エピソード

  • Ep. 112: Transfer of Power
    2022/12/06
    When David became old and frail, he was always cold. Covering him with blankets didn’t help. Finally they decided to provide him with a nurse that would sleep with him. They found a beautiful virgin and she was his constant nurse. She slept with him, but they didn’t have sex. Adonijah was the fourth son of David, a younger brother of Absalom. He was just as handsome as his brother. David never disciplined Adonijah, or even corrected him. Since David was old and bedridden, Adonijah said, “I’ll be the next king.” He hired 50 bodyguards to run before him as he rode through the streets in a chariot. He asked Joab to help him, and also enlisted the help of the high priest. Others refused to help, including Nathan the prophet. Adonijah hosted a banquet and invited those who supported him. He also invited his brothers, David’s servants, and officials of Judah. But he didn’t invite those who opposed him, and he didn’t invite Solomon. Bathsheba was Solomon’s mother. Nathan went and told her what was happening. He said, “The king doesn’t know what Adonijah is doing. If we don’t stop this, you and your son will die.” He then told her exactly how they should tell the king. She went to David’s bedroom, where his nurse was serving him. Bathsheba said, “My lord, you said Solomon would be king after you. But now Adonijah has made himself king without you knowing it. All of Israel is looking to you to tell them exactly who should be king. If you die without telling them, Solomon and I will be killed as criminals.” At that exact moment, Nathan came in and said, “My lord king, did you make Adonijah king? Today he’s having a banquet with the officials of Israel. They’re eating and drinking and saying ‘Long live the King.’ Many of us weren’t invited. I’m surprised you authorized this without letting me know.” David said to Bathsheba, “As sure as the Lord lives, your son Solomon will be king after me. It will happen today.” He then gave an assignment to certain priests, officials, and the prophet Nathan. “Have Solomon ride on my personal mule to the place where you’ll anoint him king. Afterwards, blow the rams horns and shout ‘Long live King Solomon!’ Then have him sit on my throne. Tell everyone he’s the one I’ve selected to be king after me.” The men followed David’s instructions. As soon as Solomon was pronounced king, the people flowed into the streets shouting, playing flutes, and celebrating. The people at Adonijah’s banquet heard the noise and wondered what was happening. Men rushed in and told them. “King David has made Solomon king of Israel! Right now he’s sitting on the royal throne.” Everyone quickly left the banquet and went home. Adonijah was terrified of what Solomon would do to him. He went to the Tabernacle and grabbed the horns of the altar. He sent a message to Solomon saying “I’m your slave. Please promise me you’ll not kill me.” Solomon sent a message back. “I won’t kill you if you act like a man of character. But if not, I’ll have you killed.” So Adonijah went and bowed down before Solomon and gave him honor as the new king.
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    7 分
  • Ep. 113: Death of David and Joab
    2022/12/07
    Before David died, he gave Solomon instructions on how he should rule as king. He said, “To be successful, you must be strong and brave, and always walk in the ways of God’s commandments. “Kill Joab when the time is right. He murdered two commanders of Israel – Abner, Saul’s commander, and Amasa, his cousin. He didn’t kill them on the battlefield. Both of these men trusted him because it was a time of peace. Don’t let him grow old peacefully. “Remember that Shimei cursed me when I was running from Absalom. He begged for mercy and I said he could live. It’s up to you to punish him. Deal with him according to your wisdom.” Soon after that, David died and they buried him in Jerusalem. He had been king for forty years. Later, Adonijah went to Bathsheba and said, “You know that all of Israel expected me to become king. I accept Solomon as king, because it’s God’s will for Israel. I just have one request.” “What is it?” “The king won’t refuse anything if you ask for it. So please, go and ask if I can have David’s nurse as my wife.” So Bathsheba went to Solomon. He stood and greeted her and called for a throne to be set at his right hand. She sat down and said, “I have one little request. Please don’t turn me down.” “Mother, ask and I’ll give it to you.” She said, “Please let Adonijah have David’s nurse as a wife.” Solomon was shocked. He said, “This is the same as asking if he could be made king. This request will cost Adonijah his life. He’ll be dead before this day ends.” Solomon then gave the order, and Adonijah was killed. The high priest had supported Adonijah, so the king took his job away from him. He was the last priest from the line of Eli. This fulfilled the prophecy given about him. Joab knew that his time had come, so he went to the Tabernacle and grabbed the horns of the altar. Solomon heard about this and told a guard, “Go kill him.” The guard went and told Joab, “Come out here.” He said, “No, I’ll die here.” The guard went back and told the king. Solomon said, “Do as he asked. Kill him there! He deserves to die for murdering two good men who were better than himself.” So Joab was killed at the altar and buried near his home. Solomon then called for Shimei. The king said, “Build a house in Jerusalem and live there. You’re not to leave this city for the rest of your life. If you leave, you’ll die. So, your life is in your hands.” Shimei said, “This is fair. I’ll do as you have said.” He lived in Jerusalem for three years. One day, two of his slaves ran away, so Shimei went after them and brought them back. Solomon had him brought in. “You ignored the command I gave you. Now you’ll pay for what you did to my father. You cursed him, yet his kingdom will last forever.” With that, Shimei was killed. So Solomon established himself as King of Israel.
