Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – 1 Kings 3:1-15
Set – 1 Kings 3; Psalms 78; 2 Thessalonians 2
Go! – 1 Kings 3; 2 Chronicles 1; Psalms 78; 2 Thessalonians 2
1 Kings 3:1-15
1 Solomon then arranged a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, Egypt’s king. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David. He kept her there while he constructed his own house and the Eternal One’s temple and completed the wall surrounding Jerusalem. 2 However the people were still offering sacrifices at the high places because a temple had not been constructed for the Eternal until then.3 Solomon’s heart belonged to the Eternal. Solomon abided by the same laws as his father, David. The only difference was that Solomon offered sacrifices and incense at the high places. 4 Solomon went to Gibeon—the great high place—and presented 1,000 burnt offerings at the altar.
5 The Eternal revealed Himself to Solomon in a dream while he was still in Gibeon.
Eternal One: Tell me, what is your request of Me?
Solomon: 6 You have already revealed Your loyal love to my father, David, for he lived by Your truth and righteousness and honor during the days of his life. You have continued to show this loyal love to him by giving him a son who now reigns upon his throne. 7 Eternal One, my God, You have allowed me to serve as my father David served, but I am still young and inexperienced. I don’t know much about anything, 8 yet I am supposed to lead Your chosen people who are innumerable and even uncountable. 9 Please give Your servant a listening heart for judging Your people and for knowing the difference between what is good and what is evil. Who is capable of judging Your chosen ones, a great people?
10 The Lord was delighted by Solomon’s request.
Eternal One: 11 Since you have asked for wisdom and not for an extended lifetime or for personal wealth or for the annihilation of your enemies, since you have instead asked for the ability to understand justice, 12 I will honor your request. I have planted the deepest human wisdom into your heart. There has never been nor will there ever be a man like you.
13 I have also given you the things for which you have not asked—wealth and an honorable reputation. There will be no other kings like you for as long as you live. 14 If you live a life devoted to Me, if you remain loyal to My laws and commands just as your father David did, then I will add days to your life.
15 Solomon woke up from his dream. He then returned to Jerusalem and visited the Eternal’s covenant chest and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he prepared a great feast for all those who were in his service.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
Asking from your heart for what is truly important makes a difference with Me. Solomon came to Me with a petition I didn’t refuse when he became king of Israel. He could have asked for anything. Israel still found itself surrounded by enemies. David defeated all of them and they all paid taxes to Israel, but now Solomon sat on the throne and all were eager to test this new young king and see if he would be the same kind of king they saw in his father. He could have asked for the defeat of all his enemies. But he didn’t.
Solomon could have asked for great wealth. His father spent great sums on the materials for the Temple he told Solomon to build and he gave to his friends lavishly. He brought Mephibosheth to his table and several others that didn’t deserve his benevolence, yet he still fed them and cared for them because of the grace and mercy I showed him an do he showed others. Consequently, David didn’t have great sums of personal wealth to give to Solomon, so he could have asked for wealth. But he didn’t.
Solomon could have asked for power or fame or glory or knowledge. There are many things the world held in esteem that Solomon could have asked for in his prayer to Me that day. Instead, he understood the task ahead of him as king of My people and he humbly came to Me and asked for the wisdom to rule My people. He grew up in the palace and saw some of the mess his father had made, and some of the good decisions his father had made as well.
Solomon knew he wasn’t smart enough or wise enough to take on the burden of ruling this kingdom alone and came to Me with a humble heart. I knew his prayer was genuine at the time, because I can see inside your heart and mind. I know genuine when you cannot. His prayer was genuine then. And I granted Solomon’s request. And I gave him everything else he didn’t request. I defeated his enemies, gave him great wealth, fame, power, and knowledge like no one before or since. I knew his heart and at the time it was genuine.
I’ll answer your prayers, too. But you must also know that when your mouth says, “Give me wisdom.” But your heart says, “So I can gain wealth.” I know your heart. It’s your heart, not your mouth, I listen to most. I cannot be deceived. I know what is best for you, too. Often, wealth is not what you need. Remember My words when I walked with you? “It’s harder for a rich man to make it into the kingdom than a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” You might not want to be rich after all. This world’s riches aren’t so great when you think about it in those terms.
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