1Ki 3:5-15 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us”

[Study Aired August 19, 2021]

1Ki 3:5  In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
1Ki 3:6  And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
1Ki 3:7  And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
1Ki 3:8  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
1Ki 3:9  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
1Ki 3:10  And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
1Ki 3:11  And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
1Ki 3:12  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
1Ki 3:13  And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
1Ki 3:14  And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
1Ki 3:15  And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

The love that God bestows upon us is revealed by calling us sons who are not known of the world, and is typically being  revealed to us via Solomon, a type of the elect whose father was David, a type of Christ (1Jn 3:1). God’s love is expressed through Christ, and this tells us that we, being as He is in this life, will be sent as Christ was sent (1Jn 4:17, Joh 20:21) to express this same love to the rest of the world (2Co 5:18, 1Co 8:6).

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Solomon at first was truly humble and “not known of the world”, but as we know, later in his walk he would be corrupted by the world and have his heart turned by those things which represent our own power and self-willed nature that, if God does not chasten and scourge out of us (Heb 12:6), will cause us to drift back into the world like Demas, Titus and Crescens (Deu 17:16, 1Ki 4:26, Psa 33:17-18, 1Ki 11:2-3, 2Ti 4:10).

Deu 17:16  But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way [negative – running with horses (Deu 17:16) and positive – expression of running with horses (Jer 12:5)].

1Ki 4:26  And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

Psa 33:17  An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Psa 33:18  Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy [Heb 5:7];

1Ki 11:2  Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
1Ki 11:3  And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

This turning away of Solomon’s heart was simply because of a lack of fear and reverence toward God’s command that told him you “shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt” as well as his desire to cleave “unto these in love”. Love is obedience to God’s commands, which tells us to forsake the world and cleave unto him who is the author and finisher of our faith (1Jn 2:15, Jos 23:8-11)

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Jos 23:8  But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.
Jos 23:9  For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.
Jos 23:10  One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.
Jos 23:11  Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.

In type and shadow, God was not bestowing upon Solomon the kind of correction that would have prevented him from getting all those horses that represent his own power, his own righteousness (Php 3:9), and God did not prevent him from having all those wives and concubines that add up to one thousand, which represents the same hidden desire that will continue to be in the heart of mankind throughout the thousand year reign until the sins of the Amorites come to their fullness expressed in the rebellion of Gog and Magog against the camp of the saints (Rev 20:8).

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Solomon did not have any more power than anyone of us to walk in God’s commandments and keep His statutes, which if he would have had, he was promised God would “lengthen his days” of 1Kings 3:14. Yet for his father’s sake, who typifies Christ our olam/father, the whole kingdom would not be taken out of his hands despite himself: “Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes” (1Ki 11:34).

1Ki 3:5  In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

It is in “Gibeon” (“hill city”), which typifies where we are raised in heavenly places (Eph 2:6), that we learn of our high calling that is in the Lord (Php 3:14, Psa 121:1-2).

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Psa 121:1  A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
Psa 121:2  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

It is “in a dream by night” that God comes to us and says “ask what I shall give thee“. The elect’s high calling in Christ is being typified at this express moment in Solomon’s life (Psa 2:8-10). The “dream by night” reminds us that light comes out of darkness and that the dream God gives us reveals the singleness that is in Christ (2Co 11:3), a dream that is one that brings us to conclude and be convinced that there is one body with many members (Gen 40:8, Gen 41:25, Rom 12:5).

Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession (Joh 11:22).
Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Psa 2:10  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

Gen 40:8  And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is  one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity [singleness] that is in Christ.

Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another [Joh 17:22]

1Ki 3:6  And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

This verse is central to our study as it shows us that David who was a type of Christ was shown “great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness”. The great kindness that God kept for Christ was the inheritance of the saints [his wife] typified by Solomon who was the son who would “sit on his throne [David’s], as it is this day” which is why the title of our study is what it is “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God [Rev 20:4, Mat 19:28]: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”(1Jn 3:1, Eph 1:18, Rom 8:17, Col 3:24, Col 1:12). Abraham, who also typifies Christ as David does, reminds us of this same inheritance that is in Christ and in the elect (Gen 17:4, 1Co 15:28).