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    7 分
  • Ep. 114: Solomon’s Wisdom
    2022/12/08
    Solomon loved the Lord and tried to follow the example of his father David. One day, he went to Gibeon and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings upon the altar. That night God appeared to him in a dream. “What do you want me to give you?” Without hesitation, he said, “Lord, my father was a great king, but I feel like a child who doesn’t know anything. Give me the wisdom and understanding to rule over your people.” The Lord was pleased with Solomon’s answer. “You’ve asked for wisdom instead of long life, riches, or peace. Therefore I’ll give you wisdom. It will exceed what any one has had, or ever will have. I’ll also give you great riches and honor. And I’ll give you long life, but only if you follow me like David did.” Soon after this promise, two prostitutes went to the judgment hall and stood before the king. One said, “This woman and I live in the same house. Each of us gave birth to a son. While we were sleeping, she accidentally rolled over on her son and killed him. So in the night, she took my child and put her dead son in his place. I awoke in the morning to nurse my son, but the child was dead. I then realized it wasn’t my son at all, but hers. She has my child.” The other woman said, “No, the living child is mine and the dead one is hers!” The two began arguing in front of the king. Solomon turned to a guard and said, “Come here with a sword.” Pointing to the child he said, “Cut the boy in two pieces and give each mother half of him.” One woman cried out, “No! Don’t kill my son! She can have him! Please let him live.” The other woman said, “Yes, cut him in half, so we both will have a part.” The king turned to the guard, “Give the boy to the first woman. She’s the mother because her heart cries out for the child.” The people of Israel marveled at his wisdom. Solomon ruled over all the nations from the Euphrates River in the north, to Egypt in the south. That whole region was at peace as long as he lived. There were so many people in Israel that they were like the sand on the seashore. Everyone was at peace and lived without fear of war. Solomon gained knowledge about many subjects. He had understanding about plants, birds, and animals. His wisdom was greater than that of anyone else in the world. Kings from around the world would send people to listen to him and learn from him.
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    7 分
  • Ep. 115: Building the Temple
    2022/12/09
    Solomon knew it was his responsibility to build the Temple of the Lord. Therefore, he gathered a large work force and provided them all the materials they needed. He got cedar from King Hiram of Lebanon, who had been a friend of David, his father. The entire construction took seven years to complete. During that time, there wasn’t the sound of tools at the Temple site because everything was assembled elsewhere. The inside walls were totally covered with cedar. The walls of the most Holy Place were covered with pure gold. All of the vessels, furnishings, and tools for worship were also made of gold. He also made a place for Gentiles who wanted to come to the Temple and pray. Once the Temple was done, King Solomon assembled the leaders from all the tribes of Israel. The priests went and got the Ark of God. The only things in it at that time were the two tablets of stone that Moses had put there. As the priests carefully carried the Ark toward the Temple, sacrifices were made all along the way. Finally they arrived, and the Ark of God was put in the Most Holy Place. Suddenly, the glory of the Lord filled the Temple like a cloud. It was so thick the priests had to stop what they were doing. The king gave thanks to God. He then turned to face the people and gave them a blessing and a prayer of dedication. Finally, he stood before the altar of the Lord and prayed. He asked God to hear his people when they confessed their sins and asked for forgiveness. He also asked God to hear Gentiles who prayed at the Temple. Together, the entire nation of Israel sacrificed to God and dedicated the Temple to the Lord. This celebration lasted for fourteen days. Once it was over, the people returned to their homes with their hearts full of happiness. God then met with Solomon a second time. He said, “I have heard your prayer and have set this house apart for myself. If you walk with me as your father did, I’ll establish your kingdom forever. But if you or your descendants disobey my commandments and start worshiping other gods, I’ll depart from this house, and it will become a disgrace. I’ll then take the people of Israel off from this land.” For the next thirteen years, Solomon built a house for himself. After that, he built several cities. He established a great work force for all of his construction projects. There was no other king in the entire world like Solomon.
