It's All in the Details

1 Kings 6

1 Kings 6 is one of those chapters you might be tempted to skip over.  It’s got a lot of numbers and measurements that may not make a lot of sense, but the significance is in the details.  Solomon built a temple for the Lord “according to its specifications.” He did this because the word of the Lord came to him and said “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father.  And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel” (v. 12-13).

Solomon did as instructed and took pride in the details.  He could have altered the plans and cut corners here and there, but he wanted to please God.  So, if God wanted twenty cubits at the rear of the temple lined with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form an inner sanctuary (v. 16), that’s what Solomon did.

Wouldn’t it be nice if God handed us blue prints and said, “Here, do it just like this.”  Well, He does through his Word.  The Bible contains our detailed instructions and our prayers help us figure out where to start and which way to go when we’re stuck.

It can be hard to decipher the exact measurements sometimes, but God provides grace.  If we’re a little short here, he extends mercy there.  The key is to pay attention to the details.  They’re there for a reason.  God has a plan and each delicate detail, no matter how small, plays an important part in what we are meant to do.  Each “cubit” adds texture and beauty to our lives.  

So, if God’s not cutting corners, then so mustn’t we.  Pay attention to the details, because they all add up to a glorious finished product – YOU.   

Families Pass Wisdom to Future Generations

A friend of mine was very successful in life. He had a good job, a great family, a nice house and was active in his church. Shortly after his father passed, he was sad. Not really depressed, he was melancholy, and he reflected on his dad. He and his dad were close, and his dad passed on a lot of information to him.


One week, things got a bit rough for my friend. It was the first time he needed his dad’s wisdom, but his dad was not there. With some levity, he confided in me, “My dad taught me everything I know. Too bad he did not teach me everything he knew!” Having knowledge and knowing how to apply it are two different things.


Today’s reading is Proverbs 2:1-8. King Solomon was giving advice to his son. Effectively, he told his son to seek God’s Word with more vigor than he would seek mines for silver and other hidden treasures.


Solomon was doing his duty as a father; he was teaching his son in the ways of God. Solomon was passing wisdom to future generations!


That is a father’s great deed in the time of Solomon and in our time as well!


God has given parents a tremendous responsibility when he entrusts them with one of his souls. A key part of that responsibility is to teach their children God’s Word, and train them to be disciples. Parents should not just teach, but also be there to show their children how to apply God’s Word in real life situations.


Today, families are often geographically separated for a variety of reasons. It is not always possible for a child to rely on his parents for advice as it once was.


We in a congregation are part of a family, God’s family. We can, and should, be ready to help, or accept help from, members of God’s family.

 

We can share God’s Word, and life’s applications, with each other.

 

After all, families pass on wisdom to future generations.

The reality of dreams

“At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’” 1 Kings 3:5

My father was a good dad. As a young boy, I loved him, admired him and trusted him. And as a seven-year old boy, I also lost him; he died of a heart attack one summer Sunday morning. Though there were plenty of happy moments in the growing-up years that followed, they emerged against a backdrop of emptiness. My father was gone and a great deal of my childlike trust in God might as well have been buried with him.

But years later, when I was 23, God gave me a dream. In my dream, my father was with me again and I as bringing him up to date on what had happened in my life ... that I had gone to college, graduated and had launched my career. With undivided attention, he listened with interest, pride and affirmation. So when I decided also to fill him in on my brother’s and sister’s lives, he said, “I know; you don't have to tell me.” A bit confused, I paused and said, “I just wanted you to know what else has happened since you died.” Then with his assuring grin and peaceful blue eyes, he replied simply, “I never died.” I immediately awoke – tears trickling out of the corners of my eyes – with the warmth of my father's love and a heart daring to hope again in God and his promise of eternal life.

Sometimes, God speaks to us through dreams because, in them, he has our complete attention. All other voices are quelled and it’s an honest encounter of two, each with the clarity and focus of undivided attention. Such was the case one night as Solomon slept …

God told Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted. Had it not been in a dream, who knows how Solomon would have responded amid the distractions of his kingly responsibilities. But in the quiet of sleep, Solomon was amazingly transparent with himself and with his God, for, though dreaming, he articulated a simple and clear reality: God had been kind to his father, David ... David had been faithful, righteous and upright in heart ... Solomon's ascension to the throne was out of God's kindness to David ... and Solomon was no David. “But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties,” he confessed. “So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

And how did God respond to Solomon's humble heart and unfiltered honesty? Just as he had intended. For God poured out upon Solomon so much wisdom and discernment that “there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.” And since Solomon asked not for his own good, but the good of “this great people,” God also gave him riches and honor beyond all other kings of his lifetime.

When we humbly and honestly come before our God – whether in a dream or fully awake – he listens with interest, pride and affirmation. And when we take time to still our hearts before him, God eagerly, lovingly and faithfully replies to a listening audience of one.

The Story - Chapter 13 - 1 Kings 1-2

David’s final words to his son, Solomon, were meant to encourage this young man to live his life for God. He was inspiring his offspring to keep his nose clean and remember all he had learned. What father doesn't want the best for his children? What father doesn't pray his children will walk a path that will lead to success and riches?

1 Kings 2:2-3 (NIV)
"I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go,…”

God had made promises to David and David wanted to be sure his son understood how important it would be to follow God, not wander off the path and lead the people astray. David heard God’s promise that his descendants would remain in office as kings, only when they honored and obeyed God.

“Walk in His ways,” sounds like an easy command. With so much at stake one would think it not too much of a strain to continue on this path. Solomon had so much worldly riches; one would think he would have been content and happy.

Solomon had a good example in his father, who before he died, shared valuable advice with him. It was up to Solomon to accept the advice and follow it or reject it and go his own way. We can learn from this too. There are people in our lives who try to share their experiences with us so we do not make the same mistakes as they. They want to help us, but sometimes we just don't hear or won't listen. As we read through The Story this week we will learn about Solomon and if he heeded his father's last words.


Read 1 Kings 1-2 here

Listen to 1 Kings 1-2 here