Old Testament Lesson 28 – “After the Fire a Still Small Voice”

Sunday School Outline

1 Kings 17. Elijah seals the heavens against rain, flees from Ahab and Jezebel, and is miraculously sustained in the wilderness (17:1–6). The Lord sends Elijah to a widow who gives him food and water (17:7–16). Elijah raises the widow’s son from the dead (17:17–24).

1 Kings 18. After more than two years of famine, Elijah meets with Ahab and challenges the priests of Baal to call down fire from heaven to consume their sacrifice (18:1–2, 17–24). The priests of Baal fail, but Elijah prays and the Lord sends down fire to consume the sacrifice he has prepared (18:25–40). Elijah prays to end the famine, and the Lord sends rain (18:41–46).

1 Kings 19. Jezebel tries to kill Elijah (19:1–2). Elijah flees into the wilderness and is fed by an angel (19:3–8). Elijah goes to Horeb, where he is comforted by the Holy Ghost and instructed to continue in God’s work (19:9–19).

After Jeroboam led Israel into idolatry, he and his descendants were destroyed. They were followed by another succession of idolatrous kings. Of those rulers, Ahab was the king who “did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). He married Jezebel, adopted her practice of Baal worship, and encouraged his people to join him in the worship of this false god. The prophet Elijah delivered words of warning to Ahab and his kingdom.

Why do you think the Lord commanded the poor widow to feed Elijah before feeding herself and her son? (See 1 Kings 17:14–16.) In what ways are we asked to put the things of God first in our lives?

When the people gathered to hear Elijah at Mount Carmel, he asked, “How long halt ye between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21). How do we sometimes halt between two opinions?

How did God comfort Elijah on Mount Horeb? (See 1 Kings 19:9–13.) What can we learn from this about how God communicates with us? Why do you think God communicates more often through the “still small voice” of the Holy Ghost than through loud and spectacular displays of power? How can we discern the whisperings of the Holy Ghost?

 

Lesson Starts

OT Gospel Doctrine lesson #28 - After the Fire, a Still Small Voice
1 Kings 17-19

Elijah fed by ravens

Background: The nation of Israel has gone from bad to worse. Israel’s first king, Jeroboam, introduced an unauthorized El worship by setting up two calves in the nation. Now, King Ahab would not only bring heresy into Israel, but apostasy. Ahab married Jezebel, a princess of Phoenicia. Phoenician nation were a group of Sea People that came from the Greek Islands. Jezebel brought with her the god Baal, a powerful Canaanite/Phoenician storm god, who would be Jehovah’s arch-nemesis throughout the period of the Divided Kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Both gods were gods of power, fertility, and strength. According to tradition, both were divine sons of El from before the Creation. Both claimed the same territory. Canaanites worshiped Baal long before Moses brought Israel to the Promised Land. Yet Abraham had worshiped Jehovah centuries before in the land of Canaan and was promised the land by Jehovah. Both gods had a consort/wife. Baal’s wife was Astarte, though in the Hebrew Bible is named Asherah (who is Jehovah’s consort), the goddess of wisdom and fertility, represented by the Tree of Life and the sacred grove.

In this period, Jezebel sought to forever make Baal the god of the land. She supported the priests of Baal, hundreds eating at her table in Jezreel. She also sought out and murdered all the prophets of Jehovah. That is, she killed all but one: Elijah. He alone was Jehovah’s prophet and representative in the land of Israel. He would spend much of his life in hiding, and the rest of the time in direct confrontation with Ahab, Jezebel, and Baal’s priests.

Elijah Seals the Heavens
1 Kings 17
Why would a prophet of God seal the heavens so they do not rain for three years? Wasn’t he aware of the sufferings it would cause the people of Israel? While Ahab and Jezebel were Elijah’s key enemies, the people were the ones that would go without. Droughts first cause the crops to die and the waters to dry up. With no crops nor water, eventually the animals that depend upon grass/hay/fodder would also die. Famine first brings about the death of all animals that eat only vegetation. With dead and dying animals bloating in the Sun, pestilence would be the next great disaster to hit mankind. Flies and maggots would become common place, spreading illness and disease. The poor would be hit hardest, and would usually die first in such circumstances, while the king and queen would find ways to keep comfortable and well fed.

Why would God allow Elijah to bring about drought, famine and pestilence? The Book of Mormon suggests that such actions cause people to humble themselves and turn to God in humility. Nephi, son of Helaman, saw the people in open warfare and heading towards a complete destruction. Only drastic actions could save them:

“3 And it came to pass that in this year Nephi did cry unto the Lord, saying:
4 O Lord, do not suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the sword; but O Lord, rather let there be a famine in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will repent and turn unto thee.
5 And so it was done, according to the words of Nephi. And there was a great famine upon the land, among all the people of Nephi....
7 And it came to pass that the people saw that they were about to perish by famine, and they began to remember the Lord their God; and they began to remember the words of Nephi.
8 And the people began to plead with their chief judges and their leaders, that they would say unto Nephi: Behold, we know that thou art a man of God, and therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away from us this famine, lest all the words which thou hast spoken concerning our destruction be fulfilled.
9 And it came to pass that the judges did say unto Nephi, according to the words which had been desired. And it came to pass that when Nephi saw that the people had repented and did humble themselves in sackcloth, he cried again unto the Lord” (Helaman 11:3-9).

In Nephi’s instance, the people were about to destroy themselves with the sword. In Elijah’s case, the people were spiritually destroying themselves with the worship of Baal. In creating a three year famine, Elijah was softening their hearts for them to return back to Jehovah.

Elijah raises widow’s son

Still, Elijah was mindful of the suffering. In staying with the poor widow and her son, he ensured their survival during the famine. When the widow’s son was hit with pestilence, it provided Elijah with an opportunity to display Jehovah’s power. In raising the child from the dead, he ensured not only survival from the famine, but brought about conversion to Jehovah:

“And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth” (1 Kings 17:24).

Elijah versus the Priests of Baal
1 Kings 18

Elijah’s Sacrifice

The famine continued for three years. Those surviving the famines and plagues are duly humbled and ripened for conversion. They seek an answer to their starvation, which King Ahab has not been able to provide for them. Before turning on the spigots of heaven, Elijah’s opportunity to show Jehovah’s power and that Jehovah would end the drought was at hand.

“17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Note that many blamed Jehovah and Elijah for the drought, including Ahab. But Elijah explained that the drought occurred not because people were following Jehovah, but because they had rejected Jehovah and ran after Baalim (plural of Baal). Elijah called forth all the priests of Baal and Asherah. Hundreds of priests against just Elijah in a literal dual to the death. The sacrifice would show just which God had real power in Israel.

“24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. “

This is the ancient trial or test of fire. A testimony that is sealed by fire was a true one. We see the trial of fire in the Book of Mormon with Abinadi:

“9 Now Abinadi said unto him: I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands.
10 Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony against you. And if ye slay me ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at the last day.
11 And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.
12 But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.
13 And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.
14 And now when the flames began to scorch him, he cried unto them, saying:
15 Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their God” (Mosiah 17:9-15).

King Noah almost released Abinadi, because he feared the trial of fire. Later, King Noah would also be slain by fire for his sins, even as Abinadi prophesied.

Meanwhile, in 1 Kings 18, we read that Baal’s priests built their altar and spent the entire day praying, shouting and cutting themselves in an attempt to have Baal light their sacrifice. But it was to no avail. Even Elijah’s mocking that they needed to dance harder and shout louder, for perhaps Baal was asleep or deaf, did not cause the altar to light with flame.

Then it was Elijah’s turn:

“30 Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God” (1 Kings 18:30-39).