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Col 1:12  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Gen 17:4  As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

1Ki 3:7  And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
1Ki 3:8  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

This was a good place where God had Solomon, being able to acknowledge his need on the Lord for everything with these words: “I am but a little child” (Mat 18:3-4) who needed constant direction from God to know how to “go out or come in“, which is a shadow of how we need the Lord to show us how to walk circumspectly in this life as we’re led by God’s holy spirit (Rom 8:14-16), conducting ourselves in a way that glorifies God when we come together in “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (Eph 5:15-17, 1Ti 3:15). Understanding the will of God is walking circumspectly, and that can only be done by being given power over all that is in the world through Christ, both within and outside ourselves (1Jn 2:16-17, 1Jn 5:4).

Mat 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Eph 5:15  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Eph 5:16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Eph 5:17  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Solomon was in the midst of so great a people who were chosen,  “which thou hast chosen“, a symbol of how we are in the midst of the few chosen, taken from “a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude“, but who will be redeemed in God’s appointed time (Mat 22:14, Rev 17:14, Rev 7:9-14).

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Rev 7:11  And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 7:12  Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Rev 7:13  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

1Ki 3:9  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
1Ki 3:10  And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

This was a most pleasing thing Solomon requested of God: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad.” Again we see the humility being expressed in Solomon’s words who recognizes that the job at hand is one that can’t be accomplished without God’s mercy and kindness being shown to him by giving him a discerning  heart, “for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?“

In the new covenant we have these parallel verses which remind us of the desire God has put in the elect’s hearts to ask for the ability to prophecy (1Co 14:1-3). The way we come to be able to “discern between good and bad” is the lifetime goal to which God has called us, bringing us to that point of maturity where we can partake of strong meat that nourishes us in our life of much tribulation in the Lord (1Pe 5:10, Act 14:22). Strong meat is eaten when we rightly divide that meat, discerning good and evil and light and darkness, understanding the goodness and severity that is required in God’s plan in order to mature (Rom 11:22).

1Co 14:1  Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
1Co 14:2  For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
1Pe 5:11  To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Solomon’s question, “For who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” is answered for us with these verses: (1Co 6:3, Oba 1:21), and as we read earlier it is those who have suffered and are being made perfect and being established and strengthened and settled that God is setting to judge in the church, as opposed to laying hands on those who are least, meaning they are yet carnal babes in Christ (1Co 6:4-5, 1Ti 5:22, 1Co 3:4).

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

1Co 6:4  If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
1Co 6:5  I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?

1Ti 5:22  Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

Our goal then is to all come to that point of being mature sons of God who share in a unity of mind (Eph 4:13, 2Co 11:3) that produces a speech pleasing to the Lord, reflected in this verse: “And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity [singleness] that is in Christ.

1Ki 3:11  And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

In type and shadow we are being told that Solomon did not ask amiss to consume these things upon his own lusts, by asking the things that we all would normally ask when we are trying to preserve our flesh from a carnal standpoint (Jas 4:3).

Jas 4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

In the negative sense, Adam seeks “Long Life” and “riches for thyself” and destruction of “thine enemies without, but in the positive sense, God has promised those who lose their life (“thine enemies” all that is within the world within us [1Jn 2:16]) by honouring Him and the workmanship of His hands, the church (Eph 2:10), will be given “Long Life” with ‘the first commandment with promise that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth’ in glorified bodies (Eph 6:2-3, Joh 17:3-5, Joh 17:22).

Eph 6:2  Honour thy father [Christ] and mother [Jerusalem above the mother of us all (Gal 4:26)]; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
Eph 6:3  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Joh 17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

To ask for “understanding to discern judgment” is not something that the first man Adam asks for, seeing there is only a way that seems right unto him that leads to death which prevents him from desiring a discerning spirit (Pro 14:12). The “riches for thyself” represent the self-righteous acts of our life, like the rich young ruler, who we all once were, not being able to discern the true riches found in Christ that can’t be compared with anything (Php 3:8). The true “riches for thyself” begin to be understood when we come to see that we have no riches at all without Christ in our life (Luk 18:21, Rev 3:17, Joh 6:44).

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

Luk 18:21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. [“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them” in earnest now and one day in the fullness.]

The truth of the matter is there are no greater riches than that which God gives to those who diligently seek him and acknowledge their own blindness and continual need for a physician in this life as we overcome by dying daily to the wantonness within our flesh. Therefore, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2Co 7:1).

