More Precious Than Gold

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD

1 Kings 6:14-22

14 So Solomon built the temple and completed it. 15 He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with planks of pine. 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 17 The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen. 19 He prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

NIV

The entire interior of the temple was overlaid with gold. We can imagine how that looked as the candles reflected off the gold. The Holy of Holies was 30 feet wide, 30 feet long, and 30 feet high. It was lined with gold, and Solomon put the ark of the covenant in the inner sanctuary. We have nothing like that today, although some have built ornate churches, and we have been in St Peter's, where there are many places that are overlaid or are pure gold. Some of the more orthodox churches of the past and present have made the altar the central place, and some still have gold inlaid portions. Although gold is a precious metal and our current culture has tried to establish the sale of gold as a form of financial security, we have something more precious than gold, much pure gold. First, the blood of Jesus is precious to us because it holds the key to our salvation. He is the precious cornerstone of our faith. David sang that song about the law, statutes, precepts, commands, and the ordinances of the LORD are more precious than gold, than much pure gold, and sweeter than honey from the honeycomb. Solomon adorned the interior of the temple to reflect the glory of God. We wonder if we have adorned the temple of the Holy Spirit so that we reflect the Lord’s glory in ever-increasing glory. We cannot line our bodies with gold, but we can make the temple, our bodies, a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord. We know it is not about making our bodies holy in the sense of what we eat or drink, but it is about the condition of our hearts. It is from the heart that comes out of our mouths, which can either defile the temple or reflect his glory. Because we consider Jesus, the cornerstone, who is precious to the Father, more precious to us than all the gold in the world, we should live accordingly. His word is more precious than anyone’s word, for His is the Word of God, and the rest is nothing but words of men. People might have many good words to say, but none are like the perfect Word of God, which is more precious to us than gold, much pure gold. Let us lift up Jesus, who is more precious to us than gold, than much pure gold. 

Not Abandoned

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

NOT ABANDONED

1 Kings 6:11-13

11 The word of the LORD came to Solomon:   12 "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."

NIV

God’s promise not to abandon His people Israel was contingent upon Solomon following the LORD’s decrees, carrying out all the LORD’s regulations, and keeping all the LORD’s commands and obeying them. That is a lot to expect of Solomon, but then the LORD expected that of all who believed Him. It is good that these conditions were within the realm of the Old Covenant, and we are no longer held to those standards as a provision for our Salvation, nor is the Lord abandoning us. However, we must accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and that would mean that we need to be born again. Nicodemus had a difficult time understanding that phrase, but Jesus explained it thoroughly so that we also know our spirits were dead in our sins, and our spirits needed to be reborn from above. This would mean we became a new person in the inner self of our being. God also promised that he would never leave us nor forsake us, yet Jesus told us that we do need to stand firm to the end. Jesus warns us that when times get tough or difficult times come, many will turn away from the faith. He also warned there would be false prophets and they would deceive many people, and that because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. This is not an easy truth to deal with, as we can see so much of that happening in our current culture. Too many people have fallen prey to those silver-tongued purveyors of the gospel of prosperity to grow a following of givers so that the false prophet lives in prosperity. We are warned to stand firm in our faith no matter our situation in this life, for as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, Jesus will make sure we have enough. However, the greatest blessing is that He will not abandon his people as long as we do not abandon him, but stand firm until the end.

 

The Temple

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE TEMPLE

1 Kings 6:1-10

6:1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD. 2 The temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.   3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits, and projected ten cubits from the front of the temple. 4 He made narrow clerestory windows in the temple. 5 Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms. 6 The lowest floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits and the third floor seven. He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. 7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built. 8 The entrance to the lowest floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. 9 So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.

NIV

Having translated from cubits to feet, we find the temple to be 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. There are many more details given, but the idea is that this was the temple Solomon built for the LORD. There are many visual depictions of the temple, and this is not about picturing what it looks like, but more about its purpose. This temple was to represent the presence of the LORD among his people. It was a place thought to be where God resides. We know that the Lord cannot be contained within a building constructed by man, yet it was a place where men served, worshipped, and sacrificed offerings to the LORD. It was a holy place, especially the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was placed. Today, people have built various versions of temples, although we call them churches, as a place to come and worship the Lord. Over the years, some have been extremely ornate, with some having been given names, such as “The Crystal Cathedral”. Some edify the builder more than the Lord. Some have built entire campuses with the design to express their importance, rather than to enhance the worship of the Lord. But the idea still comes down to the simple truth that we, our very beings, are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This brings us to the truth that we should not edify ourselves, or make ourselves look important, or build ourselves up. It is also not about our physical appearance, although the world promotes that our appearance is most important; in fact, billions of dollars are spent annually on beauty products. Some believers think that we should not defile the temple of our Lord, developing a list of things we should not do ingest, mostly about smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, but rarely include over-eating, or gluttony. Jesus said that it is not what we consume into the body that defiles it, but what comes out of our mouths, for our words come from our hearts, that defile us. This temple is more than our bodies; it is our minds, souls, or spirits. This temple is our very selves, who we are, our inner being. We are the people whom the Lord knit together in our mother’s womb. He knew us before we were born. Although the temple Solomon built had specific dimensions, we do not. Solomon’s temple could not expand beyond its walls, but we can expand in our spiritual lives through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within. Let us resist too much concern for the physical, although that might be of some importance, but let us truly focus on our spiritual being, the temple, as we worship in spirit and in truth. 

The Work

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE WORK

1 Kings 5:13-18

13 King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel — thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16 as well as thirty-three hundred foremen who supervised the project and directed the workmen. 17 At the king's command they removed from the quarry large blocks of quality stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. 18 The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram and the men of Gebal cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

NIV

That is a whole lot of men to cut timbers and stones, as well as the craftsmen who dressed the stone, or chiseled it into flat surfaces so it would all fit together. The idea presented to us within this passage is that it takes everyone involved to do their assigned task in order for the temple to be built. We also see Solomon as the visionary of what this temple should be like and how it is to be built. Although Solomon is being inspired by the LORD, as He is the ultimate visionary and gives the directions or inspiration for His plans. However, we should see that no one person can do everything, and so we each have our part within the body to accomplish the plan the Lord has for us as a church. We doubt if any, or at least only a few, churches could boast the numbers that Solomon had working toward building the temple. The major difference between the men that Solomon had was that they were forced laborers, or as the Hebrew voices it, a levy, or tax in the form of labor, and we serve our Lord from the love in our hearts. The Lord does not conscript us or force us to do anything. He will, however, inspire us or motivate us to accomplish his desires in our lives and in the life of the church. Another difference is that Solomon’s labors had supervisors and were told outright what each one’s task was. The Lord inspires us, but we must be diligent to hear his still small voice, instructing us in the way we should go. They did not have a choice as to how they should do what their instructions were, as we could make some changes by interjecting some of our “Good” ideas, although they would not be the perfect ideas of the Lord to accomplish the work. 

