more than justice

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Photo by Andres Victorero on Pexels.com

more than justice

1 Kings 8:22-61 (JDV)

1 Kings 8:22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahveh in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.
1 Kings 8:23 He said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on land below, who keeps the gracious covenant with your servants who walk before you with all their heart.
1 Kings 8:24 You have kept what you promised to your servant, my father David. You spoke directly to him and you fulfilled your promise by your power as it is today.
1 Kings 8:25 Therefore, Lord God of Israel, keep what you promised to your servant, my father David: You will never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take care to walk before me as you have walked before me.
1 Kings 8:26 Now Lord God of Israel, please confirm what you promised to your servant, my father David.
1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed live in the land? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built.
1 Kings 8:28 Listen to your servant’s prayer and his petition, Lord my God, so that you may hear the cry and the prayer that your servant prays before you today,
1 Kings 8:29 so that your eyes may watch over this temple night and day, toward the place where you said, “My name will be there,” and so that you may hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place.
1 Kings 8:30 Hear the petition of your servant and your people Israel, which they pray toward this place. May you hear in your dwelling place in heaven. May you hear and forgive.
1 Kings 8:31 When a man sins against his neighbor and is forced to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before your altar in this temple,
1 Kings 8:32 may you hear in heaven and act. May you judge your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing what he has done on his own head and providing justice for the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
1 Kings 8:33 When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against you, and they return to you and praise your name, and they pray and plead with you for mercy in this temple,
1 Kings 8:34 may you hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel. May you restore them to the land you gave their ancestors.
1 Kings 8:35 When the skies are shut and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you, and they pray toward this place and praise your name, and they turn from their sins because you are afflicting them,
1 Kings 8:36 may you hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, so that you may teach them the good way they should walk in. May you send rain on your land that you gave your people for an inheritance.
1 Kings 8:37 When there is famine in the land, when there is pestilence, when there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, when their enemy besieges them in the land and its cities, when there is any plague or illness,
1 Kings 8:38 every prayer or petition that any person or that all your people Israel may have — they each know their own affliction — as they spread out their hands toward this temple,
1 Kings 8:39 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and may you forgive, act, and give to everyone according to all their ways, since you know each heart, for you alone know every human heart,
1 Kings 8:40 so that they may fear you all the days they live on the land you gave our ancestors.
1 Kings 8:41 Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name —
1 Kings 8:42 for they will hear of your great name, strong hand, and outstretched arm, and will come and pray toward this temple —
1 Kings 8:43 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all the foreigner asks. Then all peoples of the land will know your name, to fear you as your people Israel do and to know that this temple that I have built bears your name.
1 Kings 8:44 When your people go out to fight against their enemies, wherever you send them, and they pray to Yahveh in the direction of the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your name,
1 Kings 8:45 may you hear their prayer and petition in heaven and uphold their cause.
1 Kings 8:46 When they sin against you — for there is no one who does not sin — and you are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, and their captors deport them to the enemy’s country — whether distant or nearby —
1 Kings 8:47 and when they come to their senses in the land where they were deported and repent and petition you in their captors’ land: “We have sinned and done wrong; we have been wicked,”
1 Kings 8:48 and when they return to you with all their heart and all their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to you in the direction of their land that you gave their ancestors, the city you have chosen, and the temple I have built for your name,
1 Kings 8:49 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place, their prayer and petition and uphold their cause.
1 Kings 8:50 May you forgive your people who sinned against you and all their rebellions against you, and may you grant them compassion before their captors, so that they may treat them compassionately.
1 Kings 8:51 For they are your people and your inheritance; you brought them out of Egypt, out of the middle of an iron furnace.
1 Kings 8:52 May your eyes be open to your servant’s petition and to the petition of your people Israel, listening to them whenever they call to you.
1 Kings 8:53 For you, Lord God, have set them apart as your inheritance from all peoples of the land, as you spoke through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.
1 Kings 8:54 When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the Lord, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the Lord, with his hands spread out toward heaven,
1 Kings 8:55 and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel with a loud voice:
1 Kings 8:56 “Blessed be the Lord! He has given rest to his people Israel according to all he has said. Not one of all the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed.
1 Kings 8:57 May Yahveh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us
1 Kings 8:58 so that he causes us to be devoted to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors.
1 Kings 8:59 May my words with which I have made my petition before Yahveh be near Yahveh our God day and night. May he uphold his servant’s cause and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires.
1 Kings 8:60 May all the peoples of the land know that Yahveh is God. There is no other!
1 Kings 8:61 Be wholeheartedly devoted to Yahveh our God to walk in his statutes and to keep his commands, as it is today.”

