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King Solomon honors his mother

God's Character Trait of honoring others

He shows honor to us

when He is the ONE WHO deserves it from us.

1 Kings 2:

King Solomon got off his throne when his mother came to speak with him in his court room. He bowed down before her and put her on a throne to his right hand.

I see a beautiful symbol of God in this right hand honor.

You see, God has said Jesus belonged at His right hand. God honors Jesus. Now look at the same expression of love and honor He plans to give the redeemed sinners from this earth. Jesus shares His spot of honor at the right hand of God. How can this be? We have made mistakes and done stupid things, and misunderstood what the Bible said is places. We have missed opportunities to do good to others. At times we have wounded others He loved. We have nothing in us to bring such a high honor in the highest kingdom of the Universe.

While reading to our children every morning and evening, we had a challenge of who would get to sit on the lap, and who on the right hand and who on the left hand. The kids would run to get next to mama or dad as they read. Often there had to be the settling of disputes as someone did not make it there in time to get the chosen place, or they had to leave for the restroom and someone took over their spot. There was a snuggly, comfortable feeling to being right up against mom. They could get their questions answered and see the pictures. We have a huge library of Bible story books and nature books. 

It was a place of honor just to be next to the parent that was reading. As the boys got older they insisted on being with dad and felt it was a sissy thing to want to sit by mom. I treasure the memory of story times when they were under age 12.

To be at the right hand of the King of the Universe will be the honor He will give to the sinners He has rescued from angry Satan's grasp on this earth. There will be no fighting among those next to the King. I personally would be happy just to be near His feet. I will be thrilled to be in heaven and go anywhere with Him, wouldn't you?

References:

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:31-34)

Upon the heads of the overcomers, Jesus with his own right hand places the crown of glory. For each there is a crown, bearing his own "new name," [REV. 2:17.] GC 645

Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem; who worked with his earthly father at the carpenter's trade; who sat in weariness by Jacob's well; who slept in weariness in Peter's fishing-boat; who hungered and thirsted; who took little children in his arms and blessed them; who was rejected, scourged, and crucified,--ascended in the form of a man to Heaven, and took his place at the right hand of God {3SP 256.2}

Those who possess eternal life will all have done well. The King of glory will exalt them to His right hand while He says to them: "Well done, good and faithful servants." {1T 513.1}

We may say with the psalmist, "I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." 

Neither beauty nor worldly honor will secure you this relationship to the heavenly King. But there is something which will recommend us to the divine favor; it is a "meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." This spirit we do not possess by nature. We may have excellent and noble traits of character; yet we need the blood of Christ to cleanse us from sin, the grace of God to bring us to perfection. If we think that we can trample under foot the blood of Christ, and yet climb up to a place at God's right hand, we shall make a great mistake. There is no provision made whereby man can gain eternal life, except by the cross of Christ. Those who reject the atonement made on Calvary are just where Adam and Eve were after the transgression. {ST, November 3, 1887 par. 12}
The truth of God always involves a cross; but it is of heavenly origin, and elevates the receiver. It has a sanctifying influence on the life, fitting fallen man for the society of angels in the kingdom of glory. 
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{ST, November 3, 1887 par. 13}

You are to clothe yourselves now with the garment that has been woven in the loom of heaven, even with the glorious righteousness of Christ, that you may be prepared to stand at his appearing, and be found worthy of a place at his right hand. {ST, March 28, 1892 par. 7}

I want you to be with Jesus, in whose presence there is fullness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore. There, there will be no sin, no sorrow, no sickness, no death, no burial train, no sound of mourning. Oh, I want to see the King in his beauty. I want to praise him with an immortal tongue. I want to give glory to God, who has provided for us the richest blessings of heaven; for when he gave his Son, he gave all. Heaven's resources were exhausted in Christ, and all the treasures of eternity are at our command through the infinite merit of our Redeemer. 
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{ST, April 4, 1892 par. 10}

God forgives and "forgets"

Ahijah was told by God to anoint Jeroboam to rule over 10 tribes. For this anointing, Jeroboam lived under a death threat from King Solomon. When this happened, it woke up King Solomon. Solomon was changed by luxury and the free use of wine. His intelligence was clouded. He left God and entered into rash and sinful marriage relations with idol worshipers.

