INDICATORS
S. O. A. P.
Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional!
S-cripture:
1 Kings 7:1
It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.
O-bservation:
Here, in the first verse of this the seventh chapter of First Kings, we are immediately drawn to the word “HOWEVER.” Because of that one word, we are forced to look at the previous verse, which is the last verse of the sixth chapter of First Kings. It is in that passage that we find why the word “HOWEVER” is used. The writer said that it took seven years for Solomon to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Then we move to the first verse in the next chapter, and it says, “HOWEVER, it took Solomon thirteen years to build his own place.”
A-pplication:
Solomon finished his life so poorly after he had begun it so famously that we simply must look back on his life for “INDICATORS” that may point us to why it happened. The first indicator that Solomon was on the wrong path is that it took him almost twice as long to build himself a palace as it did for him to build the Temple of the Lord. Here’s something else that should be looked at. In Solomon’s living quarters, which appear to have museum size-like status, he built another living space exactly like it for JUST ONE of his wives, who was Pharaoh’s daughter. That’s mind-boggling when you consider he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines! It’s true that these “INDICATORS” certainly point to a man’s weakness, if not to his demise as a once-promising leader. Yes, he is known as the wisest king ever to live. Yet one swing through the book of Ecclesiastes and immediately one thinks you shouldn’t have spent twice as long building you a place to live than you did for the creator of the universe. AND … Pharaoh’s daughter? Really? Moses must be turning over in his grave.
P-rayer:
Dear Jesus,
I’m asking this AM for You to help me keep my eyes on You. That’s all. Amen
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