April 11 - I Chronicles 22-25
It is interesting to me that God told David not to build the Temple because of being a man of war and bloodshed. To my knowledge David was within God's will when he shed blood except for Uriah, and David was a man after God's own heart. However, God preferred a man of peace to build His house. He even chose a man whose name means peace, Solomon. This tells me that God permits bloodshed, because He realizes that conflict is a part of this sinful world, but God prefers peace. God's ideal is peace instead of conflict. He blessed Solomon and his reign by giving him rest from his enemies and a time of peace. I believe we see God's heart in this. God desires peace. He wants us to have peace. Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers. Therefore, as great a person as David was, God told him not to build his house, but to allow it to be done by a man of peace. I pray that you are a person of peace as much as possible in your life, too.
Even though David could not build the Temple, he could prepare for the construction, so he did. He brought together the materials, and he prepared Solomon. He encouraged Solomon to seek wisdom and understanding. Could it be that Solomon was blessed by God because of a wise father? Did Solomon ask for wisdom instead of riches, because David had planted that in his heart? I think a wise father does a lot to prepare his children for life. One of the things is to teach them about wisdom, and another thing is to teach them about preparation. So many people proceed through life with less than adequate preparation. David realized the need for a good foundation. He knew that to complete a task well, there must be a good start. All of this comes from preparation. Are you a person of preparation? Do you think God honors preparation? I believe God is a God of preparation. He does not do anything without preparing all the details in advance, and we should strive to follow Him in this as much as is humanly possible. We can't be perfect like God, but preparations bring us closer to His ideal.
Not only did David prepare, he organized the tribe of Levi for God's service in the Temple. In this way everyone was able to participate in God's service for a designated time each year, but no one had to serve all the time. This applied to the priests, the Levites and the musicians. The work was done, but no one person was overwhelmed by it. The load was shared. This is the benefit of organization in life and in the church today. We must allow organization to benefit the work and the people, so God is honored by things being done well and in order.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 26-29.
Even though David could not build the Temple, he could prepare for the construction, so he did. He brought together the materials, and he prepared Solomon. He encouraged Solomon to seek wisdom and understanding. Could it be that Solomon was blessed by God because of a wise father? Did Solomon ask for wisdom instead of riches, because David had planted that in his heart? I think a wise father does a lot to prepare his children for life. One of the things is to teach them about wisdom, and another thing is to teach them about preparation. So many people proceed through life with less than adequate preparation. David realized the need for a good foundation. He knew that to complete a task well, there must be a good start. All of this comes from preparation. Are you a person of preparation? Do you think God honors preparation? I believe God is a God of preparation. He does not do anything without preparing all the details in advance, and we should strive to follow Him in this as much as is humanly possible. We can't be perfect like God, but preparations bring us closer to His ideal.
Not only did David prepare, he organized the tribe of Levi for God's service in the Temple. In this way everyone was able to participate in God's service for a designated time each year, but no one had to serve all the time. This applied to the priests, the Levites and the musicians. The work was done, but no one person was overwhelmed by it. The load was shared. This is the benefit of organization in life and in the church today. We must allow organization to benefit the work and the people, so God is honored by things being done well and in order.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 26-29.