1/17/2011 5:42:28 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Solomon builds a palace
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Kings 7:1-12
Message of the verses: “1 ¶
Now Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished
all his house. 2 He built the house of
the forest of Lebanon; its length was 100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and
its height 30 cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the
pillars. 3 It was paneled with cedar
above the side chambers which were on the 45 pillars, 15 in each row. 4 There were artistic window frames in three
rows, and window was opposite window in three ranks. 5 All the doorways and doorposts had squared
artistic frames, and window was opposite window in three ranks. 6 Then he made the hall of pillars; its length
was 50 cubits and its width 30 cubits, and a porch was in front of them and
pillars and a threshold in front of them. 7
He made the hall of the throne where he was to judge, the hall of
judgment, and it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor. 8 His house where he was to live, the other
court inward from the hall, was of the same workmanship. He also made a house
like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had married. 9 All these were of costly stones, of stone cut
according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the
foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, even
large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, stone cut
according to measure, and cedar. 12 So
the great court all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams
even as the inner court of the house of the LORD, and the porch of the house.”
Today’s
SD begins a new chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1Kings and parts of
2chronicles, and he entitles the book “Be Responsible,” and chapter five is
entitled “The Kingdom, Power, and Glory.”
The chapter is described as a series of vignettes and today’s SD is the
first of these.
Dr.
Wiersbe writes the following in the introduction to this chapter: “But these activities also reveal Solomon’s
character and expose some of the areas of weakness that later produced a bitter
harvest. Gradually, Solomon became more
interested in prices than values, and in reputation rather than character, and
in the splendor of the kingdom rather than the good of the people and the glory
of the Lord.”
This
first section describes the great palace and living quarters that Solomon built
to live in and to house his harem, and to rule from. The reason that it is called “the house of
the forest of Lebanon,” is because it had so many cedar pillars in it. As far as taking twenty years to build the
two buildings, and only seven years to build the temple, it is supposed that
the outside of the temple took seven years and it took more time to build the
inside furnishings so the total time for both buildings was twenty years.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have to go to the introduction to pick up
on the spiritual meaning for my life today, and the part where Dr. Wiersbe
writes that Solomon became more interested in prices rather than in values. I have been fretting over finding a car to
drive while living on Kauai, and last night I was ready to go out and buy and
new truck, but my wife desired to continue to look at the car down the street,
a car that is owned by a Christian lady and it was just right down the
street. The Lord seemed to say to my
heart that there was no need to fret about this for I placed a car right down
the street for you to buy and there was no need to look at new ones as this one
will be for you. I suppose that perhaps
the church that this lady goes to should be the first one we visit too. I get embarrassed when I do things like this,
for God will never leave me nor forsake me.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Remember to wait on the Lord.
1/17/2011 6:03:29 AM
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