Doing What is Right

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

DOING  WHAT IS RIGHT

1 Kings 11:29-43

29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did. 34 " 'But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.'" 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon's death. 41 As for the other events of Solomon's reign — all he did and the wisdom he displayed — are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 43 Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Everything is about doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD. It is about doing what He commands, and walking in His ways, keeping His statutes and commands, just as David did. Of course, David was not a perfect man, nor has there ever been a perfect man, except for Adam before he ate from that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Sin destroys our perfection, yet the LORD declared that He would be with Jeroboam if he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. This brings us to our way of life. Do we do what is right in the eyes of our Lord? This cannot be about how many good things we do, or about some list that is altered depending on the times or denominational rules, for that list is constantly changing. Doing right in the eyes of the Lord is a heart issue. Is the desire of our heart to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, or to appear right in the eyes of others? When we want to look right in the eyes of others, pride is in our hearts, and that is not doing right in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus told us to learn from him, for he is gentle and humble in heart. Jesus is God, yet he came to us as one of us to show us the way. Jesus told us what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He said that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love others the same way we love ourselves. Those are the two greatest commands that we are to keep as we walk in the way of the Lord. Solomon lost sight of what was right and turned to other gods, and the kingdom was torn from him. Let us never lose sight of what is right in His eyes, and turn to our religion, or lists of duties, obligations, traditions, rules, or regulations we have developed, as doing what is right. Everything comes down to loving our Lord and loving each other. When we examine God’s definition of love, we see Jesus, but we also see what it means to love one another, as the Spirit inspired Paul to write to the Corinthians. If we are patient, kind, keep no record of wrongs, not envious, not boastful, not proud, rude, easily angered, or self-seeking, and if we rejoice with the truth, and always protect, trust, hope, and persevere, if we love like that, we would be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. 

The Adversary

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE ADVERSARY

1 Kings 11:23-43

23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 He gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels when David destroyed the forces [ of Zobah]; the rebels went to Damascus, where they settled and took control. 25 Rezon was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel. 26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.

There is more to this story about Jeroboam, too much to include; however, he is going to get ten of the tribes of Israel. However, the story is about more adversaries of Solomon. A man who forged treaties with so many nations around him, and married their daughters, is getting his just due from the LORD, for his act of evil by having more and more rebel against him. It is a wonderful truth that we have been given the peace of Christ so that we can live in peace with God. But the question is whether we have peace with others. We know the world is not at peace with us; in fact, it is our adversary. We may make every effort to shine our light into the darkness of this world in hopes that someone will come out of that darkness into the light of Jesus, yet there are so many who want to extinguish our light. The ideologies of this world are not only opposed to the message of the gospel, but they also make every attempt to remove any reference to Christianity from all public places. The world rebels against God, and thus, they rebel against all we hold dear and stand for. However, we were once among those who were adversaries of God, yet the Holy Spirit broke into our lives, bringing us out of that darkness into the Light of Jesus. Sometimes we spend so much effort trying to win souls for Jesus, or worry about those in the darkness, but it is still up to the Spirit. Thankfully, we are no longer rebels against God, as he has adopted us as his children and we live within his realm. However, we must also know that we will always have adversaries in this world, as Solomon did. Let us stay close to the Lord, and He will fight our battles for us, and the Spirit will do what He does best: change people's hearts. Our task is to live in peace with God and with all others, even our adversaries.

 

Let me Go

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

LET ME GO

1 Kings 11:14-22

 

14 Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. 16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. 18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food. 19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh's own children. 21 While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me go, that I may return to my own country." 22 "What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?" Pharaoh asked. "Nothing," Hadad replied, "but do let me go!"

NIV

We learn about this adversary, Hadad, the Edomite, although we are not told at this point how he became this adversary. However, he had to hate the Israelites, as they were the ones who killed all the men of Edom while he was just a young boy, and he was able to escape to Egypt. But what can we learn from this story? From what we are told, Hadad had a really good life in Egypt. He was given the queen's own sister, and his son was raised just like a Pharaoh's child. Life was good, but he wanted to go back to his own land. Hadad was asked what he lacked in Egypt and why he wanted to leave all that behind to return to his own land. We were born in this land, but we made our escape to the kingdom of God. Within the kingdom of God, we are being raised as one of his own children. We have been given a home and all we need. In fact, we have been given life and life abundantly. Why would we ever want to return to our own land, which in our case would be our old life, the way we lived in the world when we were an adversary of God? Of course, the world would like to raise us up as one of its own. However, we have already left it behind and escaped to the kingdom of God.  This is in the spiritual realm, while in the physical, we still live within this world, but someday, we will say, “Let me go” I want to go to my land, the kingdom of God. Someday, we will leave this place physically and go to our real home, the place Jesus prepared for us. Because we desire to be with our Lord, we tell this world, “Let me go.” 

Should Have

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

SHOULD HAVE

1 Kings 11:9-13

9 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD's command. 11 So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."

NIV

Why did Solomon come so close to the LORD, having had the LORD visit him twice, and still get so distracted because of the influence of his wives that the LORD became angry with him? When the LORD spoke to Solomon about his attitude, we wonder if he had repented, then all would have been well. Apparently, Solomon did not repent but doubled down on his attitude because he had not kept the covenant God made with him or God’s decrees. So much for the wisest man who ever lived. Wealth and power went to his heart instead of his steadfast devotion to the LORD; he served detestable, man-made gods of his own wives, who were also detestable in the eyes of the LORD. Yet even though the LORD was going to tear the kingdom from Solomon, the LORD’s compassion allowed Solomon to live out his life as king. The LORD could have taken the kingdom away from Solomon in an instant, making him a pauper, losing everything. The LORD could have put to death all of Solomon’s wives and destroyed any high place Solomon had built for any detestable god. Repentance could have brought peace in the heart of God toward Solomon, but there was neither repentance nor peace. What do we learn from this story of the LORD’s anger with Solomon? In some sense, we are no better than Solomon, in that we still have sin in our lives. We have not just had a visit or two from the Lord, but the Holy Spirit dwells within us, which means we have a consistent visit from the Lord. He is always with us, yet we turn and look toward our own interests, perhaps what could be considered a form of a god. But even if we get impatient with someone, lose our temper, become envious, or become prideful, we know we have to repent, change the way we think, and just be still, because we know He is Lord. We know that Jesus took all our sins upon himself, that is, all our past sins, present sins, and future sins, but that should not give us the right to sin just because we want to, or ignore His commands or decrees. However, our flesh is weak, and we will fail, but we can never turn away from our Lord. We hope that no god of this world will ever influence us and cause us to lose sight of the truth. Solomon lost track of the truth of God; we cannot allow that to happen in our lives. Lord, help us not stray from the path you have laid out before us, and always keep our eyes on your light, listening to your voice, following your ways, being attentive to the guidance and leading of the Spirit. We could say that Solomon should have repented; let us ensure we never have to say, we should have. 

