Monday, August 9: 1Kings 11-Diligence and discernment

Two thoughts swirled as I read this chapter…

First, Solomon and all his wives. How did this man whom God spoke with on two occasions slide so far from faithfulness to God? It seems his slide began with him pursuing natural passions outside of the bounds God has set.  In Solomon’s case his downfall was sexual passions. He married women from forbidden people. He allowed them to continue worshipping their false gods, he built shrines for their false gods and eventually he fell into worshipping these false gods himself. O, how the mighty have fallen.

God’s single word for me is Diligence! Be diligent in my pursuit of God and my restrain of natural desires which war against my soul. Peter warns of this very thing in 1Peter 2:11… be diligent.

Secondly, how Solomon seems to have been played by Pharaoh. A few chapters ago we are told that Solomon took Pharaoh’s daughter in an alliance (3:1).  Yet throughout this chapter I read how Pharaoh (sometimes in David’s, reign, his father, and sometimes in Solomon’s reign) harbored fugitives and enemies of Israel (see vv 17-ff and 40). Solomon may have been exceedingly wise but apparently he was used by Egypt and her kings.

A second single word came to me… Discernment.  Be discerning about the friends and associates you keep. Not everyone who purports to be a friend or ally is,  Be discerning.

Such was my morning in God’s word…

Lord, I pray for diligence. I pray for it when it comes to my walk with you. I pray that your Holy Spirit develop diligence in my life, that He shows me when and where I grow lax and compels me to deal with those areas. Lord, to allow me discernment in my life, to know how to use the gifts you have given and to be wise in the relationships I develop and foster, that they will lead me closer to You, Lord Jesus, closer to You. Amen.

 

 

Saturday, August 7: 1Kings 10-What's your reputation say?

Solomon’s life, like most of ours, is jammed packed with mixed motives. We are not perfect and that is why we need the redeeming love of God and the atonement of Jesus to save us.

Reading my chapter today, verse one leapt off the page… When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. It was the words I underlined that particularly caught my attention. Why did the Queen of Sheba want to meet Solomon? Was it His fame, His wisdom? Yes, but also His relation to the name of the LORD!

What a great thing to be known for… Solomon was known for his relations to the name of the Lord. I began to think about my own life.  What am I known for, what will I be known for? Reputations are largely built on the things we have done and continue to do throughout our lives. The question this text asks of me is, “Is there an element of my reputation that is built on my relationship with the Lord?”

It is one thing to do good works, even God-exalting good works, but it is another to be known for your relationship with Jesus.  That’s what the Spirit is whispering to me as I meditate and pray on this passage…

Lord, may the character of my relationship with You be honoring of You. May it be seen by others, not in any arrogant way, rather simply as a deep and abiding connection with You. May others see You through the way I live… I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

 

Friday, August 6: 1Kings 9- Integrity of heart

Today I read how the Lord reestablished His covenant with Solomon.  If Solomon and the kings after him, stay faithful to God, God will watch over them and bless them. If they prove faithless, God will reject the temple. As the Lord was explaining the covenant, He makes this statement: if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever … (4-5).

The words integrity of heart and uprightness captured my attention. As I pondered this, I thought David sinned- even grievously sinned, so integrity of heart and uprightness cannot mean be perfect. David was far from perfect. So I pondered some more. David sinned, Yes, but David never ran after other gods.  He was always faithful to the Lord and when the Lord sent someone to confront David of his sin, David never shrank away. David never tried to justify himself or blame someone else. David’s reaction was always humble submission to the Lord. And when given a choice, David threw himself into the arms and discipline of the Lord, knowing God is merciful.

Integrity of heart and uprightness pictures a person who does not chase other gods and when confronted by his/her sin admits, confesses and accepts the Lord’s discipline with humility. Integrity of heart and uprightness speaks of a person who remains faithful to the Lord, imperfect though he/she might be…

Lord, create in me integrity of heart and uprightness… Lord Jesus, I surrender to You and serve only You and when You see sin in me, discipline me according to Your mercy.  Please will that my life will become more faithful to You. Lord, I desire to have it said of me, ‘he lived with integrity of heart and uprightness’… Only by the strength given by Your Holy Spirit will this be true… I pray it so. Through Jesus, my Lord,I pray, Amen.

 

 

 

Thursday, August 5: 1Kings 8- What a day, O what worship.

Chapter 8 retells an incredible day, the day of the dedication of the Temple Solomon built for the Lord. One day of dedication spread to 7 and then 7 more.  For 12 days all of Israel celebrated all the Lord had done through David and established Israel’s kingdom and fulfilled all the promises of the Lord.

What a day, week, 2-weeks, it must have been!

More than the pageantry and the prayers, it was the final sentence that captured the attention of my heart and mind as I read this account. Verse 66 They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD had done for … his people Israel.

The lasting memory, the lasting thought of all the people was of the Lord God. Joy and gladness filled them as they marveled at all the Lord had done for Israel.

It struck me that this was worship… people fully engaged in the wonders of the Lord. Their last thoughts were not of what they offered or of the terrific work of the Levites and Priests (consider all the work they had to do to sacrifice all those animals). Oh, they blessed the King for arranging the worship but their thoughts and meditations were on the Lord.  Not any people or performances or this or that, no, they were joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD had done.

