousness of Christ, the increase that comes from God (1Co 3:6), with which we must be found and are being found with “at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:3, Rev 19:8).

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

The title of this study is taken from 1 Kings 9:8 where the question is asked “Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?” speaking of what God will do to us:

1Ki 9:6  But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: 

These words: “Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?” have their counterpart explanation in Romans 9:1-24, and when we consider Romans 11:1-11 and layer that message over Romans 9:1-24, it becomes clear that everyone was meant to turn from following God, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23) and there is none righteous, no, not one: (Rom 3:10). What we have to conclude is that everyone must go into Babylon, but only a few in this age have been called to go into Babylon and then be dragged “out of her my people” (Rev 18:4, 2Co 6:17, Mat 22:14).

The types and shadows we learn from the temple Solomon built come from the blue prints that were inspired from the mind of God, and so our Lord says this: “And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: [Mat 6:8, Pro 16:1] I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually” meaning Solomon may have physically built this house [typical of working out your own salvation with fear and trembling just as Noah with the ark (Php 2:12-13, Heb 11:7)], but it was the Lord who inspired the plans and all the architecture that have great spiritual significance for us today.

Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

By looking at God’s word and continuing in it as doers of the word we will be saved (Joh 8:31-32), and that was the type and shadow message being given to Solomon whose life reveals a pattern of our journey of wanting to worship God in spirit and in truth in a church or temple we have built at great cost and God has hallowed for His purpose. God’s purpose is revealed for humanity through the body of Christ that is represented by the temple Solomon built, but whether any one of us continues in the truth (Joh 8:31-32), worshiping God in spirit and in truth within the temple that represents our bodies (1Co 3:16), is entirely up to God (2Ti 3:15, Joh 4:22-23, Rom 2:28).

2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures [old covenant scriptures], which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 

In this section of Kings we will look at “Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?” and see that losing our first love was not something that was optional for Solomon or for any one of us, but was a prophecy of what is going to happen to our first man Adam resulting in God’s correction. The joy of salvation comes when we come to realize that God is faithful and He will continue to finish what He has started in the body of Christ who are the firstfruits who are blessed to trust in God as we are redeemed from the earth through Christ, a redemption that is occurring for the salvation of all the world (Rom 8:38-39, Heb 12:2, Php 1:6, Eph 1:11-12, Oba 1:21).

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[This list in Romans 8:38-39 represents the powers and principalities we wrestle against (Eph 6:12), and the reason why we are assured victory over those principalities is found in Ephesians 1:21.]

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: [“things present, nor things to come“]

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

1Ki 9:1  And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 

God’s word reveals to us who was doing all the doing here in Solomon’s life and fulfilling the “desire which he was pleased to do” (Php 2:12-13), just as it was God’s power that manifested all the things that were created in the garden of Eden, all things consisting through Christ (Col 1:17) and having been created for a very good purpose (Gen 1:31).

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 

When the garden of Eden was completed by the Lord, the stage was now set to show mankind [Adam and Eve] what was in their and our hearts. In like manner when the temple was completed, “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house“, an environment was created where God was going to put his “name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually” (1Ki 9:3). God’s eyes and heart being there continually is like the sword in the garden of Eden that turns every way and is ever present judging the earthly creation of Adam and Eve just as Israel of old was being judged by their interaction in and around the temple of God (Gen 3:24). Solomon hadn’t been driven out of the presence of God yet as Adam and Eve were driven out in due time, but the stage was set to demonstrate what is in the heart of man once again, only this time on a much larger scale than just two people, and at the end of the age an even larger scaled up demonstration will unfold via Gog and Magog (Rev 20:10). This is the needful and necessary pattern God uses to humble all mankind in our flesh, each man in his order, so that a new heaven and a new earth can be created as the old one flees away (Rev 20:11).

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them [Rev 12:9, 1Jn 5:19] was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 
Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 

Of all of humanity there is only a little remnant represented by “the king’s house” who will be used to redeem the rest of God’s creation having become permanent fixtures in “the house of the LORD“.

1Ki 9:2   That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

The “second time” that the Lord appeared to Solomon is a witness to him that God is faithful to fulfill what He had promised him earlier in Solomon’s dream (1Ki 3:5-15). In 1 Kings 3:14 we see the parallel words being spoken of by God to Solomon at that time as they were stated later in 1 Kings 9:4. Whenever we see the word if regarding keeping God’s commands, we know it’s not telling us something we are going to be able to accomplish in our flesh, but rather is said to remind us that we can’t help but be that person in our flesh who is not going to walk after God’s commands. God already knows the answer to these two ifs that were spoken to Solomon in two instances, and they were written for our admonition (1Pe 1:12).

1Ki 3:14  And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 

1Ki 9:4  And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: 

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 

The dream is one for God, and the prophecies are fulfilled showing us that singleness (2Co 11:3) which is in our Lord revealing God’s purpose for mankind to deliver these weak vessels of clay through initially pouring out ten plagues in Egypt. Then He shows our natural state of rebellion unfold against God ten times in the wilderness (Num 14:22), eventually overcoming through Christ who is represented by Caleb (Exo 23:29 , Num 14:24). The two series of tens are a witness that is given against our flesh, and the two times Solomon is visited is a witness as well of the work God is working with our flesh which has a natural enmity against God that will rebel until it doesn’t (Gal 5:17, 1Ki 11:9).

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity^G572 that is in Christ.