Elijah rebuilt the sacred altar at Carmel that was broken down due to neglect or perhaps vandalism by Jezebel’s priests. The bullock or bull was a symbol of Baal’s strength, fertility and power. The wood symbolized Asherah, goddess of wisdom, fertility and the grove. He soaked the offering and the altar until there would be no doubt that it was God that consumed the sacrifice, and not just a parlor trick. God’s power was shown in that fire came down from heaven consuming not only the bullock and wood, but the stones, dust, and even the water in the trench.

There was no doubt about it. The people saw with their own eyes that Baal was unable to light his sacrifice on fire, while Jehovah consumed everything. Israel fell on their faces and proclaimed Jehovah as their God. Only now that they had been humbled by three years of famine and drought were they ready to repent and truly embrace Jehovah as God. This same action, if done at the beginning of the drought, would not have impressed them for long and the people would have continued to worship Baal. But now it mattered. If Jehovah had power to consume even rocks with fire, he had power to end the drought.

Elijah called upon the people to slay the 450 priests of Baal, and they gladly did.

Interestingly, the Bible does not say that the priests of Asherah were harmed at all. Some, such as David Larsen at the Heavenly Ascents blog, believe it is because the Asherah and her priests were a later addition by the Deuteronomists to justify their destruction of Asherah’s groves and to remove the Tree of Life out of the temple worship. However, I believe it is possible that Elijah did not slay them because Asherah was part of the worship of Jehovah, even as his consort/wife. Jehovah took back his consort from Baal, his arch-nemesis, and restored her in the proper worship of Jehovah. Not only did Elijah’s challenge restore Jehovah as God of Israel and defeat Baal, but it also restored Asherah as Jehovah’s wife.

With Israel now returned to the worship of their true God, Elijah turned to Ahab and told him to stop fasting, go eat and prepare for rain. The drought was over.

Still, Small Voice
1 Kings 19
While Ahab may now have started down the road to repentance and believing in Jehovah again, Jezebel was beside herself. She had slain almost all the prophets of Jehovah in Israel. Now, Elijah had slain all the priests of Baal. This became a major setback in Baal worship, as the temples and sacred high places to Baal had no priests to sacrifice to the god. Jezebel sought revenge and demanded Elijah’s head. Elijah fled into the land of Judah for safety. He was fed by an angel, then wandered to Mount Horeb, fasting 40 days and nights. Mount Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, the mountain where God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. This was the place where Moses had his theophany, or grand vision of God, and Elijah also went there in hopes of having his own grand experience.

On the Mount, Elijah awaited on God in a cave:

“11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”

Note that even with Moses, Elijah was able to see the Lord pass by him. But Elijah noted that God was not in the wind (probably a whirlwind), the earthquake, or the fire.

Remember, Jehovah recently used fire to consume the altar. While these are great powers, they are not God. Some Canaanites saw in these powers the gods they worshiped. However, Jehovah was to be found in the still, small voice. Elijah recognized that and only went out of the cave when he heard the voice.

How often are we distracted or absorbed by the loud noises of society around us? How often do we seek answers or even God in the powers of the earth? How often do we sit quietly enough that we can even hear the still, small voice of the Spirit?

“ 14 And he (Elijah) said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Elijah was tired. He spent three years enduring a famine, hiding out from Jezebel and Ahab, and watching the sons of the prophets of Jehovah slain by Jezebel. He was ready for his mission to be over, and God agreed. The Lord commanded him to anoint new kings for Syria and Israel, and to anoint his own replacement.

“And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.”

The reign of Baal’s terror would soon end in Israel. Between Hazael of Syria, Jehu of Israel, and Elisha the prophet, the worship of Baal would be ended, at least for a time. And Elijah was reminded that his works had made a big difference, even though it may not have seemed that way:

“18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.”

Elijah’s efforts had converted thousands. The worship of Jehovah in Israel was not dead, but was still very much alive. And in the following generation of kings and prophets, Jehovah would have greater power in Israel.

Bibliography
David Larsen’s Heavenly Ascents on Elijah and Lesson 28:http://www.heavenlyascents.com/2010/07/27/the-great-elijah-stories-ot-lesson-28/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HeavenlyAscents+%28Heavenly+Ascents%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
William G. Dever, Does God have a Wife?http://www.amazon.com/Did-God-Have-Wife-Archaeology/dp/0802863949/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280257633&sr=8-1
Margaret Barker website: http://www.margaretbarker.com/
Daniel Peterson, Nephi and His Asherah:http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=9&num=2&id=223
Johanna H. Stuckey, Asherah and the God of the Early Israelites:http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM04/spotlight.htm
Wikipedia, Asherah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah

Old Testament Lesson 27 – The Influence of Wicked and Righteous Leaders

Sunday School Outline

1 Kings 12:1–20. Rehoboam succeeds his father, Solomon, as king over the twelve tribes of Israel. He rejects the counsel of wise men to serve his people, seeking instead to impose greater burdens on them (12:1–15). The kingdom is divided as ten tribes revolt (12:16–19; the ten tribes retain the title kingdom of Israel, while the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remain under Rehoboam’s rule and are called the kingdom of Judah). The kingdom of Israel selects Jeroboam as king (12:20).

1 Kings 12:25–33; 13:33–34; 14:14–16, 21–24. Jeroboam leads his people into idolatry (12:25–33; 13:33–34). A prophet foretells the destruction of Jeroboam’s family and the scattering of Israel (14:14–16). Rehoboam leads the kingdom of Judah into idolatry (14:21–24).

2 Chronicles 17:1–10; 20:1–30. Jehoshaphat, Rehoboam’s great-grandson, reigns righteously in the kingdom of Judah (17:1–10). As Judah’s enemies come against them, Jehoshaphat and his people fast and pray. The Lord tells them the battle is not theirs, but his. Their attackers war among themselves and destroy each other (20:1–30).

What counsel did the older men give Rehoboam about ruling successfully? (See 1 Kings 12:6–7; 2 Chronicles 10:7.) How can we apply this counsel at home, at work, at school, and in the Church?

Jehoshaphat influenced the people of Judah to humble themselves before the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:3–4). What examples have you seen of righteous leadership? What can we do to influence those we serve to live righteously?

Additional reading: 1 Kings 11:26–40; 2 Kings 17:20–23.

 

 

Lesson starts here…

OT Gospel Doctrine Lesson #27 - The Influence of Righteous & Wicked Leaders
1 Kings 12-14; 2 Chronicles 17, 20


High Place of Jeroboam
(Nearly all archaeologists agree that this excavated podium was the one that Jeroboam constructed to house the golden calf at Dan. Archaeologists now think the platform was roofed. Evidence of a four-horned altar has been found as well as religious objects such as three iron shovels, a small horned altar, and an iron incense holder.)

Background: While we often focus on Solomon's wisdom, giving the one example of dividing a living child to two women in a maternity suit; we often neglect the degree to which his decrees and decisions harmed not only himself, but Israel.

While he built a temple to Jehovah, he built even larger palaces for himself. While his father David sinned, he repented and still remained faithful to the Lord. Solomon drifted to worshiping other gods & marrying outside of Israel. It became an issue of David breaking the portion of the 10 Commandments related to mankind, while Solomon blasphemed against the God that made him king. Alma taught that only denying the Holy Ghost was worse than murder or adultery (Alma 39:11-13), and it seems that Solomon’s evil works came close to this gravest of all sins, as he continued sinning even after being rebuked by prophets.

David reached out to all the tribes of Israel, accepting political, military and religious leaders from both Judah and Israel. On the other hand, Solomon favored Judah. He began by rejecting leaders that favored Israel, including his brother and one of David's two high priests. He taxed the Ten Tribes heavier, including requiring more soldiers and laborers to build his palaces and edifices, than he required from Judah.
Instead of expecting Israel to worship only Jehovah as David did, Solomon built temples to the gods of his foreign wives.

