10/30 Reading (1 Kings 4-6; 2 Corinthians 11)

1 Kings 4: Provides an overview of Solomon and all of his people who served him and helped him rule all over the land. It ends with description of his wisdom and how everyone came to listen to him. I’m intrigued by one of the last verses: “He described the botany of trees, whether the cedar in Lebanon or the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He also described cattle, birds, anything that crawls on the ground, and fish” (CEB version; 1 Kings 4.33).

1 Kings 5: Solomon reaches out to King Hiram and tells him that he wants to build a temple to God in Jerusalem. King Hiram and David had a good relationship and he wants this to continue under Solomon. Hiram was excited about helping Solomon build the temple.

1 Kings 6: Detailed description of the temple Solomon built for God. It was very opulent with gold all over the place. Again with the gold.

2 Corinthians 11: Paul defends his actions to the Corinthians and makes it clear that the people can’t listen to the “super-apostles.”