Today is Proverbs 14, 15, and 16.  So much wisdom – of course, Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived!  We’re about halfway through proverbs and you are doing great!

“we plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it “ (Proverbs 16:9 MSG).  

Such good advice! We can develop great habits and have great intentions, but without God at the center we won’t succeed.

Today, we’ve got Proverbs 11, 12, and 13. Are you finding Proverbs to be reminders of what you already knew or encouragement to continue what you are doing or is this new altogether?  I guess I could say yes to a little bit of all three!

Solomon always presents two sides of the coin: two choices with two different sets of effects.  Like this:

“Moral character makes for smooth traveling;
    an evil life is a hard life” (Proverbs 11:5 MSG)

These are not necessarily rewards and punishments. They are more choices and consequences. If you do this, good will happen. If you do the other, do not expect good to happen.  Truth and love and peace and wisdom, though they do not seem popular, will always win out in the end.

Today it’s Proverbs 8, 9, and 10 for us!  Let’s get it done this morning, and see what we can learn!

“the road to life is a disciplined life; ignore correction and you’re lost for good” (Proverbs 10:17 MSG).

Amen. Making a point, purposefully making wise and right decisions consistently brings blessings and peace.  We don’t accidentally stumble into this stuff: we choose wisdom or folly by our actions every day!

Please read Proverbs 5, 6, and 7. Solomon continues with his lessons on wisdom:

“Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom;
    listen very closely to the way I see it.
Then you’ll acquire a taste for good sense;
    what I tell you will keep you out of trouble” (Proverbs 5:1-2 MSG)

Though much of this seems like common sense, are you ever surprised at how much actually isn’t? We hear stories in the news daily about people who don’t follow wisdom…. The more we practice righteousness, the more we practice wisdom, the easier it will become.  This is exactly the kind of behavior that we want to become second nature! God give us strength to follow You closely!

Please read Proverbs 1, 2, 3,and 4.  Solomon has written some wisdom for us!

After hearing about Solomon and his wisdom, now we get to hear it straight from him!

“Start with God – the first step in learning is bowing to Him” (Proverbs 1:7 MSG)

No need to expand on that – start with God!

I love today. Praise God for His many blessings!  Let’s read: 1 Kings 4, Psalm 72, and Psalm 127.  Solomon’s history, along with a couple of his psalms:

I always like it when we recognize names – in one of his psalms here, Solomon writes

“deck Him out in gold with Sheba gold” (Psalm 72:16 MSG) 

We remember Queen Sheba and her gifts to Solomon!  Gold is one thing, but SHEBA gold was another! 2 Chronicles 9:9 said she brought four and a half TONS!  That brings a different tone to the psalm, doesn’t it?  What is the best gift we can offer to the Lord? How can we deck Him our ins Sheba-style gold? Solomon explains it to us:

“Deck Him out in Sheba gold.
Offer prayers unceasing to Him,
    bless Him from morning to night” (Psalm 72:16 MSG)

Amen!

You are making great progress!  Today we’ll read 2 Chronicles 8, 1 Kings 9:15-28, 1 Kings 10:1-13, 2 Chronicles 9:1-12, 1 Kings 10:14-29, 2 Chronicles 9:13-28, 2 Chronicles 1:14-17.  I know there are repeats – fight the urge to “skim”!  We don’t want to miss a minute!

“At the end of twenty years, Solomon had quite a list of accomplishments” (2 Chronicles 8:1 MSG)

Every gift or blessing, whether material or spiritual, comes from the Lord who only gives good and perfect gifts. Whether our fortunes are great or small, we must trust the Holy Spirit and endeavor to be good stewards.

“King Solomon was richer and wiser than all the kings of the earth—he surpassed them all. Kings came from all over the world to be with Solomon and get in on the wisdom God had given him. Everyone who came brought gifts—artifacts of gold and silver, fashionable robes and gowns, the latest in weapons, exotic spices, horses, and mules—parades of visitors, year after year” (2 Chronicles 9:22-24 MSG)

Please recognize: people brought gifts and Solomon amassed wealth because of the wisdom that God had given to him.  Every good and perfect gift can be traced back to the Lord in our lives – gratitude and humility is the order of the day!

Please read 1 Kings 8:54-66, 2 Chronicles 7:1-10, 1 Kings 9:1-9, 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, 1 Kings 9:10-14 today, and head on back.  Let’s visit – what is something that you are learning?  I’m praying that you are seeing the Word in a new light as we are reading through this year together!

Solomon prays aloud and in front of the people – I love the boldness!

“Blessed be God, who has given peace to His people Israel just as He said He’d do. Not one of all those good and wonderful words that he spoke through Moses has misfired. May God, our very own God, continue to be with us just as He was with our ancestors—may He never give up and walk out on us. May He keep us centered and devoted to Him, following the life path He has cleared, watching the signposts, walking at the pace and rhythms He laid down for our ancestors” (1 Kings 8:56-58 MSG)

Now that Solomon has prayed, God answers (He always hears us when we pray), with the promise of blessing, but also a reminder of the consequences of disobedience.  

“God said to him, ‘I’ve listened to and received all your prayers, your ever-so-passionate prayers. I’ve sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; My eyes are on it and My heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I’ve set out for you, attentively obedient to My guidance and judgments, then I’ll back your kingly rule over Israel, make it a sure thing on a solid foundation’ ” (1 Kings 9:3-4 MSG)

He’s a wise and kind Father to us!

This morning, we are going to read 1 Kings 8:1-11, 2 Chronicles 5, 1 Kings 8:12-21, 1 Chronicles 6:1-11, 1 Kings 8:22-53, and 2 Chronicles 6:12-42.  Let’s get started!

Solomon dedicates the temples to the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, including everyone (like Moses did) in the dedication and blessing, pointing all good things back to the Lord.  

“Before the entire congregation of Israel, Solomon took a position before the Altar, spread his hands out before heaven, and prayed, ‘O God, God of Israel, there is no God like You’ ” (1 Kings 8:22 MSG)

He knows that God cannot be contained in a building (1 Kings 8:27), he never takes credit, he prays for people and their faithfulness to God, he references God’s faithfulness to David and even Moses by means of offering a reminder to the people…. What a powerful beginning!

Please read 1 Kings 7, 2 Chronicles 3:15-17, 2 Chronicles 4 today.  What stands out to you today?  Ask the Lord to speak to your heart through His Word!

What a tremendous responsibility Solomon had! I love how much care went into the building of the temple for the Lord.  Everything he did was the BEST.

“That completed all the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God” (1 Kings 7:51 MSG)

Lord, let me as good a steward of what You have entrusted to me.