Because of Solomon's betrayal of Jehovah, Jeroboam was anointed and ordained as the future King of Israel. And because he ruled Israel so harshly, he left Israel and his son Rehoboam little room to negotiate and maneuver.

Advice to New Royalty - Listen to the Old Guys!
1 Kings 12-14
Israel's unity as a kingdom was fragile. Rehoboam inherited his father's penchant to annoy and punish the 10 Tribes. And they knew it.

Jeroboam, previously anointed King of Israel, returned from Egyptian exile. Surely, many in Israel were wary of making such a drastic dynastic change, and so Jeroboam decided to present an immediate challenge to Rehoboam, packaged neatly as a populist demand for basic rights. Israel would gladly accept Rehoboam as king if he would lessen the hardships imposed by his father, Solomon. The young prince sent Israel away for three days while he sought council.

We learn from Rehoboam that if you don't like the first answer you are given, keep looking around and eventually someone will tell you what you want to hear. And as Voltaire once said, "common sense is not that common."

Rejecting the council of the elders to accept Israel's common sense demands, Rehoboam instead followed the guidance from his peers. They insisted the people only understood brute force. If he gave in to Israel now, what would they demand next? His kingdom would immediately be diminished, never being as great as David or Solomon. The young men's Machiavellian counsel of "whipping them with scorpions" and having a pinkie finger thicker than Solomon's loins, was clearly meant to tell Israel they were no longer Tribes of the God of Israel, but subjects and servants of the king.

Rehoboam fell head first into Jeroboam's political trap. He was forced to choose between being a weakened ruler or a tyrant. For him, following sharply in his father's stead seemed to be the proper choice. Solomon slew or exiled many at the beginning of his reign and succeeded in holding the nation together by force. Rehoboam believed he could do the same.

Israel rebelled, proclaiming Jeroboam their king. The short-lived United Kingdom would never reunite again in history.

Jeroboam's Ancient Bull Cult

Jeroboam worships the golden calf

Although anointed by a prophet to rule the Ten Tribes, Jeroboam still had a fierce competitor: Solomon's Temple. In fact, this was Jehovah's (Yahweh) temple. This was the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses.

As mentioned in previous lessons, Jehovah was one of the divine sons of Elohim or El Elyon. When El divided the nations in the days of Peleg, he assigned a nation to each of his divine sons. Jehovah received the future kingdom of Israel, which he nurtured from Abraham on, until Israel fully came into its own.

Jeroboam knew that Jehovah chose the Levites, and particularly the sons of Aaron to serve him in the temple. Most of the Levitical authority was in Jerusalem and attached to the temple. By the time he could build his own temple to Jehovah, Israel may have defected back to Jerusalem for religious reasons.

Jeroboam needed to provide an option acceptable to his people. He made two calves (young bulls), which anciently symbolized both Elohim and Baal. He did not embrace the local Canaanite god Baal. Instead, I believe he reached back into Israel's past and resurrected the worship of El Elyon for Israel to follow.

Elohim or El Elyon, being the father of all the gods/divine sons, would have been very familiar to Israelites, Canaanites, and other Semitic tribes in the region. Unlike Jehovah, the invisible mountain God that sat on the mercy seat between the two cherubim in the Jerusalem Temple, Elohim was often represented by bull or calf images that symbolized his power and fertility. He was not assigned to a particular nation, but was father of the gods. And he was often worshiped at wilderness shrines or "high places."

Jeroboam created not one, but two shrines to El. These were placed in the northern (Dan) and southern border (Beth-el) regions. It seems the king did this for two reasons: first to prevent Israel from leaving to worship elsewhere, and second to encompass the entire land. Jehovah's temple was confined sacred space. The sacred bulls on the far borders of the land made all of Israel a holy place. There were other reasons to build a high place in Beth-el. First, its name means "House/Temple of El." It was named anciently by Jacob, when he saw in vision El Elyon on his throne above Jacob's ladder/staircase (Genesis 28:11-19). Jeroboam adopted and adapted the ancient worship of El to fit his needs.

There was just one problem with Jeroboam's plan: he had not been authorized by either Elohim nor Jehovah to take such a radical departure. No prophet of God approved his plan, nor anointed the priests, as was done in the cases of the Tabernacle and the Temple. Still, his sin was not as wicked as Baal worship which would come under future kings (2 Kings 3:1-2). Jeroboam’s sin was not of worshiping a god from the Canaanites, but of wrongly worshiping El without God’s permission.

The Curse of Jeroboam
In 1 Kings 13, we find a prophet of God (Jehovah) went to the high place in Beth-El and condemned Jeroboam for his apostate twisted form of worship. The prophet foresaw the future destruction of Jeroboam’s family and the bull idol. Amazingly, Jeroboam did what Solomon and Rehoboam did, continued worshiping false gods. It wasn’t in his interest to repent. As with most people of the day, Jeroboam believed there were many living gods, and Jehovah was just one of many. When Jeroboam’s hand withers as he touches the altar, he asks the prophet of Jehovah to heal his hand. He knows Jehovah has the power to heal, and his hand is healed. Yet, he continues in his apostate worship, because for him, Solomon, and many future kings of Israel and Judah, Jehovah is just one of many.

Because of rebellion, we will see kingdoms ripped from many kings of Israel and Judah over the course of several centuries. Few kings will be considered faithful and true to Jehovah God. However, some soon appear in Judah, such as Asa and Jehoshaphat. Still, it would not be long before Israel is taken from Jeroboam.

Jeroboam’s only son is found on his deathbed. The king sends his wife in disguise to the prophet Ahijah, who originally anointed him king. Ahijah is now old and blind, yet the Lord reveals to him the Jeroboam’s wife and her purpose. The prophet tells her that the child would die and the kingdom soon would be torn from the house of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:1-20).

Rehoboam’s sins
The account turns to the king of Judah, Rehoboam. Not only did Solomon’s wives lead him to worshiping other gods, but Rehoboam is also affected by his mother’s foreign influence. She was an Ammonite, and brought with her the worship of her land.
This strange religion included, “they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And thee were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel” (1 Kings 14:23-24).

High places were hills (natural or man made) where ancient people worshiped. High places included Jehovah worship for centuries, and included Jacob’s sacred site at Beth-El (see above). However these high places were tied to the goddess Asherah. Asherah was known as the goddess of wisdom and fertility. Anciently, she was viewed (or differing versions of her were viewed) as the consort or wife of Elohim, Jehovah, and/or Baal. Asherah was represented by the tree, and often groves were grown in her honor. The version that Rehoboam introduced was probably as a wife of Baal, for it also included “sodomites” or homosexual prostitutes involved in the worship rites.

Asherah was also connected tightly to Jehovah and his temple. She represented the Tree of Life, the mother of God (Jesus). However, direct worship of her was less common among those who worshiped Jehovah. In Nephi’s Vision of the Tree of Life, the Tree is directly connected to the Mother of God, with Jesus as her fruit. Nephi understood this temple symbolism as representing Asherah, the wife of the true God (1 Nephi 8-15).

“7 And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God.
8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.
9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all.
10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?
11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.
12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence.
13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.
14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?
15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.
16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul” (1 Ne 11:7-23).

In these verses we find that Nephi recognizes the Tree of Life as representing the Mother of God. It is the Love/Wife of God that sheds itself through her son (the fruit of the tree) to all mankind.

But this is not the Asherah that Rehoboam builds high places to. That is an apostate wife of Baal, encouraging sexual sin and perversion. The sacred things of God have again been distorted and twisted into an apostate form.