more than justice

Solomon’s prayer of dedication begins by simply asking God to hear the prayers of the righteous, and give them justice when they pray toward the temple in Jerusalem. But then he asks the LORD to go one step further. He asks God to favor his people with his grace when they sin, and then, realizing their sin, they repent. The temple is the direction of grace. The presence of God (which the temple represents) is the place of grace.

LORD, forgive us. We need your grace.

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missing inventory

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

20240911

Photo by Alexander Grey on Pexels.com

missing inventory

1 Kings 8:1-21 (JDV)

1 Kings 8:1 At that time Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the tribal heads and the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem to bring the ark of Yahveh’s covenant from the city of David, that is Zion.
1 Kings 8:2 So all the men of Israel were assembled in the presence of King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month, at the festival.
1 Kings 8:3 All the elders of Israel came, and the priests lifted up the ark.
1 Kings 8:4 The priests and the Levites brought the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent.
1 Kings 8:5 King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel, who had gathered around him and were with him in front of the ark, were sacrificing sheep, goats, and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many.
1 Kings 8:6 The priests brought the ark of Yahveh’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place beneath the wings of the cherubim.
1 Kings 8:7 Because the cherubs were spreading their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubs covered the ark and its poles from above.
1 Kings 8:8 The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside the sanctuary; they are still there today.
1 Kings 8:9 Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb, where Yahveh made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.
1 Kings 8:10 When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled Yahveh’s temple,
1 Kings 8:11 and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to stay ministering, for the glory of Yahveh filled the temple.
1 Kings 8:12 Then Solomon said: Yahveh said that he would dwell in total darkness.
1 Kings 8:13 I have indeed built an exalted temple for you, a place for your dwelling forever.
1 Kings 8:14 The king turned around and blessed the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing.
1 Kings 8:15 He said: Blessed be Yahveh God of Israel! He spoke directly to my father David, and he has fulfilled the promise by his power. He said,
1 Kings 8:16 “Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city to build a temple in among any of the tribes of Israel, so that my name would be there. But I have chosen David to rule my people, Israel.”
1 Kings 8:17 My father David had his heart set on building a temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
1 Kings 8:18 But Yahveh said to my father David, “Since your heart was set on building a temple for my name, you have done well to have this desire.
1 Kings 8:19 Yet you are not the one to build it; instead, your son, your own offspring, will build it for my name.”
1 Kings 8:20 Yahveh has fulfilled what he promised. I have taken the place of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahveh promised. I have built the temple for the name of Yahveh, the God of Israel.
1 Kings 8:21 I have provided a place there for the ark, where Yahveh’s covenant is that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

missing inventory

When Solomon had the ark brought to the temple in Jerusalem, only the two tablets of stone were in it. Aaron’s rod and the jar of manna were missing. Perhaps someone alone the way thought that these items might be valuable or bring good fortune. At any rate, the real value was not in the symbols of God’s presence and power – it was in the presence itself.

LORD, may we cling to your person, not to symbols of your power.

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he establishes it in strength

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Photo by Tobias Bju00f8rkli on Pexels.com