Detestable

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

DETESTABLE

1 Kings 11:1-8

11:1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter — Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done. 7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.  

NIV

To turn his heart toward detestable gods and not be fully devoted to the LORD was the end of the greatness of Solomon. He was led astray by his wives, who were not from Israel. The LORD forbade intermarriage, yet Solomon did not keep the LORD's commands; in fact, he built high places for all his wives so they could worship their detestable gods. From what we can see, Solomon did not even have a divided heart, but turned his heart away from the LORD, and followed those detestable gods.  We are warned about doing anything like following the way of anything detestable to the Lord. We should not even try to serve two masters, for we will either love the one or detest the other. Jesus used money when he taught that lesson, and perhaps that is the true meaning. If Jesus were right about using money as another master, and not just making reference to the way of the world, then it would be wrong, even detestable, for believers to put too much faith in the accumulation of wealth to secure their future retirement years. In putting our trust in money, it would almost be like turning our hearts toward another god, although we might try to live with a divided heart. We could say that we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, but we also keep our minds and hearts focused on our financial future. How can this be? How can we allow anything to turn our hearts away from the Lord? Maybe other areas turn our hearts away from the Lord. Maybe good works or traditions, the way it has always been,  can turn our hearts. Those attitudes we want to keep, such as unforgiveness, envy, pride, rudeness, self-centeredness, and a host of other attitudes, could be a form of turning our hearts away from the Lord, and if that is so, then they would be detestable. Let us be careful not to turn from Him for any reason and serve anything detestable. 

What is Important

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

WHAT IS IMPORTANT

1 Kings 10:14-29

14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,   15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred bekas of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. 3 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift — articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules. 26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore — fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue-the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

NIV

Solomon was indeed the wealthiest king who had ever lived. It is staggering to consider that his annual income was 25 tons of gold, plus all other revenue. When we think about all the things he had made of gold, and then the description of his throne, he had more than he would ever need, but maybe not more than he wanted. Solomon could not get enough of anything to spend on himself. He did spend some money on planting fig trees in the foothills, which improved the community, but most of what we are told is all the things he accumulated. He did export some of the chariots and horses to other kings, but everything was about making Solomon look like the wealthiest and wisest king ever to live. It seems to us that he would have been a very prideful man; even though he offered all those sacrifices when he dedicated the temple, that might have been more of a show of his wealth than actual worship of the LORD. We know how he became so distracted by his many wives, but we think his wealth and wisdom became distractions from his worship of the LORD. This could be the lesson we need to take to heart. We obviously have little; in fact, it might be considered nothing compared to all Solomon had, but in terms of wealth and wisdom. Yet we remain in the habit of accumulating possessions, most of which have little monetary value compared with what Solomon accumulated. Some have so much stuff that they pay to store it; in fact, self-storage is one of the fastest-growing businesses in our country. Things can be a distraction from our worship of the Lord, just as they were for Solomon. It's alright to have the things we do, but that stuff is not, or should not be, our primary reason for life. We know that we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Our Father knows what we need, even the stuff, and if we seek him first and foremost, he will add the stuff the world chases after to our lives. Again, that is not why we seek him first; if we seek all things first, we would be seeking the things, and he would be merely a source. Let us not become distracted from the source of life, our Lord. Of course, we have our daily lives, which include using the things we have been given by God's hand. We can even enjoy the things we have been blessed with by the hand of God, but there must be a distinction between enjoying what God has given us and coveting more and more of the things of this world. If we have learned that lesson God instructed us through the apostle Paul to learn to be content, whether with plenty or in want, filled or hungry, or whatever situation we find ourselves in, then nothing can distract us from our praise and worship of our Lord. Let us not become discontent, but live with contentment, because we are in Christ and He is in us. What else is really important? 

The Desire

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE DESIRE

1 Kings 10:11-17

11(Hiram's ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.) 13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country. 14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,   15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred bekas of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

NIV

The queen of Sheba brought 4 ½ tons of gold and more spices than had ever been brought in before, yet Solomon gave her more than she desired. We are not told what she desired or what Solomon gave her. If she had that much gold to give away, and all those spices, as she was a queen who must have lived in a luxurious palace and had many officials and servants, what then could she have desired that she could not have already had or would have been able to have? The Lord tells us that He will give us our hearts' desires, or at least that is the song of  David, yet there are so many times we are told that God will answer, God will give, God will do, God will direct, and on and on we know that God gives us the very best, in fact, he gave his very best, Jesus. But what do we desire? Are we looking for valuable stuff, the things of this world? The Lord told us that when we seek first, which means that must be the desire of our hearts, as we seek this first, before anything else, the kingdom of God and His righteousness, He knows what we need, and will give us the stuff the pagans, or the world, chase after. But that is not the reason we should seek the kingdom of God first. The only reason we seek first the kingdom of God is that the kingdom is the desire of our hearts. Interestingly, we can see the Lord giving us the desires of our hearts in two ways. First, as we have already considered, He gives what we desire. Secondly, He is the one who gives us the desire; that is, He puts the desire in our hearts. Before we were believers, all we had were our own desires, which were focused solely on self-fulfillment. We were like the world chasing after all the world has to offer. However, now we are no longer like the world, but we chase after God; we seek Him and His kingdom and His righteousness. Sure, we still live in this world, but we are not supposed to be of this world, that is be like it, but we are supposed to be like Him.  As Queen of Sheba took her gifts and left with all her officials, her entourage, and whatever she desired, we too, return to our homes, living our lives with the desire the Lord has given us. We may not have an entourage, but we have the Holy Spirit. We are in Jesus, and He is in us, and so we can bear much fruit, and thus we have the desire of our hearts. 

