In this chapter, the Lord appeared to Solomon to confirm He heard his prayer and requests, and that He would honor those requests with some conditions of His own. The chapter begins, “So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had done before at Gibeon. The Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your request. I have set apart this Temple you have built so that my name will be honored there forever. I will always watch over it and care for it. As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, always obeying my commands and keeping my laws and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: ‘You will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’
Side note: Wow! This is powerful stuff! What stands out to me first, is that in the previous chapter Solomon made some requests of God that were almost commands to Him, and God responded with “I heard you and I’m willing to honor those requests”. Wow...the power of confident prayer! What stands out next, is that God said that David always followed the Lord, keeping his laws and regulations. What’s amazing is that even in David’s wickedness, the Lord sees David as a true follower of HIM, the God of Israel. And because David’s heart stayed on the Lord and “followed the Lord with integrity and godliness”, which means to me, David followed the Lord consistently, each and every day, in the good and the bad...the Lord favored him, even in his sin, and called him “a man after god’s own heart”. Wow! A good friend of mine, Frank Williams, helped me to see that in a conversation we had over a month ago, and now the Lord has confirmed Frank’s words to me. Wow! Thank you, Lord! And thank you, Frank! You are a true man of God. To God be the glory!
The text continues, “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey my commands and laws, and if you go and worship other gods, then I will uproot the people of Israel from this land I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have set apart to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. And though this Temple is impressive now, it will become an appalling sight for all who pass by. They will scoff and ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to his land and to his Temple?’ And the answer will be, ‘Because his people forgot the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead. That is why the Lord has brought all these disasters upon them.” (1 Kings 9:1-9)
God’s Word confirmed: Look at what God is focusing on. God says, “If you or your descendants abandon me....and go and worship other gods....I will reject this Temple”. God continues and says others will say, “these terrible things happened because his people forgot the Lord...and worshiped other gods instead.” David never abandoned the Lord; he always kept God first in his life!
The remainder of the chapter briefly highlights Hiram’s displeasure in Solomon’s payment to him for the lumber he had provided for the Temple and palace, and it ended with Solomon’s many achievements, including the construction of many buildings and even ships.
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Thank you for showing us that if we keep our minds on you, as the song says…”keep your mind on Jesus”, you will continually cover and establish us...even in our own wickedness. We love you
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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