Peace on all Sides

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

PEACE ON ALL SIDES

1 Kings 5:8-12

8 So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

"I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and pine logs. 9 My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food for my royal household." 10 In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted, 11 and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths  of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. 12 The LORD gave Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

NIV

That is about one hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels of wheat and one hundred and fifteen thousand gallons of olive oil, year after year. Solomon was indeed a generous king, although all that was also supplied to him by each of the twelve tribes year after year. Nevertheless, this treaty between Harim and Solomon, although made by men, was the LORD's doing, so that Solomon could complete the building of a temple in the name of the LORD. We know from the gospel according to Luke that no word from the Lord will ever fail. We also know that it was Solomon who would build this temple, and so the beginning of what will be one of the greatest temples built in the name of the LORD. When it comes to doing something for the Lord, how can it be anything but the best? That should give us our story as to how we are to approach our service to our Lord. He gave us His very best, Jesus, who came to teach and show how to live under the authority of the Father, then gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, taking them all upon Himself. How could we not give ourselves fully to the service of our Lord? How could we even try to live with a divided heart, or divided interests? Why do we still try to serve our own interests? Of course, we are living in this world, and need the normal things to sustain our lives, and we must work. If we take the lesson that God gave Adam, that he was to labor by the sweat of his brow all the days of his life, then how do we find ways to store up enough to stop working and sit back doing nothing, as the world has established as the way of life? We know we cannot give up being in service to our Lord, no matter what the world considers the way of life. Solomon wanted the best for the LORD’s temple, and as we are now the Lord’s temple, he is transforming us into his design and filling us with the Holy Spirit, who is all we need to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. Just as there was peace between Harim and Solomon, there is now peace between God and us, peace on all sides. 

Honoring One Another

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

HONORING ONE ANOTHER

1 Kings 5:1-7

5:1 When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. 2 Solomon sent back this message to Hiram: 3 "You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. 4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. 5 I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.' 6 "So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians." 7 When Hiram heard Solomon's message, he was greatly pleased and said, "Praise be to the LORD today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation."

NIV

And so the beginning of the first temple to be built in the name of the LORD in the city of Jerusalem. This will be a magnificent temple that Solomon will build. Although this record indicates that Solomon contacted the king of Tyre about the Cedars, according to the record in Chronicles, David had already set aside many cedar logs, gold, silver, stones, and other supplies to build articles of worship for the temple that he was not allowed to make because he was a man of war, a man of blood. Now Solomon secures more from Harim the king of Tyre, by first praising him and his men as the greatest at cutting down the great cedar trees of Lebanon. King Hiram responds well to the praise he receives, as we believe all people would. Solomon, gifted with the wisdom of God, knows that he will get a favorable response from honey, rather than a sword. We should learn that lesson, for that is also the wisdom of God. The Lord God Almighty does not bring or did not bring us a message of wrath to get a favorable response from us and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Instead, the Lord showed us His love, grace, and forgiveness of our sins, because we responded to his kindness and promise of eternal life. We need to see this as how he intends us to be with each other. We are told to love each other, and if we use all the definitions of love given to us in the letter to the Corinthians, we would be living in peace and harmony, giving praise for what others can do and are doing for the kingdom of God. Because we honor each other, being thankful for all they do, the relationship within the body of Christ will be extraordinarily beneficial to the kingdom. When we honor each other, the Lord is pleased, and he will bless the church beyond measure. However, if we cannot abide by love, and we allow ourselves to fall prey to feelings of unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, gossip, bitterness, or any other ill feelings toward others, the result within the church will be suffering, lack of harmony, and love, and without the blessings of the Lord. Let’s learn this lesson from Solomon, and honor one another,  and praise the gifts the Lord has given to others. 

His Reputation

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

HIS REPUTATION

1 Kings 4:26-34

26 Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses.   27 The district officers, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king's table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28 They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses. 29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite — wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

NIV

Solomon also became the wealthiest king in all Israel, as the LORD had promised him. No one was ever like Solomon, and there would never be anyone like him. Just to consider the number of horses is staggering. The amount of barley and straw and men to tend to that number of horses is more than we can imagine. Yet, when we consider the size of most modern governments, the need for funds to feed and house all the people employed is staggering. However, the story here is about the vast amount of wisdom God gave to Solomon. He was given more wisdom than any man who had ever been considered to be wise. His wisdom was greater than that of any other man. He spoke three thousand proverbs and described many plants and taught about animals and birds, reptiles, and fish. He did not have the wisdom of men, but from God. There is not a person who ever lived, or will ever live, who will have that amount of wisdom that Solomon had, in accordance with what God told him. However, we have already dealt with the fact that we are told if we lack wisdom, we are to ask the Lord, and he will give generously without finding fault. Still, that means we do not have to live in the darkness of human thought or understanding. First, we have the complete word of God, as his word lacks nothing, and thus nothing can be added to it. His word contains God’s wisdom, and he has given us the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all the truth of God’s word, which is the ultimate definition of wisdom. Although Solomon’s reputation spread all over many nations, we also know that Solomon was not flawless, as he was still a man. We know from the end of his story, he did not live in accordance with the wisdom of God. We will get to all that, but for now, let us consider that we can ask God, and he will give us that understanding of his truths through the working of the Holy Spirit within us. However, let us also remember to remain humble or contrite in spirit, for who are we, O Sovereign Lord, that you have even taken us this far, both in understanding and in stature. Who are we that you have called upon us to do what you have asked of us? You, O Lord, are more generous to us than we deserve, yet we praise you and thank you for all you have done for us, in us, and are doing through us. Continue to guide our steps, and inspire our minds and spirits to see and understand you and your wonderful truths. Thank you, Lord, for the wisdom and understanding you have given to us. Although our only reputation is being your servants, friends, and children, that is more than enough. Yet we are also called upon to reflect your reputation or your glory,  yet no one is ever close to your reputation. 

