Gary Gleans

There are times when the ways of God with His people surprise us.  Ahab was one of the worst kings in the history of Israel, yet we see that his reign was long and we see him being victorious in battle.  God was certainly defending His own name and honor but it is surprising to see the Lord defending such a wicked and idolatrous king.  However, we can also see that Ahab did not humble himself before the Lord or turn to the Lord and ended up not benefiting from the graciousness that God demonstrated to him.  God is always more gracious than we deserve.  The question that we must ask ourselves is if we are responding to that grace with gratitude, obedience and worship. GOD DEFENDS ISRAEL FROM THE SYRIANS: Ahab found himself in a very difficult position.  He was being attacked by a coalition of 32 kings and he had a meager army in comparison to the vast troops that the Syrians had mustered.  Ahab agreed to give the Syrians his wealth and even his wives and children, but when Ben-had

One of the most dangerous times for us in our walk with God is just after a great victory.  It seems that victories leave us in a very vulnerable place that can lead us to any number of feelings and emotions that are not correct, biblical and they can be dangerous.  Elijah finds himself in just this sort of place.  He has publicly confronted King Ahab, he has killed the 400 prophets of Baal and he has seen God respond to his prayer for rain.  God has used him in amazing ways in the last several days but now Elijah is about to face some very dark and dangerous days in his own heart.  We must be especially careful after busy and productive times so we do not fall victim to the attacks that usually follow such times in our lives. ELIJAH IS OVERCOME BY FEELINGS OF FEAR: Elijah has been amazingly brave thorough all of these confrontations and has demonstrated absolutely no fear of death.  However, once the confrontation is over and the victory is won; he is threatened by Jezebel and h

There are times when God calls us to step up to the plate and do big things in His name.  Elijah has spent years in hiding and the scope of his ministry was very limited.  I am sure that there were many discouraging days when he felt like he had been forgotten or put on a shelf.  He was alone, in hiding and lived in fear for his life.  However, this day was a big day and God was about to use him in a very big and bold way.  There was about to be a public confrontation and Elijah would be God’s point man in this event.  We must always be prepared for the big days by being faithful in the days that are not so grand.  God is always faithful and He expects His servants to be faithful in all of the different circumstances in which He sees fit to place us. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO PRESERVE HIS PEOPLE: Elijah felt like he was all alone and that he was the only one left in the entire nation that was not following the wicked ways of the Ahab and his wife.  The truth was that there were one-hund

Just when it appears that God has turned His back on the children of Israel; God sends a prophet named Elijah to confront the king and prove that God is still as work in this nation.  God is all about seeking and saving those who are lost and it is very apparent that the nation is very lost.  When we look at the discipline that God places upon the nation we may think that His attention to the nation is a negative thing.  However, God’s discipline demonstrates that He is still at work and is a proof of His love for His people.  God’s attention in correcting us is far better than being allowed to free fall deeper and deeper into sin.  We should praise the Lord for His provision in and attention to our lives even in the face of discipline. ELIJAH REBUKES AHAB ON BEHALF OF GOD: It is a very hard thing to stand before a king and rebuke him.  Elijah has a message from God and he delivers it without fear.  The message is a simple one: there will be no rain in Israel until Elijah gets wo

The expression “going from bad to worse” appropriately describes the status of the kingdom is Israel.  One evil and idolatrous king would be replaced by another and each one would progress in their sinfulness, pride and worship of other gods.  The Law of God and the fear of God seems to have vanished from the nation and each king is simply making up his own laws and leading the people according to his own fleshly desires.  This lack of knowledge of God and refusal to serve and submit to God brought about great disaster in the lives of each of these kings.  While Asa ruled in the fear of God and in obedience to God; Israel changed kings at least five times.  Obedience leads to stability and the blessing of God, while rebellion brings about great volatility and suffering. IDOLATRY LEADS TO TREACHERY: The kings of Israel lived under constant threat of treachery.  Since there was not a family that God had established as the king is Israel the kingdom seems to be up for grabs and many