In His Presence

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

IN HIS PRESENCE

1 Kings 10:6-10

6 She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness." 10 And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

NIV

The Queen of Sheba had to see it with her own eyes to believe in Solomon's accomplishments and wisdom. Just hearing a report was not enough for her. Maybe the songwriter took her words about the half that has yet to be told. There are two truths we need to ponder. First, the queen could not accept the reports about Solomon on faith; she had to see him in person to believe. We are most likely not going to see the Lord in person until we breathe our last, but we do have faith and believe God, having read all the reports of Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke. Some of us have seen or experienced a divine miracle, proof that God is real and involved in our lives. We should all have the experience of the Holy Spirit's presence within, sensing and displaying one or more of His gifts and all His fruit. We could quench all His power within us and instead display our human side, with all its failings. Second, the queen thought that Solomon’s men must be so happy to be able to stand before him and hear his wisdom continually. We have the greatest joy because we get to stand in the presence of the Lord God Almighty every time we read His word, worship together, and pray. Then we can be so happy. He promised that when two or more of us come together in His name, there He is with us. He promised that, along with the truth that when two of us agree about anything we ask for, it will be done for us by our Father in Heaven. This is faith at work, not sight at work, such as it was for Queen Sheba. There is also this other truth about the LORD’s eternal love for Israel. However, the Lord’s eternal love is for all who come to Him, believing in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Yet, we also know that God so loved the world, that is, His love is always eternal, as He desires that all should come to the knowledge of Jesus, and none should perish but have everlasting life. He is the Great King, who maintains the ultimate and final justice. He has perfect righteousness, yet He gives us, as we seek, His kingdom and righteousness. The Queen of Sheba felt blessed to stand before Solomon, but one of our greatest blessings is that we can stand in His presence.

 

Overwhelmed

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

OVERWHELMED

1 Kings 10:1-5

10:1 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. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan — with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones — she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.

NIV

If the Queen of Sheba was overwhelmed by all that Solomon built, especially his palace and all his finely dressed servants, and his great table with enough seats for his officials and all the burnt offerings he made at the temple, can we imagine how we might be overwhelmed when we see the kingdom of God in all its splendor? Solomon may have used a lot of gold to line the entire interior of the temple, as well as parts of his palace, but the new city of Jerusalem will have streets of gold. Solomon was given the gift of wisdom and is known as wiser than any man who has lived or will ever live, but it was only a gift from God, whose wisdom is immeasurable. Solomon may also have been the wealthiest man ever to live. Although we have some wealthy men today, no one will ever have more wealth than God Almighty, for His riches are immeasurable. Although Solomon had a remarkable ability to get things accomplished, nothing compares to God’s abilities, which cannot be measured, for there is nothing impossible with Him. We know we could never do as much as Solomon or offer God as many physical offerings as he did. Yet, we ourselves are a greater offering than any animal or grain offering that Solomon made. Solomon’s temple, palace, and other places he built may have been precious with tremendous value, but nothing is more valuable to God than we are, who he formed with his own hands and made in their image. From what we know of the end of Solomon’s life, he fell from his relationship with God. We cannot know God's judgment concerning Solomon. However, we know enough to know that we must not follow in Solomon’s footsteps, but listen to the voice of God and follow the path He has marked out for us, as He has ordered our footsteps. Walking with our Lord, being blessed by His grace, Jesus, we find ourselves overwhelmed. 

Supplying the Need

 DEVOTTION

1^ST KINGS

SUPPLYING THE NEED

1 Kings 9:24-28

24 After Pharaoh's daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the supporting terraces. 25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense before the LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations. 26 King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.   27 And Hiram sent his men — sailors who knew the sea — to serve in the fleet with Solomon's men. 28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

NIV

How many ships did it take to haul 16 tons of gold? We have always been under the impression that the Israelites were not sea-faring people, yet Solomon had ships built, a fleet of them, and men to sail them. It could be all those whom he conscripted who built the temple, his palace, and the palace for the daughter of Pharaoh. Interestingly, Hiram is back in the picture, helping Solomon, even after he was unhappy with the cities he received as his reward for earlier assistance, namely, cut cedar and pine, plus 14 tons of gold. Yet peaceful relations between them persisted. What we think might be our lesson today is not about Solomon or Hiram, but about the men who served in the fleet. Kings can demand men to serve them, either free men or those considered as slaves. Our King does not require that we serve Him; instead, Jesus said He did not come to be served, but to serve. However, it appears many believers feel the need to serve the Lord, mainly in connection with the church. This could manifest in some form of good deeds. This is not to say that good deeds should not be done, but it is the reason we should contemplate. When it gets back to the do’s and don’ts of the Christian life, we may have turned a life of faith into a life of a list of deeds and rewards. We can also turn this service of our Lord into an act of righteousness before others, even to the point of being prideful and boastful about what we do not do, as if that were a badge of honor or a sign of spirituality. This is not to say we should not serve our Lord; instead, we do so because we love Him. More importantly, we use the gift He has bestowed upon us to serve one another. However, we are to worship the Lord with our whole being, and that includes all we do in life. In other words, our lives should be about worship of our Lord. Of course, that could include activities we undertake that would be considered serving in some area or type of ministry within the church. Nevertheless, God is not like human kings, who demand the service of men, so they will supply the king with all his needs, but God desires we turn toward Him and seek Him first, and He will provide us with our needs. 

