-1 Kings 11:9-13 ESV

9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”

THE ANGER OF GOD

How could God be angry with man when He is the God of love? Perhaps, this is the underlying reason why many presume they can go on sinful lifestyle and compromises like Solomon. There is no conflict between God’s holiness and love. As the stream flows along its banks so God’s love doesn’t rejoice in wrongdoing. [1 Cor 13:6] The stream is God’s love while the banks are God’s holiness.

God isn’t venting His anger towards Solomon as somebody ruled by uncontrolled passion like the cartoon character, incredible hulk. He isn’t capricious, is He? Does not the act of God’s calling for Adam after he sinned a gesture of love and grace? And, does not God appear to Solomon twice to warn him? Sadly, like Adam, Solomon did not repent. He was hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.[Heb 3:13]

God’s dealing with Solomon was conditioned by his obedience or not. Blessings are received when His statutes are followed. Otherwise, he will be judged. God’s holiness is as the unchanging heat of the sun that can either harden the clay or melt the wax. In other words, Solomon’s tender heart had changed so that the anger of God was inevitable. As Jesus said to Paul in a vision, “It is hard for you to kick against the pricks.”[Acts 9:5, Acts 6:14]

Prov 15:10 says, “There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.” Solomon’s son would be stripped off the throne for his servant, who will rule the 10 tribes. If not for David’s sake, his son won’t be allowed to rule one tribe. The split was a sad result of Solomon’s sins.

At the end of the day, God won his heart back. Solomon had realized his futility but the damage had been done. He wrote, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”[Ecc 12:13,14]

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1 Kings 11:1-8 ESV

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

A DECADENCE.

King Solomon’s political, military and economic success has reached its zenith. There was nobody one who could match his wisdom, power and riches. But, the glitters of fame and fortune were too blinding to his spiritual eyes. This led to his belief that he could do anything he wanted. Could a kite stay in flight if it decides to cut off the string and free itself? Definitely not!

Having had 700 pagan wives and 300 concubines surely did turn away his heart from the Lord unto their idols that they worshipped. He ‘went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.’[v.5] Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.[v.7] definitely, these were obnoxious acts before God.

Amidst the external splendor and grandeur of his kingdom is the spiritual corruption tolerated. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. Solomon wasn’t wise to heed to what he wrote,

“Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life.”[Prov 4:23]

Decay doesn’t start from the outside. Defilement starts within. According to James, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” [Jas 1:14,15] The lust of power, riches and women were too enticing and irresistible to Solomon’s heart as the sirens’ spell to sailors in Homer’s Odyssey. Solomon had dropped his guard and was either oblivious to the danger or overconfident to handle his fate. Thus, the lament of Jeremiah should jerk us to our core;

“ The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?” [Jer 17:9]

Let us realize that in our spiritual climb, the more heights we gain the more slippery are the route. It’s more dangerous at the top than at ground zero. A single misstep may plunge us into an inevitable downward spiral into the abyss. We may conquer heights as the kite and enjoy the wind. But, let’s be humble that our strength is at the Rock where our string of faith is bound tightly.

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1 Kings 10:14-29 ESV

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; three minas[c] of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top,[d] and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 20 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[e]

23 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 25 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh,[f] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

TRUE RICHES.

The account of earthly riches Solomon had is staggering. “There has never been a human in history who had so much gold and silver "at his fingertips" such that it was as common as pebbles! Since we know he ruled Israel for forty years, and that he brought in roughly 1.1 BILLION dollars of gold each year, we can safely assume his assets were in the multiple billions of dollars. Solomon, however, possessed even more riches than what was mentioned above. He also inherited wealth from his father David, regularly received gold and silver from the kings of Arabia, had other governors and merchants give him stuff, plus he also heavily taxed his own people! As if all the above was not enough, Solomon also received tribute money from countries and kingdoms, plus gold, silver, ivory, animals, slaves and so on every three years due to his business partnership with the King of Tyre and he garnered gifts of gold, spices, precious stones, garments, armor, and so on each year from a variety of others! It is safe to say that the king was not only rich he was, are arguably still is, the wealthiest human ever to walk the face of planet earth!” [https://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/how-rich-was-solomon.html]

God has delivered His promise to Solomon, that is, “Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.”[1 Kings 3:12-13]

God has no aversion in acquiring wealth. However, there is a risk to our gullible hearts.