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    7 分
  • Ep. 116: Queen of Sheba
    2022/12/12
    The queen of Sheba heard about the great wisdom of King Solomon. She couldn’t believe it was true. So she decided to go and test him with a list of hard questions. She organized a large band of servants to travel with her and selected presents to present to the king. She arrived in Jerusalem with a great caravan of camels loaded with gold, jewels, and spices. She met with the king and asked him her list of questions. He was able to answer every single question. None of them was too difficult for him to explain to her. She was amazed to see the palace he had built, the variety of food at every meal, the way his servants were dressed, and the burnt offerings he made at the Temple. She said, “Everything I heard about you is true, but I couldn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. Now I find that I wasn’t told half of what is true about you. May your God continue to bless you as you carry out justice and righteousness.” She gave him a half a ton of gold, and more spices than had ever come to Jerusalem. Solomon also gave her many gifts before she and her servants returned home. Every year, Solomon received 25 tons of gold in addition to normal trade. Because of this, he covered many things with gold – ornaments, drinking cups, dishes, and his throne. He didn’t use silver because he didn’t think it was valuable. Solomon crafted 200 large shields, each made with 15 pounds of hammered gold. He also made 300 smaller shields with 4 pounds of gold in each one. No other king in the world was as rich and wise as Solomon. He accumulated a large herd of horses for his military. These were imported from many countries around that part of the world. Unfortunately, Solomon also accumulated many women, which was a direct violation of God’s law. He had 700 wives, all daughters of kings. Each one worshiped the gods of her country. He also had 300 concubines. When Solomon got old, these women convinced him to build a shrine for each of their gods. Eventually, every hill around Jerusalem had a shrine on it, honoring their many gods. Solomon started burning incense at these places and offering sacrifices. Finally he departed from worshiping the Lord and joined his wives in worshiping their gods. Wickedness filled his heart. God was angry with Solomon because he departed from following the ways of David. The Lord said, “I’m going to tear your kingdom in two, and give one part to a servant of yours. But I won’t do this in your lifetime because of my promise to David. Your son will lose most of your kingdom.” Then God allowed the enemies of Solomon to organize against him, so there was no longer peace in the land. Finally, Solomon died. He had been king of Israel for forty years.
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    8 分
  • Ep. 117: The Kingdom Divided
    2022/12/13
    When Solomon was alive, he promoted one of his servants, named Jeroboam. He had a unique ability of getting things done. One day Jeroboam met a prophet, who was wearing a new coat. The prophet said, “Here is a message from God.” He then took off the coat and ripped it into twelve pieces. He handed Jeroboam ten of them and gave him this message from the Lord: “Solomon left me and turned to worshipping idols. Therefore, I’m going to rip the kingdom out of his hands. You’ll rule over the northern ten tribes of Israel. I’m not taking all the tribes away because of David and Jerusalem. Therefore Solomon’s son will rule over Judah. “Follow me and obey my commandments. If you do, I’ll be with you. I’ll establish your kingdom, and you’ll have a lasting dynasty just like I gave David.” Solomon found out about this prophecy and tried to kill Jeroboam. But he ran away and hid in Egypt until Solomon died. One of Solomon’s sons was Rehoboam, whose mother was an Ammonite woman. After his father died, he went to Shechem so the northern tribes of Israel could crown him king. Before the elders of Israel met with him they sent for Jeroboam. Once he arrived, they said to Rehoboam, “Your father put a yoke on us that was harsh. Promise us that you’ll lighten our load and lower our taxes. If you do, we’ll gladly serve you.” Rehoboam said, “Give me three days to think about this.” After Jeroboam and the elders of Israel left, Rehoboam asked advice from the older counselors in his father’s court. They said, “Serve these people with all your heart. Be kind to them, and they’ll serve you for the rest of your life.” Rehoboam then asked for advice from his younger counselors, the ones he grew up with. They said, “Tell those rebels, ‘My father was easy on you compared to me. My little finger will be heavier than my father’s leg. He hit you with whips. I’m going to hit you with scorpions.’ ” Rehoboam listened to this advice and rejected the counsel of the older men. He said to the leaders of Israel, “My father was easy on you compared to me. He hit you with whips. I’m going to hit you with scorpions.” That was exactly what the Lord wanted him to say. When Jeroboam and the people of Israel heard this, they said, “We want nothing to do with the house of David! We’re not from Judah.” So the people of Israel went home and Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem. He sent one of his officials to restore order among the northern tribes. The people stoned him until he was dead. The ten tribes broke away from Judah and called themselves Israel. They asked Jeroboam to be their king. Rehoboam gathered an army from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. They prepared to invade Israel and force them back under Rehoboam’s control. Just then a man of God came to them with a message from the Lord. “Don’t go fight your brothers. Go home. I’m the one that caused them to rebel against you.” Everyone listened to the Lord, and went home.