God's Closeness at Bethel

The God of Bethel wants to reclaim His meeting place from false worship

"Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made." {RH, July 17, 1913 par. 5}
The king's bold defiance of God and his worship was not allowed to pass unrebuked...Review and Herald article,  by Ellen White

Story: Bethel Clean Up Effort (I Kings 13)

Jeroboam made a place of worship at Bethel in order to win the affection of the 10 tribes. He set up his own house of worship and made himself a priest. He did not use Levites as priests. He used people who did not believe much in God. It turned into a false system of worship. The king himself made sacrifices. One day a prophet was sent by God to tell Jeroboam that the altar of worship would some day have bones on it of people. The prophecy happened 300 years later after he was dead. (PK402) But when Jeroboam heard from God, he was filled with rage. He was embarrassed in front of all the worshipers. The boldness of this prophet and the strong rebuke of the king shocked all worshipers.  Jeroboam knew he was doing wrong. Yet he pointed his finger at the prophet and began to order his soldiers to kill God's messenger. As he did this his hand shriveled up. His arm was in great pain and he begged God's prophet to pray for him. This shows he knew he had cursed God's worker. He was healed when the prophet prayed and he urged him to come eat with him. God had told this prophet to hurry home and not even stop to eat or drink. He refused the king offer and headed home only to be tricked by a man. This old prophet man made up a lie that he was given a message from God. This lie said God wanted him to go eat and together they went back to Bethel. This countermanded his first orders. Then a real message came from heaven promising punishment of death by a lion. When it came to pass the old man prophet went out and gathered the dead man and buried him in Bethel. Three hundred years later when Josiah was burning bones and found these, he left these alone.

 God does not send someone else to tell you the opposite of the command He gave you. Many try to do that with the 10 commandments. They say the Sabbath is changed from the 7th day to the first. God did not say that. Only a false prophet has done this. It is a made up story. Check it out for yourself. Look at Exodus 20. God Himself will make it plain to you directly from the Bible or in dream or vision. Don't believe everyone you hear. Always check it with the Bible. This poor prophet was punished with death because he obeyed false orders. (MS 1, 1912)  

300 Years later:

Three centuries had passed. During the reformation wrought by Josiah, the king found himself in Bethel, where stood this ancient altar. The prophecy uttered so many years before in the presence of Jeroboam, was now to be literally fulfilled. {PK 402.2}
"The altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. {PK 402.3}
"And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchers that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchers, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. {PK 402.4}
"Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulcher of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel. And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria." 2 Kings 23:15-18. {PK 402.5}

A great big package of memories was wrapped up in worship of the true God at Bethel. They all remembered Jacob's ladder here. Jacob had fled from Esau to this spot for comfort. Jacob remembered that grandpa Abraham had camped there. Jacob must have gone there for comfort, knowing grandpa had a great faith in God.  Jacob promised to pay God a tithe of anything God would give him. Then he fell asleep and dreamed of a ladder with angels on it. He saw Jesus at the top of the ladder. He heard special promises. He was so pleased, he said he had come to the gates of heaven and put up an altar. Later he told that story over and over to his children and they repeated it to their children.

Jacob wrestled with God at Jabock on the way to Bethel. Jacob thought at first he was attacked by his brother's warriors. Finally when his hip was put out of joint and  shriveled, Jacob knew that it was the Lord. Then, all broken, he fell upon the neck of the Angel, and held Him, pleading, "Bless me, even me." He saw God face to face and his sins were forgiven. He fastened his trembling grasp on the promises of God and God changed his name and promised him great blessings. Victory is sure when self is surrendered to God. From that time on no one would eat the hollow of the hip of animals they ate. That story was kept fresh in the minds of all his children and grandchildren. More than that is the picture of a hobbling man who now is called prince because He finally fell helpless on Jesus, the power of the universe. Now Jacob stopped trying to do it on his own and trusted in Him alone. This hobbling Jacob struck terror into his brother Esau's heart and the proud monarch in Egypt craved his blessing. Jacob now was a prince. 

Another Bethel memory was that of the she bears destroying the rude children who mocked God's messenger Elisha. When God sends out a missionary, be it a lady or a man, He expects them to be treated as one would treat God. They are spreading God's message of love and His commandments. Anyone who harms them or threatens them is held in heaven's records as one who is  in active rebellion against God. Mt. 10:40. This whole chapter is comfort from Jesus to those who work for Him and are persecuted for it.

Mathew 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 
10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 
10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold [water] only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. 

Bethel strength and faith

"I am the God of Bethel"  God told Jacob (Genesis 31:13). The True Bethel experience is waiting for all of us.