1 Kings 10:1-13 ESV

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king 120 talents[a] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

SOMETHING GREATER THAN SOLOMON IS HERE.

During the epoch of Solomon’s fame, the queen of Sheba had heard about him. Her curiosity drove her to travel and visit his kingdom herself with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. He answered all her queries. And, she had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

Having been awed for what she saw, she exclaimed, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.”[v.6-8]

She heard, came, saw and was blessed.” And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon.”[v.13] She shouldn’t had experienced the blessing if she was contented upon hearing about Solomon.

Sadly, many who had witnessed firsthand the wisdom and miracles Jesus did refused to believe Him. Thus He said to them, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”[Luke 11:31]

Do you and I recognize that Jesus is the ‘something greater than Solomon is here’ now? What do we do for Him? Like the queen of Sheba, are we going to drop everything in order to see Him today and everyday?

1 Kings 9:15-28 ESV

15 And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and Lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— 21 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction—these Solomon drafted to be slaves, and so they are to this day. 22 But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon's work: 550 who had charge of the people who carried on the work.

24 But Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.

25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it before the Lord. So he finished the house.

26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

THE FORTRESSES

King Solomon had launched a massive labor force to complete his massive infrastructure projects. All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction—these Solomon drafted to be slaves.[see v 20,21]

Aside from the temple and his house, he built the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer. “The Hebrew term ‘millo’ is probably a name for a prominent fortress near the temple and the palace. However, it is possible that it describes architectural terracing and buttressing along the northeastern slope of the east hill of Jerusalem, the city of David.’[ D. Guzik]

These strong structures maybe seen as icons of strong defense against foreign invaders. However, does the strength of Solomon lie on physical strength alone? As David testified, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”[Psa 20:7]

Should the Lord fight for us, we must obey Him and avoid compromises. The kingdom may look fortified externally, but Solomon had allowed the termite of compromises to thrive within. His marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter had made Pharaoh to give unto him Gezer. He built a house for her and fortified it. Moreover, instead of driving away the remnants of these tribes be driven out of the land, he used them as slave laborers in Israel which displeased the Lord.

There is nothing wrong in making steps to secure our future. God has blessed us with knowledge and material blessings so that as the ants we should prepare for the rainy days to come. However, we must not allow to shift our focus on all these blessings. 

1 Kings 9:10-14 ESV

10 At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king's house, 11 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of Cabul to this day. 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

CABUL

The friendship of Solomon and Hiram had flourished. Twenty years had lapsed from the building of the temple and his house when Solomon gave Hiram the 20 cities in Galilee. Hiram, however, was not pleased, saying, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” This is the reason why the land was called Cabul, to mean, “good as nothing.”

Hiram felt insulted. Did Solomon give him a squalid and impoverished cities? For whatever reason, it did not match his expectations. For the 120 talents of gold he gave, the 20 cities were as nothing.

It’s understandable that mutuality should mark the relationship between kings, such as between Solomon and Hiram. But, our relationship with our king, the Lord Jesus Christ is of different level. Is it mutual when He died for us while we were sinners? [Rom 5:8] When God the Father did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for us all? [Rom 8:32] He had given and always does give His best for us. But, do we give our best to Him? Thus, we should love Him because He first loved us. [1 John 4:19]

God does deserve our best, doesn’t He? As a show of profound gratefulness, we should strive to give our best, even our all, to Him. Anything lesser is an insult. God doesn’t need things. He owns everything. What He is after of are our motives. Everything else is as nothing to God without the love we have in our hearts.[see 1 Cor 13:1-3] Why did the widow with her two coins have given much than the others?

