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God bless! Mike
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Great chapter today! We are introduced to Elisha, who will be mentored by Elijah to succeed him as a prophet at the end of First Kings 19 today. However, before we get to Elisha, we read about Elijah being very "dejected" in the desert to say the least. Some commentaries on this early portion of chapter 19 are not super-kind to Elijah for heading to the desert. Commentaries I think wisely suggest that verses 9 & 13 demonstrate God trying to gently let Elijah know he's off course and feeling too sorry for himself, when asked twice in these verses: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" This kind of reminded me of Jonah fleeing from God's will on the boat. (which we'll read about later this year). And this kind of reminded me of me - and maybe you too. :) Have you ever had that nagging question enter your heart or mind when you suddenly realize that you are off course from God's will in your life? That question of: "What are you doing here??" I know I have... Praise God when we are actually able to hear and understand that question and get out of the desert and back to life and back to loving this hurting world! Below is a wonderful painting from the year 1464 by the Flemish artist Dirk Bouts for verses 5 & 6, early on in the chapter when Elijah was fleeing to Mount Sinai - "Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" He looked around and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again."
Today in 1 Kings 19 verses 11 through 14 we read about how God appears to Elijah in a way that he was not expecting – “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?” The interesting thing to note about these verses is that Elijah was expecting or hoping God would appear in judgment to the Israelites in a windstorm, earthquake or fire. But God did not appear in any of these forms. Instead, God comes to Elijah in a simple gentle whisper. A gentle whisper. And I wonder about us in our lives today as well – do we often expect God to move mountains or to really show himself to us in big bold ways? When, perhaps, God may be speaking to you or me right now, but we’re missing it? Why? Well, is it possible that God is speaking to you right now with a simple gentle whisper? Is it possible that you have built up so many distractions or duties or activities or worries in your life that you cannot hear God’s gentle whisper? I know that I have been in this place too many times – I’ve gotten myself so busy looking for God in all the wrong places. And then finally I will slow myself down for just long enough to hear God speaking to my heart in a gentle whisper! A gentle whisper that I am sure was there all along. . . but I was looking for God in the windstorm and earthquake and fires of life. When instead I should have simply slowed down and listened for God’s gentle whisper. Will you slow down long enough to listen for God’s gentle whisper for you? Do you believe that God can speak to you in a simple gentle whisper this very moment?
Bible.org's commentary on today's 1 Kings readings titled "The Vulnerability of Victory" is at this link. "The Crisis of Elijah" is at this link. "The Restoration of Elijah" is at this link. And "Taking Up Your Mantle" is at this link. Below is a painting in a Carmelite cloister in Frankfurt, Germany from the year 1517 by an unknown artist showing the life of the prophet Elijah, including what I think is the anointing/calling of Elisha in the middle portion - and you'll see the angel tending to Elijah in the desert on the left and the burnt offering from yesterday's readings on the right:
Worship Video: Today’s readings reminds me of Chris Tomlin's song "Praise Him Forever:" :)
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Wow! Great readings today in 1 Kings 18. This is an amazing chapter of the Bible, and one that I heard a wonderful sermon on a couple of years ago. This is strong stuff. One thing that kind of got me chuckling was the subtitle the New Living Translation puts at the top of this chapter - "The Contest on Mount Carmel!" For some reason this got my mind thinking of WWF Championship Wrestling... yes... strange place for my mind to wander I realize. :) But then, this imagery kind of stuck with me throughout the readings and I definitely think Elijah threw down a WWF level taunt in verse 27 when the prophets of Baal were not having any luck getting their fire started: "About noontime Elijah began mocking them. "You'll have to shout louder," he scoffed, "for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or he is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or he is asleep and needs to be wakened!"" Perhaps he is relieving himself?? The prophet Elijah puts even Hulk Hogan's WWF taunt's to shame! :)
Okay... in all seriousness... 1 Kings 18 is an amazing chapter. There were several verses that stood out to me. First was verses 17 and 18 when Ahab meets Elijah - ""So it's you, is it--Israel's troublemaker?" Ahab asked when he saw him. "I have made no trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the LORD and have worshiped the images of Baal instead." I love Elijah's directness and boldness to Ahab. Ahab tries to go after Elijah and maybe intimidate him, since Ahab is King. And Elijah does not back down one iota - he tells Ahab exactly why Ahab is the troublemaker. I love that. I wonder about our lives today. If someone comes after us and maybe attacks our faith or integrity falsely in some way, will we immediately stand up for our faith like Elijah did to King Ahab?