Reigning King

 DEVOTION

REIGNING KING

1 Kings 4:20-25

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. 21 And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life. 22 Solomon's daily provisions were thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. 25 During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.

NIV

Although we passed by the lists of names and positions they held in the court of Solomon, such as priests, secretaries, recorder, commander-in-chief, in charge of district officers, personal advisor, in charge of the palace, and the one in charge of forced labor. Then there were 12 district governors, each responsible for bringing supplies to the king for one month. So, we now jump ahead to see that the people of Israel were happy. They were living in peace for the first time in a while, and now they could drink and be happy. Under the rule of Solomon, all was well, and he lived as large as any man could. He must have fed his whole court every day with a feast beyond opulence. There  was a total of thirty whole cows devoured each day, along with one hundred goats and sheep. That had to feed hundreds of people in his palace, and how could they do anything else but drink, eat, and party on, because they also enjoyed both deer and male deer, the roebucks, gazelle, and choice fowl. But the point of all this was the reign of Solomon, and that all of Israel lived in safety, with each man under his own vine and fig tree. Of course, that did not mean each man owned his own vineyard, but the idea was that the people no longer had to live within a fortified city, and they could spread out and cultivate their land and eat the fruit of their own labor. This is the premise each person should live by, eating from the fruit of their own labor. Sadly, we have had leaders who would rather have people dependent on the government instead of their own labor. Greed is a killer of all people, but mostly the takers in life. Of course, we follow Jesus, and we are completely dependent on Jesus for life, and we are told to look to Jesus for all our needs. Under the reign of Christ, we can live in peace, enjoy the fruit of our labor, and cultivate our own land. For us, that may not mean becoming farmers, but to cultivate the word of God, the seed into the soil of this land, people. With the parable that Jesus taught about the four kinds of ground, not all that we cultivate will develop into a believer, but some will; but the point is, we need to sow the seed. If we just hang out with our own, then what are we doing? That’s a hard question, and we should ponder this more. How can we enjoy the fruit of our own labor? How can we sow the seed? Is just turning the lights on at church enough? Jesus said that he would build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail, so we should look to Jesus and sow that seed. What does Jesus lead us to do because he is our reigning King? 

Wisdom

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

WISDOM

1 Kings 3:16-28

16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. 19 "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son — and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne." 22 The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours." But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king. 23 The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.'" 24 Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." 26 The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!" 27 Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother." 28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

NIV

This is a well-known story of the two women arguing over one baby. Although that seems to be the main plot, the real story is about the wisdom or the discerning heart the LORD gave Solomon and how he delivered his verdict in the case of the one baby and two women. Of course, there is also the truth of a mother's love for her child, as that is how Solomon was able to determine the true mother. But that also takes us to what the true love of the Father is for his children. The mother was willing to give up her child before letting Solomon have it cut in two. The Father was willing to send his Son to be treated with hatred, having some hate him so much that they wanted to kill him. Although Jesus did die on that cross, no man killed him, for he gave his life as a ransom for many. Jesus decided that the moment he would take his last breath, it would be in his hands, his will, not the will of men. It was also the will of the Father to raise Jesus up so that we have a living Savior. This is true love at its finest. The mother demonstrated enough love to give up her child so it would live. But this wisdom of Solomon, who the LORD said no one was ever like him, or would ever be, yet we are told that if we lack wisdom, we are to ask and the Lord will give it to us generously without finding fault. We can have wisdom, and the implication is that it would be the wisdom of God. That would seem really far-fetched to think we could have the wisdom of God, but surely we would not be as wise as God, or have an equal amount of wisdom, for our minds are not capable of that level of wisdom. Yet are they? If we are created in the image of God, and they made us in their image, we should be capable of anything he designed us to be, and desires us to be. He would not have given us all those commands to get rid of certain traits and behaviors if we were not able to comply. The same goes for all the traits, attitudes, and behaviors we are to take on. Although everything is about our faith in Jesus, and not in our works, or being perfect. However, at the same time, we can have wisdom and a discerning heart so we know right from wrong. We also have far more of the word of God than Solomon had, and we have the work of Jesus, which Solomon did not. Yet he still serves to show us that if we ask for wisdom, God will give it to us. 

The Right Response

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE RIGHT RESPONSE

1 Kings 3:6-15

6 Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 7 "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for — both riches and honor — so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life." 15 Then Solomon awoke — and he realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.

NIV

The Lord had told Solomon that he could ask for anything he wanted the Lord to give him, and now he responds. First, above all, before asking, Solomon gives praise to the LORD for his kindness to Solomon’s father, David. He honors his father by reminding, although the LORD already knows, that David was faithful to the LORD and righteous and upright in heart. Then Solomon thanks the LORD for the kindness he had shown his father by putting his son on the throne this very day.  Now comes the request, and it is different from the give me, let me have, I want more, bigger, and better stuff, or help me lose weight, or look better, anything else that is centered on self. Solomon asks for a discerning heart so that he might be able to govern the people the LORD has chosen, a great people, too numerous to count. I cannot do it alone; I need your guidance, I need your wisdom, and all I ask is for a discerning heart to be able to rightly judge between what is right and wrong. What a response to, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you”. Of course, the LORD was pleased that Solomon did not ask for a long life and wealth for himself, or for the death of his enemies. This should remind us of what we have been told regarding seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. That should be the very heart of our lives. Of course, we would love to have a discerning heart, to know right from wrong, and to live in harmony with each other. We would also ask the Lord to give us the wisdom to live in peace with all men, and to fulfill the calling he has placed on each of our lives. If the Lord wants us to have a long life, that is up to him. If the Lord wants us to have good things, that too is up to him. If the Lord wants to bless us with whatever, it is totally up to him. Although Jesus said that he calls us friends, we are still servants of the Lord, and our desire should always be to do whatever he has for us. Although Solomon lived during a time when offering sacrifices was acceptable, we are only required to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to the Lord. However, let us learn this lesson well, that although we can ask anything in the name of Jesus and he will do it, we should always be asking for his will to be done, and that our hearts would be right before him, and that we would know the difference between right and wrong. When asked, let us give the right response. 

