1 Kings 7

WEEK  9                                             1 Kings 7

TUESDAY  Reflections

God isn't against us having nice things. If you will recall God blessed many in the Old Testament with great riches. However, riches and the desire for the niceties of life can draw us away from God. I see here that it took Solomon 13 years to make his house, but if we recall the last chapter he spent 7 years on the temple. This causes me to question which was more important to him. 

As we read in Ecclesiastes, Solomon gave himself to building and doing great works but found that even after all of it without God everything he did was meaningless to him. As you read this chapter and consider the great and marvelous things Solomon did, remember when he looked back on them all they didn't bring him any peace or lasting happiness. Wealth isn't the answer to finding meaning or lasting joy.

1Ki 7:1-51
(1)  But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.
(2)  He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
(3)  And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.
(4)  And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.
(5)  And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.
(6)  And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.
(7)  Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.
(8)  And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.
(9)  All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.
(10)  And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
(11)  And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.
(12)  And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.
(13)  And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
(14)  He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
(15)  For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.
(16)  And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:
(17)  And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.
(18)  And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.
(19)  And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.
(20)  And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.
(21)  And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.
(22)  And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.
(23)  And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
(24)  And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.
(25)  It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
(26)  And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.
(27)  And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.
(28)  And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:
(29)  And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.
(30)  And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.
(31)  And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.
(32)  And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
(33)  And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.
(34)  And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.
(35)  And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.
(36)  For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about.
(37)  After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.
(38)  Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.
(39)  And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.
(40)  And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD:
(41)  The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;
(42)  And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;
(43)  And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;
(44)  And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;
(45)  And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass.
(46)  In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.
(47)  And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.
(48)  And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was,
(49)  And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
(50)  And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.
(51)  So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.

1 Kings 6

Temple Mound Jerusalem

WEEK  9                                            1 Kings 6

MONDAY  Reflections

Solomon made a great temple for God. What did God say concerning the temple? It wasn't thanks. It wasn't a promise of blessing. God said concerning the temple (and I paraphrase), none of this matters, I will bless you only if you obey me(verses 11-13). Other gods in ancient times supposedly gave great promises of riches, protection, and the like for making temples to them. Men in myth promised to make temples after the god or goddess blessed them during a quest. God, however, is never impressed by sacrifices or gifts. God is interested in obedience.

 

When you study God's law you see obedience isn't for God’s benefit but for ours.

1Ki 6:1-38
(1)  And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
(2)  And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
(3)  And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
(4)  And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.
(5)  And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:
(6)  The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.
(7)  And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
(8)  The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.
(9)  So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
(10)  And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
(11)  And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,
(12)  Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:
(13)  And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
(14)  So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
(15)  And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.
(16)  And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.
(17)  And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.
(18)  And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.
(19)  And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
(20)  And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.
(21)  So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.
(22)  And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
(23)  And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
(24)  And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.
(25)  And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.
(26)  The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
(27)  And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
(28)  And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
(29)  And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.
(30)  And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
(31)  And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
(32)  The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.
(33)  So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.
(34)  And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
(35)  And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.
(36)  And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
(37)  In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:
(38)  And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

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Jeremiah 45

WEEK  8                                             Jeremiah 45

SATURDAY  Reflections

Don't bother even trying.

 

At least in America, there is an attitude that if you want it and are willing to work hard you can get it. The amazing thing is that in many areas it is true. Getting wealth, notoriety, and position can come easier here than in any place in the world. So saying that you shouldn't even try seems completely wrong.

 

The truth is that in some places and definitely during the time of Jeremiah trying to get "great things" (45:5) is an exercise in futility. God was not being cruel to Baruch (Jeremiah's scribe). God was trying to save him from the pain of even more loss.

 

In Ecclesiastes chapter 3, it says there is a time to give up. This was that time. Trying to fight against it wasn't going to help. Yes, we shouldn't give up just because things are hard, but there is a time to walk away. There is a time to run away. Don't give up too early, but when God says to let go, it will save you a lot of disappointment.

Jer 45:1-5
(1)  The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
(2)  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch;
(3)  Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.
(4)  Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.
(5)  And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.

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Ecclesiastes 2

WEEK  8                                    Ecclesiastes 2

FRIDAY  Reflections

The preacher/teacher sums up that whether you are wise or foolish, rich or poor, eventually you're going to die and be forgotten. If we remember that the preacher is saying look at the world from 'under the sun" (a human perspective), then he is exactly right. The college professor who declares life and morality are meaningless is behind the times; Solomon already said this thousands of years ago.

 

The preacher says this is from the hand of God. One might think that vanity in life can't be from God, but it is if you don't have God in your life. A life without God can only be vanity because we were made to be in a relationship with God. Without God, there is nothing beyond our natural life. All we have in a life without God is what we can make of it: to eat, drink, and to enjoy our work.

 

The good news is God has made a way for us to have something greater than just this life if we'll take it. That something is Jesus and a life after this one. 

Ecc 2:1-26
(1)  I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
(2)  I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
(3)  I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.
(4)  I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
(5)  I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
(6)  I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
(7)  I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
(8)  I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
(9)  So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
(10)  And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.
(11)  Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
(12)  And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
(13)  Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
(14)  The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
(15)  Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
(16)  For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
(17)  Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
(18)  Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
(19)  And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
(20)  Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
(21)  For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
(22)  For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
(23)  For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
(24)  There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
(25)  For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
(26)  For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

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Matthew 8

WEEK  8                                                Matthew 8

THURSDAY  Reflections

This chapter sees Jesus performing several miracles, confirming that he is sent from God. Also, there are references to the faith of the centurion, the cost of following Jesus, the rebuke of the disciples for not having faith during the storm on the water, and the casting of the demons into the pigs. However, it is where Jesus is willing to go that I want to look at today.

 

Jesus, in verse 7, tells a Roman centurion that he will go to his house. This is completely contrary to what a Jewish religious leader of his day would do. The Romans were not only Gentiles butalso the people who had taken freedom from the children of Israel.  Possibly, the closest parallel would be an American evangelical pastor going to the home of an Al-Qaeda terrorist. Yet, Jesus saw something in this centurion that others would have missed and made the decision to go.

 

Jesus, here is the person who sees what others miss. It is a reminder that we need to be led by the Spirit and not by what we see. I know some people make overtures like this for a self-serving reason, but that isn't what Jesus was doing. It isn't what we should do. We need to be willing to go where we are needed and where the Spirit would have us, no matter what others think.

 

It's something to think about.  

Mat 8:1-34
(1)  When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
(2)  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
(3)  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
(4)  And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
(5)  And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
(6)  And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
(7)  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
(8)  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
(9)  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
(10)  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
(11)  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
(12)  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(13)  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
(14)  And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.
(15)  And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
(16)  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
(17)  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
(18)  Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
(19)  And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
(20)  And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
(21)  And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
(22)  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
(23)  And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
(24)  And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
(25)  And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
(26)  And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
(27)  But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
(28)  And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
(29)  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
(30)  And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
(31)  So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
(32)  And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
(33)  And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
(34)  And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

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