To punish Judah, the Lord sent in the Egyptians to punish them. The royal and spiritual treasures of Judah were carried off as the prize for Egypt’s entrance into the land. Rehoboam’s sins have not only cost him half the kingdom, but all the kingdom’s riches. He has no choice but to replace the gold implements (such as shields) of his army with items made of bronze. Jehovah’s temple probably received no implements of any kind, since the Bible is silent on the topic (1 Kings 14:25-28), In less than a generation, David’s dream of a temple for the Lord had become an afterthought. Solomon built it, then neglected it in his pursuit of riches and other gods. Rehoboam also neglected the Lord’s House in his perverse sexual desires and worship of the apostate goddess.

Asa, the Righteous King of Judah
2 Chronicles 14-16
Judah was occasionally blessed with righteous kings. Among these was Asa. In his days, he

“took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chron 14:2-5).
He built up Judah and had no war in his days, “because the Lord had given him rest” (vs 6).

In chapter 15, the prophet Azariah tells the king and people they shall prosper if they would only follow Jehovah and keep his commandments:

“Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you” (2 Chron 15:2).

So upright was Asa’s kingdom in his early years, that not only did Judah and Benjamin repent and follow God, but many faithful people out of “Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon” immigrated to Jerusalem to worship God and escape the evils being done in Israel (vs 9).

Asa does suffer from a lack of faith, when Syria came to war with Judah. Rather than trust in God, Asa emptied all the treasures out of the temple and his palace as a tribute, to send Syria away. Because he lacked the faith to trust in God’s deliverance, he was chastened by the seer Hanani, and smitten with illness, which he died from (2 Chron 16).

Jehoshaphat and Ahab - The Odd Couple
2 Chronicles 17-20
One of the strangest alliances in the Bible was between Jehoshaphat and Ahab.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was revered as a very righteous king and follower of Jehovah:

“And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim (plural of Baal)” (2 Chron 17:3).

The kingdom that waned under Rehoboam was again growing in glory. Jehoshaphat became rich as king, because the Lord blessed him for his devotion. He removed the groves and high places that Rehoboam and other kings set up (17 vs 6). He sent the Levites throughout all the land, teaching God’s law to the people (17 vs 9).

So great was God’s glory on Jehoshaphat that…

17:10 … the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

On the other hand, Ahab reigned over Israel’s darkest times. His wife was Jezebel, and the worship of Baal and his consort Asherah had become the main worship in the land. Still, Jehoshaphat joined Ahab in fighting Syria.

The Premortal Divine Council
2 Chronicles 18:18-22
Ahab’s apostate prophets all predicted an easy victory for the allies. Yet, Jehoshaphat insisted on hearing from a prophet of Jehovah. Ahab was concerned, because the nearest prophet was Micaiah, who never prophesied well of him. Still, Micaiah was sent for on behalf of Jehoshaphat.

The prophet began mocking Ahab, telling him what the others had said. However, Ahab knew Micaiah spoke falsely and commanded him to tell him the truth. Interestingly, the story is reminiscent of the ancient divine council:

“18 Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
19 And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.
20 Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith?
21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.
22 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee” (2 Chron 18:18-22).

Here Micaiah has a theophany, a vision of God on his throne. God is surrounded by the “host of heaven” which are the ancient divine council (see Isaiah 6, Abraham 3, Job 1). In Abraham, we see the original council, where God asks “whom shall I send” to be the Savior of mankind. In Isaiah, the Lord asks “whom shall I send” to preach to the people (Isaiah volunteers as a symbol of Christ).

Here, God asks who shall go to entice Ahab. A lying spirit offers to do the work. Some may find this strange, but we find that Satan (Adversary) was among those in the ancient divine councils, and Job even saw him challenge Jehovah for primacy over Israel by tempting Job himself! Here, the same spirit entered into the mouths of the prophets of Baal, leading Ahab to his death in battle.

“So Shall Ye Prosper”
2 Chronicles 19-20
The battle against Syria having gone badly, because the two kings disobeyed Jehovah’s prophet, Jehoshaphat found himself rebuked, and he repented.

His big challenge came when the Ammonites and others attacked Judah. Should he do as previous kings and give up a tribute from the treasuries of the palace and temple? The king went to the temple and prayed:

(Ch 19 (KJV) “5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,
6 And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;
15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chron 20:5-15).

The Lord delivered Judah and their king, because of their faith. Because of that faith, “came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation” (vs 14). The priest Jahaziel told them, “stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord...fear not, nor be dismayed” (vs 17).

The next morning, Jehoshaphat cried to his people, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper” (vs 20).

Judah found that day that the Ammonites and Moabites had slaughtered themselves, leaving great treasures for the people to spoil. Once again, the “fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about” (vs 29-30).

Final Comments
Even as a righteous king can create an environment of peace and protection from God, so can we do in our families, our churches, and in our lives. However, it requires us to reject the false gods that continually are about us. Many offer sordid pleasures, while others justify our sinful lifestyles. However, only God can create order from the chaos that surrounds us, and bring peace and safety to us.

Bibliography
Daniel Peterson, Nephi and His Asherah:http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=9&num=2&id=223
The Ancient Divine Council: http://www.thedivinecouncil.com
Order out of Chaos:http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/2010/07/gospel-scholarship-order-out-of-chaos.html
Map of Divided Israel/Judah:
http://britam.org/pics/Divided.jpg

 

Old Testament Lesson 26 – King Solomon: Man of Wisdom, Man of Foolishness

1 Kings 3:5–28. Solomon succeeds his father, David, as king, and follows the Lord. The Lord appears to Solomon and blesses him with wisdom, riches, and honor (3:5–15). Two women take a child to Solomon, who wisely determines which woman is the mother of the child (3:16–28).

1 Kings 5–6; 7:1–12. King Solomon directs the construction of a great temple (5–6). He has a palace built for himself (7:1–12).

1 Kings 8:22–66; 9:1–9. Solomon dedicates the temple and asks the Lord to bless the Israelites with spiritual and temporal prosperity (8:22–66). The Lord again appears to Solomon, promising to bless the Israelites if they serve him but to curse them if they turn to other gods (9:1–9).

1 Kings 10–11. Solomon’s fame grows because of his wealth and wisdom (10:1–13, 24–25). He becomes excessively wealthy (10:14–23, 26). He marries many non-Israelite women who persuade him to worship false gods (11:1–10). The Lord stirs up adversaries against Solomon (11:11–25). A prophet foretells that the kingdom of Israel will be divided because of Solomon’s wickedness (11:26–40).

What does it mean to have an “understanding heart”? (See 1 Kings 3:28; 4:29.) Why did Solomon feel a special need for that blessing? (See1 Kings 3:7–8.) How would having “the wisdom of God” help us with our responsibilities at home, at work, at school, and in the Church? How can we receive this wisdom?

What promise did the Lord give Solomon regarding the temple? (See1 Kings 6:11–13.) What similar promise has the Lord given us today? (See D&C 97:15–17.) What can we do to keep the influence of the temple strong in our lives?

How did Solomon’s riches and honor increase after the temple was built? (See 1 Kings 10:1–15, 24–25.) How did Solomon misuse these blessings? (See 1 Kings 10:16–23, 26–29.) How should wisdom, riches, and honor be used? (See Jacob 2:18–19.)

Additional reading: 1 Kings 2:1–12; 4:29–34; 7:13–51; 1 Chronicles 29;Doctrine and Covenants 46.

 

OT Gospel Doctrine Lesson #26: King Solomon: Man of Wisdom, Man of Foolishness
1 King 3, 5-11

Solomon Dedicates Temple

Solomon Slaughters His Enemies
With David growing old, conflict arose between his many sons as to who should replace him. The eldest living son, Adonijah, presumed it should be him. David never dissuaded Adonijah from this presumption. Joab, general of David’s armies, and Abiathar, one of David’s high priests (a descendant of Moses), supported Adonijah in his quest for kingship.

David has 4 sons of prominence for the succession. 

(1) Amnon – Amnon, the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel, was David's first-born. His brother Absalom, the son of David's other wife, was famous for his splendid appearance.