he establishes it in strength

1 Kings 7:13-51 (JDV)

1 Kings 7:13 King Solomon sent and took Hiram from Tyre.
1 Kings 7:14 He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So, he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.
1 Kings 7:15 He cast two bronze pillars, each 18 cubits high and 12 cubits in circumference.
1 Kings 7:16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; five cubits was the height of the first capital, and five cubits was also the height of the second capital.
1 Kings 7:17 The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths made of chainwork– seven for the first capital and seven for the second.
1 Kings 7:18 He made the pillars with two encircling rows of pomegranates on the one grating to cover the capital on top; he did the same for the second capital.
1 Kings 7:19 And the capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high.
1 Kings 7:20 The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and two hundred pomegranates were in rows encircling each capital.
1 Kings 7:21 He set up the pillars at the portico of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin; then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.
1 Kings 7:22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed.
1 Kings 7:23 He made the cast metal basin, ten cubits from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was five cubits high and 30 cubits in circumference.
1 Kings 7:24 Ornamental gourds encircled it below the brim, ten every cubit, completely encircling the basin. The gourds were cast in two rows when the basin was cast.
1 Kings 7:25 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them, and all their hindquarters were toward the center.
1 Kings 7:26 The basin was three inches thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.
1 Kings 7:27 Then he made ten bronze water carts. Each water cart was 4 cubits long, 4 cubits wide, and 3 cubits high.
1 Kings 7:28 This was the design of the carts: They had frames; the frames were between the cross-pieces,
1 Kings 7:29 and on the frames between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.
1 Kings 7:30 Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Underneath the four corners of the basin were cast supports, each next to a wreath.
1 Kings 7:31 And the water cart’s opening inside the crown on top was a cubit wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal twenty-seven inches wide. On it were carvings, but their frames were square, not round.
1 Kings 7:32 There were four wheels under the frames, and the wheel axles were part of the water cart; each wheel was 1 ½ cubits tall.
1 Kings 7:33 The wheels’ design was like that of chariot wheels: their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.
1 Kings 7:34 Four supports were at the four corners of each water cart; each support was one piece with the water cart.
1 Kings 7:35 At the top of the cart was a band nine inches high encircling it; also, at the top of the cart, its braces and its frames were one piece with it.
1 Kings 7:36 He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the plates of its braces and on its frames, wherever each had space, with encircling wreaths.
1 Kings 7:37 In this way he made the ten water carts using the same casting, dimensions, and shape for all of them.
1 Kings 7:38 Then he made ten bronze basins — each basin held 40 baths and each was six feet wide — one basin for each of the ten water carts.
1 Kings 7:39 He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the basin near the right side of the temple toward the southeast.
1 Kings 7:40 Then Hiram made the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling basins. So, Hiram finished all the work that he was doing for King Solomon on Yahveh’s temple:
1 Kings 7:41 two pillars; bowls for the capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;
1 Kings 7:42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars);
1 Kings 7:43 the ten water carts; the ten basins on the water carts;
1 Kings 7:44 the basin; the twelve oxen underneath the basin;
1 Kings 7:45 and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling basins. All the utensils that Hiram made for King Solomon at Yahveh’s temple were made of burnished bronze.
1 Kings 7:46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.
1 Kings 7:47 Solomon left all the utensils unweighed because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.
1 Kings 7:48 Solomon also made all the equipment in Yahveh’s temple: the gold altar; the gold table that the Bread of the Presence was placed on;
1 Kings 7:49 the pure gold lampstands in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;
1 Kings 7:50 the pure gold ceremonial bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles, and firepans; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the most holy place) and for the doors of the temple sanctuary.
1 Kings 7:51 So all the work King Solomon did in Yahveh’s temple was completed. Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father David — the silver, the gold, and the utensils — and put them in the treasuries of Yahveh’s temple.

he establishes it in strength

Combining the meaning of the two names of the pillars, we discover a faith statement about the temple itself, and the planet it symbolizes. The symmetry of the temple’s construction, along with the abundant supply for all its services portrays a God who sustains everything for all time. The temple was a faith statement about God.

Can you make that faith statement about your life — that God is establishing it by his strength. Are you waiting on the LORD and having your strength renewed? Can you do all things through Christ who gives you strength?