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    6 分
  • Ep. 118: Jeroboam’s Sin
    2022/12/14
    Jeroboam chose the city of Shechem to be the capital of Israel. He built it up and put his palace there. He realized his people had a natural tendency to be loyal to the family of David. He said to his advisors, “The people keep going to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. Eventually, they’ll decide their true loyalty is to the king from the line of David. They’ll kill me and reunite with Judah.” To solve this problem, he made two golden calves. He put one in the south at Bethel and the other in the north at Dan. He said to the people, “It’s too hard to travel to Jerusalem several times a year. Here’s your god who brought you out of Egypt.” Jeroboam built shrines to these idols and appointed priests for them. The priests weren’t from the tribe of Levi but were just anyone who wanted to be a priest. He then made annual celebrations at the same times as the ones in Jerusalem. When he took the golden calf to Dan, people lined up behind it as it went along. Once they got there, Jeroboam made sacrifices to this new idol. He then went south to Bethel to sacrifice on the altar he had built there. A young man of God from Judah walked up to Jeroboam as he was standing by the altar. The prophet yelled, “Altar, altar! Hear what the Lord God says to you. ‘A king will be born in Judah named Josiah. On this altar he’ll sacrifice the priests who burn incense on it.’ ” The young prophet then turned to the people, “The Lord gave me a sign that these things will happen. This altar will rip apart and the ashes will spill to the ground.” King Jeroboam got angry and pointed at the prophet. “Grab that man!” As soon as he said those words, the hand he had stretched out froze in position and he couldn’t pull it back. Suddenly the altar ripped apart and the ashes spilled to the ground. Seeing this, the king begged the man of God. “Please pray to the Lord and ask him to restore my hand back to me.” So the man of God prayed and Jeroboam’s hand returned to the way it was before. The king said, “Come with me to the palace and eat something. Then I’ll give you a gift.” The young prophet said, “I wouldn’t go with you even if you gave me half of everything you own. The Lord said that I’m not to eat or drink anything while I’m here. And I’m to go back to Judah a different way from how I came.” With that, he walked away. Even with this warning, Jeroboam didn’t repent of what he was doing. He continued to promote the worship of the two calves and appoint priests for them. Because of this sin, his kingdom didn’t continue after his death, and he had no descendants.
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    5 分
  • Ep. 119: The Old Prophet
    2022/12/15
    There was an old prophet living at Bethel. His sons told him about the young man of God from Judah, and what he had done at Jeroboam’s altar. The old prophet said, “Which way did he go?” He then told his sons to saddle his donkey. He rode down the road until he found the man of God sitting under an oak tree. “Are you the man of God from Judah?” “Yes, I am” The old prophet said, “Come home with me and I’ll serve you a meal.” “No, I can’t go with you. The Lord told me not to eat or drink anything while I’m here.” The old man said, “Yes I know. I’m a prophet too, just like you. The Lord sent an angel to me who told me to come get you and provide you food and water. So, come to my house.” This was a lie, but the man of God went with him and ate bread in his house and drank water. While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet, saying, “You’ve rebelled against my command. I told you not to eat or drink anything at this place. Because you disobeyed me, you’ll die and you won’t be buried in your family’s grave.” After the two men were done eating, the old prophet saddled the young man’s donkey. He left, and along the way a lion jumped on the man of God and killed him. His body fell to the ground, but the donkey didn’t run away. He simply stood by the body of the young prophet. The lion stood on the other side. Some travelers saw this and told the people in the town about it. When the old prophet heard it, he said, “I know who that is. It’s the man of God who disobeyed the Lord.” He told his sons to once again saddle a donkey for him. He went and found the body. The lion was still standing next to it, as well as the donkey. Yet, the lion hadn’t eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. The old prophet put the body of the man of God on the donkey that was standing there. He took it back home and buried it in his own grave. He mourned the young man’s death saying, “Oh my brother.” He then told his sons. “When I die, bury me where this man of God is buried. Put my bones beside his bones. He spoke God’s words against these idols and Israel’s sin. Everything he said will come true.”
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    5 分