Remember the story of Amon and Tamar.  Absalom lures Amnon away from the capital and has him killed after he assaulted his sister Tamar. 

Absalom had a sister named Tamar, who was very fair. Once Amnon deeply offended her, which exceedingly enraged Absalom. Between Absalom and his half-brother Amnon there was now kindled a terrible feud which could only be quenched in the life-blood of the offender.

(2) Absalom – We didn’t have time to get into Absalom’s rebellion.  After Absalom had Amnon killed, he started a rebellion against his father David and very nearly succeeded in winning the throne.  David was forced out of Jerusalem for a time.  Absalom’s rebellion is squelched (Joab orders the death of Absalom) and David returns to power in Jerusalem.

(3) Adoniah (Adonijah).  Adonijah decided not to make an attempt to wrest the throne from his father before his death, but instead, laid plans for the possession of the crown immediately upon his father's death. Adonijah, therefore, sought to obtain the help of Joab and of Abiathar the priest; but he was opposed by the old warriors and others, who remained faithful to the aged king, and among whom Zadok the priest

(4) Solomon (from Bathsheba). 

David had sworn that Solomon should be his successor, and he now repeated the promise to Bathsheba. He was determined that from that very day Solomon should be considered as king of Israel.

Solomon was supported by David’s other chief priest, Zadok, a descendant of Aaron, several military leaders, and Nathan the Prophet. As well, Bathsheba still held the attention of King David over his other wives. She went to him and encouraged him to accept Solomon as heir to the throne. Nathan followed her in, repeating the need to select Solomon. David agreed and had Zadok and Nathan anoint him king (1 King 1).

Solomon                                                             Adonijah

Supported by Zadok (High Priest)                          Abiathar (High Priest)

Supported by Nathan (prophet)                             Joab (general)

Zadok: Lineage is from Aaron to Eleazar down to  Zadok.  He comes to support David during Absalom’s rebellion. 

Abiathar:  Remember back when Saul was chasing David, he had many of the priests killed by Doeg the Edomite.  The sole survivor of that slaughter was Abiathar who fled towards David and was taken in.  However, during Absalom’s rebellion, David went to Abiathar for advice by way of the Urim and Thummim and no revelation was given causing him to lose favor with David.  Thus there were two  high priests, but Zadok was largely in charge.  He descends through Eli

Upon David’s death, Solomon immediately went forth to destroy his enemies and competition. Joab was put to death for his betrayal and violent life. Adonijah and many others of David’s sons were slain. For the high priest Abiathar, Solomon commanded:

1 Kings 2²⁵ And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.

²⁶ And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

Thus Abiathar is banished to his estates instead of being killed.

Remember Eli back in 1 Samuel.  His son’s were corrupt, sleeping around in the temple and Eli did nothing.  Samuel is given the office of High Priest and he replaced Eli.

1 Sam 2³⁰ Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

That is the end of influence of Abiathar.

In essence, Abiathar and the priests who were direct descendants of Moses were no longer allowed to serve in the Tabernacle, nor before the king. They were exiled in disgrace. Some scholars see this as the beginning of political rivalry between the sons of Aaron and of Moses.

As the groups struggled for power in the Tabernacle and later the Temple, it is believed that the Old Testament’s writings were changed and even rewritten to reflect personal views.

 

And we come back to the Documentary Hypothesis

In a previous lesson, we discussed the various authors of the Old Testament (J, E, P, D, R) and how each had their personal beliefs/agenda to promote in the national history. An example of this comes in the Books of Chronicles, which are a second set of books to match the Books of Kings.

J Pro-Judah; anti-Israel their rival. Less interested in Moses.

E Pro-Israel; anti-Judah their rival. Pro-Moses; Anti-Aaron.

D Pro-King Josiah. Ironically, Josiah's kingdom collapses 20 years later. They blame the collapse on a previous king, King Manasseh, Josiah's grandfather, so Josiah doesn't take the blame for the collapse of his own kingdom.

P Written as an alternative to JE.  Pro-Priests, specifically the priests who claim to be descended from Aaron. Against rival priests who claim to be descended from Moses.

R Redactor. J & E were put together earlier to create JE. The Redactor combined JE, D, & P, adding just a few lines of his own to make the transitions smooth.

 

• What we are reading now, in Kings is D, Deuteronomic

In Kings, David and Solomon are criticized for their actions.  However, in Chronicles, neither David nor Solomon are excoriated for their huge sins. In fact, Solomon remains praiseworthy throughout the entire Chronicles. It obviously was not written by Abiathar (or E).  Abiathar and his sons would be connected later to the northern Kingdom of Israel, who would disdain Solomon and his descendants.

According to what is called the “Documentary Hypothesis”, some of their (Abiathar) writings/beliefs would come forth later in the writings of “E”, which would honor Moses while excoriating David and Solomon. Some LDS scholars have suggested that the E source is none other than the Brass Plates of Laban, which praises Moses, while condemning David and Solomon for their promiscuity.

Solomon’s Plural Marriages
We find incongruencies in 1 King regarding Solomon’s actions. After defeating his internal enemies, he establishes peaceful ties with surrounding nations. One of his first acts is to develop a connection with Pharaoh by marrying his daughter (1 Kings 3:1).

1 Kings 3:1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

While this made enormous sense politically, it was discouraged by the Mosaic Law (only marriage to Canaanite women was actually prohibited). Still, he ended up with 700 wives and 300 concubines (slave wives). Most of these wives were considered foreign princesses, meaning he focused his relationships around political necessity. His son and heir, Rehoboam was from his Ammonite (foreign) wife.

Solomon Seeks Wisdom
Still, Solomon in his early years loved the Lord. He and the people sacrificed frequently to Jehovah in the high places - the only places available at the time to worship. Why? Because while there were two Tabernacles, the one in Jerusalem was probably meant mostly to contain the ark of the covenant, but not perform sacrifice. Meanwhile, the high places (Hebrew: Bamah) were temples in the wilderness. So sacrificed Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. 

High places, at least at this time, that were not corrupted, were acceptable. 

Solomon Granted Wisdom
It is during one of his trips to Gibeon to sacrifice, where the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. Solomon is offered anything he could desire: wealth, power, etc. Solomon chose wisdom to lead the nation.

“Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
“And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing” (1 Kings 3:9-10).

Solomon’s wisdom became renowned in Israel and abroad. Many came to hear the wisdom he espoused. This included the Queen of Sheba. Sheba or Saba was a nation that spanned a large area, including modern Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Yemen. This would have included a large portion of the spice trade route through the Arabian Peninsula, providing her with means to bring many riches with her to Solomon on her trip. The Bible tells little of her sojourn in Israel, but there are ancient stories that expand upon it.

Ethiopian tradition (Kebra Nagast, a book also called The Glory of the Kings is a 117 chapter composite work), says that Sheba became his wife, and they bore a son. This son became Menelik I, first ruler of what would become the 2900 year reign of Ethiopia. This reign went almost continuous, with just a couple disruptions, until the royal line was overthrown in 1974. According to the tradition, Solomon made a copy of the ark of the covenant, which he placed in the Tabernacle, and gave the original to Sheba. Supposedly, the ark is still maintained in the land of Ethiopia to this day.

1 Kings 4:²⁹ And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

³⁰ And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

³¹ For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.

³² And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

 

The Temple
1 Kings 5-9

1 Kings 5 Solomon Plans the temple and lays up stores

1 Kings 5:1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.

² And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

³ Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until theLord put them under the soles of his feet.

⁴ But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

So Solomon  receives much from Hiram of Tyre

1 King 5⁶ Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.

⁷ And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

1 King 6 Solomon Builds the temple.  Much talk of cherubim and things inside the temple. 

1 Kings 6: ²³ And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

²⁴ And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

²⁵ And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.

