The Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s wisdom and wealth and wanted to see for herself if the stories were true. She discovered the stories didn’t even begin to do justice to the blessings God had poured out on Solomon. Despite being royalty herself, she was awestruck by every aspect of his royal splendor. Even the uniforms of his servants impressed her!

I imagine this is a glimpse of our reaction upon discovering the grace and glory of God. It is almost more than we can comprehend. Every tiny detail of our lives are part of a plan too grand for our finite minds to grasp.

Whatever field of study we pursue, there is always more to learn. It’s an infinite quest, because our understanding is growing but never finding the end of knowledge. Solomon said, “Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.” The greatest wisdom of man is just chasing after the wind that God creates with a word.

Have you ever seen one of the natural wonders of the world? The Grand Canyon? Victoria Falls? Mount Everest? Imagine the awesome power of a God who created such magnificence. Then consider the intricate design involved in the DNA, not just of humans, but of every living thing. Imagine the depths of the universe, where the Hubble telescope is sending out images from 128 light years away, showing us galaxies we never knew existed. “And God spoke and there was light.”

In our modern world, we like to take things apart. To figure out how they work. We want to see behind the curtain and understand what the magician’s trick is. God wired us with this curiosity that constantly strives to know more, to understand more. But God is no magician. He gave us this drive to learn and provides us with the classroom of creation, with millions of things for us to study and grow in knowledge. But all of these quests lead us back to Him.

One of my favorite pastimes is working puzzles. The more challenging, the better. But when I’ve finished, there is a sense of loss. Sure, there is satisfaction as well, but the quest is over. I’ve heard readers refer to it as “post-book depression” or a “readers hangover.” It’s this sadness of coming to an end.

But the beauty of growing in our love for God and seeking Him, is that it never ends. He is the magnificent puzzle that has no edge pieces! He is the series you love that never comes to an end! The hike in the woods that simply goes deeper and deeper! The dive that goes to depths beyond the sun’s reach!
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All of the curiosity and the desire for a quest, an adventure, it’s all found in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus.

God spoke to Solomon a second time after the temple and the palace were completed and renewed His promise to maintain the kingdom of Israel on the condition that the Israelites not abandon him. Throughout the Old Testament, many of God’s covenants with His people were contingent on them remaining His people. This isn’t a quid pro quo relationship, but a statement of fact regarding a relationship with God. Being in fellowship with God results in the blessings His presence provides; abandoning His presence deprives us of those blessings.

Not all, or even the most important, blessings of God are tangible things like a throne or a kingdom, but those concrete blessings illustrate the intangible riches and power of being a child of the King. In the New Testament, Jesus repeats the same concept when He tells the disciples in John 14:14, “Ask anything in my name, and I will do it.” Like in the Old Testament, the contingency is in Jesus’ name, in His will, or according to God’s purpose. We can only ask in this manner if we have a relationship that allows us a glimpse of His will and His purpose.

In the Old Testament, followers of God failed to maintain that relationship. They constantly turned back to spiritual slavery, to idolatry, to sinful behaviors that utterly rejected God’s place as sovereign. They did this time and time again because they lacked the ability to walk faithfully according to His statutes. The Old Testament is filled with the stories of those who desired to follow God, like Solomon, yet failed in a variety of ways. Their stories are the rising action of the gospel story! They bring us to the darkest moment of mankind’s story — the realization that we are helpless and hopeless to save ourselves.
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They explain the need for a savior to pay the penalty we couldn’t pay, and the Holy Spirit to enable us to live the life we couldn’t otherwise live.

The massive celebration at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple focuses on three aspects of God’s work in Israel. First, there is remembrance and celebration for what God has done in the past. Solomon called to mind God’s rescue of His people from slavery in Egypt, His leading and feeding them during the wilderness wandering, and His power in giving them victory over all their foes during King David’s reign. Next, he celebrated and called Israel to praise God for His current work, both in enabling the construction of the Temple and in answering the prayers of both the Israelites and Gentiles who recognized and called on God in prayer. The Temple was meant to be a place for all people to call on God, to repent, and to pray to the God of Israel. Finally, Solomon prophesied regarding the future and reminding Israel that even when they abandoned God and followed after false deities, they could turn back to this place, repent of their sin, and God would hear and forgive.

