1 Kings 3:3-4:34 ~ Acts 6:1-15 ~ Psalm 126:1-6 ~ Proverbs 16:26-27
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Old Testament - Today in 1 Kings chapter 3 we read about King Solomon asking for wisdom from God! It is of note that Solomon is estimated to be about 20 years old in this chapter - he was born about half way through David's 40 year reign. So, he is a very young king. In verse 5 we read these words from God to Solomon – “Ask for whatever you want me to give you." In verses 7 through 9 we will read this amazing response from Solomon to God – “O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 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?" Solomon could have asked God for anything – more wealth, more power, more strength, more whatever, but he simply asked for wisdom. Why? Because he wanted to govern God’s people well and distinguish between right and wrong. Amazing. How would you or I answer this question today? What if God came to you today and said the same thing to you from verse 5 - “Ask for whatever you want me to give you." What would you ask for? Would you ask for Wisdom? If so, God offers this to you and me now. Where? I believe wisdom is offered to us through study of the Bible and by living in a loving and right relationship with God. We can receive the gift of God’s wisdom today! If we would answer this question from God differently – maybe wanting more money, or power, or whatever – do you think we might forfeit gaining wisdom? So, again, what if God were to say to you right now this same statement he said to Solomon? “Ask for whatever you want me to give you." What do you ask for? Below is a wonderful portrait by artist Guy Rowe of the young King Solomon praying for wisdom:
We then read about Solomon's wise judgment related to the two women and a baby. This is certainly verification that God fulfilled what he promised in verse 12 - "I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding mind such as no one else has ever had or ever will have!" Below is "The Judgment of Solomon" by Flemish painter Antoon Claeissens, circa 1600:
As we read 1 Kings 4 verses 29, 32 & 33 I am reminded that some say Solomon was the last person on earth (well besides Jesus of course) who knew everything there was to know about any and all subject's of the day - "God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge too vast to be measured. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish." Solomon was obviously one wise person. What do you think the wisest thing about Solomon was? I think it was this - he was in relationship with God. That was the #1 wisest decision Solomon ever made. And it's the #1 wisest decision you or I could ever make - to be in relationship with God through his son Jesus. From this wise decision flows all other wisdom in our lives. But this decision is of primary importance... Are you as wise as Solomon in this regard? Does your heart belong to God?
New Testament - Acts 6 verse 2 is of interest to me today - ""We apostles should spend our time preaching and teaching the word of God, not administering a food program." When I first read this, I thought, "Wait a second! What's wrong with administering a food program??" Then, upon further reflection I realized the apostles were not saying anything was wrong with administering a food program - just that they were not called to it. They were called to spend their time preaching and teaching the Word of God. Which of course is true Food in the spiritual sense. So - I think this is important for us to realize today as well. I think sometimes we might get a bit grouchy if we don't see our pastors or ministers at every single church function or event - but we have to realize they are not called to do every single thing that we, the body of the church, are called to. One of their primary roles is to preach and teach the word of God. So, they may need us to volunteer at or administer a food program while they are doing what they are called to. Each of us are important parts of the body of Christ. And each part of the body has different functions. We shouldn't get upset if one part of the body is not doing exactly what we are doing. And yes, there are times when community & fellowship will bring us all together - which typically is worship on Sundays. Let us come together as many members but one body without complaint toward others who are called to other holy tasks!
Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "Waiting on the Widows" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 126 has a great verse today. I always love the verses in Psalms that speak about water! I don't know what it is about these verses, but here's verse 4: "Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert." Do you believe that God can restore your life like water restores the desert? Will you allow God's water into all the nooks & crannies in your life that are in need of renewal?
Do you believe that God is living water? Are you thirsty for that living water in your life? Will you drink the Water?
Bible.org's commentary on Psalm 126 titled "Joyful Deliverance from Captivity" is at this link.
Proverbs - I like Proverbs 16 verse 26 today! "It is good for workers to have an appetite; an empty stomach drives them on." This wisdom reminds me of the old adage - "Lord, don't make me too rich that I forget you or too poor that I curse you." It's better to be a bit "hungry" I think... What are you hungry for? I do pray that we are hungry each and every day for God's Word, the Bible!