²⁶ The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

²⁷ And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.

²⁸ And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.

Rendition of Solomon’s Temple

To fulfill his father David’s desire to build a house to the Lord, Solomon began plans to build the temple. He did this in conjunction with building his own palace, which many scholars believed was larger than the temple to Jehovah. The temple would begin in his fourth year as king, and would take seven years to accomplish, while his palace required thirteen years to build.

1 Kings 7:1 But Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house.

Throughout chapter 7 he builds many other buildings. 

These projects were accomplished in a short time because Solomon used slave labor from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Solomon contracted to King Hyram of Tyre for the wood and many other things to build the temple.

1 King 7:¹³ And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

¹⁴ He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.

 

Hiram Abiff and Masonry

Masons have a tradition of Hiram Abiff, a widow’s son (1 Kings 7:13-14), being killed for refusing to give up the secret passwords known by Masons, related to the temple of Solomon and the original Hiram of Tyre (also a widow’s son).

2 Chr 2:13

KJV ¹³ And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's, ¹⁴ The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber,

NIV ¹³ “I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill, ¹⁴ whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood,

The name Hiram Abiff is not found in Scripture. Yet, the Masonic account of Hiram is often said to be based upon the Holy Bible. In the Master Mason degree, in that portion of the ritual known as the Legend of the Third Degree, there are three central characters. The story line is set around the building of Solomon’s temple. The characters, King Solomon, Hiram - the King of Tyre and Hiram Abiff are all taken from the Scriptural account of the temple building.

Discuss the story of Hiram Abiff… (three ruffians demand the secret name, fail to get it, murder Hiram Abiff, body hid, found but could only be raised by Solomon’s grip, this in turn recurrects Hiram Abiff…)

The Real Story is…

The legend of Hiram Abiff is the Masonic version of the Egyptian story of the pagan gods of  Isis and Osiris. Many parallels in these stories.

The last name, Abiff, while not found in the Bible, could possibly be from the Hebrew word for “father” or “abi”. In the Nauvoo period, many Latter-day Saints became Masons. Some noted that Joseph Smith was also a temple builder, and (by that time) a widow’s son, perhaps a new Hiram Abiff for the last days.

 

Solomon’s temple was 40 cubits long, or about 60 feet. Cherubim (angel warriors) were placed in the Holy of Holies standing 15 feet tall and with 15 foot wingspans that touched the walls and each other in the middle. Under them would sit the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. This was God’s special room and throne. It would represent his throne in heaven, which was surrounded by concourses of angels worshiping him. It would also represent the ancient Divine Council, where archangels (governing angels) including the warrior angel Michael, would stand in council with God (see Isaiah 6).

Two giant pillars were built to set in front of the temple. These pillars were 18 cubits (27 feet) high. Their names were Boaz (Strength) and Jachin (Jah/Yahweh establishes). John the Revelator made a significant mention of these pillars and how they relate to the righteous:

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name” (Revelation 3:12).

A large brass basin of brass was also built and set upon twelve oxen representing the tribes of Israel. This basin would be used for cleansing rituals according to the Mosaic Law. The priests would wash in the basin in order to be clean prior to entering the temple, just as they did in the Tabernacle of Moses. Today, LDS also have a basin upon 12 oxen in their temples. These are used for proxy baptisms for ancestors who have died without the opportunity to receive baptism (1 Corinthians 15:29).

Upon finishing the temple, the ark of the covenant was placed under the cherubim.

“The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
“For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above” (1 Kings 8:6-7).

Solomon dedicated the temple in prayer and with innumerable sacrifices. In a dream, the Lord told Solomon that he accepted the temple and that Israel would be blessed as long as they were faithful to God.

1 Kings 8:¹⁰ And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

¹¹ So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

¹² Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

¹³ I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

1 Kings 9, the Temple is accepted.  God appears to Solomon

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

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.

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:

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.

1 Kings 10 the Queen of Sheba comes to visit, to test Solomon’s Wisdom.  Solomon becomes very wealthy.

1 Kings 10:²³ So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.

²⁴ And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

Solomon Falls From Grace
1 Kings 11
Sadly, Solomon’s many wives took a toll on him. Not only did he marry Egyptian princesses, but also many Canaanite princesses, as well.

“1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
“2 Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love” (1 Kings 11:1-2).

³ And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

⁴ For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Not only did he cleave unto the women in love, but to keep them happy, he built temples for their gods, rather than convert them to worship Jehovah, which was expected of all those Israel married from outside the faith. In giving into them, he first gave other gods equal time, and ignored the injunction to “have no other gods before me.” Finally, he began giving much time to worshiping other gods, creating graven images of the many gods. Jehovah was competing for equal time in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

1 Kings 11 ⁶ And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.

Solomon began to worship other gods, including Chemosh, Ashteroth (goddess), Milcom and even Molech. Molech was an exceptionally wicked god, who required that the children pass through/in fire. Those that did not die were considered blessed by the followers of Molech. Those children who died were a sacrifice to the god, who demanded a high price for his blessings. Why one would worship Molech rather than Jehovah really makes one wonder. Yet Solomon did.

1 Kings 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,

¹⁰ And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.

¹¹ Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

 

¹² Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

¹³ Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

The Curse
David’s throne was to last forever, according to some sections of the Old Testament. God could not take away that promise easily. So, he told Solomon that half the kingdom would be ripped from his hands and given to his servant. Because of God’s promise to David, it would not happen in Solomon’s lifetime, but in his son’s life. Doesn’t seem like much of a punishment to Solomon, does it? However, in addition to the curse, the Lord also stirred up enemies around Solomon. He had decades of peace while faithful to the Lord. Now the Lord would punish him and Israel for allowing such abominations to enter into the Promised Land.

1 Kings 11 ¹⁴ And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom.

¹⁵ For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom;

¹⁶ (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:)

Who would the Lord raise up to remove Solomon?  Hadad the Edomite. 

¹⁷ That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.

¹⁸ And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.

¹⁹ And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

We get a taste in Solomon’s day of how David’s line will lose Israel. Jeroboam, whom Solomon made ruler/chief captain over the tribe of Joseph, was ordained by the prophet Ahijah, to be king over 10 of the tribes. Upon learning of it, Solomon went the direction of Saul, seeking to slay Jeroboam through the rest of Solomon’s days.

Solomon would sleep with his father, David. But in the end, he left the kingdom divided because of his greed, hatred of internal enemies, and becoming more friendly with foreigners than with his own people.

1 Kings 11: 43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

Bibliography
“Who Wrote the Bible?”, Richard E. Friedman http://www.amazon.com/Wrote-Bible-Richard-Elliott-Friedman/dp/0060630353
Kevin Barney on the Documentary Hypothesis: http://www.members.shaw.ca/mschindler/B/doc_hyp.htm
Links to previous lessons that discussed the Documentary Hypothesis:
Lesson 17: http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/2010/04/lesson-17-beware-lest-thou-forget.html
Lesson 15 : http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/2010/04/gospel-doctrine-ot-lesson-15-look-to.html
Lesson 6: http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/2010/02/lds-gospel-doctrine-class-old-testament.html
Lesson 3: http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/2010/01/lds-gospel-doctrine-class-old-testament_12.html
Hiram Abiff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Abiff
Solomon’s Temple:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon%27s_Temple
3D walkthrough of Solomon’s Temple:http://www.biblelife.org/temple1.htm
Hi-Res depiction of Solomon’s Temple:http://deohsan.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/solomon-temple.jpg
Temple of Solomon videos at David Larsen’s blog:http://www.heavenlyascents.com/2010/06/21/temple-of-solomon-videos/

Old Testament Lesson 25 – “Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord”

Psalms

The book of Psalms is a collection of poems originally sung as praises or petitions to God. Many were written by David. This book is like a hymnal from ancient Israel.