Leaders can be a source of great blessing or great curse for the people they serve.  Both Judah and Israel suffered greatly because of the rebelliousness of their leaders and the consequences of their sins.  When a people forgets the blessings of God and turns their backs on the principles and promises of God; they are doomed to disaster.  With a few exceptions here and there the kings of Israel and Judah lead their people and the entire nation down a steady path of destruction. ABIJAM REIGNED IN REBELLION AGAINST GOD: Abijam was the son of Rehoboam and only reigned for three years after his father had only reigned for half the time that Solomon and David had reigned.  It was a blessing that his reign was cut short as he did evil before the Lord and lived in rebellion against the Lord.  Constant war, fear and threat of destruction were the results of this rebellion.  God only spared the kingdom in the family because of His promise to David.  God is gracious and faithful even when

Pride and idolatry are the easy choice for men to make because it is the natural bent of men in this sin cursed world.  However, it is of vital importance that all men recognize that making this easy choice and following the desires of their sinful natures has grave consequences.  Both Jeroboam and Rehoboam were given positions of great importance and influence in their nations.  Unfortunately, both of them decided to ignore the Word of God and simply followed the leanings of their own hearts.  They both paid a heavy price for their choices and their lives were cut short because of their sin.  We must never forget the consequences of sin in our lives.  We must constantly remind ourselves of the sinful nature that lurks in the depth of our hearts and fight following those sinful desires with every fiber of our being. JEROBOAM SUFFERED THE ANNIHILATION OF HIS FAMILY: Jeroboam’s idolatry angered God greatly so He inflicted his son with a sickness.  This got Jeroboam’s attention but

God is just, not fair.  We often want God to fulfill what we consider to be fair but our sense of fairness does not always line up with God’s holy justice.  This chapter is a perfect illustration of this principle.  In our sense of fairness we think that the old prophet who deceived the man of God should have been killed instead or at least as well.  However, God was perfectly just in taking the life of the man of God because he had disobeyed what he clearly knew to be true from God.  We must remain very alert to the fact that there are people who will try to deceive us and that Satan wants to destroy us through his deceptions.  We must be constantly committed to what we know to be true from the Word of God and not allow deception to distract or destroy us. THE MAN OF GOD WAS COURAGEOUS THEN REBELLIOUS: The man of God was sent to Israel for a very dangerous mission but he was very courageous in the fulfilling of that mission.  He stood before a very powerful king and confronted h

Solomon’s Idolatry led God to divide the kingdom so that Solomon’s son would only have the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.  Division is never the goal of any nation as it makes both parts weaker than the whole would have been.  However, this is the consequence of sin.  When David died he called Solomon to come and he challenged Solomon to serve the Lord and be a man of God.  Unfortunately, Solomon did not follow his father’s advice but he also failed to invest in the life of his son so that he could be successful.  Solomon never truly turned from his sinful ways and how his son and the entire nation will pay for his frivolity and negligence of the Word of God. REHOBOAM FOLLOWS BAD ADVICE: Due to Solomon’s idolatry God had determined to divide the kingdom.  However, He divides the kingdom due to the actions of Rehoboam.  When he was made king the people came to him and asked for relief from the taxation and forced labor that Solomon had demanded to build the temple and the palace. 

Solomon had been given tremendous blessings by God in the form of wisdom, wealth and a lack of war during his reign.  Solomon used these blessings to build the temple and his own palace, but he did not remain faithful to the Lord.  His heart did not remain true to the Lord and he ended up being an idolatrous king who committee abominations before the Lord.  Solomon fell into the category of kings who started well but finished poorly.  Unfortunately, this is a pattern that is all too common with many kings in Israel but also with many men today.  We have good intentions at the beginning of our marriages and ministries and may even experience a good level of success, but too often there is moral failure or some other sin that disqualifies or distracts us from all that God wants us to be.  We must learn to persevere in the Spirit day after day and not depend on the power of the flesh to do the work of the ministry. SOLOMON ADORED GODLESS WOMEN: It is hard to imagine how one may coul