(On another note of food related hunger - in years past, June was National Hunger Awareness Day in the U.S. Learn more about the 38 million people living in the U.S. who do not know where their next meal will come from and how you can make a different volunteering or giving food to your local food bank at this link: www.hungerday.org)
Worship God: Today's Proverb reminds me of Kathryn Scott's song "Hungry, Falling on My Knees:"
Are you Hungry for God? Click here to be nourished!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:10 NIV
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: What are you hungry or thirsty for in your life right now? Are you hungry for wisdom like young Solomon was hungry for wisdom? Are you thirsty to know God more? Are you hungry to love Jesus more? Are you thirsty to read the Bible every day? Are there people around you in your life who may also be hungry? What are they hungry for? Will you help feed them? Spiritually, mentally, physically? Like the food program we read about in Acts today, when was the last time you volunteered at your local food bank or soup kitchen or homeless shelter? If you are called to it, will you sign up to volunteer out there again in this next month? Will you get in the monthly habit of volunteering to feed someone in some way? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
This morning as I read where God asked Solomon what he wanted...I wondered how someone with so much wisdom eventually fell.So I asked God to give me a will after His will and to conform my pleasures to His.
"And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life."..........
This verse for some reason kinda shows me God's mercy...yep weird I know but that's what went through my mind as I read it this morning.What's the purpose of having a long life if you're not obeying God?A long life of getting God mad at us...I'd prefer a warning,a chance to repent....and a "get up here before you become satan's" call.Since God knows our hearts and where we're headed...sometimes a short life but one with God is better than a long life that started off with God then ended up on satan's side...
Posted by: Anka | June 08, 2008 at 12:12 PM
1 Kings 3:3-4:34
Hmmmm, Israel was told by God,
When you come to the land which the Lord your God gives you …and then say, We will set a king over us …You shall surely set as king over you him whom the Lord your God will choose. … you may not set a foreigner, who is not your brother, over you. But he shall not multiply horses to himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to multiply horses, since the Lord said to you, You shall never return that way. And he shall not multiply wives to himself, that his [mind and] heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. And when he sits on his royal throne, he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, out of what is before the Levitical priests. And he shall keep it with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn [reverently] to fear the Lord his God, by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them, That his [mind and] heart may not be lifted up above his brethren and that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left; so that he may continue long, he and his sons, in his kingdom in Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:14-20 AMP)
Did Solomon really need to forge an alliance with Egypt by marriage? It may have worked in the short term but what price would have to be paid in the future? Solomon was given wisdom because he ask for wisdom in leading God’s people, but having wisdom and properly applying that wisdom in all areas of his life is a different story.
I as a believer have been given the Wisdom of God, Jesus Christ. Have I used the Wisdom that I have effectively and efficiently? In truth I have to say, “NO.”
My goal is to move from having a mental assenting of the knowledge of the Word, to incorporating and infusing the Word I have been given into every fiber of my being.
Posted by: R | June 08, 2008 at 12:13 PM
Mike,
Your explanation of Acts 6:2 ""We apostles should spend our time preaching and teaching the word of God, not administering a food program," is right on the money, in my humble opinion. Too often, we think the Pastor’s job is to do everything and be everywhere to help me, myself and I. His job is to feed the sheep, milk the goats and kick out the wolves.
God made the family first then the church. So the pastor’s responsibility is to meet the needs of his family then as his vocation tend to the sheep. One of the things your Blog is doing is helping Christians to mature in the faith so we will become mature in the faith and be a help to the ministry. The more “Word” we know the more we “Grow” and the more we become accountable for what we know.
In the King James that 2nd verse reads “waiting on tables,” instead of administering a food program. I’ve come to understand “waiting on tales” as meaning doing what one has not been called to do. In the natural world when a tool or machine is not used according to its design, it will be useless, ineffective and inefficient, and just break down. Iif you use an item that comes with a warranty wrongly the manufacture will not honor the service contract.