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showcase

Posted on September 9, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Photo by Bruno Thethe on Pexels.com

showcase

1 Kings 7:1-12 (JDV)

1 Kings 7:1 Solomon completed his entire palace complex after thirteen years of construction.
1 Kings 7:2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. It was a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars.
1 Kings 7:3 It was covered above with cedar at the top of the chambers that rested on forty-five pillars, fifteen per row.
1 Kings 7:4 There were three rows of window frames, facing each other in three tiers.
1 Kings 7:5 All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other in three tiers.
1 Kings 7:6 He made the hall of pillars fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars was in front of them.
1 Kings 7:7 He made the Hall of the Throne where he would judge — the Hall of Judgment. It was covered with cedar from the floor to the rafters.
1 Kings 7:8 Solomon’s own palace where he would live, in the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar construction. And he made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, his wife.
1 Kings 7:9 All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inner and outer surfaces, from foundation to coping and from the outside to the great courtyard.
1 Kings 7:10 The foundation was made of large, costly stones twelve and fifteen feet long.
1 Kings 7:11 Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood.
1 Kings 7:12 Around the great courtyard, as well as the inner courtyard of Yahveh’s temple and the portico of the temple, were three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.

showcase

David had been a shepherd and became a warrior and then a king. Solomon is a builder and a collector of wise sayings. His home and the other buildings described here are a showcase of his talent. You and I may never be able to build like Solomon, but we each have a talent that God wants us to show to the world.

LORD, show us how to showcase who we are and bring you glory in doing it.

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building his temple

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Photo by Stacey Koenitz R on Pexels.com

building his temple

1 Kings 6:1-38 (JDV)

1 Kings 6:1 Solomon began to build the temple for Yahveh in the four hundred eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month.
1 Kings 6:2 The temple that King Solomon built for Yahveh was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.
1 Kings 6:3 The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was twenty cubits long extending across the temple’s width, and ten cubits deep in front of the temple.
1 Kings 6:4 He also made windows with recessed frames for the temple.
1 Kings 6:5 He then built a chambered structure along the temple wall, encircling the walls of the temple, that is, the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around.
1 Kings 6:6 The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the walls.
1 Kings 6:7 The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
1 Kings 6:8 The door for the lowest side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They went up a stairway to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third.
1 Kings 6:9 When he finished building the temple, he covered it with boards and planks of cedar.
1 Kings 6:10 He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams; each story was five cubits high.
1 Kings 6:11 The word of Yahveh came to Solomon:
1 Kings 6:12 “As for this temple you are building– if you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep all my commands by walking in them, I will fulfill my promise to you, which I made to your father David.
1 Kings 6:13 I will dwell among the Israelites and not abandon my people, Israel.”
1 Kings 6:14 When Solomon finished building the temple,
1 Kings 6:15 he covered the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the ceiling surface, he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.
1 Kings 6:16 Then he lined twenty cubits of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling, and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place.
1 Kings 6:17 The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place, was forty cubits long.
1 Kings 6:18 The cedar covering inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
1 Kings 6:19 He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple to put the ark of Yahveh ‘s covenant there.
1 Kings 6:20 The interior of the sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high; he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar.
1 Kings 6:21 Next, Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold, and he hung gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary and overlaid it with gold.
1 Kings 6:22 So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was finished, including the entire altar that belongs to the inner sanctuary.
1 Kings 6:23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim ten cubits high out of olive wood.
1 Kings 6:24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long. The wingspan was ten cubits from tip to tip.
1 Kings 6:25 The second cherub also was ten cubits; both cherubs had the same size and shape.
1 Kings 6:26 The first cherub’s height was ten cubits and so was the second cherub’s.
1 Kings 6:27 Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one’s wing touched one wall while the second cherub’s wing touched the other wall, and in the middle of the temple, their wings were touching wing to wing.
1 Kings 6:28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
1 Kings 6:29 He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings– cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms– in the inner and outer sanctuaries.
1 Kings 6:30 He overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and the outer sanctuaries.
1 Kings 6:31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made olive wood doors. The pillars of the doorposts were five-sided.
1 Kings 6:32 The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees.
1 Kings 6:33 In the same way, he made four-sided olive wood doorposts for the sanctuary entrance.
1 Kings 6:34 The two doors were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels.
1 Kings 6:35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold applied evenly over the carving.
1 Kings 6:36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.
1 Kings 6:37 The foundation of Yahveh’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year in the month of Ziv.
1 Kings 6:38 In his eleventh year in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification. So, he built it in seven years.

building his temple

The process of discipleship is very much like that of Solomon building the LORD’s temple.