God knows how to bless!  At the beginning of Solomon’s reign God asked him what he wanted most of all and Solomon requested wisdom.  God was so pleased that he had requested wisdom over wealth and victory over enemies that God promised to bless Solomon with all three.  This chapter gives us a clear demonstration of how God had answered that request.  There is no need to ever doubt God’s ability to bless and provide above what we could ever imagine. THE LEADERS OF THE WORLD CAME TO LEARN FROM SOLOMON: The queen of Sheba as well as the leaders of other nations came to visit Israel in order to confirm the reports that they had heard concerning Solomon’s wisdom as well as his wealth.  When they saw and heard Solomon they had to admit that his wisdom was greater than what they imagined that it could be.  Usually we see that when a dignitary comes to visit another leader it is to discuss political alliances and so forth.  However, Solomon’s wisdom was so great that these leaders came w

The beginning of Solomon’s reign was marked by his massive construction projects.  He spent twenty years building these two structures.  However, when he completed the temple God appears to him and expresses His delight in what Solomon had done and how he had done it.  This affirmation from the Lord must have been a great encouragement to Solomon, however God sends him a clear promise and warning as well that should have been a great motivation for Solomon and his children to remain faithful to the Lord.  We are also given some insight into the supply of materials for these works as well as the supply of workers to complete the task.  When we undertake any project we should always seek the Lord’s approval and the assistance of others.  We must not fall into the trap of independence were we ignore God’s desires and try to do everything alone. SOLOMON RECEIVED THE APPROVAL OF GOD: When God appears to Solomon He commends Solomon for the building of the temple.  God delights in the e

The temple was finally ready to enter and Solomon held elaborate festivities to celebrate the event.  In many ways the temple was simply a symbol of the presence of God with the people and the nation. It was the center for worship before the Lord and a place where the Lords children could come to offer sacrifices to the Lord for their sin.  This was truly a momentous occasion in Israel and one that was worthy of these festivities.  We must never forget to celebrate the presence of the Lord with us and the forgiveness of sin that we have in Christ.  God has been faithful to provide for all of our needs, especially forgiveness, and we must be faithful to praise and worship Him for His abundant grace in our lives. SOLOMON BRINGS THE ARK: Once the temple was complete, Solomon brings the Ark into the holy of holies and sets up all of the furniture just the way that the Lord had commanded in His instructions for the tabernacle.  This was now the permanent place for the Ark to dwell and

Besides the massive project of building the temple, Solomon also built a huge palace in which he lived and from which he governed.  He had the word forces already employed so it just made sense for him to continue pressing on with his construction projects.  This place was larger than the temple; almost twice as large, however there was much less gold and precious metals used in his palace as compared to the temple.  It is important to remember that the palace was not only his personal residence but also the center of the government for the entire nation.  This was a very impressive structure and demonstrates the extreme wealth that Solomon was able to amass. SOLOMON DEDICATED MANY RESOURCES TO THIS PROJECT: It is mind boggling to consider the size of these projects that Solomon undertook and the resources that were necessary to complete them.  Solomon truly was blessed to have all of these resources at his disposal as well as the freedom with which he could concentrate on these

Solomon set out to do what David had tried to do; he built the temple of the Lord in Israel.  It had been over 400 years since the children of Israel left Egypt and they were now ready to build this temple.  The nation had formed while enslaved for 400 years in Egypt and then it took the same period of time for the nation’s security in the land as well as their system of worship to grow to this point.  It is clear that God does things in His time and way and that He is never in a hurry.  We should not become impatient with God. SOLOMON SPENT FOUR YEARS OF PREPARATION: The construction did not start until Solomon’s fourth year as king.  He had gathered stone and timber and many other precious materials the workmen would need and that the Lord provided for the nation to build this temple as a house of worship to the Lord.  This is made even more impressive by the fact that David had already spent a significant amount of time gathering materials for the temple before the reign of So