1Ki 3:12  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
1Ki 3:13  And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

Once again we are shown in type and shadow the outcome of those who are called and chosen and faithful to the end with these words: “I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee“; words that represent the exceeding great and precious promises (2Pe 1:4) God has promised to the elect, all foreshadowed in the life of king Solomon in this book of kings that was written for our sakes.

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

God pours out such incredible blessings upon Solomon as one who typifies those who will be blessed and holy to be in the first resurrection, having all our life given to God, represented by the tithe we bring into the storehouse (Rev 20:6, Mal 3:10).

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

All of this is a gift from God toward Solomon that he inherited through birth and anointing, just as God’s elect who are born again by the will of God (Joh 3:3, Joh 1:13). We are “a little child”, the weak of the world, the not-many-noble brethren (1Co 1:28-29) receive “riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days“. This last typical statement was confirmed by this statement of Christ in the new covenant (Luk 7:28).

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

[What an amazingly rich and merciful gift God’s love is (Eph 2:4-6) toward Christ’s body and bride who is born again and has been chosen in this life to be kings and priests under him 1Jn 3:1]

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Luk 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

1Ki 3:14  And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

The expression “lengthen thy days” is symbolic of receiving eternal life, and we understand that this is eternal life: to know God and Jesus Christ. As mentioned before, this is connected with the first commandment with promise for God’s kind of first fruits (Joh 17:3).  In the old covenant, ‘walking in my ways and keeping my statutes and my commandments as thy father David did walk’ is also typical of the new walk that we have in Christ Who makes it possible for us to bear each other’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, of which all these expressions are a shadow “walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments.” We walk “as thy father David did walk” who is a type of Christ, so we walk as Christ (1Jn 2:6) and not the physical man David, knowing that the least is greater than John, or David, or Abraham (Mat 11:11).

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

1Jn 2:6  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked [Col 1:24, Rom 8:14-16, Heb 5:7].

1Ki 3:15  And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

It’s true Solomon’s heart went after his many wives just as we went after many churches in Babylon, and his confidence was in his own flesh just as ours was or can be when we are convinced that we are rich and increased and have need of nothing like the rich young ruler spoken of in scripture. So, in the positive sense, Solomon’s life can be seen as a type of God’s elect who, despite himself and his eventual going after many wives and relying on his own power, was still promised in 1Kings 11:34, “Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes.” This tells us that it is because of Christ, who is typified by David, that if we are the elect of God, we are accepted despite ourselves, and the whole kingdom is not taken out of our hand (Eph 1:6, Luk 17:21).

“Solomon awoke” (Rom 13:11) is a spiritual statement revealing that when we are given eyes to see and ears to hear of all the blessings and promises God is going to bestow, it is done through “a dream” at night, which is the time when our flesh is most inactive and therefore better able to receive the instruction He has prepared for our good in our heavens (Job 33:15-18).

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Job 33:15  In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Job 33:16  Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Job 33:17  That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.

What Solomon did when he awoke out of that dream: “And he came to Jerusalem (Gal 4:26), and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants“, symbolizes for us what we now do as God’s servants, offering our whole life to Him (Rom 12:1).

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Because of that dream, which we know is one in the Lord, we see ourselves as the beloved of God, one body of believers who have been chosen to be His servants in this age who go to Jerusalem above (Rom 12:5, Eph 2:6, Gal 4:26) to worship Him in spirit and in truth standing before our Father and Christ, symbolized by standing “before the ark of the covenant of the LORD” (Joh 14:20).

Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you [Rom 12:4].

In the positive sense, it is at this ark that we will offer up “burnt offerings” in order to be accepted of God and “peace offerings“, with which if not present in our lives, we won’t see the Lord (Heb 12:14-15).

Heb 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Making “a feast to all his servants” (Luk 12:37) reminds us of the love we have for one another as fellowservants who are sharing in our “feasts of charity<supG26” together as one body (Rev 19:7-9, Rom 13:11-13, Jud 1:12). When we sacrifice our lives for each other, we truly are beholding “what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” and partaking of His life (1Co 10:16, Joh 6:54-55).

Luk 12:37  Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted [Rom 3:27, 1Jn 5:4] that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: [“Solomon awoke“] for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.