Many psalms prophesy of Christ’s mission as the Messiah. Note the fulfillment of the following prophecies about Christ that are written in the book of Psalms:

Prophecy                   Fulfillment

Psalm 69:20              Mark 14:32-41

Psalm 22:7-8             Matt 27:39-43

Psalm 22:16              Mark 15:25

Psalm 22:18              Matt 27:35

Psalm 22:1                Matt 27:46

Psalm 16:10              Acts 2:31-32; 13:34-35

Read the following psalms that express gratitude to the Savior for his mercy, forgiveness, and love: Psalms 23; 51; 59:16; 78:38; 86:5, 13;100:4–5; 103:2–4, 8–11, 17–18.

Read the following psalms that teach the importance of trusting in the Lord: Psalms 4:5; 5:11; 9:10; 18:2; 56:11; 62:8; 118:8–9.

Read the following psalms about the temple: Psalms 5:7; 15:1–3; 24; 27:4;65:4; 84:1–2, 4, 10–12; 122; 134.

 

OT Gospel Doctrine Lesson #25, Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord
Psalms

The Psalms are composed of temple/tabernacle hymns by David and some of the priests.

The Psalms covers so many concepts that not all can be easily done in one lesson. Sadly, when we try to cover the entire Old Testament in a single year, we miss out on some of the best poetry and teachings in the scriptures. And that is what we find in Psalms.

 

Understanding Old Testament Poetry (links to ensign article)

Many people are surprised to learn that as much as a third of the Old Testament is written in poetry. In addition to the poetic books, Psalms, Proverbs, and Job, isolated poems are preserved throughout the Pentateuch and the historical books, such as Jacob’s patriarchal blessings to his twelve sons (Gen. 49), the songs and blessings of Moses (Ex. 15 andDeut. 32–33), the song of Deborah (Judg. 5), and the song of Hannah (1 Sam. 2). A substantial portion of the prophetic writings is also poetic in structure. Many of the prophets of ancient Israel wrote their messages in Hebrew poetic forms, and their discourses recorded in the Old Testament are often framed in Hebrew poetry. Therefore, both for purposes of understanding and appreciation, students of the Old Testament should have some familiarity with Hebrew poetry.

The first thing to learn about poetry in the Old Testament is that it is different from the Western poetry with which we are most familiar. Prior to the eighteenth century, ¹ scholars generally tried to describe Hebrew poetry in terms of classical Western composition—with reference to meter and other conventions we normally associate with poetry. But classical models can be misleading; although it is possible to recognize rhythms in Hebrew poetry, for example, the poetry is not based on a metrical system. Further, unlike much English poetry, rhyme is virtually unknown in Hebrew poetry. Rather than using meter or rhyme, Hebrew poetry uses patterns of repetition.

Both in poetry and prose, repetition is the hallmark of the Hebraic style. ²It is such a dominant element in Hebraic writing that it can even be seen in the grammar of the language. For instance, Hebrew favors a construction known as the cognate accusative, where a verb and a related noun are used in the same sentence, as in Genesis 37:5: “Joseph dreamed (verb) a dream (noun).” [Gen. 37:5] In English, we would avoid the repetition and simply say “Joseph had a dream.” Another example is the way Hebrew supplies the force of a superlative by repetition, as in Exodus 30:10, which literally reads, “It is a holiness of holinesses unto the Lord” [Ex. 30:10] (translated in English as “It is most holy unto the Lord”), and as in the threefold repetition of Isaiah 6:3: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” [Isa. 6:3]

 

*** Book of Mormon.  Donald Parry from BYU has formatted the  Book of Mormon in Poetry and Parallelism.  A link to the PDF is here.  ***

He puts every Synonymous phrase, Identical Word phrase, Opposite phrase, complement, metaphor, double simile, resultative relationship, chaism and parallelism possible in formatted form in this amazing book.  Free online. 

***end BoM***

*****

This, I think, is the one advantage of non-KJV versions of the bible.  The formatting of songs and poetry.  They do it, the KJV does not. 

 

*****

In Hebrew, Psalms is: Th'hilliym or Tehillim‎, תְהִלִּים. It simply means, “Praises.” When reading Psalms, it is important to focus on the location where these were anciently sung: in front of the Tabernacle and in holy settings. There are 150 songs or hymns in Psalms. Some are long, and often may be combined chants. The Psalms were meant to be sung or chanted, and some even have instrumentation and note the tune to be played.

However, since none come with musical annotation, we do not know what the original music was like.

Muslims believe David received the Psalms in the same way that Moses received the Torah, or Mohammad received the Quran.  That is, directly from heaven.

Music

Here is psalm 23 by the St. John’s college choir in Cambridge.  The 23rd psalm says…

(Play Psalm 23)

KJV 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of theLord for ever.

Remember that, as foreign as music such as these Psalms can sound to us…compare that with…

Play Come Come ye Saints (Sabre Rattlers). 

You could make an argument that this is a modern day Psalm, something that is poetic, tells a story, is made to be sung. And we enjoy the music, we understand it, it is familiar to us. 

However it was sung, Psalm 23 likely had that same impression back then.  It was familiar.  It was comforting.  And when an entire people knew it, as they know Come Come ye Saints, it binds a people together. 

If you are walking in a foreign country and know no one, but heard Come Come ye Saints from a window or a passerby, you would likely have…an immediate connection.  A togetherness. 

 

Turn to Psalm 136

Clearly this repetitive psalm was made to be chanted or sung back and forth, from one to another

Psalm 136

1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:

11 And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:

12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.

13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:

14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:

15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.

16 To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.

17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:

20 And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:

21 And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:

22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.

23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:

24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.

26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

Types of Psalms

Lament Psalms	Community	12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89*, 90, 94, 123, 126, 129
	Individual	3, 4, 5, 7, 9-10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27*, 28, 31, 36*, 39, 40:12-17, 41, 42-43, 52*, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 70, 71, 77, 86, 89*, 120, 139, 141, 142
Specialized Lament Psalms	Penitential	6, 32*, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143
	Imprecatory	35, 69, 83, 88, 109, 137, 140
Thanksgiving Psalms	Community	65*, 67*, 75, 107, 124, 136*
	Individual	18, 21, 30, 32*, 34, 40:1-11, 66:13-20, 92, 108*, 116, 118, 138
Specialized Thanksgiving Psalms	Salvation History	8*, 105-106, 135, 136
	Songs of Trust	11, 16, 23, 27*, 62, 63, 91, 121, 125, 131
Hymnic Psalms		8*, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 67*, 95, 100, 103, 104, 111, 113, 114, 117, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
Liturgical Psalms (for Public Worship)	Covenant Songs	50, 78, 81, 89*, 132
	Royal / Enthronement	2, 18, 20, 21, 29, 45, 47, 72, 93, 95*, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 110, 144
	Songs of Zion	46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 122
	Temple Liturgies	15, 24, 68*, 82, 95*, 115, 134
Community Psalms	Wisdom Psalms	1*, 36*, 37, 49, 73, 112, 127, 128, 133
	Torah Poems	1*, 19:7-14, 119
		* indicates classification difficulty, can be in more than one category

 

 

Poetry in Psalms
Ancient Hebrew poetry is very different than what we consider poetry today. They did not rhyme lines.

There are different ancient forms of poetry used in Psalms. One form is to use the holy language within itself. For example, in Psalms 145, we find an alphabetic acrostic. Every line begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the first starting with “aleph” (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and so on.  There is no evidence of that with translation... Lost in Translation…

145 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

² Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

etc….

 

Parallelism is another form of poetry in Psalms: “

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Ps 119:105).

In this line, we find parallel concepts: “lamp to my feet” and “light for my path.” It emphasizes the concept the Psalmist wishes to impress upon us. Given in a song for worshipers to hear, it impresses the concept twice upon their minds and hearts.