We need the determined perseverance of Jacob, and the unyielding faith of Elijah. Time after time Elijah sent his servant to see if the cloud was rising, but no cloud was to be seen. At last, after seven times, the servant returned with the word, "I see a little cloud, as large as a man's hand." Did Elijah stand back and say, "I will not receive this evidence. I will wait until the heavens gather blackness"? No. He said, It is time for us to be going. He ventured all upon that token from God, and sent his messenger before him to tell Ahab that there was the sound of abundance of rain. {2SAT 8.5} by Ellen White

She bear punishment at the gates of Bethel

In the rainbow sign He promises to never leave you or forsake you in your struggle with evil. Genesis 9:13-16.

The rainbow of promise encircling the throne on high is an everlasting testimony that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. It testifies to the universe that God will never forsake His people in their struggle with evil. It is an assurance to us of strength and protection as long as the throne itself shall endure. {DA 493.2}

Joseph caught the Bethel experience from his dad Jacob. Because of this anchor, Joseph blessed millions of families.

{Ed 53.2}
Loyalty to God, faith in the Unseen, was Joseph's anchor. In this lay the hiding of his power. In his childhood, Joseph had been taught the love and fear of God. Often in his father's tent, under the Syrian stars, he had been told the story of the night vision at Bethel, of the ladder from heaven to earth, and the descending and ascending angels, and of Him who from the throne above revealed Himself to Jacob. He had been told the story of the conflict beside the Jabbok, when, renouncing cherished sins, Jacob stood conqueror, and received the title of a prince with God. {Ed 52.1}

The True Bethel blessings:

1. Abraham camped at Bethel after he had left Ur with the promise: I will bless them that bless you and I will curse them that curse you; and in you will all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:8)  2. Abraham and Lot parted at Bethel.

3. Again Abraham is promised at Bethel after his trip into Egypt:

Abraham returned to Canaan "very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." Lot was still with him, and again they came to Bethel, and pitched their tents by the altar which they had before erected. . . .{DG 26.5}
In a vision of the night the divine Voice was again heard. "Fear not, Abram" were the words of the Prince of princes; "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." But his mind was so oppressed by forebodings that he could not now grasp the promise with unquestioning confidence as heretofore. He prayed for some tangible evidence that it would be fulfilled. And how was the covenant promise to be realized, while the gift of a son was withheld? "What wilt thou give me," he said, "seeing I go childless?" "And, lo, one born in my house is mine heir." He proposed to make his trusty servant Eliezer his son by adoption, and the inheritor of his possessions. But he was assured that a child of his own was to be his heir. Then he was led outside his tent, and told to look up to the unnumbered stars glittering in the heavens; and as he did so, the words were spoken, "So shall thy seed be." " Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Romans 4:3. . . .{DG 26.6}
Abraham had accepted without question the promise of a son, but he did not wait for God to fulfill His word in His own time and way. A delay was permitted, to test his faith in the power of God; but he failed to endure the trial. Thinking it impossible that a child should be given her in her old age, Sarah suggested, as a plan by which the divine purpose might be fulfilled, that one of her handmaidens should be taken by Abraham as a secondary wife. Polygamy had become so widespread that it had ceased to be regarded as a sin, but it was no less a violation of the law of God, and was fatal to the sacredness and peace of the family relation. Abraham's marriage with Hagar resulted in evil, not only to his own household, but to future generations. . . .{DG 27.1}

4. Jacob promised God a tenth of every increase as he lay there lonely, tired and afraid. He was given vision of ladder:  God appeared at the top of a ladder filled with angels and said he was the God of Abraham his father (his grandpa) and Isaac. The land he slept on would be his and in Jacob and his seed, all families of the earth will be blessed. I am with you wherever you go and will bring you back here. I will never leave you until this promise is fulfilled. (Genesis 28) Jacob made a vow here to follow God always. This was a response to his vision and an expression of his heart's desire.

5. God appeared in a dream. God told Jacob He remembered the vow or promise Jacob said to heaven. He told Jacob how to genetically get spotted lambs to make his own flock up  to go back to Bethel with his whole family. God said He was the God of Bethel (Genesis 31:13) The lambs take 5 months to develop before birth so we know from the dream, and nursing of the new lambs till weaning, it had to be 6-7 months after this dream that Jacob moved out.

Make your home a True not a false Bethel

Our homes must be made a Bethel, our hearts a shrine. Wherever the love of God is cherished in the soul, there will be peace, there will be light and joy. Spread out the word of God before your families in love, and ask, "What hath God spoken?" {AH 19.1}

... the mother's ministries of love may shape the home into a Bethel. The husband and the wife are to co-operate. What a world we would have if all mothers would consecrate themselves on the altar of God, and would consecrate their offspring to God, both before and after its birth! {AH 255.1} Adventist Home, by Ellen White

(Mother promises)

Grief packaged up also at Bethel