May, like David, we won’t give to God that which costs as nothing. However, everything in and through us belongs to God in essence. Since we are bought with a prize, what is there in our lives that we can claim our own?[see 1 Cor 6:19,20] Nothing, plain and simple.

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1 Kings 8:54-61 ESV

54 Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, 58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

INCLINE YOUR HEARTS TO HIM

As soon as Solomon had finished praying, he stood and blessed all the assembly. Definitely, he who is coming from the presence of God in prayer has the authority to bless men. Thus, preaching should be an outflow of praying. A prayerful closet produces a powerful pulpit.

God hasn’t failed to fulfill His promises to Moses, not even one word. Having been assured to His abiding presence, Solomon pleaded that God wont either leave nor forsake them. For what reason? That God may incline their hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded their fathers.

Our hearts are prone to wander because it’s deceitful and desperately wicked.[Jer 17:9,10] Apart from the grace of God, we are all miserable. It’s His goodness that leads us to repentance. Thus, Paul asks, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”[Rom 2:4]

We draw near to Him because He draws us to Himself. Not by manipulation and coercion, but by His continual grace and mercies. Simply put, He with His ‘outstretched arm’ is reaching us. As the psalmist said;

“The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.”[Psa 103:8-11]

It’s always the right posture of prayer to ask, “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”[Psa 119:36] Resultingly, we may say,

“Your testimonies are my heritage forever,

for they are the joy of my heart.

I incline my heart to perform your statutes

forever, to the end.”[Psa 119:111,112]

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1 Kings 8:46-53 ESV

46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

IF AND WHEN…THEN.

During this inauguration of the temple, Solomon had humbly prayed. His prayer consists of seven pairs of either ‘ifs’ or ‘whens’ with ‘thens.’ Definitely, he recognized the gullibility of the nation to fail God. But, he looked with confidence to receive God’s grace when repentant should they sin.

Solomon had said, “for there is no one who does not sin.” Indeed, “there is none righteous, no not one.”[Rom 3:10] Thus, he had depended solely upon God’s rich mercies. And God is rich in mercy. As Jeremiah had articulates;

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”[Lam 3:22-24]

We couldn’t plead before God on the basis of justice, could we? Our sins demand condemnation before the holy God. Thus, we can only hope for His mercies at His throne as Solomon did before the temple. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.[Heb 4:16]

The temple was the bastion of God’s mercy where repentant sinners should not be afraid to go and plead for God’s forgiveness or favor.

Let’s not therefore conceal our sins before God but be honest and confess it. Solomon had warned, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”[ Prov 28: 13] Thus, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” [1 John 1:7-10]

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1 Kings 8:22-30 ESV

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

WILL GOD DWELL ON EARTH?

The assembly of Israel had gathered around Solomon. Before the altar, he stood and spread out his hands toward heaven and burst into praise, worship and thanksgiving. God has been faithful to His covenant with his father David. There was a condition. His sons should pay close attention to their way, to walk before Him as David have walked before Him. And, there will not lack a man to sit before God on the throne of Israel.

God’s initiative to enter into a covenant relationship with weak man is mindboggling, is it not? Why should God risk His honor with men? Did He not know beforehand that Solomon and the rest would fail to walk according to their father David someday?

This puzzled Solomon. If heaven isn’t too big enough to contain God, how could He dwell on earth, needless to say, the temple? Yet, He did. His presence was in the temple, twenty four seven, where they can approach, worship and pray unto Him. This truth had humbled Solomon.

Sadly, Solomon and the rest had failed. But, God will be true to his covenant with David. God will raise a son in the lineage of David to become the king on his throne forever. And, in the fulness of time[Gal 4:4], Jesus was born. He is the Emmanuel [God with us] for He was the Word who became flesh to dwell with men[John 1:14a] How near was God incarnate to His people? The apostle John recounted, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”[John 1:14b]

John added, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”[1 John 1:1-3]