This week’s study on the Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarch’s continues with a look into the life of King Solomon – David’s son. Solomon will reign as King of Israel for a total of 40 years and he will expand the borders of the kingdom to their largest ever for any King who ruled over Israel. During Solomon’s reign he will build the Temple and will live at peace with his neighbors unlike his father David. Solomon will be blessed by the Lord with wisdom, wealth, honor, and a long life. Solomon will speak or write over 3000 proverbs (several hundred of which are preserved in the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes), he also wrote 1005 songs (one of which was recorded as The Song of Songs) and he was an expert in botany and zoology. Solomon was considered to be one of the wisest men to ever walk this planet and yet in spite of that wisdom, he failed to guard himself against complacency and the temptations of evil. As we will see in this portion of our study, Solomon makes a number of bad choices during the middle portion of his reign which leads to a pattern of sin that brings severe judgment upon him. In addition, his pursuit of worshipping false gods really becomes his undoing and will bring about the division of the Kingdom of Israel. It is a bit of a sad turn of events for a man who was given so much wisdom and wealth but Solomon will admit in other writings what happens when we get our focus off of the Lord and turn that focus on earthly things. Solomon will eventually write the Book of Ecclesiastes which will serve as an acknowledgement of his failures, an admittance of his errors and an assent toward repentance as he openly declares that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. Sadly this change of heart is too little too late and the damage is done as the United Kingdom of Israel will fracture in two. Stay tuned – more to come.

Lesson 4 – King Solomon (Student Copy)

Lesson 4 – King Solomon (Teacher)

Lesson 4 – King Solomon Part II – PPT

Of all of David’s sons, his choice to reign alongside of him during the final years of his life was Solomon. David made preparations for the construction of the temple and it would become Solomon’s task to complete. Solomon was the Lord’s choice to reign after David and Solomon was also embraced by the people of Israel to be their king. Solomon will reign as King of Israel for a total of 40 years and he will expand the borders of the kingdom to their largest ever for any King who ruled over Israel. During Solomon’s reign he will build the Temple and will live at peace with his neighbors unlike his father David. Solomon will be blessed by the Lord with wisdom, wealth, honor, and a long life. Solomon will speak or write over 3000 proverbs (several hundred of which are preserved in the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes), he also wrote 1005 songs (one of which was recorded as The Song of Songs) and he was an expert in botany and zoology. Solomon was considered to be one of the wisest men to ever walk this planet and yet in spite of that wisdom, he failed to guard himself against complacency and the temptations of evil. In this portion of our study we will see Solomon at his best and in our next lesson we will see him at his worst, but the Lord will direct him toward repentance. Solomon will eventually write the Book of Ecclesiastes which will serve as an acknowledgement of his failures, an admittance of his errors and an assent toward repentance as he openly declares that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments.

Lesson 4 – King Solomon (Student Copy)

Lesson 4 – King Solomon (Teacher)

Lesson 4 – King Solomon Part I – PPT

This is the fifth installment in the series I am teaching this fall on the “Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarchs”, which is a study on the Kings of Israel and Judah. During David’s first 20 years as king he continued to fight many battles and was away from home often. This resulted in all sorts of domestic failures at home, both for the nation, as well as in his personal family. This neglect of things at home, along with not completely following the teachings of scripture (Deut. 17:14-17), are what drove David into a cycle of sin that he struggled to break free from. David’s decisions to be unaccountable made him vulnerable to the very thing that made him such a notable person. His pursuit of righteousness (a man after God’s own heart), and integrity was blindsided by pride and arrogance because he didn’t allow himself to keep it in check! The days following David’s adultery with Bathsheba were some of his most challenging as he faced a number of family issues; the greatest of them was a rebellious son (Absalom) who sought to steal the kingdom away from him. David grieves over the bad decisions that he made and does show signs of a repentant heart but his actions (like ours) still have consequences. Over time the kingdom is restored to David but at a very heavy cost (the death of his son Absalom). Toward the end of his reign, David restores his relationship to the Lord, makes repairs to the fragile kingdom, and prepares to deliver a United Kingdom over to his son Solomon before he dies.

Lesson 3 – King David (Student Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David (Teacher Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David Part III – PPT

This is the fourth installment in the series I am teaching this fall on the “Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarchs”, which is a study on the Kings of Israel and Judah. In this portion of our study we will cover the portion of David’s life when he takes over as the King of Israel and Judah. After the death of Saul a civil war breaks out between the house of Saul (led by his son whose name was Ish-bosheth) and the house of David. The tribes of Israel will follow Ish-bosheth and the tribes of Benjamin and Judah will follow David. Eventually David’s following will grow strong and he will become the sole ruler of a United Kingdom of Israel at the age of 30. David will eventually move the capital to Jerusalem and will rule from there for about 33 years. During these years David’s family will grow and the kingdom will expand. David will be responsible for the implementation of the priesthood and re-focus attention on obedience to the Law and the elimination of idol worship within the kingdom. The Lord will make a covenant with David in which the Lord tells David that He will make his name great and that David’s throne would be established forever. David has a desire to build a house (Temple) for the Lord but that job is reserved for his son Solomon. David will be quite successful in defeating the neighboring countries causing them to fear the Lord and make peace with the people of Israel. This was probably the best years of David’s 40 year reign as king before things begin to unravel a bit.

Lesson 3 – King David (Student Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David (Teacher Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David Part II – PPT