Just Give us Jesus

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

JUST GIVE US JESUS

1 Kings 3:1-5

3:1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. 3 Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. 4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you

NIV

We will get to the answer Solomon gave to the Lord, but it is too long to include in this initial portion of information that we think is important. Of course, taking another wife was just the way life was in those days, and as this was an alliance with the king of Egypt, it could have been a purely political reason. Nevertheless, the important issue is that Solomon went to a high place to offer sacrifices to the LORD. Although Israel had been instructed about the high places and not to offer sacrifices because that is where pagans offered sacrifices to pagan gods. But now we see that God accepted these offerings from Solomon because he came to him in a dream during the night and told Solomon he could ask for whatever he wanted the Lord to give him. Jesus told his disciples and us that very same thing. He told us we can ask for anything in his name and he will do it. Of course, we know what Solomon asked for, and it was not material things. However, we wonder if we have not gotten a little distracted and ask for at least some of those material things. Yet, we know the truth of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then we would ask for His kingdom to come, His will to be done on earth, that is within us, as it is in heaven. What else is important? Jesus is our righteousness, so if we ask or seek the righteousness of God, we are seeking Jesus. He has to be the most important person in our lives, for without Jesus, we are lost forever. Jesus is the fullest expression of love from our heavenly Father. Of course, we want his will to be done in our lives. But we wonder if we have been distracted by our will at times. Although the words are not found in the scripture, we use the term “freewill” because God gave Adam the ability to choose to do what was right and keep from doing what was wrong, and Adam chose wrongly. So, we have that choice to choose rightly or wrongly, and when we make the choice to pay attention to our will, wanting what we want, and pursuing our goals, aspirations, or desires, we are circumventing God’s will in our lives. We might think we know what is best for us, but we are also confident that Father knows best, and we should always be paying attention to what He wants in our lives. He is still asking what we want him to give us. Our answer should be, “Just give us Jesus”. We know the LORD gave Solomon much more than he asked for, and we know the Lord has promised he will also give us more, but the “more” is not what we ask for. We ask for his will to be done in our lives, and just give us Jesus, his righteousness.

 

In or Out

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

IN OR OUT

1 Kings 2:36-46

36 Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head." 38 Shimei answered the king, "What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said." And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time. 39 But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves ran off to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, "Your slaves are in Gath." 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath. 41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, "Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, 'On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die'? At that time you said to me, 'What you say is good. I will obey.' 43 Why then did you not keep your oath to the LORD and obey the command I gave you?" 44 The king also said to Shimei, "You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the LORD will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will remain secure before the LORD forever." 46 Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and killed him. The kingdom was now firmly established in Solomon's hands.

NIV

Although this is the story of Shimei and the kindness of Solomon, it is also a story about making a commitment, or in this case, an oath to stay in Jerusalem, and in doing so, would have life. However, Shimei agreed to stay, and if he left, he would surely die. This could be another tale of the Garden of Eden, where God told Adam he could eat from anything in the garden and he would live, but from that one tree of the knowledge of good and evil, if he ate from that, he would die. But this is about staying in Jerusalem, and that brings us to the commitment we made to the Lord about staying within his kingdom. Because we agreed to stay in his kingdom, it means he is the King, and His word is sovereign. As long as we stay in Jesus, we will live, but if we leave for whatever reason, we will surely die. This idea of once saved, always saved, that some are of the persuasion, is simply not found in the scripture. However, this story is another example of the need to obey our commitment to stay in Jesus, in his kingdom. When he taught his disciples and us the pattern of prayer, he included that we should have the desire in our hearts for his will to be done on earth, that is, within us, just as his will is done in heaven. But we must stay in his kingdom. Shimei shows us the wrong in going after his slaves, which, in his case, was his property, or material possessions. We know we cannot serve both our Lord and material possessions, but is it possible that we let that line between the two get a little fuzzy? There is an inherent danger in leaving the kingdom to pursue materialism. We cannot pursue both Jesus and the world. We cannot be in both; it has to be one or the other. As long as Shimei stayed in Jerusalem, he lived, but if he left, he would die. He could not have it both ways, and neither can we. When we sing the words to that song, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back” that means we have decided to stay in Jesus, to remain there the rest of our lives and not to turn to the right or the left, and not to chase after material possessions, which includes putting our trust in the things while saying we put our trust in Jesus. The question is, are we in or out? 

Peace Forever

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

PEACE FOREVER

1 Kings 2:26-35

26 To Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before my father David and shared all my father's hardships." 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD, fulfilling the word the LORD had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli. 28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, "Go, strike him down!" 30 So Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, "The king says, 'Come out!'" But he answered, "No, I will die here." Benaiah reported to the king, "This is how Joab answered me." 31 Then the king commanded Benaiah, "Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my father's house of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32 The LORD will repay him for the blood he shed, because without the knowledge of my father David he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them — Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army — were better men and more upright than he. 33 May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the LORD's peace forever." 34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried on his own land in the desert. 35 The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab's position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.  

NIV

More judgment from the hand of God through Solomon. Abiathar was a descendant of Eli, the priest who was the mentor of Samson. However, his sons did something contemptible before the Lord, and thus the house of Eli would be judged. No longer was a priest left in the house of Eli, as the Lord had spoken. But now it was time to put an end to all the insurrection against the throne of David, which had now been passed on to Solomon. It is now Joab’s turn to receive his due reward for his unfaithfulness to King David. Joab was the commander of all the armies of Israel, a position of honor and likely a well-off life. Joab was the commander under David’s orders put Uriah in the front line so he would surely die. But it was also Joab who struck David’s son Absalom with three javelins, killing him as he hung from a tree, defenseless. However, our story is about what Solomon said about David and his descendants, his house and his throne, that they be the LORD’s peace forever. This is the gospel message we hear time and time again throughout the scriptures. Jesus came as a descendant of David, and Jesus is the one who brings peace. He promised he would give his followers peace, not as the world gives, but he would give us His peace. Thus, the words of Solomon are prophetic about Jesus. However, just as we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we also must accept his peace. This peace has several aspects as we experience the peace of Jesus. First, we are no longer at war with God and He is no longer at war with us. It is not that we could ever win against God, as those who war against him are subject  to his wrath. However, we accepted his grace, Jesus, and now we are at peace with God, and He is at peace with us. We are now subject to his grace instead of wrath. Peace with God is everything; without it, we are nothing. Second, as we experience the peace of Christ in our hearts, it does away with all anxiety and fear. We are told not to be anxious about anything, but in everything by petitions and prayer with thanksgiving present our requests to God, and we will have peace. Living with the peace of God in our hearts brings a life of contentment. Stress is a killer, but Jesus gives us peace forever. 