I Kings 2:2-4:34
I am rather troubled by this line in verse three of chapter three:
“…except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local altars”
Aaron’s descendents were the only priests allowed to handle sacrifices and I believe the offering was to be on one alter alone and that place would be designated by God.
In the seventeenth chapter of Deuteronomy God gave instructions for Israel’s kings to follow,
14 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us," 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again." 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom.
Solomon begins to deviate slightly from these instructions and we may tend to overlook some things when all is going well, the subjects stomachs are full and every family has their own property, yet one can be off just slightly at the beginning of one’s journey and end up miles off course as time goes by. We can be so “pumped up” by the blessings that have come upon us and overtaken us we become careless in handling the Word of God.
The Wisdom Solomon had was not his but God’s. The wisdom Solomon had was not because Solomon was so great and righteous but it was because he recognized his own inadequacy to rule God’s people and asked for Wisdom. It is the ask, seek, and knock principal Jesus spoke about. (Matthew 7:7)
My prayer is that I don’t become foolish in my use of what God has given me and that I recognize that there is nothing in and of myself that distinguishes me from any other person. Everything I have has been given to me by God I am just a steward over what he has placed in my hands. My job is to remember that fact.
Acts 6:1-15
In reading through this passage again, I recognize a pattern of behavior begun with Cain back in Genesis. If Stephen’s face is shinning in the midst of false accusations, it would seem that the crowd would understand that they are not dealing with an ordinary event. This is clearly a “sign,” yet instead of allowing their hearts to be convicted, they try to quench the Light they all have seen in Stephen’s face.
Cain is told by God after bringing the wrong kind of offering,
6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
Instead of correcting his behavior, repenting and doing what is acceptable, he kills his brother. It seems that this pattern continues today though murder and character assassination. We feel it is better to remove the other person then to repent. How sad.
Psalm 126:1-6
5 Those who plant in tears
will harvest with shouts of joy.
6 They weep as they go to plant their seed,
but they sing as they return with the harvest
What Christians have been called to do is not easy; however, the benefits far outweigh the pain.
Proverbs 16:26-27
I believe the hunger talked about in verse twenty-six is not just the hunger of our natural stomach, but a hunger in our bellies for the things of God. That emptiness can drive us to acquire “junk food” which will satiate the hunger pains but have no nutritional value, or it can drive us to seek the true nourishment that only the Bread of Life, Jesus, can bring.
Posted by: R | June 08, 2008 at 12:13 PM
I am trying to imagine how it was for Solomon, growing up in the palace, not the first son of the King (David), nor the second, nor even third.
Were his siblings kind to him?
What kind of teachers/tutors did Solomon have that helped him to understand the value of wisdom and knowledgle?
What bearing did the story of his older sibling's death as a result of David's sin have on Solomon in his household and in his community; those who knew of Uriah's honor and of Bathsheba's infidelity?
It does take a village, doesn't it?
___________________________
The book I am reading, "Always Ready, Directions for Defending the Faith" by Greg L. Bahnsen relies heavily on the notion (truth) that ALL WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE come from God; Solomon is another testimony to that truth.
THESE MEN BEGAN TO ARGUE WITH STEPHEN, 10BUT THEY COULD NOT STAND UP AGAINST HIS WISDOM OR THE SPIRIT BY WHOM HE SPOKE.
Here again, we have that "wisdom" that only comes from the Spirit of God, against which they could only lie, twist the truth, and stir the people up!
15ALL WHO WERE SITTING IN THE SANHEDRIN LOOKED INTENTLY AT STEPHEN, AND THEY SAW THAT HIS FACE WAS LIKE THE FACE OF AN ANGEL.
~ ~ ~
Interesting text to ponder.
What does the "face of an angel" look like to you? Is it a cherub?
Is it a beautiful woman like is seen at the top of a Christmas tree?
Is it like the commercials for cream cheese?
Or is it like those angels who were fierce in appearance, who guarded the garden of Eden?
Or was it holy like the men Abraham entertained when they told him of Isaac's birth?
Or like those same men he accompanied partway to Sodom and Gomorrah?
Have you ever seen Scripture depict an angel as child-like or feminine?