This pattern of recalling the past grace of God, celebrating the present work of God, and trusting the future plans of God seems like an excellent model for us as believers to celebrate important moments as well.

On a personal level, I’ll celebrate my birthday this month. Solomon’s example calls me to reflect on the amazing work that God has done in my life over the past 52 years, the many times when I could not see a way, but God provided. The times when I demonstrated my fallen nature so clearly, but God forgave and restored my relationship with Him through Christ. It causes me to ponder the challenges I’m facing today and have confidence based on God’s work in the past, from the cross until today, that He has a solution for my present challenges as well. It makes me gaze into the future, peering at the trajectory formed by these two points — past and present — and trust that God has mapped that trajectory perfectly to bring me to His destination for me.
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On a broader view, as we consider this month’s designation as Black History Month, we should remember both the high points and low points in our history. Both the declaration that all men are created equal and the sad reality that men who penned those words held others in bondage as less than human. We should shine a light on what God is doing right now through His church to end racial oppression. And we should look to the future — both far in the distance when people of every tribe and tongue will worship together and in the near future, the coming year, the next election cycle, the next decade — and purpose in our heart how God is calling us to serve. How is He calling us to repentance? Where is He calling us to be the hands and feet of Christ? Who are the widows and orphans whom He is calling us to feed and clothe?

The first line of this chapter begs to be read in context with the last sentence of Chapter six: “He had spent seven years building it (the temple). It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.”

All the work that went in to the building of the temple, all the intricate detail and beauty, all the solemn honor given to God is suddenly dwarfed when compared to Solomon’s efforts on his own residence.

It puts his relationship with God in a different perspective, doesn’t it?

Like the Pharisees who Jesus watched coming to the temple, who gave vast amounts of money for show, but Jesus instead praised the widow who gave only two mites. The size of our gifts is not nearly as important to God as the heart with which they are given!

The size of our gifts do reveal the priorities of our heart, however, when compared to all that God has given us. Pause for a moment and consider all that God has given you; count up all the blessings in your life. Health? A roof over your head? Food that is plentiful and safe to eat? Clean, safe water? Indoor plumbing? A family? Friends? Clothes? Safety and security? The opportunity to pursue a calling rather than work to the point of exhaustion just to keep from starving?

A few years ago there was a lot of talk about the “1%” — the most wealthy people in America. There is a calculator online at http://www.globalrichlist.com/ that shows where you fall in terms of wealth globally, and most people in America are in the top 1%. If you earn more than $32,000 per year in the United States, you are wealthier than 99% of people in the world. That calculation is before considering any property owned, any stock holdings or personal assets. Assuming “full-time” work, that equates to about $15 per hour. In many parts of the world, working only forty hours per week, or only eight hours per day, or having two whole days each week when you don’t have to work is unimaginable.

How does any of that relate to Solomon? Solomon, like many of us, was blessed with great prosperity while many around him lived in poverty. Yet even in his wisdom, Solomon allowed pride, greed, and selfishness to turn his attention inward rather than to focus on honoring God. We aren’t likely to avoid these same temptations, especially when God blesses us with so much. When I compare what I dedicate to honoring God with what I spend on my own desires, whether that is money, time, or talents, what does it convey about my priorities?
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“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:20-21

The description of Solomon’s Temple is truly awe-inspiring, as he intended it to inspire those who entered to worship God. In the construction of the Temple, Solomon did not allow any tools to be used at the site. All of the cutting of stone was performed at the quarry, and the chapter doesn’t indicate how the gold was overlaid, the wood affixed, or the framing completed, but it does say no hammer was heard on the Temple Mount.

Some have suggested that this is because of the prohibition in Exodus 20:22 against using any tool on a stone used to build an altar. That verse doesn’t refer to the temple, but only to an altar built of stones, and if applied accurately, it would require the stones to be in their natural state, which these were not because they were being cut at the quarry.