The Mediator

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE MEDIATOR

1 Kings 2:13-25

13 Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. Bathsheba asked him, "Do you come peacefully?" He answered, "Yes, peacefully." 14 Then he added, "I have something to say to you." "You may say it," she replied. 15 "As you know," he said, "the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD. 16 Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me." "You may make it," she said. 17 So he continued, "Please ask King Solomon — he will not refuse you — to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife." 18 "Very well," Bathsheba replied, "I will speak to the king for you." 19 When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat down at his right hand. 20 "I have one small request to make of you," she said. "Do not refuse me." The king replied, "Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you." 21 So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah." 22 King Solomon answered his mother, "Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him — after all, he is my older brother — yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!" 23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! 24 And now, as surely as the LORD lives — he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised — Adonijah shall be put to death today!" 25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

NIV

Why did Adonijah not just go to his brother, the king, to ask this request for a certain bride? He had to hide his request behind a woman, and the mother of Solomon no less. He had already proven himself to be a schemer trying to steal the kingdom and declare himself to be the king of Israel. He had no anointing from his father David, or from the LORD. However,  even the great King Solomon showed respect for his mother as she entered his court, standing and bowing to her and then had a throne placed at his right hand, giving her a place of honor. We were not told nor do we expect that Adonijah did not bow before Bathsheba, but rather came seeking her to be the mediator and ask Solomon for the very beautiful young woman, Abishag, who attended their father David when he was old and could not keep warm. Solomon saw right through the plot of Adonijah and declared justice upon him, giving him a death sentence. What do we learn from this insight and action of Solomon? Adonijah must pay with his life for his crime against his father, David, and his brother Solomon. But there is more to this because there is no other way to go before the Lord and to come seeking forgiveness, repenting, changing the way we think about everything. Adonijah tried to come through another way, but we cannot, as we know Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only one to give us life. We cannot come to God based on the relationship of someone else, or, as some might think, we could ask someone who died before us to intercede before God for us. We must come to God based only on His own work on our behalf by sending Jesus to pay the price for our sins. This narrative shows us that sin requires the death penalty, and Solomon had Adonijah put to death because of his evil behavior. God will not allow sin to enter into His kingdom, but we have come before him for ourselves seeking his forgiveness through our Savior Jesus, and so we will be ushered into His kingdom. But those who try to enter seeking anything from the Lord by any other means will be put to death. Adonijah tried to use Bathsheba, the mother of the king, as his mediator, and it cost him his life.  Jesus is our one mediator who gives us life. 

Forevermore

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

FOREVERMORE

1 Kings 2:5-12

5 "Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me — what he did to the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace. 7 "But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom. 8 "And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: 'I will not put you to death by the sword.' 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood." 10 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. 11 He had reigned forty years over Israel — seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.

NIV

Before David rested with his fathers and was buried, he gave Solomon some further instructions about three specific men. Two men were not to go down to the grave in peace because of the evil they had done; however, there was one man whom David told Solomon to show kindness to and allow him to eat at his table. This brings to mind the day of judgment when we will all face our final sentence. Because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have nothing to fear on that final day, for we will be shown kindness and will eat at the Lord’s table, the great wedding feast of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus. We are the bride of Christ, but that also implies that we should be ready, with enough oil in our lamps, so that when He shows up, we are prepared to go with Him to the feast. We should not be caught sleeping or off guard, but we must keep watch and be vigilant,  for we do not know the day Jesus will come for us. Now, about those who did evil in the sight of the Lord and have not repented or accepted his grace, they will not go down to the grave in peace, nor will they enjoy any peace on the last day when they will be judged and sent to the lake of burning sulfur where there is not one single ounce of peace, they will go in their own blood. On the other hand, we will sit in the Lord’s presence because of his blood that he shed for the forgiveness of our sins. We also see that picture as how David rested with his fathers. We could have been told that David died, but the fact that the word rested was used, or, as in Hebrew, he lay down, which can be used as with death. But it is a gentle word, giving the sense of his soul or spirit resting in the presence of his fathers, who would include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and others who were dear men of God, who put their trust in the LORD. Some day we will rest this physical body, laying it down, but our spirits will also rest in the presence of our Lord. We are also reminded that David reigned for forty years, but our Lord reigns forever. The prophetic words about Solomon never failing to have a man on the throne bring us again to Jesus, who came to earth in the form of man, with Joseph and Mary being in the line of David. However, it was only Joseph who came through the line of Solomon, while Mary came through his brother, Nathan. Nevertheless, Jesus is on the throne of David forevermore, and we are in his kingdom and will be forevermore. 

Walk Faithfully

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

WALK FAITHFULLY

1 Kings 2:2-4

2 "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, 3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, 4 and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

NIV

We already consider walking in the way of the Lord, being strong, as a mature believer, and observing what the Lord our God requires. But we did not ponder on the promise that if we are strong, living with courageous endurance and showing ourselves to be a mature follower of Jesus, that we will prosper in all we do and wherever we go. Those words are from that first Psalm that David wrote about if we do not take any counsel from the ungodly, or walk in their ways, or sit in the seat of mockers, perhaps meaning that we should not give God lip service only, but if we mediate on his word day and night, we will be like a tree planted by the stream of water, living water, added for clarification, we will prosper in whatever we do. God does not want us to fail, but to succeed. He does not want to bring harm upon us, but desires to bless us, to make us prosper, to grow spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. He has plans for our good, our benefit, so that we are his great witnesses, showing the world, reflecting his glory in ever-increasing glory. What kind of earthly father would want any of his children to suffer or experience failure? Our heavenly Father sent Jesus to suffer for us, so that we do not need to suffer the penalty of death, but also so that we can have life and life abundantly. Eternal life is indeed an abundance, but when we live in and with the peace of Jesus in our hearts, we will be prospering beyond measure. Even when we are faced with some adversity, Jesus is always there showing the way to walk through it. There is that one caveat regarding that “if” we walk faithfully before the Lord, with all our heart and soul. David meant that Solomon would never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel, but that also applies to us, as far as we will always have Jesus on the throne of our lives. It would make sense that because we put Jesus on the throne of our lives, we would walk faithfully before him, with all our hearts and souls. We cannot share that throne, or put ourselves on the throne, but we must watch how we live and walk faithfully. 

