1 Kings 6-8

1 Kings 6-8

Solomon spend 7 years building Yahweh's temple and 13 years to build his palace.  Everything written in these chapters is so detailed my mind can hardly picture what everything looked like!  (I even Googled "Solomon's Palace and Temple" to find some pictures of what people think it looked like.)  From what I read, everything seemed to be intricate and spectacular...only the very best.

The whole time I read these chapters about the great task Solomon took on in building Yahweh's temple, it makes me sad because of the path Solomon's life went shortly thereafter.  In chapter 8, Solomon takes almost the whole chapter to dedicate the temple and speak praises of God.  His words are very powerful in this section.  His words were powerful and true, but his actions didn't line up with them.

What I took away from this week's reading is this:  We can say great and wonderful things about God...all of which could be very true...but God wants our actions to be pleasing to him as much as our words are.  I'm sure we've all met people who seem to sound like great Christians but their actions don't speak of their faith at all.  I believe that Solomon meant everything he said a the dedication, but it was because of his poor actions that God later took the kingdom away from him.  I left this reading challenged to have my words AND actions line up with God's Word, not just one or the other.

If this is something you struggle with, find a trusted friend who loves Jesus, that can help hold you accountable.  A rebuke from a friend can be trusted, but your enemy just flatters you (Proverbs 27:6; my paraphrase)