Instead, the avoidance of hammers and chisels at the site seems more a decision based on maintaining reverence for God, a silence in acknowledgment of the awesome presence of God. Since no evidence of this first temple remains (a fulfillment of prophecy), we don’t know the details of its construction beyond the Bible and extra-biblical Hebrew sources.

We live in a time where silence is almost impossible to achieve. There is noise from traffic, aircrafts overhead, devices, appliances, plumbing, and people. The latest craze is to immerse yourself in a sensory deprivation tank — filled with salt water and completely darkened and soundproof. The idea is that this allows one to experience “total body relaxation.” I don’t know about that, but I know there is a sense of closeness to God when we are able to escape being surrounded by man.

As a child, when we would travel across country by car, I would look out the window through a small square I made with my fingers, trying to frame an image that captured only nature. No fences, no telephone lines, no buildings, and no cars. I enjoyed when we could go camping and try to find a place in the woods where I could imagine I was the first human to set foot in this spot. The root behind these childhood imaginings was a desire to be completely alone with God in His creation.
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I wonder if Solomon’s desire to not have hammers banging away was a similar desire to block out the evidence of everything that distracts us from God. How do you best find time alone with God, away from distractions?

Solomon demonstrated a desire to build the temple, not to house God as pagans did, but for God’s name and for His honor. He sought out the best possible materials and negotiated with generosity to purchase them. He conscripted a vast workforce to transport the materials and complete the labor.

But all these materials and all this labor would be meaningless unless the Lord enabled them.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1a.

God brought this point home to me in an interesting way today. I read this chapter this morning and completely drew a blank on what I could share. I pulled up some commentaries and read through what they had to say, which was fine, but still I had nothing to say.

I went about my day, came home, reviewed it again, and still could not find something meaningful to share.

Only when I finally prayed, “Lord, what can I say about this? I’ve got nothing!” did God bring to mind Psalm 127:1.

The truth is, even after almost a whole year of reading a chapter a day and having God reveal some truth, some nugget, some bit of wisdom to help me see Him in a new way or understand yet another facet of His magnificent character — even after all of that, I still am completely helpless to offer anything of value unless God Himself reveals it to me.
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All the commentaries, all the bible studies, even reading God’s Word has no value to me or to anyone else unless the Holy Spirit illuminates it for us. As 1 Corinthians 1:18 tells us, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
So thank you, Father, for opening my eyes each day to understand you more, to gain some treasure of value from the mysteries of Your Word, and to apply Your truth to my life.

In all Solomon’s wisdom, among the list of provisions, possessions, and advisors, one statement stands out to me. In verse 6b, “Adoniram son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.”
Even amid all the peace that God provided, all the prosperity that He blessed Solomon with, and all the wisdom He granted, Solomon still had slaves.
That’s hard to understand.
We can say that it was a cultural norm of the time, but God breaks through those norms frequently in the Bible. He directed Moses to give an inheritance to the daughters of Zelophehad. He urged Joseph to take Mary as his wife, when the culture would demand he either have her stoned or divorce her. Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman and dined with tax collectors and sinners. God proves many times His willingness and ability to overturn our human notions of right and wrong.
So why is this use of forced labor not denounced? Does it suggest that God approves of slavery and oppression? The whole counsel of scripture screams, “NO!”
Just as God allowed Satan to tempt Job, but limited just how far he could go, so God allows His people at times to follow their own selfish, greedy, rebellious heart. God remains sovereign, and there are always consequences when our free will takes us far from God’s will.
In Solomon’s case, his use of forced labor included the tribes Israel had displaced when they conquered the Land, and Israelites, which God had expressly forbidden. This enslavement of the people of Israel would lead to the eventual revolt of the Northern tribes and the division of Israel and Judah.
This division and war didn’t occur in Solomon’s time though. Like many of our choices to sin, the next generation paid the price.

Solomon’s request for God to give him wisdom is one of the most familiar stories in the Old Testament. It’s important to note that God invited Solomon to ask for anything. God delights to bless His children by answering their bold prayers!

