May the mumbling commence!
Hear our prayers, O Lord! It was the prayer of Solomon at the Temple
dedication. Solomon knew the awesomeness
of God, but he also knew the love God would extend to those who turn to the
Lord. Let Solomon’s prayer and knowledge
be ours to! Read from First Kings
chapter eight:
"But will God really live on earth? Why,
even the highest heavens cannot contain
you. How much less this Temple I have built! Listen to my prayer and my request, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer
that your servant is making to you today.
May you watch over this Temple
both day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name.
May you always hear the prayers I make
toward this place. May you hear the humble and earnest requests from
me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and
when you hear, forgive.” (Verses 27-30)
Even though the home that we have built for you, O Lord,
is inadequate, come dwell among us. Even
though we wander from the paths You would have us take, draw us near. Turn us to You. Hear our impassioned prayers. Hear and forgive.
And we need forgiveness as often and as much as
Solomon. Read of Solomon’s downfall from
First Kings chapter eleven:
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women.
Besides Pharaoh's daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and
from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed his people
not to intermarry with those nations, because the women they married would lead
them to worship their gods. Yet Solomon
insisted on loving them anyway. He
had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. And sure enough, they led his heart away from the Lord. In Solomon's old age, they turned his heart
to worship their gods instead of trusting only in the Lord his God, as his father, David, had done. Solomon
worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god
of the Ammonites. Thus, Solomon did
what was evil in the Lord's sight;
he refused to follow the Lord
completely, as his father, David, had done. On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a shrine for Chemosh, the
detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the
Ammonites. Solomon built such shrines
for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their
gods.
The Lord
was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had
appeared to him twice. He had warned
Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to
the Lord's command. So now the Lord said to him, "Since you have not kept my
covenant and have disobeyed my laws, I will surely tear the kingdom away from
you and give it to one of your servants. But for the
sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. And even so, I will let him be king of one
tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my
chosen city." (Verses 1-13)
Too many outside influences from too many wives. A heart divided strays from worship of the
Lord. It was Solomon’s downfall – the one
the Lord warned him about. Though we may
not have multiple wives, we do have opportunity to worship at the temples of
other gods. What a thought on Super Bowl
Sunday!
O Lord, keep our hearts undivided in pursuit of
You. It is our prayer. Hear us, O God. Turn us unto Your path.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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