Slave to Friend

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

SLAVE TO FRIEND

1 Kings 9:15-23

15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD's temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16(Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon's wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses-whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled. 20 All the people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites), 21 that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites could not exterminate-these Solomon conscripted for his slave labor force, as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon's projects-550 officials supervising the men who did the work.

NIV

Once again, this portion of Solomon's life is just that: Solomon's life. History has little reference to our lives, as it tells us of the places or cities he built and the people he used to make them. He conscribed forced labor, slaves, with 550 officials supervising the labor. Did he not remember the plight of his forefathers, who lived as forced laborers, slaves, in Egypt under the supervision of Pharaoh's officials? Jesus taught a parable about a man who was forgiven his enormous debt, but then he would not forgive someone who owed him a small debt.  Do we not forget that the Lord forgave us a tremendous debt, that we deserved the penalty of sin, death, but he paid that price for us, so that we could live. Jesus taught about that very forgiveness and how, because God forgave us, we are to forgive those who sin against us. In Fact, if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. Solomon did not learn from his forefathers, who cried out because of their slavery, and enslaved people to do his bidding, building cities, just as his forefathers did in Egypt. We should never forget our past, nor our present, for that matter, because we have not yet attained perfection, and that Jesus took all our sin upon himself. As long as we remain in him, he remains in us, and we have been declared innocent, no longer slaves to sin, but free to worship our Lord. He no longer calls us servants, which implies slaves, but he calls us friends. Surely, Solomon did not confide his plans to those he conscripted, but only to his officials who supervised the slave labor.  However, the Lord has confided in his friends his plans, telling us all what will happen and the place he has prepared or built for us. Isn’t that a turning of the tables? Instead of us building a place for Jesus, as his servants, He is building a place for us, his friends. The Israelites went from slavery to God’s chosen people in a land of promise. We have come from slavery to being God’s people headed to the land of promise. We have gone from being a slave to being a friend. 

Not Pleased

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

NOT PLEASED

1 Kings 9:10-14

10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings — the temple of the LORD and the royal palace— 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and gold he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 "What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?" he asked. And he called them the Land of Cabul, a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

NIV

One hundred and twenty talents equal about four and one-half tons of gold, which is a lot of gold by any standard. In today's market, that would equal about five hundred and seventy-six billion dollars, and for that, Hiram was given twenty towns in Galilee, and he was not pleased with his reward. We could never supply our king with any gold, silver, cedar, or anything considered valuable in this world. There is only one thing that we can give to the Lord, and that is ourselves. What could be a problem is that gold is considered pure, whereas we are not pure in ourselves. However, we are washed in the blood of Jesus, which in that sense we are pure, or holy in the sight of God. At the beginning of the treaty between Solomon and Hiram, the agreement was that Solomon would pay Hiram whatever wages he set. Hiram was working for wages, but the reward was on top of that, and he was not pleased with the reward. That will never be a problem for us, as our reward is eternal life. However, we cannot work for it; we cannot do anything that would give us the right to any reward from God. We even have to be careful not to do any acts of righteousness so that people can see how good, holy, or righteous we are, because if we do, Jesus said we will have no reward from our Father in heaven. We can testify to the goodness of God in our lives, but we have to be very careful not give any illusion that His goodness to us is due to how much we do, or how holy or righteous we act. Indeed, we want to do His will, and love is the key. The two greatest commands Jesus gave us were, first, to love the Lord our God with our whole being, heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second was to love everyone else the same way we love ourselves. When we take his definition of love, as given to us through the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we can understand what it takes to love each other that way. However, we still need to be mindful not to be show-offs or boastful about how much we love God and each other, for that could be seen as doing acts of righteousness before men. However, because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have already received the reward of eternal life, and we are overjoyed by it. How could we be like Hiram and say we are not pleased? 

Integrity of Heart

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

INTEGRITY OF HEART

1 Kings 9:1-9

9:1 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him: "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 4 "As for you, 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, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.' 6 "But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8 And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' 9 People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them — that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.'"

NIV

This is the pure history of the events surrounding the completion of the temple that Solomon built. After all the sacrifices and prayers in its dedication, and the blessing of Solomon on the people, God answers. Interestingly, we can apply these words of the LORD to our lives as we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who consecrates us. The Hebrew word translated as “consecrate” literally means “to be made clean.” We have used it to apply as being made sacred, but the point is that it was God who made the temple Solomon built clean, or we would say, holy. We would then have to admit that we cannot make ourselves clean, sacred, or holy. We have been washed in the blood of Jesus through the work of God. There is no other way for us to be clean, consecrated, sacred, or holy. The LORD put His name on the temple forever, and He has placed His name on us, for we are His people. It might best be explained as if we own and operate a business when we say that we are His people, owned and operated by God. We wonder how much we look like we have the name of the Lord on us when we try to manage our lives by our own desires. However, God also gave Solomon a warning to remain walking before Him with integrity, or with a complete, whole heart. Solomon was warned not to get involved with other gods, and if the people did take on other gods and worship them, the LORD would cut them off and reject them. That is one of the Ten Commandments, most Christians use as theirs, to have no other gods before me. Yet we wonder whether some things in this world have become a form of god to us. We may not worship like we are supposed to worship the Lord our God, singing praises in church, but is there a difference between how much time and effort we put into the things in this world and the Lord? It comes down to the primary focus of our lives. We know we should not have a divided heart, as Jesus told us we cannot serve two masters. Even if we do not serve any of the things of this world, or make any of them a god, we still have to be careful not to serve ourselves, for then we might be trying to serve two masters, God and self. This may be a fine line, but we have to consider whether we have slipped into serving something or serving ourselves without recognizing it. Jesus told us that he would be with us to the end, but that should not give us the liberty to serve other things or self and try to serve Him. Are we truly seeking Him and His righteousness first? Does that mean we cannot enjoy life? No, in fact, Jesus said he gives us his joy, that our joy may be complete. Let us be careful how we seek enjoyment. Let us walk before him with integrity of heart. 

