May the mumbling commence!
Each of us needs to decide whether or not to pick up the
torch of faith from our parents. This
decision is vital to the way that we will live our lives. Solomon made that decision wisely. Boy was he smart to ask for wisdom – a discerning
mind! Read from his message to King
Hiram of Tyre, as recorded in First Kings chapter five:
"You know that my father, David, was
not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord his God
because of the many wars he waged with surrounding nations. He could not build
until the Lord gave him victory
over all his enemies.
But now the Lord
my God has given me peace on every
side, and I have no enemies and all is well. So I am
planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God, just as he instructed my father that I
should do.
For the Lord
told him, 'Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to
honor my name.' Now please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for
me. Let my men work alongside yours, and
I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As
you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!"
(Verses 3-6)
Solomon started from history – to tell the back-story to
where they were. He spoke of his father
David and his God. Then he stated the present conditions.
Did you notice the subtle shift there? The Lord God of David became the Lord God of
Solomon. Instead of the Lord his God, Solomon spoke about the Lord my God.
And Solomon was ready to use this time of peace to do the very thing
that the Lord designed for him to do.
Solomon was ready to build the temple of the Lord.
And Solomon knew that he could not build this temple
alone – even Israel could not build this temple alone. Expense was not to be an issue. So Solomon called on King Hiram for his
natural resources and the skill of his people.
And Solomon allowed King Hiram to name the price for his raw materials
and his peoples’ work. He even took time
to praise the work of the Sidonians.
What a great way to worship the Lord! Peace is constructed between two peoples and
a temple is constructed to worship the Lord.
Now that is approaching the Lord being poor in spirit. Think about the silent reverence even at the construction
site. Read from First Kings chapter six:
“The stones used in the construction of the Temple were prefinished at the quarry, so the entire structure was built without
the sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site. (Verse 7)” Silent, holy reverence!
Silence is essential for listening to other people and
to the Spirit. In silence, we can check
the truth of some idea against what the Word of God says. Look at how diligent the people of Berea were
in checking the veracity of Paul and Silas.
Read from Acts chapter seventeen:
That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to
Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the synagogue. And the people
of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they
listened eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the Scriptures day after
day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the
truth. As a result, many Jews
believed, as did some of the prominent Greek women and many men.
(Verses 10-12)
O Lord, help us to keep an open mind so that we might
learn Your Way. Let’s not be difficult
to lead and teach. Let’s be genuine
students of the Lord Jesus. To be
genuine in this façade-like world will attract many people to the light of
Christ that we are reflecting.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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