Verses 20 & 21 are powerful - "So Ahab summoned all the people and the prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent." What a great question - and one that we may need to ask ourselves - "How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him!" Are we wavering at all in our commitment to God? Are we being silent like the people were when Elijah asked this question? Let us not waver between two opinions... If the Lord is God, are you following him? Wholeheartedly?
Below is an image of Elijah's "Sermon on the Mount Carmel"... :) bad pun... sorry. (I really should know better than to start off a blog post with the Hulkster... it sets me off on the wrong foot... :)
I love the little story at the end of today's chapter where Elijah falls to his knees in prayer on Mt. Carmel and tells his servant to go look toward the sea - 7 times! And then soon comes the little cloud....
Last but not least, verse 46 is a great closing to this eventful chapter! "Now the LORD gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab's chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel." Think about this day's events - Elijah meets with Obadiah. Summons Ahab. Meets with Ahab. Summons the people of Israel and the prophets of Baal and Asherah. Conducts a WWF Smackdown tourney :) - and God wins big time! Prays for rain. And then what better way to finish out this type of day but to "tuck his cloak into his belt" and run faster than Ahab's chariot back to Jezreel! Great stuff! What a chapter! Elijah rocks!
Bible.org has tons of great commentary on today's readings in 1 Kings 18, which is not surprising considering how much happens in this chapter today. Commentary titled "The Word of the Lord Comes to Elijah" is at this link. "Elijah ministers to Obadiah" is at this link. "Elijah Meets and Rebukes Ahab" is at this link. "When One Becomes a Majority" is at this link. "The Ineffectual Prayers of the Baal Priests" is at this link. And finally, "The Prayers of Elijah" is at this link.
Worship Video: Today's readings reminded me of Rhett Walker's song "When Mercy Found Me:"
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
1 Kings 15 verse 26 stood out to me right away today: "But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit." The key word that stood out to me in this verse is "example." I think sometimes we can forget that every action we take is an example to others. We are either exampling godly behavior or ungodly behavior. Obviously Jeroboam exampled ungodly behavior - and unfortunately, since he was king of Israel, his bad example had far reaching effects. Even though you or me aren't king of any land, I do believe that the examples we set have bigger impacts than we realize. Our kids, our parents, our siblings, our neighbors, our co-workers, the stranger on the street, the person at the coffee shop, are all watching what we do. How we behave. Who we are. Our very lives are examples to so many people each and every day. What type of example are you setting with your life? Do you realize that people are literally following your example each and every day?
1 Kings 16 is quite the chapter full of drama! It's like a soap-opera. As I was reading this chapter, and in particular when Zimri was plotting to kill Elah, I was reminded of Macbeth's old quote - "Heavy is the head that wears the crown." Indeed very true in this chapter!
Great readings in 1 Kings 17 today! We are introduced to the prophet Elijah! And what an introduction. I love the visual of Elijah being fed by ravens. Elijah was completely dependent on God for his food delivery via birds. This image reminds me of how dependent you and I are today on God... (even if we do not realize how dependent we really are....)
Elijah was the first prophet in a long line of prophets to come over the next 300 years in Israel. As the kings of Israel were now all sinning and there were few Levitical priests left in Israel (most were in Judah), God brought forth the prophets to bring God's word to his people in Israel. More on who Elijah was is at Bible.org at this link. More on the message of Elijah is at this link.
Great readings today about Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath! Verses 21 through 23 are awesome - "And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, please let this child's life return to him." The LORD heard Elijah's prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he came back to life! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. "Look, your son is alive!""
Bible.org's commentary on our 1 Kings 17 readings on Elijah today titled "Testings By the Brook" is at this link and commentary titled "Testings and Ministry at Zaraphath" is at this link and commentary titled "The Death and Resurrection of the Widow's Son" is at this link. There is a lot of great in-depth commentary on 1 Kings 17 at Bible.org!
