1/21/2011 5:35:13 AM
SPIRITUAL
DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Solomon expands his influence
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Ki. 8:26-10:13; 2Chron. 8:17-9:12
Message of the verses: This is too long to copy and paste so I will
just read it without putting it on this SD.
A lot of what was gone over in this
section has been studied before so I will try and focus in on what had not been
covered before and that is from 1Kings 10:1-13, which is the visit of the queen
of Sheba to Jerusalem and to see Solomon.
This visit took the queen of Sheba about 1500 miles, about the same
distance from New York to Miami, and one wonders how the accommodations were at
that time and how long it took for them to get there. It kind of reminds me of some of the movies
that I have seen with camels, and donkeys and large tents filled with many nice
things.
Solomon
and the rest of the nation of Israel had a wonderful opportunity to tell the
nations around them about the love of the Lord, and for the most part they
failed to do so. This text speaks of the
wonderful things that the queen of Sheba had to say about the God of Israel,
and yet there is no indication that she became a believer in the Lord. She was greatly impressed with the wisdom of
Solomon, and the Lord Jesus when he was on earth mentioned this account of her
visit, and then went on to say that there was One in their midst who was wiser
than Solomon and not many were listening to Him, and they did not have to
travel 1500 miles to see Him, for He was right there with them, but they, like
the queen of Sheba missed the message about the Lord.
The
people in Solomon’s day got use to Solomon’s wisdom and used to living in
luxury, and this is not something that is good.
Solomon the following, “16 ¶ Better is a little with the fear of the LORD
Than great treasure and turmoil with it. 17
Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served
with hatred.” I truly believe that this
is true.
I will now copy and paste 1Kings 10:1-13
because this is the text that I used for this section more than all of what is
mentioned above: “1 ¶ When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s
fame, which brought honor to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with
hard questions. 2 She arrived in
Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded
with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with
Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. 3 Solomon had answers for all her questions;
nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba realized how very
wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, 5 she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at
the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid
clothing, the cup-bearers, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple
of the LORD. 6 She exclaimed to the
king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is
true! 7 I didn’t believe what was said
until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the
half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. 8 How happy your people must be! What a
privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your
wisdom! 9 Praise the LORD your God, who
delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the
LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with
justice and righteousness.’’ 10 Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds
of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never again were so
many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 (In addition, Hiram’s ships brought
gold from Ophir, and they also brought rich cargoes of red sandalwood and
precious jewels. 12 The king used the
sandalwood to make railings for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace,
and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before or since has
there been such a supply of sandalwood.) 13
King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for, besides all
the customary gifts he had so generously given. Then she and all her attendants
returned to their own land.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Dr. Wiersbe mentioned that there is a danger
of people, that is believers to get used to the spiritual riches that they
have, something like what the people of Solomon’s day got used to the
material riches. I have been blessed by the Lord in spiritual
richness, and also material richness and for this I am thankful, however there
are times when I am not as thankful as I should be.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Not to get puffed up over spiritual riches or over
material riches, but be content in the things that I have, for all I have is a
gift from the Lord.
2.
Give myself to the Lord for worship and service
today.
3.
Remember that I am in a spiritual battle and in need
of the armor of God.
1/22/2011 9:32:14 AM
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