His Ways

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

HIS WAYS

1 Kings 2:1-4

2:1 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

2 "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, 3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, 4 and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

NIV

King David has a few more words to say to his son Solomon before he rests with his forefathers, but we have quite a lot here in this first portion of the charge David gave to Solomon. First, he tells him, and we will also take that charge on a personal level, to be strong and show ourselves as men, not as children doing childish things. Of course, we are children of God, and we have been told that unless we change and become like a child, that is, having unbridled, unabashed faith, we will not see the kingdom of God. But that is different from being strong, rather than being weak, yielding to every temptation that he presents before us. Being strong is also different than when we are weak, but He is strong, for that is about putting our trust in Him rather than in ourselves. Being strong is included within the Hebrew as being courageous, that is, living with courageous endurance, as a person of God. David also said to observe what the Lord our God requires, the first is to walk in his ways. For Solomon, that included keeping the decrees and commands, the laws and requirements as written in the Law of Moses. For us, we are also to observe what our Lord God Almighty requires, which includes walking in his ways. Of course, we are no longer subject to the Law of Moses as Jesus fulfilled the law for us, and as we are in Christ, the law does not bind us. However, we have been given a new covenant and told the two greatest commands. Yet, as we study all the requirements of walking in his ways, such as getting rid of various attitudes and behaviors, and taking on certain attitudes, such as the Beatitudes, as well as many more. This means that we should put away our ways to walk in his ways, for his ways are not our ways, and our ways are not his ways. The bottom line is, who do we consider as having the perfect ways, us or God? Of course, we would have to admit his ways are the perfect ways, and thus our ways are the imperfect ways. The choice should be clear. We are to be strong, show ourselves as mature believers, and observe, or keep in step with his perfect ways. 

The False and the True King

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE FALSE AND THE TRUE KING

1 Kings 1:41-53

41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, "What's the meaning of all the noise in the city?" 42 Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, "Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news." 43 "Not at all!" Jonathan answered. "Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king's mule, 45 and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds with it. That's the noise you hear. 46 Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. 47 Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon's name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!' And the king bowed in worship on his bed 48 and said, 'Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.'" 49 At this, all Adonijah's guests rose in alarm and dispersed. 50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Then Solomon was told, "Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, 'Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.'" 52 Solomon replied, "If he shows himself to be a worthy man, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die." 53 Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, "Go to your home."

NIV

This is now the culmination of the story of the false and the true king of Israel. Adonijah was nothing more than a false, self-made king, without any anointing from his father, Nathan the prophet, or Zadok the priest. Adonijah did have the support of Joab and Abiathar, but we are not told that they anointed Adonijah as king, only that they said they would support his claim to be king. He threw a big feast in honor of himself, and isn’t that just the way it is with any self-proclaimed puffed-up supposed leader? “Let me honor myself”, “let me make myself look great”, or any other self-centered, self-directed, glory. King David would have nothing to do with such an attempt to circumvent his authority in naming his successor, who he had sworn would be his son, Solomon. With the true king of Israel, after being anointed by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, sitting on the true throne of the kingdom of Israel, there was a resounding applause within Jerusalem and the sounding of trumpets. A great celebration with so much sound, it shook the ground. This is what Adonijah and his guests heard. He thought to himself, as Jonathan the priest arrived, that it must be good; the city was shouting for joy that he was the king, but that was not the case, because he was not a king, but only a false king, with no kingdom but his own. Solomon was now the true and rightful king of Israel, who had been declared so by his father, David, and anointed by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet. As we know from the future events of Solomon, he was known as the wisest man to ever live. But one of his better qualities was his humble heart toward God, asking for a discerning heart so that he could govern, knowing right from wrong. One of the great truths we can learn from the scriptures is to have the anointing from God upon our lives. In a world that is full of people who strive to make themselves great, we humble ourselves before our Lord, the Almighty God of heaven and earth. Who are we, Oh Sovereign Lord, that you have taken us this far? Yet, that is exactly the right perspective to have in our lives as someone who believes God. He is the one who anoints, he is the one who directs our paths. He is the one who calls us to serve his purpose. He is the one who has all the authority and power over our lives. If we humble ourselves before him, He will do what He has declared in our lives. We cannot make ourselves great, sitting on our own throne, but He can do all things for us, in us, and through us, if we humbly serve Him, acknowledging Him as the True and Rightful King.

 

Trumpets and Shouts

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

TRUMPETS AND SHOUTS

 

1 Kings 1:32-40

32 King David said, "Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." When they came before the king, 33 he said to them: "Take your lord's servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. 34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' 35 Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah." 36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, "Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. 37 As the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!" 38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David's mule and escorted him to Gihon. 39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!" 40 And all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.

NIV

There is still more to this narrative, but we are at the place where Solomon is anointed as the king of Israel. This place Gihon has two meanings. First, it was the name of one of the rivers in the paradise of God, but in this context, it refers to either a stream, spring, or pool near the city of Jerusalem. It is so close to Jerusalem that it could be in what is now called the Kidron Valley. Interestingly, Solomon was put on his father’s donkey to be anointed as king of Israel. It is also of interest that three men were appointed by David to take Solomon to this place, anoint him, and then take him up to sit on the throne of David. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey that no one had ever ridden before. There are some other parallels or symbols we can learn from. Three men were needed to anoint Solomon as king, or ruler over all Israel. In some sense, three persons anointed Jesus as ruler over all Israel and over all the earth. The Father anointed him; it was the Father who spoke from heaven when John the Baptist baptized Jesus, and it was the Spirit who descended upon him in the fashion that a dove would settle on someone’s shoulder. It is the three in one who were all there at once, anointing Jesus as the King of kings. However, in another sense, it was still the Father and the Spirit, but it also includes us, for Jesus to be the anointed one in our lives. Just as the trumpet was sounded and all the people shouted so that the ground shook with the sound, we should sound our trumpet, and shout so loud that the ground would shake beneath us. That is how vocal we should be about Jesus, who is the anointed one. Let us shout for joy, and sound the trumpet. 

