MAY 21 READINGS...1 Kings 3:16-28 & 1 Kings 5:1-18 & 2 Chronicles 2:1-18 & 1 Kings 6:1-13 & 2 Chronicles 3:1-14 & 1 Kings 6:14-38
As Solomon begins his rule as king of Israel he immediately shows the wisdom that the Lord had given him. He makes a decision concerning two women fighting over a child. One woman had rolled over on her baby in the night and had killed the baby...she took the other ladies’ baby while she was sleeping. They argued before the king as to which one was the real mother. Solomon told his servants to cut the baby in half and give half to each woman. The real mother said “No!”...and told the king to give the baby to the other woman...while the other lady told him to kill the baby so neither would have a child. Of course, Solomon knew then who the child’s mother was and return her child to her. Solomon’s wisdom is shown here not so much in the final decision, that was easy...his wisdom was in coming up with a way to discern for sure who the baby belonged to. The mother would surely fight for her child’s life...and the bitter woman who had lost her child would only have her bitterness fed by someone else’s misery. The Lord blessed Solomon in the eyes of the people in giving him great wisdom...and allowing him have peace in the land.
It was time now to build the Lord’s temple...God was about to fulfill his promise to David, in allowing Solomon to build the temple. The Lord gives Solomon favor with King Hiram of Tyre in order to have the beautiful cedars from Lebanon for the building of temple. This building of the temple would require approximately 180,000 works, both skill and unskilled. Where would these men come from? The king would conscript them into service. You may remember this was actually part of the warning given to the people when they wanted a king...they were warned that a king would take their sons and daughters and force them to serve. This was not short-term service, for we are told it took seven years for the temple to be built...while this was going on, they were also building Solomon’s magnificent palace. Here is a lesson...when we surrender our freedom to any potentate, we have to do what they say. That is why in the church we surrender ourselves only to the Lord...for only He has our very best interest at heart. Be careful who you bend your knee to...only One gave everything for you, and cares about what is the very best for you.
Please share your thoughts from today’s readings. Walk in the wisdom of the Lord...and keep your focus on Jesus, who is our great and merciful King!
TOMORROW’S READINGS...1 Kings 7:1-51 & 2 Chronicles 3:15-4:22
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