And it wasn’t even that God manifested His presence in miracles and signs and wonders… aside from filling the holy of holies. It was that the manifest presence of God touched them with reminders of His faithfulness throughout the generations. God had done what God had promised (!) and that filled their worship and brought forth joy and gladness in their hearts.

It occurred to me that as the people of God, we, at least in principle, should find this same joy and gladness of heart each week when we gather for worship remembering what Jesus Christ- the Lord of lords and King of kings- did for us and all humanity in His death and resurrection!

May our worship be so God-focused that the work of any person be forgotten as the glories of the Lord are remembered, rehearsed, and relived worship after worship, until we meet our Lord in glory face to face.

O, God, my only prayer is … may it be so Lord, may it be so…!

 

Wednesday, August 4: 1Kings 7- A subtle blemish

Chapter 7 opens with an interesting insertion into the Temple building/dedication story. The inserted story is the building of Solomon’s palace, which the recorder deftly notes, took almost twice as long as building the temple. Verse 1, It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace. The ‘however’ seems to portray the building of the palace in a subtly negative light, inferring that Solomon’s attention was diverted from the things of God to the things of self. This understanding seems to be corroborated by its omission in Chronicles (see tidbit below).

This subtle insertion, about the interests of self invading our work for God, sparked my devotional meditations this morning. How easily sin and selfishness can creep into our lives. I (we) can even be in the midst of a great work for God when selfishness sneaks in through a crack and begins wedging its way into our life. The results of these subtle failures may not become evident for some time but the seeds of trouble have been planted.

The Lord is reminding me to look inside regularly, to see if I have allowed sin or selfishness to enter my life. Hmmm, this will take some meditating.

O, God, I am thankful for forgiveness. The writer of Hebrews urges, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (12:1). Sin does so easily entangle me, and I am grateful that when You, Lord, bring it to my attention, I can be forgiven because of the atonement of Jesus, my Lord… blessed be the name of the Lord…

Lord, expose my sin that I might have no blocks between You and me… In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

 

Interesting Tidbit

1 & 2Chronicles records the period of Israel’s kings from Saul through the divided kingdom. This is essentially the same time period covered in the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings. Chronicles, however, seems to be recorded from a perspective emphasizing the greatness-of-David-and-his kingdom. David is clearly the major focus of Chronicles, filling most of the chapters of 1Chronicles. Chronicles has an intense interest in the Temple including the many preparations David made for its building. Chronicles also leaves out a number of the unpleasant episodes of David’s life, like Bathsheba and the rebellions of sons Absalom and Adonijah.

In reading 2 Kings 7, the insertion about Solomon taking almost twice as long to build his palace as he took to build the Temple, seems to have a gentle negative to it.  Interestingly, the length of time to build the palace verse the Temple is also omitted in Chronicles.

 

 

Tuesday, August 3: 1Kings 6- Magnificence.

What strikes me in today’s reading is the magnificence of Solomon’s temple… all the gold, the carvings, the types of wood, and the detail. Solomon built a magnificent temple for God ; he held nothing back and spared no expense. The building took incredible planning and thought. Astonishing significance was attached to certain structures of the building and its arrangement. There was artistic beauty and attention to detail.

Solomon gave his God, the God of the universe, the very best he could, in thought, planning, execution, and detail in building the temple.

Solomon’s example strikes me.  Do I give God truly the best in what I am doing? When I build for God, do I build with distinction? Oh, maybe I have a different theology of opulence but what I build and make for God, is it done with excellence? Do I give God my best in all I do?

O, God, may my hands give You my best all the time and particularly when what I am doing or building bears Your name and points others to You… In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Monday, August 2: 1Kings 5- God-honoring service

When we were last in the Word, God addressed whether or not I (you) was managing my life well. Today, for me, God pushed that envelope and probed if I (you) was engaged in God-honoring service.

The first specific task mentioned about Solomon’s rule is the building of the Temple. This was a dream of his father’s which Solomon was now executing. He set to the task straight away and gave enormous resources to the task. Certainly the building of the Temple was a priority for Solomon.

The word ‘priority’ burrowed its way into my meditations.  Is ‘God-honoring service’ a priority in my life? Am I willing to take on tasks of any magnitude should I believe God has ask it of me? I have missionary friends who came up with an incredible idea to build greenhouses that could provide a revenue stream for orphanages that they manage, plus provide a consistent source of income for the people they hire to work it. The deal is they had the idea, believed it was from God, but had no startup capital to seed the concept and find out if it would work. What did they do? They financed the initial greenhouse with their personal retirement money!

This is an example of ‘God-honoring dedication’ that God is presenting to me (and possibly to you) through Solomon’s building of the temple.

Am I, are you, giving priority to engagement in a God-honoring service?

O, God, this is a big question.  It cuts to questions of… how I am using and willing to use finances, time, effort for kingdom service? It challenges me to explore the gifts with which You have graced me.  Am I offering them to Your service? Let me not dispense with contemplating them when I close my Bible and move into the remainder of today… In Jesus’ name, I meditate and pray, Amen.