Delivered Out of Every Trouble

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

DELIVERED OUT OF EVERY TROUBLE

1 Kings 1:28-31

28 Then King David said, "Call in Bathsheba." So she came into the king's presence and stood before him. 29 The king then took an oath: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 30 I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place." 31 Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said, "May my lord King David live forever!"

NIV

We are in the middle of this narrative regarding Solomon becoming the king of Israel, but we have to stop here for a moment. Something David told Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, struck a chord. The oath that David made included the fact that he gave all the credit, the glory to the LORD who lives, who was the one who delivered him out of every trouble. First, we are absolutely positive that theLord lives. We know that God lives, and we confess that the Father lives, the Son, our Lord and Savior, lives as He sits at the right hand of the Father, the place of honor, and He has sent the Holy Spirit, who lives, but the wonderful truth is He lives within us. They have always been, and will forever be. Because we know this truth and we trust the Lord God Almighty with our lives, we also know that He has delivered us from every trouble. The first of those troubles is death. Jesus promised us that because we believe him, even though this body will die, we will live, and someday even our bodies will be resurrected into eternal life. If that is the only trouble we ever get delivered from, it is enough. We cannot speak for all the believers in the world or those who have lived before us or those who will live after us, if the Lord tarries, but we know that He has delivered us out of every trouble. No matter what kind of trouble has found its way into our lives, He has overcome it, or carried us through it, onto the other side, or out of that trouble. Trouble can come in various ways, or forms, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Whatever way it shows up, He has delivered us out of it. When we hurt, He heals. When we are distressed, He gives peace. When we are tempted, He gives us the strength to overcome. We do not lightly call Him our deliverer, for He has delivered us out of every trouble. David never said that he did not have troubles, nor have we ever said that we have not faced troubles, but the promise of the Lord is always true, and He has delivered us out of every trouble. 

The King Who Solves

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE KING WHO SOLVES

1 Kings 1:11-27

11 Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, "Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king without our lord David's knowing it? 12 Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go in to King David and say to him, 'My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: "Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?' 14 While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and confirm what you have said." 15 So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. 16 Bathsheba bowed low and knelt before the king. "What is it you want?" the king asked. 17 She said to him, "My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the LORD your God: 'Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.' 18 But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. 19 He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. 20 My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals." 22 While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. 23 And they told the king, "Nathan the prophet is here." So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground. 24 Nathan said, "Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? 25 Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!' 26 But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. 27 Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?"

NIV

Nathan the prophet has always been faithful to King David. He was there in the beginning, and it was Nathan who pointed out David’s sin with Bathsheba and then Uriah. Now, as David is old, Nathan is still there protecting his sovereign, letting him know, first, through his wife, Bathsheba, then confirming the same thing about David’s son Adonijah taking up the position of king, without his father’s knowledge or blessing. We know from the rest of the narrative that David takes account of and will solve this situation as only the king of Israel could do. He will have his son Solomon anointed as king. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. The point that we see here is that Nathan knows the king is the solution to the problem and that two witnesses to the problem are better than one. Although Jesus said that his witness is true. However, he also said that if someone has sinned that it is right to go to them, and if they do not listen, take another witness. But the truth we see in this narrative is that the king is the solution to the problem of Adonijah trying to become king. Our King of kings, Jesus, the Lord of lords, is the solution. First, to the major issue of life. If we do not come before Him, bowing low to the ground, we will not be given life, but will be subject to death. He has promised that because we came to Him and bowed before Him, acknowledging Him as our Lord and Savior, that even though we die, we will live. That alone is huge; that is the major issue in our lives, but there is more. Second, He has promised that if we come to Him, bowing before Him, asking according to His name, He will do it for us. We can come to Jesus with all our problems, and He will solve them. Sure, there may be times, He might tell us how we are to act, or what action we need to take for the problem to be solved. Other times, He just does it, and we just need to be still and know that He is God. Our Lord, the King of Heaven and Earth, can move mountains or make them tremble. He can divide the water, pile it up, or walk on it. He can calm the storm, and that includes any storm in our lives. Nathan had Bathsheba bring the problem to King David, and he confirmed it. The difference is that David did not know the problem until it was brought to him. Our King of kings, our Lord of Lords, knows the problem even before we do. He knows our words before we speak them, as He knows our thoughts before we think them. If he didn’t, then He would not be God. But He does, He knows our hearts, yet He still wants us to come to Him, with thanksgiving in our hearts and present our petitions, our problems before Him, and He will give us His peace. The King will solve the problem. He is the solving King. 

The Proud and The Humble

 DEVOTION

1st KINGS

THE PROUD AND THE HUMBLE

1 Kings 1:1-10

1:1 When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. 2 So his servants said to him, "Let us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm." 3 Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The girl was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no intimate relations with her. 5 Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. 6(His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.) 7 Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David's special guard did not join Adonijah. 9 Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah who were royal officials, 10 but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.

