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.