Worship Video: Today's 1 Kings readings today about Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath reminded me of the Natalie Grant song "Held:"
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Allright, now we are getting into the story of the Kings! I really like this portion of the Bible. I am fascinated by the back-and-forth stories and timelines of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judah. The one very unfortunate thing you will notice over and over are verses like 1 Kings 14 verse 22: "During Rehoboam's reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors." Or verses like 1 Kings 15 verse 3: "Abijam committed the same sins as his father before him, and his heart was not right with the LORD his God, as the heart of his ancestor David had been." And we will read far too few verses like verse 11 as we read about the Kings of Judah and Israel: "Asa did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, as his ancestor David had done." I think what is interesting to note in all of these verses - and in the verses to come about future Kings we will read about - is that it really didn't much matter what the Kings "did" in their reigns. Their wars or their building of cities or whatever really didn't matter compared to did they sin against God or not? Did they lead Israel or Judah into sin or not? Did they love God or not? And I think this is the same for our lives today. God does not so much care what our careers are or what our social status is or how many friends or how much money we have. God cares whether we love Him with all of heart, mind, soul and strength. God cares whether we are sinning against Him or not. As Jesus tells us: "seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all of these things will be yours as well." So, yes, God ultimately does care about our lives and careers and friends and such too - but he first wants us to seek a right relationship with Him - and then everything else will flow from our relationship with God. Someone should have let some of these Kings of Israel and Judah know this!
Okay, a good overview of the Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah at this point in our readings in First Kings is this image below:
Below is an image for 1 Kings 14 verses 25 & 26 - "In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace and stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made."
Worship Video: Today's readings remind me of the song "Lord, I need you" by Matt Maher, sung here by Lauren Daigle:
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Well, Jeroboam didn't last very long before worshipping other gods! Keep in mind Jeroboam's name as we continue to read through the book of Kings - you will continue to hear about "Jeroboam's sin" and "the sin Jeroboam caused Israel to commit" many times in our upcoming readings - even long after he is dead. Not a legacy one would want to leave behind... Here is an image of Jeroboam leading the Israelites into the sin of worshiping a golden calf:
Interesting story about the man of God from Judah prophesying against the altar at Bethel. The man of God delivers his prophecy and then shuns Jeroboam's invite to go to his palace for food and a gift. The man of God appears very strong. And then later... he lets down his guard. And he falls prey to the lie of the old prophet. Now why on earth the old prophet decided to pursue the man of God and tell this lie is beyond me. If anyone has insights on this, please post up in the Comments below. I think the lesson here for us today is this - we cannot let down our guard when it comes to spiritual matters. I think sometimes we think we can - but we simply cannot! If we do let down our guard, then we often stumble. And thanks to God's grace we can recover from that stumble. But, there is always the dangerous risk that our stumble could be very severe, as it certainly was for the man of God in today's readings...
Worship Video: Today's readings reminds me of the Jason Gray song "More Like Falling in Love:"
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Wow... things go south in today's readings big time for Solomon! Why? Simple. 1 Kings 11 verses 5 & 6 tell us: "Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. Thus, Solomon did what was evil in the LORD's sight; he refused to follow the LORD completely, as his father, David, had done." This is sad stuff to read. Solomon had a great life, great relationship with God and he plain and simple fumbled the ball. He knew God and knew he was not to worship other gods. And he did so anyway? Why? Well, yeah, maybe having 1,000 wives & concubines was a bit of a distraction - but I don't blame them per se. It was Solomon that decided to marry outside of Israel and it was Solomon that decided to have all those wives and concubines (and polygamy is not God's plan - God's plan since Adam & Eve was one man, one woman - not one man, many women). And it was Solomon that decided to worship other gods. He was running a strong race early on - but stumbled. Fumbled. This all reminds me of Paul's wisdom in 1 Corinthians 9 verses 25 through 27: "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." Paul wisely realized that even with all of his preaching to others, he still had to be diligent to make sure that he himself would not be disqualified! Incredible wisdom... Think Solomon could have learned from these words of Paul? Think you and I can learn from these words of Paul? And can we learn not to repeat Solomon's mistakes? How are you running the race? Are you running in such a way as to get the prize?
