1 Kings 9 Or Else

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Kings 9:6 “But if you[a] or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you(b) and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”

a. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
b. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
c. 1 Kings 9:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now imposing, all

As the oldest of five kids... I can say this is one thing I am happy I taught my kids. When someone came up and said "Do such and such or else"... I taught my kids [not my siblings... I didn't want them to have any upper hands... there were four of them and they had friends]... I taught my kids to say "or else what?" Back in the day... before other mothers got wise.... "or else what" threw the opponent off for just a second, allowing escape. I only had one friend who could deal with "or else what" without skipping a beat.... she wouldn't give anyone an ultimatum unless she made the consequences quite clear. That's what God's doing here.... this is the ultimatum.... this is the "or else what".

So if Solomon and the tribes wanted to avoid the "or else what", all they had to do was stick with God and obey all His commands and decrees. It's a Theocracy. Solomon's position is purely for show. As long as Solomon does as he's told... he'll do great. As long as the Jacob's family [the nation of Israel] let God to the heavy lifting... everything will be just excellent.

:coffee:
 
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