Hold Nothing Back

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

HOLD NOTHING BACK

1 Kings 8:62-66

62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the LORD: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD. 64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. 65 So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him — a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the LORD our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. 66 On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

NIV

This was a lot of cattle and sheep, a hundred and forty-two thousand animals killed, slathered, cut up, taking all the fat off the meat to save for another offering. How many priests were needed to do all that butchering, and how long must it have taken?  Solomon was not holding anything back in his dedication of the temple he built in the name of the LORD. He offered so much that he had to move out into the courtyard because the rest of his offerings were too large for the bronze altar to hold. We wonder if we even come close to offering the Lord what He is due in our dedication of the temple of the Holy Spirit. Have we given Him all, or have we held something of ourselves back for our own purposes or plans? Again, it comes down to our focus. Do we focus on the Lord, or do we focus on ourselves, or maybe we try to share our focus between Him and ourselves? It seems we look to fulfilling our own sense of right or wanting our own way in our relationship with the Lord and with other people.  Why do we hold back instead of being all in? Is that our human nature? Are we flawed that much? Indeed, Solomon, being a man, had other moments besides all these offerings to the LORD during the dedication of the temple. Our lives are also filled with daily activities that are not a part of our offering to the Lord, yet we are supposed to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to the Lord. How do we become that living sacrifice if we maintain our focus on those daily activities? Should not all we do in life be somehow connected with being a living sacrifice? How do we lose our patience or become upset because of what someone said or did? Why do we get our feelings hurt over the little things in life? Why do we hold back part of our offering to the Lord? How can we have a joyful heart if we are not filled with the joy of the Lord? Let us make a greater effort always to be that living sacrifice, holding nothing back. 

Finding Rest

 DEVOTION

1^ST Kings

FINDING REST

1 Kings 8:54-61

54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. 55 He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying: 56 "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. 58 May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees, and regulations he gave our fathers. 59 And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. 61 But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time."

NIV

These words of Solomon to the people of Israel are packed full of truths that apply to our lives as well. First, He praised the LORD because He was giving rest to his people, Israel. Jesus promised us that if we are ever burdened or get weary, we only need to come to Him and He will give us rest. He further promised that when we take His yoke upon us, that is, walk in step with His leading, and learn from Him, because He is gentle and humble in heart, and by doing that, we will find rest for our souls. How much better can life be than to live with rest within our souls, our hearts, and minds? Stress is a soul killer. Bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, hurts, envy, jealousy, self-righteousness, and gossip are all destroyers of rest and soul killers. Solomon blessed the people with the truth that the LORD would never leave them nor forsake them. The writer of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Spirit, reminds us of Moses' words to the people: God promised that He would never leave them nor forsake them. Jesus told His disciples, which includes us, that He would not leave us as orphans; He would come to us. It does require that we turn our hearts to the Lord God Almighty and walk in all His ways. This may be one of the most challenging truths to apply. We might get distracted by wanting to walk in our own ways, even doing what we think are good things or good deeds. But that may not be His way. He is our Lord, and that means He is in charge of our lives, knowing what is best for us, so we should take Jesus’s yoke upon us, letting Him lead us through life and do what He wants for us. Walking in His ways would also require us to fully commit our hearts to the Lord our God and live by His decrees. In doing so, we will find rest for our souls.

 

Not A Foreigner

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

NOT A FOREIGNER

1 Kings 8:41-53

41 "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— 42 for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm — when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

44 "When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 45 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

NIV

Solomon included the foreigner, or in the case of Israel, any gentile who does not belong to the Lord's people, Israel, in his prayer. These were prophetic in a sense, as Jesus came to Israel as an Israeli, through a Jewish woman, and lived within Israel. However, He came to earth because God so loved the world, even though Israel is considered God's chosen people. The world includes all Gentiles or foreigners. We would have been regarded as a Gentile or a foreigner in the time of Jesus, and in some sense, we still are Gentiles. However, through the inspired letter that Paul wrote to the Jews in Rome, the Lord made it clear that a man is not a Jew, or the chosen people, if his circumcision is only done in the flesh, or outwardly. A man is a Jew if circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, rather than by the written code. What we would conclude is that we are no longer considered foreigners, because the Spirit has circumcised our hearts, and therefore, we are the faithful Israel that is meant when the Lord said that all of Israel will be saved. At one point in our lives, before we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and were baptized by the Spirit, we were foreigners, outsiders, yet when we turn our hearts toward heaven, repenting, changing the way we think about God and His truth, our prayer is heard, and God answers and redeems us. We no longer need to hear about His great Name and His mighty hand and outstretched hand, for now we can experience all of Him. We also no longer need to turn toward any temple built by man to worship the Lord, for He has made us the temple of the Holy Spirit, who has had our hearts circumcised by the Spirit and now lives within the kingdom of God. Because the Holy Spirit is within us, we can worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. Once we were foreigners, but no longer. 

He Acts

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

HE ACTS

1 Kings 8:31-40

31 "When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple, 32 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence. 33 "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, 34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their fathers. 35 "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance. 37 "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 38 and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel — each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands toward this temple— 39 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), 40 so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.

