Only the people sacrificed in high places ,.... On the tops of their houses, on hills and mountains, and particularly at the high place in Gibeon, where the tabernacle was: because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord until those days ; to which they were obliged to repair as afterwards, and there offer their sacrifices, as the Lord had commanded, Deuteronomy 12:5 . read more
And Solomon loved the Lord ,.... The worship of the Lord, as the Targum: and which he showed by walking in the statutes of David his father ; in which his father walked, which were the statutes of the Lord, or which he exhorted him to walk in, and were the same, 1 Kings 2:3 ; only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places ; besides that at Gibeon, which it seems David did not. read more
The people sacrificed in high places - Could there be any sin in this, or was it unlawful till after the temple was built? for prophets, judges, the kings which preceded Solomon, and Solomon himself, sacrificed on high places, such as Gibeon, Gilgal, Shiloh, Hebron, Kirjath-jearim, etc. But after the temple was erected, it was sinful to offer sacrifices in any other place; yet here it is introduced as being morally wrong, and it is introduced, 1 Kings 3:3 , as being an... read more
Only [The word perhaps signifies "that there was one exception to the flourishing condition of things which the writer has been describing" (Rawlinson), though the people are nowhere blamed for sacrificing on the high places, and Solomon's sacrifice at "the great high place "was full of blessing. The idea rather is that just as he was obliged to bring his Egyptian wife into the city of David, because his palace was not yet finished, so the people were compelled to sacrifice on the high... read more
And Solomon loved the Lord [thus keeping the first and great commandment, the "Shema Israel" ( Deuteronomy 6:5 ; cf. Deuteronomy 30:16 ; Matthew 22:1-46 :87; Luke 10:27 ], walking in the statutes of David his father [ i.e; those which David had kept ( Luke 10:6 , Luke 10:14 ) and commanded him to keep ( Luke 2:4 )]: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. [These words clearly show that the worship of the high places, although condoned, and indeed accepted, by... read more
The Grace and Place of Love. "And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in all the statutes of David his father, only… sacrificed," etc. Of how many men, as well as of the wisest of men, may some such words be used. Of some few it may perhaps be averred that they have loved the Lord "with a perfect heart," of fewer still, if any, that they have loved Him with all the heart, and all the mind, and all the soul, and all the strength. But in the case of most, a qualifying clause must be added, an... read more
The word “only” introduces a contrast. The writer means to say that there was one exception to the flourishing condition of things which he has been describing, namely, that “the people sacrificed in high-places.” (Compare the next verse.) The Law did not forbid “high-places” directly, but only by implication. It required the utter destruction of all the high-places which had been polluted by idolatrous rites Deuteronomy 12:2; and the injunction to offer sacrifices nowhere except at the door of... read more
1 Kings 3:2. Only the people sacrificed in high places Which were groves, or other convenient places upon hills. In such places the patriarchs had been wont to offer up their worship, and sacrifices to God; and from them this custom was derived both to the Gentiles and the Jews; and in them the Gentiles sacrificed to idols, and the Hebrews to the true God. But this custom was expressly forbidden by God to his people, except in some extraordinary cases, and they were commanded to offer their... read more
1 Kings 3:3. And Solomon loved Or, Yet he loved, the Lord Although he miscarried in the matter of high places, yet, in the general, his heart was right with God. Walking in the statutes According to the statutes or commands of God, which are here called the statutes of David; not only because they were diligently practised by David, but also because the observation of them was so earnestly pressed upon Solomon, and fortified with David’s authority and command. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 3:1-4
We are here told concerning Solomon, I. Something that was unquestionably good, for which he is to be praised and in which he is to be imitated. 1. He loved the Lord, 1 Kgs. 3:3. Particular notice was taken of God's love to him, 2 Sam. 12:24. He had his name from it: Jedidiah?beloved of the Lord. And here we find he returned that love, as John, the beloved disciple, was most full of love. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man; yet the brightest encomium of him is that which is the character of... read more