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.

Please read 1 Kings 3:16-28, 1 Kings 5, 2 Chronicles 2, 1 Kings 6:1-13, 2 Chronicles 3:1-14, 1 Kings 6:14-38. Big day  – Solomon is beginning work on the temple!

It’s remarkable that we are still measuring time against the moment that the Israelites left Egypt.  We’re told here that it has been 48- years since then. This really tells us where we are with regards to our timeline, and reminds us again how important it is to read the Bible in its chronological order (at least once!).  

Remember when David bought the threshing floor from Araunah? Click back to day 122 for a reminder.  Even then, he was making preparations for the temple.  It’s really interesting that they actually did break ground on this site, exactly where David said that he would not offer to God that which cost him nothing.  While Solomon is prepared to give and do his very best, God is providing in a miraculous way to build the temple.

“Solomon responded, saying, “You know that David my father was not able to build a temple in honor of God because of the wars he had to fight on all sides, until God finally put them down. But now God has provided peace all around—no one against us, nothing at odds with us.

“Now here is what I want to do: Build a temple in honor of God, my God, following the promise that God gave to David my father, namely, ‘Your son whom I will provide to succeed you as king, he will build a house in my honor.’ And here is how you can help: Give orders for cedars to be cut from the Lebanon forest; my loggers will work alongside yours and I’ll pay your men whatever wage you set. We both know that there is no one like you Sidonians for cutting timber.”

When Hiram got Solomon’s message, he was delighted, exclaiming, “Blessed be God for giving David such a wise son to rule this flourishing people!” (! Kings 5:2-7 MSG)

Working our way out of the psalms – but not forever!  We’ll come back to finish the rest later.  For now, Solomon is coming into his reign. Please read Psalm 83, 1 Chronicles 29:23-25, 2 Chronicles 1:1, 1 Kings 2:13-46, 1 Kings 3:1-4, 2 Chronicles 1:2-6, 1 Kings 3:5-15, 2 Chronicles 1:7-13.  What stands out to you today? 

Wow – Solomon establishes himself in a mighty way.  Remember Joab? Click back to day 111 for a reminder. He was instrumental to David in uniting the two kingdoms, but I wondered when he murdered those men (remember – some people were upset, some people were not upset, David let him live). I even thought that maybe it was different because it was wartime.

Remember when Adonijah rose up against Solomon? Click back to day 125 for a reminder. I loved Solomon’s merciful response – if Adonijah did the right thing, Solomon would let him live. (If it were me, I would have laid low after that).  Of course, we are familiar with Solomon’s prayer for wisdom:

 “ ‘And now here I am: God, my God, you have made me, your servant, ruler of the kingdom in place of David my father. I’m too young for this, a mere child! I don’t know the ropes, hardly know the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of this job. And here I am, set down in the middle of the people you’ve chosen, a great people—far too many to ever count. Here’s what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?’

God, the Master, was delighted with Solomon’s response. And God said to him, “Because you have asked for this and haven’t grasped after a long life, or riches, or the doom of your enemies, but you have asked for the ability to lead and govern well, I’ll give you what you’ve asked for—I’m giving you a wise and mature heart’ ” (1 Kings 3:7-8 MSG)

God does give wisdom liberally when we ask for it!

Let’s read Psalm 79, 80, 81 and 82 today.  Do you have a favorite Psalm?  Have we read it together yet? Let me know!  

Asaph and David both pray for God to show Himself strong and destroy His enemies, but….

“Give groaning prisoners a hearing;
    pardon those on death row from their doom—you can do it!
Give our jeering neighbors what they’ve got coming to them;
    let their God-taunts boomerang and knock them flat” (Psalm 79:11-12 MSG)

…. but, when God loses patience, it’s completely over.  His hand will not always protect the earth. 

I keep thinking about Jesus’ admonishment to pray for our enemies – I think part of that prayer must include praying that God stays His hand of protection long enough for them (and for ALL people) to come to salvation (or at least have an opportunity to come to salvation).

“Then we, Your people, the ones You love and care for,
    will thank You over and over and over.
We’ll tell everyone we meet
    how wonderful You are, how praiseworthy You are!” (Psalm 79:12-13 MSG)

Let’s not wait for God to “knock them flat” – let’s tell everyone we meet how wonderful He is right now!

“God come back and smile Your blessing smile – That will be our salvation” (Psalm 80:3 MSG).