So often my prayer life is anemic and tentative. My faith is weak. I hesitate to ask for God-sized answers to prayer because I’m not confident my faith can survive if God doesn’t respond the way I want. And, of course, my prayers often fall into that caveat in James, “When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” But I’m reminded by Solomon’s request that if I’m uncertain about whether a prayer is wrongly motivated, I can ask the Lord, and He will certainly grant me the wisdom to know the difference!

This chapter, our message from this past weekend, and the prayers of my small group, which God answered in a huge way, have converged to remind me that I serve a God who spoke our universe into existence. Instead of asking for the mundane, temporal, things that rust and decay and spoil, God calls us to recognize things of eternal value and divine scope and to seek those things first. While God is able and willing to answer our man-sized prayers, He delights to answer prayers that turn all eyes to Him in awe.

When Solomon prayed an enormous, God-sized prayer, God generously gave even more. When we ask God for something which honors Him, something that only God can do, we can ask with confidence. There are only three possible answers to these prayers:
1. God provides exactly what we prayed for.
2. God provides what we asked for plus even more.
3. God provides something that is even better than what we prayed for.

This last one is tricky because often our definition of “better” may not align with God’s. But, when in doubt, we must trust the God who speaks galaxies into being, who raised Jesus from the dead, and who declares His great love for us also knows what is best for us.
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This is the faith that inspired Solomon to ask boldly for wisdom and this same faith compels us to ask for great things for the kingdom of God.

God had made a promise to David that as long as his sons served God and obeyed His commands, they would maintain the throne of Israel. On his deathbed, David reminds Solomon of this promise and of the importance of his son holding people accountable for their behavior, something David had failed too often to do.

Can you imagine the magnitude of this promise? “Follow God and the kingdom is yours!”

I hope so! Because we as Christians have this same promise from Jesus: “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you!”


Jesus has promised, (John 14: 13-14), “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

In Matthew 17:20, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

I was reminded last night that “God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God.” God delights to pour out His power in answering the impossible so that ALL who see it will stand in awe of his amazing power, love, and kindness.

I’m convinced that some of the prayers we pray are not being answered because if they were, no one would praise God over it! All who see it would say, “That turned out well.” Or “See? It all worked out in the end.” Or “How nice of that person to have helped out.”

God desires for His people to be dumb-founded, awestruck, tears pouring down our faces as we recognize the holy, righteous, generous, and powerful hand of God. As we proclaim that only an act of almighty God could have orchestrated such a miracle!
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What are you praying for that requires a miracle of God? What is your “Mission Impossible” that you are asking God to show up and show out so that you might give HIM all the glory? I would love the opportunity to join you in praying BOLDLY for God to do what only He can.

Even though he is called a man after God’s own heart, clearly David was far from perfect. His marital and parental roles were particularly full of examples of what not to do.

1 Kings 1:6 tells us that David never rebuked his son or asked, “Why have you done this?” He was the original “cool parent” who let his offspring follow their hearts. Then, just as now, their hearts led them to tragedy over and over.
I’ve heard it said that when it comes to raising our children in the faith, it is more likely “caught than taught.” The idea is that regardless of what you tell your children, how often you have them in church, or how many years they spend in Christian school, what will most likely determine the course of their faith is what they see in you. Not what they see when you are in church on Sunday, even if you’re behind the pulpit, but what they see at home, when no one but they and God are watching.

That is a terrifying thought for most of us, if we’re honest with ourselves, because we recognize that we make mistakes every day. The key is not that you live perfectly before them, but that you acknowledge the times you fall short. I don’t mean the kind of acknowledgment which says, “That’s just me doing me. I am who I am,” and then continues in the same sin day after day. We must acknowledge that it is wrong, and repent of it. We must model for our children the truth that we all fall short, but God is gracious to forgive, and His Grace and Holy Spirit enable us to break the chain of sin in our life.
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Most of us don’t have to worry about political intrigue within the family, one son plotting the destruction of others for the sake of the throne, but we must consider whether we are falling into David’s error of failing to offer loving rebuke, failing to set a positive example and to demonstrate repentance before our children.