G572 haplotēs hap-lot’-ace

From G573; singleness, that is, (subjectively) sincerity (without dissimulation or self seeking), or (objectively) generosity (copious bestowal): – bountifulness, liberal (-ity), simplicity, singleness.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

1Ki 11:9  And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

The beast has to be driven out of our lives little and by little otherwise we would become pride-filled thinking that our overcoming had something to do with us and not God Who is the one who must drive the beasts out of our temple through Christ (Joh 2:15). God has appeared a second time to Solomon as He did at “Gibeon“, and yet in both instances of His appearing to Solomon by the hills that the word “Gibeon” means, we are being reminded what was in Solomon’s heart is also in ours (1Jn 1:8). In time these hills will grow into rebellious pride-filled mountains as they do in all flesh (Gen 16:15) until God begins to judge us and humble us through that judgment (Rev 13:14-15, 1Ki 11:9).

Joh 2:15  And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 

1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 

Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 
Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 

1Ki 11:9  And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

1Ki 9:3  And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

When Christ was created, he had no choice in the matter (Rev 3:14) and neither do we as we are recreated and die daily enduring through Christ that process of being sanctified (Joh 17:17) or hallowed of God through Christ who builds the spiritual house (Psa 127:1). It is all typified by this statement: “I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually“. If Christ did not have the words of eternal life, we could not be sanctified with the word of God, and in like manner if Solomon did not have God’s blessing to build the temple of God and be given the wisdom and resources to do so, it would not have happened (1Ki 3:5-15)

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 

God says the same thing to us as He said to Solomon: “I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me“, and He wants us to know that He is speaking of things that are not as though they were regarding “this house” (Rom 4:17) especially in regards to Him putting His “name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually“. That is especially true of God’s elect today who have God’s spirit within them (Rom 8:9), but this does not exclude the rest of humanity who will be saved at an appointed time (1Ti 4:10).

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. 

1Ki 9:4  And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: 
1Ki 9:5  Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. 

Is Solomon going to walk as “David thy father walked“? In the positive view of that statement where Solomon represents our new man the answer is, “Yes, because he is a son of David who represents Christ.” In the negative sense, if Solomon does not walk as “David thy father walked” then he is understood to be the rejected anointed in type and shadow who was not of us and could not inherit the promises (1Jn 2:19). In both instances it is written to admonish us to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:14). Lord willing, we are His in this age, and we are persuaded better things of you, as Paul said in Hebrews 6:9, the ‘better thing’ being that we are sons of God who miraculously hear His word today and read and keep it (Mat 13:11, Act 28:27, Mat 13:16, Rev 1:3).

1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 

Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

Act 28:27  For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words [1Jn 4:6] of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 

The end result of being bound to the altar as a living sacrifice (Psa 118:27, Gal 2:20) unto God is that God “will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel“. That promise to Solomon is the type and shadow promise to the one seed God determined from the foundation of the world to rule and reign under Christ for a thousand years (Gal 3:16, Rev 20:6).

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

1Ki 9:7  Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: 

Everything we’ve looked at in this study has culminated into these last three verses which, as was mentioned at the onset of the study, have questions within them that are all answered in these two sections of scripture:  (Rom 9:1-24, Rom 11:1-11).

We all in our appointed time are “cut off” from “Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name“ and cast out of God’s sight (“will I cast out of my sight“) losing our first love and becoming a “proverb and a byword among all people” like a dog returning to our own vomit where greasy grace lays hold of our yet carnal minds (Pro 26:11).  However, if God is working with us in this life after we are brought to that low estate, we will be brought to our senses and dragged back to our Father through His chastening grace which was described for us in the parable of the prodigal son (Luk 15:17-18).

1Ki 9:8  And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? 
1Ki 9:9  And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. 

These last verses of our study will only benefit us if we see how they apply to us inwardly today which reads “at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?” This is speaking, in type and shadow, of the astonishment we have over Babylon continually falling in our own lives as we come to see ourselves as the chief of sinners (Rev 14:8). We are the ones who come to see that we have naturally forsaken “the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.“

If God is working with us in this age, then He brings upon us all that evil so that we are crushed (Ecc 1:13) and come to see how we are nothing of ourselves and, like the prodigal son, have wasted our understanding of God’s word [our inheritance in Christ], which actions parallel the life of the rich young ruler who thinks, like we do in our appointed time, that we’ve done so many wonderful things from our youth up [symbolizing our own righteousnesses] not being able to acknowledge that only Christ can be Christ (Luk 18:20-22). All glory and honour is His in every aspect of our lives, including how He causes the light and dark to manifest in our heavens to bring us to trust in Christ (Isa 45:7, Eph 1:12). It takes a lifetime of our being brought very low to be able to rightly divide the words of God and apply all that we read to our own man of sin who daily needs to be judged (1Co 11:31-32). If God will grant that we do that, we will through that exercise of evil be matured in Christ and be able to answer with all assuredness the question posed in the title of our study: “Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?” with the answer revealed in Romans 9:18-24.

Ecc 1:13  And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 

Luk 18:20  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. 
Luk 18:21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. 
Luk 18:22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves [Jer 3:13, 1Jn 1:9], we should not be judged. 
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord [Heb 12:6], that we should not be condemned with the world. 

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 
Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? [nobody has resisted his will (Eph 1:11, Php 2:12-13)]
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? [“Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?“]
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 
Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 
Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 
Rom 9:24  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?