Hey, Solomon.....

Solomon is most famous for his wisdom, which certainly helped in his other famous claim...that of building the Temple of God. But, unless we claim to be wiser than Solomon, stronger than Samson, or more in love with God than David, we are wise to learn from their mistakes. Oh, don't get me wrong! We know that these men were all used greatly by God, and this man Solomon certainly showed wisdom just in asking for wisdom! Hmmmm, let's try that again....God asked Solomon what He should give him, and Solomon asked for an understanding heart. There we go, now God was very pleased with his unselfish answer, and granted him that and so much more....

The building of the Temple took years of work, actually seven, to be specific. (I love to see that number, by the way.) We could write for weeks on the Temple and all that it means! I imagine there were many decisions to be made, some big and some small, but all very important. King Solomon spared no expense, as his father, David, had provided well for the supplies needed in this great task. One thing stuck out to me more than anything else, though. As we are reading the details of the Temple....the who did it, the what materials, the where of the foundation, the when it was built, and the how stones were crafted (no tools, by the way...important info for later!).....then all of the sudden, God breaks in and gives a little reminder, one we've heard before. Hey Solomon, "Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments and walk in them, then I will perform my word with you which I spoke to your father, David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and I will not forsake my people, Israel." Then, we go right back to building the temple....strange.

Remember how the Bible said it took seven years to build the Temple of the Lord God? Well next, Solomon started on his palace. I couldn't help but notice that it took almost twice that long to finish Solomon's own house. I wonder if this was an example of Solomon's misplaced priorities? Some of the very same building materials were used, yet it took so much longer, and they even got to use tools this time! I can't help but think of God's words, spoken to Solomon previously. In case you forgot those words: Hey Solomon, "Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments and walk in them, then.....I will dwell among the children of Israel, and I will not forsake my people, Israel." King Solomon did many things well in his reign, but is God trying to say something here?

Considering that the Bible is a historical document, and that it is full of events specific in chronological time frames, those seem secondary to what I keep noticing overall. Though the author of this book of the Bible is not named, I notice a consistency in his perspective. Each person in these books are weighed morally.....the author seems to be concerned with measuring if this certain king followed the law given through Moses, rather how closely did he follow God's covenant? Now, what were those words again?? Oh yeah....Hey Solomon: "Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments and walk in them, then I will...." You get the picture.

God makes Himself known to us in His word. The Bible is just a collection of things that happened in the world unless we keep the overall theme of the Book in mind. God created this world and everything in it, He desires a relationship with those He created, and so much so, that He continues to work in and through His people to accomplish His plan, rescuing us knowing we couldn't ever attain the qualifications to be with Him in all His holiness, if not for the blood sacrifice of a perfect Lamb. He loves us so much. He gave us so much. He even loved me long before I ever loved Him..... So I can't help but ask myself: Hey Jaybrena...