March 24, 2024 - 1 Kings 3-6

The people were sacrificing at the high places:  “Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high place”" (3:3).  We might note that this thing has the potential for not ending well!

At the high place at Gibeon, Solomon sacrificed, but then he prayed one of the most wonderful prayers recorded in the Scriptures (ch. 3).  Solomon, when asking of the Lord, might have asked anything, but he asked for wisdom.  And “Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea.  They ate and drank and were happy.  Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt” (4:20,21).  “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” (4:29).  Solomon built the temple (ch. 6) and so much in addition.  As I think of all this, all the terrible failures of Solomon and, also, all the marvelous accomplishments, I’m thinking that Solomon can serve as sort of a mirror into our own lives.  At times, we obey and walk so joyfully and faithfully with the Lord only to turn around and sin, not merely unconsciously but deliberately.  But the story also serves as a window into our God’s nature and how graciously he granted Solomon’s request for wisdom even though the king was so terribly inconsistent in his walk with the Lord.  Oh, to walk more closely with our God!

O God, your constant care and love

are shed upon us from above,

throughout our lives in every stage,

from infancy to later age.

All time is yours, O Lord, to give;

may we, in all the years we live,

find every day of life is new,

a celebration, Lord, with you.   -- H. Glen Lanier (1976)