Today there are 6 chapters in 1 Kings to be covered, so I am
reading them with an eye toward pulling out a verse or application I believe
might be worthy of expounding. The goal
is always to point to Scripture as living and active – applicable to my life
and your life today. So, that said, let
us see where The Holy Spirit leads.
I am drawn to Solomon’s prayer at the end of these assigned
readings. Solomon praised the LORD and
he prayed for the people. The Life Application Bible Notes points out Solomon’s
prayer had five basic requests: God’s presence, a desire to do God’s will,
desire to obey Gods decrees, help with each day’s needs, and for the spread of
God’s Kingdom. I am reminded of The LORD’s
Prayer when reading these petitions.
1
Kings 8:56-61 (NIV)
"Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time."
"Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time."
When I read the passages above, I am reading them like a prayer,
and even adding an Amen, to the ending. May the LORD our God be with us. May he
never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, that all the
peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no
other. Amen
This
is just what I need to be praying about and for during this season of
life. As people are so focused on
worldly happenings, celebrities, and how to get ahead, it is imperative we pray
for God to be with us and never leave us. Our prayers should be for our neighbors who
are caught up in things ungodly, praying for Him to turn their hearts and that all the
peoples of the earth may know God.
Read 1 Kings 3-8 here
Listen to 1 Kings 3-8 here
1 comment:
Before I get started, how about some comments from some other folks? Let’s get a conversation going!
Judy’s right, there was a lot of material in today’s readings. Chapter 3 spoke to me. Several things came out:
1. Wisdom doesn’t happen by accident, but only comes if one makes time to be in relationship w/ God. “Solomon loved Yahweh,” 1 Kings 3:3(New Jerusalem Bible), and his actions showed it. He was a busy guy—he was king after all—but he made time to get away from Jerusalem to be w/ God at Gibeon. In other words he made relationship w/ God a priority. That laid the groundwork for God to give him the gift of wisdom. Solomon realized it too—that’s why he stressed that relationship w/ God is an essential precondition to real wisdom. See Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, & 15:33.
2. Solomon’s response to God’s offer in 1 Kings 3:5 reflects the attitude—and results—that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 6:33. Solomon put God’s Kingdom first by asking for skills to help him discharge his duties towards that kingdom. And Like Jesus promised in Matthew 6:33, he got other good things too.
3. Solomon also paralleled Jesus in his use of his wisdom. 1 Kings 3: 16-22 describes a pretty dysfunctional situation populated by folks that most of us would prefer to avoid. But instead of doing that (as he easily could have as king), he engaged and put his God given gifts to work to do what he could to fix some of the dysfunction.
Sound familiar? Romans 5: 8 and Philippians 2:5-8 tell us that Jesus came to us in spite of our dysfunction. The Gospels recount how he engaged with “undesirable” types to help them deal w/ the results of their depravity.
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