In Psalms 15, we read:

1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

Here we find parallels between those dwelling in the tabernacle and holy hill (Zion);

walking uprightly, doing righteousness and speaking truth;

and negation of the evil acts of (Not…)

backbiting with his tongue, doeth evil to his neighbour, taketh a reproach against his neighbor.

Sung to a congregation, it would be hard for them to miss the concepts being impressed upon their minds through repetition.

 

Chiasmus also is a form of poetry found in Psalms. In this form of parallelism, we find nested levels of sameness or opposites. Some can be very intricate, while others more basic.

The form for a basic chiasmus structure is:

aa
bb
cc
cc’
bb’
aa’

The aa lines match, bb lines match themselves, etc.
Here we find a chiasmus in Psalms 29 to consider. I have placed in parentheses marks to show which lines line up:

Some discussion of symmetry in scripture was discussed in the 1700s and 1800s, but it was not until the 1920's that Nils Lund published articles about the chiasmus in the United States.³ Since the 1980's, there has been an increasing interest in the chiastic approach.

 

Psalm 29

(aa)1 Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. 2 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

   (bb)3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.

      (cc) 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

         (dd)5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

            (ee)7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.

         (dd’)8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests:

      (cc’)and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.

   (bb’)10 The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.

(aa’) 11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

Here we see parallels in the lines, working from both ends into the center. There are about 30 chiasmus in the various chapters of Psalms.

 

The Psalms Scroll (11QPs)

(Remember the convention.  11Q means the 11th Qumran Cave, Ps means Psalms)

Among the findings at Qumran in Israel are the Dead Sea Scrolls. These were initially discovered in 1947 and have exploded onto the scene of Hebrew scholarship since then.

In the Psalms Scroll there is actually an additional Psalm (151). This is also found in the Greek Septuagint, but was thought to be a later addition until it was also found at Qumran in Hebrew. (Common English Bible and RSV)

1. I was the smallest among my brothers,
and the youngest in my father’s household.
I used to take care of my father’s sheep.

2 My hands constructed a musical instrument;
my fingers tuned a harp.

3 Who will announce this to my Lord?
The Lord himself—he is listening.

4 He himself sent his messenger
and took me from my father’s sheep,
and anointed me with his anointing oil.

5 My brothers were handsome and big,
but the Lord did not approve of them.

6 I went out to meet the foreigner (Goliath);
he called down curses on me by his idols.

7 But I pulled out his own sword;
I beheaded him and thereby removed reproach from the Israelites.

Such a hymn may seem gruesome to sing in the Tabernacle, but the Psalms often denoted victory over one’s enemies. So important was this event in Israelite history that Goliath’s sword and armor were placed in the Tabernacle as part of the national treasures. The adult David would retrieve the sword later to use as he was being chased by Saul.

 

Modern Use
Modern Jews integrate Psalms into many of their feasts and festivals.

Portions of Psalms are recited at virtually every Sabbath service. 

Many Jews will make it a point to read the entire Psalms weekly or monthly.

Orthodox Jews will often plan on reading all of Psalms on the Sabbath prior to services each week.

When a Jewish person dies, it is traditional for someone to continuously read Psalms over the body until burial occurs.

Early Christians used Psalms. Over 60 Psalms are referenced in the New Testament.

 

Some Churches, such as the Reformed and Westminster Presbyterian Churches only sing Psalms in their services.

Imagine introducing such poetry and imagery into our children’s lives, and making it a frequent event. Perhaps a section can be read as a family each Sunday, helping them to see the blessings of God, the proper form of Praise that is demonstrated within the Psalms, and the beauty of song in that praise.

Chant them, don’t just read them. See how a sing-song form can bring out the poetry and power in each of these hymns.

Here is a link to the Presbyterian Church How to Chant the  Psalms

They have hymnals called “Pointed texts” or “pointed hymnals” which breaks the psalms into singable pieces…

Here is a link to a document showing how to chant the Psalms

 

Here is a link to Psalm 145 in chanting form.  Remember, this is the one that, in Hebrew, has each line start with a new letter of the hebrew alphabet. 

Psalm 145  (KJV) (I’m not clear what version is being chanted…play Youtube)

145 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

² Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

⁵ I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

⁶ And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

⁷ They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

⁹ The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

¹⁰ All thy works shall praise thee, OLord; and thy saints shall bless thee.

¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

¹² To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

¹³ Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

¹⁴ The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

¹⁵ The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

¹⁶ Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

¹⁸ The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

¹⁹ He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

²⁰ The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

²¹ My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

 

 

A Few Beautiful Psalms
Let me finish by sharing a few touching praises from David’s Psalms:
Psalm 8

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the gods, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

 

 

(Reiterate if needed, and if time)
Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Epilogue, Translation issues… (if time)

"Let Everything that Hath Breath Praise the Lord"

27 Jun 2014

by Shon Hopkin

Few verses in the Bible have produced as much debate and commentary as Psalm 22:16:

"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet."

The discussions center on the last character (reading right to left) of the Hebrew בארו ("pierced/dug"), assumed to be the word from which the Septuagint Greek ωΡυξαν ("they have pierced") was translated—assumed because the original Hebrew texts from which the Septuagint was translated are no longer extant. If the last character of the Hebrew word was a waw(וּ), as the Greek seems to indicate, then the translation "pierced" is tenable. But a later Hebrew text called the Masoretic text has a yod (י) instead of a waw (וּ), making the word בארי, which translated into English reads "like a lion my hands and my feet." Thus, two divergent possibilities have existed side by side for centuries, causing much speculation and debate. The controversy has often been heated, with large variations in modern translations into English, as evidenced by a brief survey of some important Bible translations:

• "they pierced my hands and my feet" (King James Version)
• "they have pierced my hands and my feet" (New International Version and Revised Standard Version)
• "piercing my hands and my feet" (Anchor Bible)
• "they have hacked off my hands and my feet" (New English Bible)
• "as if to hack off my hands and my feet" (New Jerusalem Bible)
• "like a lion they mangle my hands and feet" (The Psalms for Today —R. K. Harrison)
• "like a lion they were at my hands and feet" (Tanakh, Jewish Publication Society)
• "my hands and feet have shriveled" (New Revised Standard Version)
• "they have bound me hand and foot" (Revised English Bible)
• "they tie me hand and foot" (Jerusalem Bible)

Anciently, the debate was fought between Christians, who saw this verse as an indisputable prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and Jews, who denied the existence of prophetic references to Jesus in the Hebrew Bible. The battle continues in modern times between traditionalist scholars, who favor the ancient Christian interpretation, and some textual critics, who deny the existence of the prophecy of future events in the Bible.

 

Initial Lesson List of Psalm/NT Fulfiillments

Prophecy                   Fulfillment

Psalm 69:20              Mark 14:32-41

Psalm 69: 20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Mark 14: 32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

³³ And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;

³⁴ And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.

³⁵ And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

³⁶ And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

Psalm 22:7-8             Matt 27:39-43

Psalm 22:⁷ All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ⁸ He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Matt 27³⁹ And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

⁴⁰ And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

⁴¹ Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

⁴² He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

⁴³ He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Psalm 22:16              Mark 15:25

Psalm 22:18              Matt 27:35

Psalm 22:1                Matt 27:46

Psalm 16:10              Acts 2:31-32; 13:34-35

 

Bibliography

Psalms in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalms
Psalms 151: http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?adp1.htm
Examples of Poetic Parallelism: http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/23_parallel.html
List of Chiasmus in Psalms and the Bible:http://www.inthebeginning.org/chiasmus/xfiles/lund/lundbook.htm
Psalms Scroll from Dead Sea Scrolls:http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/scrolls/scr1.html
Psalms quoted in New Testament:http://www.jesuswalk.com/psalms/psalms-NT-quotations.htm