Below is an image for these sad verses of 7 & 8: "On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, Solomon even built a shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods."
King Rehoboam's bad decision making in 1 Kings 12 is an excellent example of why we should respect our elders... Rehoboam blew off the advice of his elders and instead heeded the foolish advice of the young men around him. And then the kingdom was divided. Of course, this turn of events was the will of God. But, still, a good example I think of why we should listen to and respect our elders....
Worship Video: Today's readings reminds me of the Selah song "Unredeemed:"
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Well, we can gather from today's First Kings readings that Solomon was clearly wise and rich! I have to confess... when I was reading today's readings I briefly thought to myself, "well, it was just inherited wealth from his father David..." :) How wrong was this thinking! Yes, David was certainly wealthy and Solomon inherited the throne if you will. But Solomon had to administer the Kingdom, including the building of the Temple and the Palace, which were no small tasks! He was able to do this successfully I think because he asked God for wisdom - rather than riches or wealth - earlier in First Kings. Solomon sought God first and asked for wisdom, and I do think God blessed him with riches too. You'll recall that Jesus referred to "Solomon's splendor" in the Sermon on the Mount when he talked about the lilies of the field and his teachings on not worrying, from Matthew 6:29: "Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." Below is a painting of Solomon in all of his splendor in "The Queen of Sheba before Solomon" by Nicolas Knupfer, c. 1640:
These are very interesting readings today. The thing that I'm thinking about now, after reading about Solomon's wealth and wisdom - and also thinking back to David's warrior skills - is that it is not surprising to me that many people in Jesus' day were expecting a differing kind of Messiah. When Jesus came on the scene, people were reading these sacred texts of King David and King Solomon. They were reading about how wise and wealthy and what great warriors these Kings were. And these Kings were shown great favor by God. So - surely the coming Messiah would be all of this and more! Right?? Well... no. As we know Jesus was not a Warrior-Messiah. He did not come to set free the Jews from the Roman rule by the sword. Jesus did not come into the world with wealth - he came into the world in a stable with animals nearby. Now - in terms of wisdom, yes, obviously Jesus was wiser than David or Solomon of course. But in terms of being wealthy and being a warrior - Jesus was neither - on this earth. However - in the heavenly realm Jesus is obviously wealthy beyond all comprehension. And he is a warrior for you and for me. He is battling for the souls of men and women. He leads a legion of angels against a legion of darkness. Jesus is not meek. Nor is he eternally poor. But... what an interesting contrast of how Jesus was not a warrior nor wealthy during his time here on earth - and he warned us against both of these trappings. What to make of all of this? I'm not sure. I'm full-on going stream of consciousness writing here. :) I think the take-away for me is this - Solomon rightly sought after wisdom above all else. (He wrote many of the Proverbs!) And Jesus was of course wise beyond all measure. So, I think for you and I the key to life is first and foremost to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior - this is the wisest decision we will ever make. And after we have accepted Jesus, then we need to actually follow him. Follow his teachings. Follow his wisdom. And as we follow Jesus, we really should not be concerned about being wealthy or being a warrior. Perhaps these things will be part of our Walk in some regard. But they should not be the focus. Jesus should be the focus. Godly wisdom should be the focus. What is the focus in your life? Is it Jesus? Is it godly wisdom? Are you following Jesus with all that you are? Are taking up your cross daily? Are you following Jesus all the way up that hill?
Okay, back to today's readings. I do think map's can often give us a great overview / understanding of what we're reading about in the Bible. I think now is a good time to show a good map of Solomon's Kingdom compared to modern day Israel, below. Take a few minutes to really study this map and reflect upon places you recognize from today's readings and previous day's readings:
At the very end of First Kings chapter 9 today we read these interesting verses 26-28: "Later King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath in the land of Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea. Hiram sent experienced crews of sailors to sail the ships with Solomon's men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back to Solomon some sixteen tons of gold." You will see the port of Elath in the map above. Then, the big question I had today was where is Ophir? Well, it turns out that Ophir was likely in the land of "Sheba" from whence Queen Sheba comes to visit Solomon! So, it is interesting to see how these last 3 verses in chapter 9 lead us to First Kings 10 today we read about the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon. Below is about the best map I could find with the land of Sheba, and Ophir, in comparison to Israel. The Queen obviously traveled quite a distance in those days to visit Solomon! And I think we can now understand how she learned of Solomon - he built a fleet of ships and sailed them to her land!