NIV

Solomon prays about four areas of life that could happen to Israel. These four are: being in the wrong, being defeated, being in a dry place, and hunger or being hurt. Solomon is praying about things that could happen to Israel and to their land, and all those situations of life can be resolved by turning to the LORD, confessing His name, and listening to Him as He instructs them in the right way to live. Solomon also acknowledges the LORD knows each man’s heart, and asks the LORD to forgive and act, dealing with each man according to all he does. This is where our story fits together with Solomon's prayer. There are times when we do wrong; it is just the way we are, imperfect, unable to keep ourselves from sin.  There are times when we could feel as though we have been defeated by various situations in life, whether in our health, our inability to fix the aches or pains, or some infirmity. There can be times when we may go through a spiritual dryness and hunger to hear from God, and it seems He is silent. Yet, God is always there to listen to our prayers, as He knows our hearts. The joy to know that God is listening and is always ready to forgive us, heal us, bless us, and feed us, both physically and spiritually. Indeed, we also know what is in our hearts, and what afflicts us, our weaknesses, so we lift our hands and our hearts, or spirits toward the Lord, seeking His face, His dwelling place, that His will be done in us as it is in heaven. He listens and acts. He deals with each of us according to what we have done. However, that is not about each of our sins, and how grievous one could be, or how many good deeds we have done, but the want we have done is all about accepting or rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior. On that last day, there are only the sheep on His right side and the goats on His left. The sheep are given the right to enter the kingdom, and the goats are assigned to the lake of burning sulfur. It comes down to being in or out of the kingdom of God, all because of whether we are in or out of Christ. Nothing we have done or not done while living in this body counts toward our entrance into the kingdom, but only the condition of our hearts that are bent toward Jesus. It is not that we should sin anyway we desire, or think that we do so many good things that we get notable accolades or a bigger crown, with more jewels. The only matter is our accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, following Him, listening to His voice, and spreading our hands and hearts toward heaven. He hears and listens, and He forgives and acts. In fact, He already acted on our behalf by sending Jesus to save us from our sins, to redeem us, and give us eternal life. God has and will continue to act. 

He Forgives

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

HE FORGIVES

1 Kings 8:22-30

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, 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 below — you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it — as it is today. 25 "Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.' 26 And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true. 27 "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

NIV

Once again, we are reminded that the Lord promised and that He kept and will always keep His promise. Now, Solomon adds another dimension to his prayer as he spreads out his hands toward heaven. First, to know there is no God like the God in heaven or on the earth. We know this to be true for who else could have done what the Lord God Almighty has done. Still, we are reminded of the words, “Oh Sovereign, who am I that you have taken me this far?” He is the Lord who keeps His covenant of love with His servants who continue wholeheartedly in His way. Does that mean His servants never fail, never sin, if they are wholehearted, continuing in His way? We do not know of any person who has lived, is living, or will ever live, who has, is, and will not fail and sin. We all have sinned and fallen short of His glory, yet He keeps His covenant of love with us, as we are His servants, and it is our desire to follow Him and His ways with all our hearts. Solomon prayed that the LORD would have His eyes open toward the temple night and day, the place where the LORD said, “My Name shall be there.” The temple has changed from the one made of stone, cedar, gold, and bronze, to the temple God formed with his own hands, us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and His eyes are toward His temple night and day. We are never out of the sight of the Lord. He is not just watching us, but He is watching over us, keeping us within His covenant of love. Of course, the greatest love He showed us is Jesus. Solomon also made it abundantly clear that when we pray, the Lord hears our supplications and in His dwelling place, heaven, and also within our spirits, when He hears, He forgives. Interestingly, there are times when we fail, we also fail to forgive ourselves and carry either shame or guilt, which then interferes with our relationship with the Lord. This broken or damaged relationship is only on our end, or when we confess our sin, He hears, and He forgives. His relationship with us is never broken on His end, for He is the one who established His covenant of love, and He always keeps His promise. Let us never allow sin to disturb our side of this relationship and always, with our whole heart, seek His face, speak our words of confession, and bring our supplications before Him. He will always hear and always forgive. 

He Promised

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

HE PROMISED

1 Kings 8:12-21

12 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever." 14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 15 Then he said: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 16'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.' 17 "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood — he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.' 20 "The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers when he brought them out of Egypt."

NIV

The main theme of these words of Solomon is that the LORD promised and He had kept his promise. We too should always have the words, “Praise be to the LORD” except He is not just the God of Israel, but He is also the God of the universe who spoke everything into existence and who formed us with his own hands and breathed life into us as he formed us in the image of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, because He used the words, “in our image”. But it is first the promise, and second, that he keeps His promise. When we take His promise for eternal life to all who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, we sometimes say that it is our hope, or our hope is in Jesus. But because He promised, is it really just a hope? Does hope diminish His promise or make it null and void? God promised, and He has always kept His promise, so then the question is whether we believe Him. Jesus promised that He would prepare a place for us, so that where He is we can be also, and that because He prepared a place for us, He would come back to take us there. He promised, and the Lord always keeps His promise. He told Martha that whoever lives and believes in Him will never die, then he asked that great question, “Do you believe this?” He asked the same question of the blind man, when He asked, “Do you believe I can do this?” it always come back to the truth that the Lord promised and He always keeps His promise. So then we could say that we are people of the promise. We live in Jesus, but we also live in His promise. He also made it clear if we want to be in His promise, that is to see the kingdom of heaven, we must be born again, or born from above. That too is a promise, and he always keeps His promise. So then, as a born-again, spirit-filled follower of Jesus, we will see His promise fulfilled in us and to us, because He promised and He always keeps His promise. 

His Glory

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

HIS GLORY

1 Kings 8:1-11

8:1 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David. 2 All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. 3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. 6 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. 10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.

