[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SATURDAY APRIL 9

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SATURDAY APRIL 9

DAILY BIBLE READING

1 Kings 10-12 New King James Version
The Queen of Sheba's Praise of Solomon
10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the
name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to
Jerusalem with a very great [a]retinue, with camels that bore spices, very
much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with
him about all that was in her heart. 3 So Solomon answered all her
questions; there was nothing [b]so difficult for the king that he could not
explain it to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of
Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating
of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his
cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord,
there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king: "It was a true
report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7
However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes;
and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the
fame of which I heard. 8 Happy are your men and happy are these your
servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed
be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of
Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you
king, to do justice and righteousness."

10 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in
great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance
of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 Also, the ships of
Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of [c]almug
wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 And the king made [d]steps of the
almug wood for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also harps
and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such almug
wood, nor has the like been seen to this day.

13 Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she
asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity.
So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Solomon's Great Wealth
14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and
sixty-six talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traveling merchants,
from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the
governors of the country.

16 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six
hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred
shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The
king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure
gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at
the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and
two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on
each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other
kingdom.

21 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the
House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this
was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had
merchant[e] ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the
merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and [f]monkeys. 23
So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom,
which God had put in his heart. 25 Each man brought his present: articles of
silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate
year by year.

26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four
hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he [g]stationed in the
chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as
common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the
sycamores which are in the lowland.

28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king's
merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 29 Now a chariot that
was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one
hundred and fifty; and [h]thus, through their agents, they exported them to
all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon's Heart Turns from the Lord
11 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of
Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and
Hittites- 2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of
Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they
will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in
love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred
concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when
Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his
heart was not [i]loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father
David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and
after Milcom[j] the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the
sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father
David. 7 Then Solomon built a [k]high place for Chemosh the abomination of
Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination
of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who
burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from
the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded
him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he
did not keep what the Lord had commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to
Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My
statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away
from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in
your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand
of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give
one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of
Jerusalem which I have chosen."

Adversaries of Solomon
14 Now the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite;
he was a descendant of the king in Edom. 15 For it happened, when David was
in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain,
after he had killed every male in Edom 16 (because for six months Joab
remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom),
17 that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father's
servants with him. Hadad was still a little child. 18 Then they arose from
Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to
Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for
him, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of
Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is,
the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him
Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house. And Genubath was
in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh.

21 So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David [l]rested with his fathers, and
that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, [m]"Let
me depart, that I may go to my own country."

22 Then Pharaoh said to him, "But what have you lacked with me, that
suddenly you seek to go to your own country?"

So he answered, "Nothing, but do let me go anyway."

23 And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of
Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 So he
gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, when David
killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and
reigned in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of
Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and
reigned over Syria.

Jeroboam's Rebellion
26 Then Solomon's servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from
Zereda, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the
king.

27 And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: Solomon had built
the Millo and [n]repaired the damages to the City of David his father. 28
The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the
young man was industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of
the house of Joseph.

29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that
the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed
himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then
Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve
pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus
says the Lord, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of
the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have
one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem,
the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because
[o]they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people
of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and
keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. 34 However I
will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him
ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I
chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But I will take
the kingdom out of his son's hand and give it to you-ten tribes. 36 And to
his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp
before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My
name there. 37 So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart
desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, if you heed
all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight,
to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I
will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David,
and will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the descendants of David
because of this, but not forever.' "

40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to
Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of
Solomon.

Death of Solomon
41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are
they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 And the period that
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 Then
Solomon [p]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his
father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

The Revolt Against Rehoboam
12 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make
him king. 2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was
still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had
been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and
the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 "Your
father made our yoke [q]heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service
of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve
you."

5 So he said to them, "Depart for three days, then come back to me." And the
people departed.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father
Solomon while he still lived, and he said, "How do you advise me to answer
these people?"

7 And they spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant to these people
today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then
they will be your servants forever."

8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted
the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said
to them, "What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have
spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?"

10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus
you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, 'Your father
made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us'-thus you shall say to
them: 'My little finger shall be thicker than my father's waist! 11 And now,
whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my
father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with [r]scourges!'
"

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the
king had directed, saying, "Come back to me the third day." 13 Then the king
answered the people [s]roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had
given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men,
saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my
father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with [t]scourges!"
15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from
the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had spoken by
Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people
answered the king, saying:

"What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!"

So Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children
of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all
Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted
his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in
rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back,
they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over
all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of
Judah only.

21 And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah
with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who
were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore
the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to
Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 "Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon,
king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of
the people, saying, 24 'Thus says the Lord: "You shall not go up nor fight
against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his
house, for this thing is from Me." ' " Therefore they obeyed the word of the
Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam's Gold Calves
25 Then Jeroboam built[u] Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt
there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in
his heart, "Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 If these
people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then
the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of
Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah."

28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the
people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O
Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!" 29 And he set up one
in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for
the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made
[v]shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people,
who were not of the sons of Levi.

32 Jeroboam [w]ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month,
like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he
did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he
installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he made
offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of
the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he
[x]ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on
the altar and burned incense.

Footnotes
1 Kings 10:2 company
1 Kings 10:3 too
1 Kings 10:11 algum, 2 Chr. 9:10, 11
1 Kings 10:12 Or supports
1 Kings 10:22 Lit. ships of Tarshish, deep-sea vessels
1 Kings 10:22 Or peacocks
1 Kings 10:26 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. 2 Chr. 9:25); MT led
1 Kings 10:29 Lit. by their hands
1 Kings 11:4 Lit. at peace with
1 Kings 11:5 Or Molech
1 Kings 11:7 A place for pagan worship
1 Kings 11:21 Died and joined his ancestors
1 Kings 11:21 Lit. Send me away
1 Kings 11:27 Lit. closed up the breaches
1 Kings 11:33 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. he has
1 Kings 11:43 Died and joined his ancestors
1 Kings 12:4 hard
1 Kings 12:11 Scourges with points or barbs, lit. scorpions
1 Kings 12:13 harshly
1 Kings 12:14 Lit. scorpions
1 Kings 12:25 fortified
1 Kings 12:31 Lit. a house; cf. 1 Kin. 13:32, lit. houses
1 Kings 12:32 instituted
1 Kings 12:33 instituted