Worship Video: Today’s readings reminded me of the Casting Crowns song "Does Anybody Hear Her":
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: What was your reaction today to reading about "Solomon's splendor" in First Kings? Did you view this wealth of Solomon's as a blessing from God or perhaps as excess? What's your reaction to seeing this level of wealth of Solomon's versus Jesus' lack of wealth while walking the earth? What about in today's world - is there such a thing as too much wealth? Should we seek material wealth for our lives? Or should we be seeking other things? Should we seek to be like Solomon? Or like Jesus? Or perhaps like both? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today we read about the Ark of the Covenant being brought into the Temple!
In verses 10 & 11 we read: "As the priests came out of the inner sanctuary, a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their work because the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple." It is thought that the cloud of the presence of God here in the Temple was the same cloud of the presence of God that guided the Israelites by day through the desert as they left Egypt for the Promised Land, as you'll recall from this image below:
Solomon's prayer in today's readings is awesome! Verses 12 & 13 at the start of the prayer are interesting to contrast with a later verse: "Then Solomon prayed, "O LORD, you have said that you would live in thick darkness. But I have built a glorious Temple for you, where you can live forever!" These verses seem quite bold and confident... and maybe even seem to our modern ears that Solomon is trying to put God "in a box." But, then I was very pleased to read Solomon say this in verse 27 - "But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!" Clearly, Solomon gets it that God is bigger than the Temple and that God does not "need" the Temple for a home. But, as we read about the cloud of God's presence coming into the Temple, it is apparent that God is certainly pleased with the Temple. I think God was pleased that the Israelites were building a Temple to honor God and his name & fame. It was a Temple for God. And though God did not "need" it, I think he appreciated it. I think God appreciated "King" Solomon and the Israelites praying to and honoring God as the true King of Israel. Below is an image of Solomon's prayer and the dedication of the Temple:
Worship Video: Today's readings in First Kings about the Ark of the Covenant being brought to the Temple reminds me of the Build 429 song "Where I Belong:"
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. #3 - I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today we read about the building of King Solomon's Palace! Here is an interesting note in Tyndale's One Year Bible Companion on the Sea discussed in verse 23 - "Then Huram cast a large round tank, 15 feet across from rim to rim; it was called the Sea. It was 7 1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference." Apparently the sea was a huge tank that could hold approximately 12,000 gallons of water. It was used by the priests for their ceremonial washings. Impressive structure per the image below!
Worship God: Today's readings remind me of Tauren Wells’ terrific song “Hills and Valleys:”
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Wow. Big readings today in First Kings. Solomon builds the Temple of the Lord! Below is "King Solomon praying before the Temple" by Bonito, c. 1750:
It is great to read about Solomon & King Hiram of Tyre's dialogue and agreement to send cedars and cypress from Lebanon to Jerusalem for the Temple. You'll recall in our readings from 2 Samuel chapter 5 verse 11 that Hiram indeed was a loyal friend of David just after David conquered Jerusalem - "Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David." Below is a beautiful stain glassed image of King Hiram of Tyre in the forests of Lebanon:
So why were cedars and cypress from Lebanon used for the temple and not wood from Israel? Well, because these precious woods from Lebanon were very close-grained, rot-resistant, and very hard. They were also beautiful and had a fragrant scent. Below is an image of Cedar of Lebanon - also known as Cedrus Libanotica.
1 Kings 6 verse 7 tells us - "The stones used in the construction of the Temple were prefinished at the quarry, so the entire structure was built without the sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site." This shows how reverent the workers were in building the temple of the Lord. They felt it was honoring to build on the temple site without the sound of an iron tool. In 1 Kings 5 verses 13 & 14 I thought Solomon's wisdom was incredible - "Then King Solomon enlisted 30,000 laborers from all Israel. He sent them to Lebanon in shifts, 10,000 every month, so that each man would be one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of this labor force." He wisely cared for his workforce! Below is an image of the workers building the temple -
Worship Video: Today's readings remind me of the For King & Country song "The Proof of Your Love:"
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