NIV

There is something positive as well as negative to be said about living to be old and well advanced in years. Although we wonder why this account records David as being so old that he could not keep warm. From what we know, he was thirty when he began his reign as king, as recorded in 2^nd Samuel 5, and he reigned for forty years. This would put David at seventy years of age, yet he was old and well advanced in years. It does not seem that seventy years old is that old to us, but then David spent many years in distress because of King Saul, as well as many years of war, being in many battles, which had to take a toll on his body. The young lady who waited on him was at the request of his servants, who looked after him and served their king well. But the problem is his son, the next oldest after Absalom, who tried to take over as king and who Joab killed in service to his king. Now Adonijah tries the same thing his older brother did, having fifty men run ahead of his chariot. This is not going to work, as we know, and we will see that Solomon will be the king of Israel, succeeding his father, King David. Why is it that men want that kind of power? Why did both Absalom and now Adonijah want to be the king of Israel? The kingship brings with it the authority to do whatever the king pleases, any pleasures of the flesh, as well as great wealth, living in abundance, and having people serve the king his every need. It would seem, as we have already witnessed in scripture, self-indulgence as well as greed motivate many evil intentions and behaviors. We are told to be self-controlled and not give in to our emotions or passions that would both harm ourselves as well as others. Another reason both these sons of David might have sought to take over his throne was because of pride, or thinking more highly of themselves than they should have. We are also told that we should learn from Jesus to be gentle and humble of heart. Humility would prevent hurt feelings or feeling offended. However, that is not an easy path. After all, we want to be seen and heard, because we have something important to say, at least we think we do. When do we learn, or do we have to keep learning, trying over and over again, failing, and trying again to be gentle and humble of heart? We will see that Solomon learned to be humble before the Lord and did not take revenge on his older brother. We may be put, by the hand of God, in certain positions in life, some that are accompanied by a certain amount of authority and/or responsibility. For the most part, when God makes someone responsible, he gives authority with it. Yet, no matter what place we temporarily reside in this community of believers, being of a humble heart is paramount to being subject to the authority of God. How could we even think to usurp the authority of the King of kings, as Adonijah tried to do from his father, the king? It is God who calls, and God who anoints, and God who has all the power and authority. Let’s live with a gentle and humble heart. It comes down to the proud and the humble. 

The Cost

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

THE COST

2 Sam 24:15-25

15 So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family." 18 On that day Gad went to David and said to him, "Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." 19 So David went up, as the LORD had commanded through Gad. 20 When Araunah looked and saw the king and his men coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" "To buy your threshing floor," David answered, "so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped." 22 Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 O king, Araunah gives all this to the king." Araunah also said to him, "May the LORD your God accept you." 24 But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. 25 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

NIV

We have reached the final words of the book of Second Samuel with David doing a righteous act of obedience to the Lord. God had given David three choices of how the hand of God would act against Israel because of the foolishness of David having a census taken of all the fighting men of Israel. However, we saw that David would not choose, as he wanted to be subject to the hand of God. God could have put seven years of famine on the land, as in the Hebrew instead of three, it is seven. God could have put three months of David being overpowered by his enemies, or three days of a plague. I would have chosen the shortest of them,  and because of the compassion of the Lord, he chose the shortest, just three days of pestilence upon the land. Surely, far more people would have perished in a seven-year famine. He was also compassionate toward David, not making him flee for three months from the enemy.  Now David must go and worship the Lord, and it must be in a special place. We do not know why that threshing floor was a special place, but David would not accept it as a gift. It must cost him something to be able to build an altar to sacrifice before the Lord. That could be our story, our lesson we need to take to heart. How can we bring a sacrifice of praise or thanksgiving before the Lord, if it does not cost us something? But what could we pay? Jesus paid it all on that cross, setting us free from the penalty of death. David had three choices, and he left it in the hands of God. Today, we have only two choices: to accept or reject Jesus as Lord and Savior. However, this choice is not for a limited amount of years, months, or days, but it is for eternity. Yet, at the same time, we believe that for us to bring an acceptable offering of praise and thanksgiving, or a fellowship offering, it must still cost us something. But what could we give, what could we pay? We must offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord. That is our act of spiritual worship. The cost is “self”. We must give all of ourselves to the Lord. We cannot share Him with the things of the world. We cannot have part of our “self” chasing after, pursuing the things, the wealth, the materialist ideology of this world. We cannot have part of “self” partnering with the perverse concepts of the ideology of gender confusion. We cannot participate in the ways the world pursues obedience to the passions of the flesh. Our cost, to worship God in spirit and in truth, is our very “self”. Does that mean we should be void of all the material things of this world? No, the Lord was very specific about the fact that we must seek His kingdom and His righteousness first and foremost in our lives, that is, seek with our whole “self”. When we do that, He will give us, that is, He will provide for us all the material things the world chases after. They will continue to chase after those things, but we will simply be given those things. Of course, that is not why we seek the Lord first, but the point is that is what we are to do: seek the Lord first. The cost is “self”.  

Fall Into His Hands

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

FALL INTO HIS HANDS

2 Sam 24:1-14

24:1 Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah." 2 So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, "Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are." 3 But Joab replied to the king, "May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?" 4 The king's word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel. 5 After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer. 6 They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon. 7 Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah. 8 After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand. 10 David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing." 11 Before David got up the next morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David's seer: 12 "Go and tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.'" 13 So Gad went to David and said to him, "Shall there come upon you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me." 14 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

NIV

We should not include this amount in the narrative because we are stuck on a strange word in the first verse. We are told the LORD incited David against Israel. The Hebrew word carries a more direct meaning of moved, to prick, to seduce, entice, allure, and instigate. This was the hand of God at work within the spirit of David, so that he would do a certain action of taking a census of all the fighting men throughout the tribes of Israel. What is strange is that after it is all done, David was conscience-stricken. Once again, the Hebrew word means more like to smite, kill, to be wounded, beaten, and maybe that is how David felt, that his heart was wounded, smitten, because he realized he had sinned greatly and done a foolish thing. But he was enticed by the Lord to take the census, and then he felt guilty because he took that census. This was all in the hands of God, so that He could bring judgment on Israel through David. It is this last statement of David that brings us our lesson. It is far better to fall into the hands of the Lord than to fall into the hands of men. David would rather be subject to whatever the Lord decides to be subject to than have men take any revenge against him. We can fight against men and win the battle, destroying them. It is not that we would kill them, but we could fight against them with words, discrediting them, destroying their person, using gossip as a great tactic for that purpose. But even though we might try to fight against the Lord, trying to do things our way instead of his way, ultimately, we are going to lose the fight. At some point, we must come to the conclusion that we have done a foolish thing, and we have sinned against the Lord. Any time we are trying to act in accordance with our will, our wants, our desires, or passions, we are acting foolishly, because it is not His way. Yet, David’s foolish way was because of the hand of God working within him. It could be as we do things in accordance with the way of God, or God’s will, it might seem foolish to us, or not what we would think is the best plan, but then our ways are not His ways, and His ways are not our ways. It is always best to give ourselves into the hands of our Lord and simply follow instructions. He had a purpose for Israel and moved within David to accomplish His plan. Let us always have an open heart so the Lord and move within us at any time to accomplish His plan for us as well as for His people. To put it in a single term, fall into His hands.