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111Ki006.mp3
Commentary
1 Kings 6
The temple is complete.
The great temple for the Lord, God of Israel is finally complete after 7 years of building. While Solomon was busy building the temple, about the time he was building the chambers, the Word of the Lord came to Solomon. This was a Word to renew the covenant that God had made with David, Solomon's father, concerning the blessings and success of the People, and of the kingdom. Verses 11 - 13 detail the renewed promise that God gave, this time directly to Solomon. I noticed that God approached Solomon with this promise only while he was in the middle of the project of building the temple... not before and not after.
This was the second time that God had approached Solomon. The first time, God offered Solomon anything he would ask. Because Solomon asked for wisdom, not for himself, but so that the People can be led carefully, and with good sense. God gave him far more than he asked for. Along with wisdom to exceed all men, he received prosperity, favor, and peace throughout the whole earth. Thus, Solomon in all his splendor.
This time, when the Lord approached Solomon, He vowed to give Solomon an established kingdom forever, or for as long as he and the People followed Him, and honored His ways. This "way" that the Lord spoke of, was the "way" He had been teaching the People, every sense He delivered them from Egypt, some 480 years before. This is a long time by any standards, especially for the People to learn and fully know what God expects from them.
We have been fully aware of what God expects from us for considerably longer than 480 years, yet we are farther from service and honor than we ever had been, as a chosen People of God. Who are we? What have we done with our covenant rights and promises? What have we done with our commitment? Is this thing even real to us anymore? The weapons set against us are not nations pressing against us, not as they were in David's time. The time we face now, with enemies all around us, is one of the greatest peril ever. We face direct opposition from the enemy of God. We face forces not seen with the natural eye. We face adversity from forces that we neither understand, nor even perceive.
We need supernatural instruments of war. We cannot overcome and conquer what we neither see nor understand, unless we are able to receive and execute instruction from God. What do we hope to build for God, to honor Him? Where do we hope for Him to dwell in our lives? He longs to dwell in our hearts, our souls, the very fabric of our "being". He wants to be our "all in all". Then we can see that which we face, and overcome it. "It shall not draw nigh thy dwelling".
Forget about how recently you have fallen short of a goal, or how far you have wandered. Be it yesterday, or even earlier today... it is not NOW. Now is the acceptable time to begin. Not "again" or anything like that... simply begin. Forget about how far you have come, or how far you have slipped away. None of that matters now. You have not failed God. You have not quit. It may have been a very long time sense you have done anything related to the calling in your heart, but it is not abandoned. Even if what you are going to do seems to have little or no relation to what you have been doing in the near or distant past, it is not abandoned projects. It is not a completely different one now. It is all a part of His divine plan. He can use all of it and make one masterpiece.
Build a temple for the Lord. All that we do for Him will directly improve us, as individuals. We are His temple. He dwells within us. All that we do for Him will improve the quality of who we are in Him, and He in us. Build that temple... from within.
Sunday, November 14, 2010 - 9:00 AM
