(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)
(1 Kings 9:1-28) Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all that Solomon desired to do, 2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have offered before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there always. 4 As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and honesty, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My ordinances, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not be deprived of a man on the throne of Israel.’
6 “But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have placed before you, but you go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will expel from My sight. So Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and hiss and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ 9 And they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”
10 Now it came about at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house 11 (Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and juniper timber and gold, satisfying all his desire), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 So Hiram left Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him. 13 And he said, “What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?” So they have been called the land of Cabul to this day. 14 And Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
15 Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and overthrown Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city; and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower Beth-horon, 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the storage cities which Solomon had, that is, the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule. 20 As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the sons of Israel, 21 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were unable to completely eliminate, from them Solomon conscripted forced laborers, as they are to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his commanders, his charioteers, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.
23 These were the chief officers who were in charge of Solomon’s work, 550, who ruled over the people doing the work.
24 As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, he then built the Millo.
25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, burning incense with them on the altar which was before the Lord. So he finished the house.
26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir and received 420 talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
6 “But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have placed before you, but you go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will expel from My sight. So Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and hiss and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ 9 And they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”
10 Now it came about at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house 11 (Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and juniper timber and gold, satisfying all his desire), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 So Hiram left Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him. 13 And he said, “What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?” So they have been called the land of Cabul to this day. 14 And Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
15 Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and overthrown Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city; and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower Beth-horon, 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the storage cities which Solomon had, that is, the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule. 20 As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the sons of Israel, 21 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were unable to completely eliminate, from them Solomon conscripted forced laborers, as they are to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his commanders, his charioteers, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.
23 These were the chief officers who were in charge of Solomon’s work, 550, who ruled over the people doing the work.
24 As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, he then built the Millo.
25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, burning incense with them on the altar which was before the Lord. So he finished the house.
26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir and received 420 talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
The word that stuck out for me today was "adopted" (in verse 9). When we worship other gods (idols, religions or lifestyles), WE adopt THEM. We are the "parent" and dictate how we want to behave and believe, but that religion or belief is emptiness and does nothing for a person... except to feel maybe self-satisfied and kind of - just a little bit - in control... of one's life and destiny.
Well, when someone chooses another belief system, they are choosing to NOT have God in their life, so they are left on their own to figure out life as best as they can, and after death they will be going to a place that is completely absent of God and His goodness. No one can be angry at God for that, because He has given all of us a free will, and He fairly gives everyone enough time. And because He never forces Himself on anyone, God allows us all to see and experience both good and evil in order to make an educated decision.
At the same time, God loves everyone and desires that we all become children of God. God freely offers salvation to anyone who will believe in Him, which includes His work on the cross. He paid the price for us, and it is GOD who adopts US. And as we allow and desire - He does the work in us and for us. Not only is He sovereign and in control, God is the perfect heavenly Father.
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