NIV

Interestingly, it would seem there were two tents of meeting, but there would have been only one ark of the covenant in the tabernacle built by Moses under the LORD's instruction. According to this record, the tabernacle was in the city of David, Zion, or Bethlehem, while there was a tent of meeting at Gibeon on a high place where Solomon met with the LORD and was told he could ask for anything; that is where he requested a discerning heart. But the ark was brought from Bethlehem, so we think that is where the whole of the first tabernacle was kept by David until it was time for the temple to be built. The other thought by some is that the original tabernacle was at Gibeon, but David had built a temporary one to house the ark of the Covenant in Zion. Is it that important as to where the ark was, as it is that it was brought up and placed in the Holy of Holies, and then the LORD’s presence filled his temple? This is the truth that brings it home for us. Although we are told that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we do not belong to us, but He, the Holy Spirit, fills His temple. His presence filled the temple that Solomon built, but it is referred to as the glory of the LORD filling his temple. We cannot build ourselves into a temple, for that is the work of Jesus when we, through faith, accept him as our Lord and Savior. Once we made that commitment, then he does the work within us, making us into the temple in which the Holy Spirit comes to dwell. In the case of the temple that Solomon built, it was the glory of the LORD, which does not mean the LORD Himself, that filled the temple. However, it is not just the glory of the Holy Spirit that fills us, but it is the Holy Spirit Himself that fills us, as we are baptized with Him, or immersed in Him, as He fills His temple. We simply offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, and He is the one who makes us holy and pleasing to Himself, the Lord. However, it still comes back to the truth that because we are that temple of the Holy Spirit, who is full of glory, and his glory has filled us, we then are filled with the glory of the Lord, and should reflect His glory, which means we have no glory of our own, but only are filled with His glory. 

Reflection

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

REFLECTION

1 Kings 7:41-51

41 the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; 42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars); 43 the ten stands with their ten basins;  44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;   45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls. All these objects that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the LORD were of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all these things unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined. 48 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the LORD's temple: the golden altar; the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; 49 the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary); the gold floral work and lamps and tongs; 50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated — the silver and gold and the furnishings — and he placed them in the treasuries of the LORD's temple.

NIV

There was so much burnished bronze that it was left unweighted. What would be the purpose of accounting for how much there was? We are also not told how much all the stone, cedar, gold, and silver weighed either, for there was so much, an abundance of everything that was used for the temple of the LORD. Why should it be any other way? However, there was a tremendous amount of details so the temple would be the most magnificent place, the center of life in Jerusalem. Still, it was just a building, and compared to the glories of heaven, it was but a dim reflection. This is the amazing story of our deliverance from the darkness of this world. Jesus, who was before the beginning of time and who created all that was created, lived in the most glorious of glories that is above all else and beyond our abilities to comprehend how incredibly glorious it is, left all that to come to earth in the form of man for the singular purpose to save us from our sins. There was a way to describe the temple, but we cannot truly describe the glories of heaven, or, for that matter, God himself. Yet, Jesus told us that if we have seen him, we have seen the Father. His word gives us enough of His description, or at least of his character, that we do know the Father. But to understand the glory might be more difficult, yet we are supposed to reflect the glory of God in ever-increasing glory. The temple was supposed to reflect the glory of God, and it was full of gold, silver, bronze, and all sorts of preciousness. We do not have the gold or silver or cedar or bronze, but we are full of preciousness in the sight of the Lord. We are precious to him, and he calls us the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that is how we can reflect the glory of God. He dwells within us, shining his light within, and it should be shining so brightly that it shines out of us, reflecting His glory. That is why Jesus told us that we have become the light of the world. Wherever we stand, there can be no total darkness, for our light should be shining so brightly that it reflects the light of God. If we are reflecting that much light, how could we ever appear gloomy or downcast? We wonder if we spend too much time concerned about our physical appearance, or the condition of our physical bodies, thus our countenance is not reflective of God, and we have forgotten that we are to reflect Him. Let us lift up our Lord, and He will lift us up so that we can walk as the light, with the appearance of light, with a shining demeanor, reflecting the glory of God. 

Cleansed

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

CLEANSED

1 Kings 7:27-40

27 He also made ten movable stands of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high.   28 This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29 On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim — and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. 31 On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half. Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal. 34 Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand.   36 He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. 37 This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape. 38 He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the basins and shovels and sprinkling bowls.

NIV

These ten carts were 6 feet long and wide and 4 ½ feet high, each a basin that would hold 230 gallons of water. The purpose of these basins is not explained to us in this passage, but it is thought that they were used for several purposes. First, in such an arid place as Israel, except for the fertile plains, water was at a premium. These carts could have been wheeled to water and filled so as to fill the large Sea Basin for the ceremonial washing of the priests. The water in the ten movable stands would also have been used to wash the animal sacrifices or to carry away the blood and waste from the sacrifices. This whole system was designed around the duty of the order of priests that served in the temple of Yahweh, Adoni. Everything and everyone had to be cleansed before the LORD. But all that water could only wash the exterior of the priests as well as the sacrifices. It was said that the Romans, and it appears the Jews, felt that cleanliness was next to godliness. But what good is our cleaning the exterior of our bodies, if the inside is but dead men’s bones?  Jesus accused the Pharisees, chief priests, and teachers of the law of being clean on the outside but having dead men’s bones inside. It was the same as the clean cup on the outside and dirty inside, teaching that he used. Of course, we do not want to walk around dirty on the outside, because we have so many methods of cleansing our bodies. However, if we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, then we need more than a ceremonial washing. We have to be cleansed on the inside, and that is what Jesus has done for us, being the ultimate and final sacrifice for our sins. We do not need those carts either to carry away the waste, for Jesus has carried away all our waste, all our sins, the things within us that are not acceptable as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord. All we need is Jesus. Because the priests had to wash themselves before serving in the temple, we cannot wash ourselves, but Jesus has cleansed us completely so that we can be the royal priesthood we are meant to be. No matter what symbols or articles were used in the temple and what they were meant for,  all we need is Jesus, and we will be cleansed. 

Preparing

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

PREPARING 

1 Kings 7:25-26

25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.  