It is costly.
Much of the work is done away from the public eye.
It is detailed work, with great care taken for each aspect.
It is time-consuming. It cannot be done quickly.
LORD, give us a passion for building your temple within ourselves today.

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using the peace

Posted on September 7, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Photo by Matthew Barra on Pexels.com

using the peace

1 Kings 5:1-18 (JDV)

1 Kings 5:1 King Hiram of Tyre sent his emissaries to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place, because Hiram had always been friends with David.
1 Kings 5:2 Solomon sent this message to Hiram:
1 Kings 5:3 “You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of Yahveh his God. This was due to the warfare all around him until Yahveh put his enemies under his feet.
1 Kings 5:4 Yahveh my God has now given me rest on every side; there is no enemy or crisis.
1 Kings 5:5 So I plan to build a temple for the name of Yahveh my God, according to what Yahveh promised my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the temple for my name.’
1 Kings 5:6 “Therefore, command that cedars from Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants’ wages according to whatever you say, for you know that not a man among us knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
1 Kings 5:7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be Yahveh today! He has given David a wise son to be over this great people!”
1 Kings 5:8 Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying, “I have heard your message; I will do everything you want regarding the cedar and cypress timber.
1 Kings 5:9 My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will break them apart there, and you can take them away. You then can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”
1 Kings 5:10 So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted,
1 Kings 5:11 and Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred thousand bushels of wheat as food for his household and one hundred ten thousand gallons of oil from crushed olives. Solomon did this for Hiram year after year.
1 Kings 5:12 Yahveh gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
1 Kings 5:13 Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel; the labor force numbered thirty thousand men.
1 Kings 5:14 He sent ten thousand to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram oversaw the forced labor.
1 Kings 5:15 Solomon had seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains,
1 Kings 5:16 not including his thirty-three hundred deputies in charge of the work. They supervised the people doing the work.
1 Kings 5:17 The king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.
1 Kings 5:18 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the temple’s construction.

using the peace

I was a G.I. Bill soldier. I joined the army during peacetime and only trained for war. By God’s grace I never engaged in it. One of the advantages of having a peace-time army is that the country has a good supply of men and women who can help those who experience crisis and disaster, and help bring order back to the chaos they are experiencing. A nation is wise to utilize its military in such a way.

Solomon drafted a peacetime army of men from Israel and hired thousands of others from elsewhere. There was no battle to fight. There was a house to build: a temple to the Lord. The entire project was an expression of worship. The God who had given peace was praised when his people used their peace to express their love for him. How are we using the peace that God has given us?

Lord, teach us how to use our peace to build a house for you.

Originally published in Maranatha Devotions, Saturday, October 29, 2016.

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a reputation

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Photo by Rachel Claire on Pexels.com

a reputation

1 Kings 4:20-34 (JDV)

1 Kings 4:20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.
1 Kings 4:21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt. They offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
1 Kings 4:22 Solomon’s provisions for one day were 150 bushels of fine flour and 300 bushels of meal,
1 Kings 4:23 ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,
1 Kings 4:24 for he had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza and over all the kings west of the Euphrates. He had peace on all his surrounding borders.
1 Kings 4:25 Throughout Solomon’s reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beer-sheba, each person under his own vine and his own fig tree.
1 Kings 4:26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
1 Kings 4:27 Each of those deputies for a month in turn provided food for King Solomon and for everyone who came to King Solomon’s table. They neglected nothing.
1 Kings 4:28 Each man brought the barley and the straw for the chariot teams and the other horses to the required place according to his assignment.
1 Kings 4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore.
1 Kings 4:30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
1 Kings 4:31 He was wiser than anyone– wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.
1 Kings 4:32 Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005.
1 Kings 4:33 He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
1 Kings 4:34 Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king in the land who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.

a reputation

Solomon drew people to himself by his reputation. This would give him an opportunity to showcase God’s grace. A reputation itself may not be a good thing. But using that reputation to lead people to God can be.