What description to you think the "angel" fits for what the Sanhedrin perceived in Stephen's face?
Posted by: Sue | June 08, 2008 at 12:14 PM
A great way to start off this chapter: "And Solomon loved the LORD". I wish this could be said of me, someone known to love th Lord. His love is proven because as it goes on, Solomon walked in His statues, He obeyed. He sought to please the Lord by desiring wisdom above all else.
Just by reading the Proverbs you can see a glimpse of the tremendous wisdom God gave him.
I love in Acts that they appointed the various people to different tasks, not that one was less then the other. we kinda tend to think certain callings are higher up, but they arent, they are God appointed. whether its being a pastor or a toilet scrubber! we all are different parts of the church, whether seen by others of not. Stephen was a server, like a waiter and that was his place. God used him greatly, and going down in history as being the first martyr who prayed for those who killed him. no matter what we do, we should do unto the Lord, for Him, and joyfully.
I like that they said the council looked at Stephen and "saw his face as the face of an angel".
I love Ps v. 5: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." what this is saying is those who cry tears of repentance! when we fall down and repent and see ourselves as we are compared to Christ, i think we all have wept our eyes out! May this be a lifelong thing, not just at conversion, but when we sin, we should feel great pain n sorrow. But God bestows such an overflowing joy when we receive forgiveness and let go of the the past and realize God has put our sins far from us and so should we. We arent to carry guilt around. Once i felt such guilt over a sin, it haunted me for years, though i knew God forgave me, I didnt let it go. thats not trusting God. I realized the enemy is the accuser of the brethern and would love for me to hold on to guilt and shame and feel like i am of no use to God and give up, thats the enemy's goal. but God casts our sin as far as the east is from the west and we should respect Him and believe Him that its forgiven. Sometimes we may want to hold on to guilt cause we think we deserve it. and, we do. but God is gracious and wants us to be free!! repent and move on! there is no sin too great that Christ did not take upon Himself, if we ask and receive His forgiveness and mercy! Its a gift, we didnt earn it nor do we deserve it. I dont understand it, but I'll take it!
Posted by: Jenny | June 08, 2008 at 12:15 PM
A great way to start off this chapter: "And Solomon loved the LORD". I wish this could be said of me, someone known to love th Lord. His love is proven because as it goes on, Solomon walked in His statues, He obeyed. He sought to please the Lord by desiring wisdom above all else.
Just by reading the Proverbs you can see a glimpse of the tremendous wisdom God gave him.
I love in Acts that they appointed the various people to different tasks, not that one was less then the other. we kinda tend to think certain callings are higher up, but they arent, they are God appointed. whether its being a pastor or a toilet scrubber! we all are different parts of the church, whether seen by others of not. Stephen was a server, like a waiter and that was his place. God used him greatly, and going down in history as being the first martyr who prayed for those who killed him. no matter what we do, we should do unto the Lord, for Him, and joyfully.
I like that they said the council looked at Stephen and "saw his face as the face of an angel".
I love Ps v. 5: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." what this is saying is those who cry tears of repentance! when we fall down and repent and see ourselves as we are compared to Christ, i think we all have wept our eyes out! May this be a lifelong thing, not just at conversion, but when we sin, we should feel great pain n sorrow. But God bestows such an overflowing joy when we receive forgiveness and let go of the the past and realize God has put our sins far from us and so should we. We arent to carry guilt around. Once i felt such guilt over a sin, it haunted me for years, though i knew God forgave me, I didnt let it go. thats not trusting God. I realized the enemy is the accuser of the brethern and would love for me to hold on to guilt and shame and feel like i am of no use to God and give up, thats the enemy's goal. but God casts our sin as far as the east is from the west and we should respect Him and believe Him that its forgiven. Sometimes we may want to hold on to guilt cause we think we deserve it. and, we do. but God is gracious and wants us to be free!! repent and move on! there is no sin too great that Christ did not take upon Himself, if we ask and receive His forgiveness and mercy! Its a gift, we didnt earn it nor do we deserve it. I dont understand it, but I'll take it!
Posted by: Mae | June 08, 2008 at 12:15 PM