NIV

The sea, which is not a sea, but a bronze basin with a diameter of 15 feet that was 45 feet in circumference and 7 ½ feet tall. It rested on the hindquarters of 12 bronze bulls, each facing one of the four directions. From the description, the rim was tapered outward, like a lily blossom, and about 3 inches thick in solid bronze. It would hold about 11,500 gallons of water. The size might resemble some of the modern baptismal tanks. From what we can gather, it seems it was used as a place where the priest would ceremonially wash before entering the holy place, the temple, to perform the service to the Lord. But what spiritual significance would apply to our lives? We could use the Hebrew word ‘Yam’, which means to roar, like roaring water, such as a large sea, to resemble or represent the water the Spirit hovered over in the creation account. We could see this as the waters of baptism we should walk through, as we follow Jesus, as he walked through those waters in the Jordon as he was baptized by John. We could view this basin in the way the priests used it as a ceremonial cleansing before entering the presence of the LORD in his temple. Although we are not just ceremonially washed by water, we are cleansed of all our sins by being washed in the blood of Jesus. This large basin would have replaced the brazen laver that stood before the entrance of the tabernacle in the wilderness. This laver was hammered smooth like a mirror to show the dirty feet of the priest, symbolizing sin. The word of God shows or reflects our sins to us and our need to be cleansed before entering the presence of the Lord. We know this is personal and spiritual, but we wonder if we prepare ourselves before we enter the presence of our Lord when we enter the holy sanctuary at church. We know it is just a building, but so was the temple Solomon built. When we come into the sanctuary of the Lord, have we prepared ourselves? Of course, we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, but we have walked in the filth of this world, even if we have not entered into partnership with it. We have not yet attained perfection either, so sin has been somewhere within before we enter the sanctuary of the Lord. Should we not prepare ourselves so that we can truly worship in spirit and in truth? Sometimes it is bothersome to use the church as a meeting place for chatter, even gossip. We have been in some churches that have great coffee bars, donuts, sweets, and places dedicated to this chattering and clamoring about, trying their best to label it fellowship time before entering the sanctuary, if it can be called that, when it looks more like a theater to view a performance. Let us prepare our hearts, our spirits, our minds as we come to worship our Lord, so that we can worship in spirit and in truth. 

Never Ending Story

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

NEVER ENDING STORY

1 Kings 7:13-40

 

13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,   14 whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was a man of Tyre and a craftsman in bronze. Huram was highly skilled and experienced in all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him. 15 He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits around, by line. 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits high. 17 A network of interwoven chains festooned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in two rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz.   22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed.

NIV

This is unclear when there was a transition from describing his palace to describing the items for the temple of the LORD. But we know from all the rest of the things that were made, this was for the temple, not his palace. These two pillars were at the door or in front of the doors into the temple, and they were 27 feet high and 18 feet around. Their tops of their crowns were about 7 feet high. Again, it is difficult to determine if there are any significant truths for our lives from the pillars of any other items in the temple. However, we do know that from the letters to the churches that whoever overcomes, that remains steadfast, Jesus will make a pillar in the temple of God, and the overcomers or pillars will never leave, and they will have his name written on them and the name of the city of God, the new Jerusalem. Some day, the Lord will be finished with all his work on the pillars that will stand in the temple of God in that new city of Jerusalem. Interestingly, the pillars were cast or made by a man, but the pillars that will stand in the temple of God, who are those who overcome, are not made by man, but by the work of the Lord. If we are to be those overcomers, we have to come to grips with the truth that it is not up to us to become a pillar. We cannot get there by any effort of our hands or deeds, but it is all about the hand of the Lord at work, casting us into the shape and size he has determined that we all fit together as living stones into the temple of God, or pillars in the temple. The symbolic meaning of being a pillar is that we will have a permanent or eternal place in the realm of God within that new city of Jerusalem, never to leave it. This world only offers temporal things and places for us to have and live in, but there in the temple of the Lord, everything will be forever, eternal, and our presence there will never end. Once we arrive in the new city of God, the new city of Jerusalem, as a pillar, we will have a never-ending story.

 

What Splendor

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

WHAT SPLENDOR

1 Kings 7:9-22

 

9 All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and trimmed with a saw on their inner and outer faces. 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits and some eight.   11 Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the LORD with its portico. 13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,   14 whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was a man of Tyre and a craftsman in bronze. Huram was highly skilled and experienced in all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him. 15 He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits around, by line. 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits high. 17 A network of interwoven chains festooned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in two rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz.   22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed.

NIV

This is a lot of detail about the two bronze pillars that stood at the front of the Palace of Solomon. Why are we told all these details? What is important about these pillars to the spiritual benefit of the reader? We know that all scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for correcting, rebuking, teaching, and training in righteousness, so that we are fully equipped for every good work, but how does this apply? We do wonder just what the new city of Jerusalem looks like and what kind of materials are used to make it. Will God just speak a whole city into existence? We know that Jesus told his disciples, which would include us, that he was going to prepare a place for us and that if he did go and prepare a place for us, he was coming back to take us there. It has been over two thousand years since he went to prepare this place, which could very well mean the new city of Jerusalem, and we would think it has to be done by now. We know it has a lot of gold, streams of water, trees, places to dwell, and the size of the city is fifteen hundred miles wide, long, and high. We envision a mountain for God has used mountains to visit his people; in fact, Jerusalem is built on Mt Moriah. We wonder if there will be pillars of bronze, or maybe of gold, all around, and large dressed stones, with many fine cedar rooms, or dwelling places in our Father’s house. We know Solomon employed the best tradesmen to construct his palace, yet there is none better than Jesus, as he prepared this place where we will be forever. Solomon was but a king, and Jesus is the King of kings, and the palace he has prepared is far superior to anything a man could build. Whatever man builds will fall away, perish in the course of time, no matter what material is used to build it. However, this place Jesus has prepared will last for eternity, and nothing within the city will perish, including all of us who Jesus comes back to get us and take us to that place. There we will have our inheritance, being a co-heir with Jesus. What a glorious day that will be, when we will see our Jesus. How magnificent it will be to walk and talk with him along on some street of gold and sit under a fruit tree, enjoying the never-perishing fruit with Jesus. Then to sit at the great banquet feast, with all the finest of foods, prepared perfectly for our enjoyment. Solomon’s palace, even with all its splendor, could never compare to the splendor of our new palace with Jesus.