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he gave them jobs

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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he gave them jobs

1 Kings 4:1-19 (JDV)

1 Kings 4:1 King Solomon reigned over all Israel,
1 Kings 4:2 and these were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok, priest;
1 Kings 4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha, secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, court historian;
1 Kings 4:4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar, priests;
1 Kings 4:5 Azariah son of Nathan, in charge of the deputies; Zabud son of Nathan, a priest and adviser to the king;
1 Kings 4:6 Ahishar, in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda, in charge of forced labor.
1 Kings 4:7 Solomon had twelve deputies for all Israel. They provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month out of the year.
1 Kings 4:8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
1 Kings 4:9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;
1 Kings 4:10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (he had Socoh and the whole land of Hepher);
1 Kings 4:11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (Taphath daughter of Solomon was his wife);
1 Kings 4:12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
1 Kings 4:13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
1 Kings 4:14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
1 Kings 4:15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also had married a daughter of Solomon– Basemath);
1 Kings 4:16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
1 Kings 4:17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;
1 Kings 4:18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;
1 Kings 4:19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan. There was one deputy in the land of Judah.

he gave them jobs

Solomon inherited tremendous power, prominence, and prosperity – more than anyone else he knew. What he chose to do with that wealth showed great wisdom.

He employed people, giving them good jobs which provided for their needs and the needs of their extended families. He studied. He put his mind to work learning and teaching. He became well known for something besides his money.
LORD, should you bless us with wealth, may we use it wisely.

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gift of wisdom

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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gift of wisdom

1 Kings 3:16-28 (JDV)

1 Kings 3:16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
1 Kings 3:17 One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house.
1 Kings 3:18 On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby, and we were alone. No one else was with us in the house; just the two of us were there.
1 Kings 3:19 During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him.
1 Kings 3:20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and she put her dead son in my arms.
1 Kings 3:21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. That morning, when I looked closely at him I realized that he was not the son I gave birth to.”
1 Kings 3:22 “No,” the other woman said. “My son is the living one; your son is the dead one.” The first woman said, “No, your son is the dead one; my son is the living one.” So they argued before the king.
1 Kings 3:23 The king replied, “This woman says, ‘This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.'”
1 Kings 3:24 The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword to the king.
1 Kings 3:25 And the king said, “Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
1 Kings 3:26 The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don’t have him killed!” But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”
1 Kings 3:27 The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.”
1 Kings 3:28 All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they feared the king because they saw that God’s wisdom was in him to carry out justice.

gift of wisdom

Solomon’s great wisdom was a gift from the LORD because he asked for it. James tells us that if anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God – who gives to all freely. God does not reserve his gifts for the prominent and powerful.

An example of Solomon’s wisdom is recorded in this chapter. The famous story of the two women claiming the same child was probably told thousands of times by the people. They feared their king’s wisdom because they realized it was a supernatural gift.

LORD, give us remarkable wisdom.

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faithful except

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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faithful except

1 Kings 3:1-15 (JDV)

1 Kings 3:1 Solomon allied himself with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. Solomon brought her to the city of David until he finished building his palace, Yahveh’s temple, and the wall surrounding Jerusalem.
1 Kings 3:2 However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, because until that time a temple for Yahveh’s name had not been built.
1 Kings 3:3 Solomon loved Yahveh by walking in the statutes of his father David, except he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
1 Kings 3:4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
1 Kings 3:5 At Gibeon Yahveh appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you?”
1 Kings 3:6 And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity. You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.
1 Kings 3:7 “Lord my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.
1 Kings 3:8 Your servant is among your people you have chosen, a people too many to be numbered or counted.
1 Kings 3:9 So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who can judge this great people of yours?”
1 Kings 3:10 Now it pleased Yahveh that Solomon had requested this.
1 Kings 3:11 So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life or riches for yourself, or the throat of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear justice,
1 Kings 3:12 I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.
1 Kings 3:13 In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for – both riches and honor, so that no king will be your equal during your entire life.
1 Kings 3:14 If you walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”
1 Kings 3:15 Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of Yahveh’s covenant, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.

faithful except

Solomon pleased God with what he asked for but did not always please God with how he managed his kingdom. Our God is gracious to us because we are not consistently faithful as he is. But we should learn a lesson from the whole life of Solomon. We should be careful not to allow alliances and compromises to ruin our witness.

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