April 13 - II Chronicles 1-4
Solomon began his reign in the best way possible. He began by calling on God with one thousand burnt offerings. God saw that he was serious about wanting His blessing, so then God asked him to request whatever he wanted. We must not miss the significance of Solomon beginning his reign by calling on God. That is the main reason God poured out such wonderful blessings on him. We should begin anything we do by calling on God for His guidance and provision.
It is evident that Solomon knew God's laws, and he honored God as the only true God. He set out to build the best Temple, because it was going to be the residence of the most high God. His heart was right at the beginning of his reign. He set out to hire Hiram as his expert and to have 153,000 workman, so that the Temple project would be done in a quality way to match his Lord. We should have the same attitude in all we do. We should do it for the Lord, and we should do it as unto the Lord, so it should be our best. That is the way to honor God in how we do our work.
One thing has always struck me when it came to the Temple construction. Yes, it was very ornate, and it was covered in gold and other precious stones. However, it was a small building according to our standards today. The cubit was usually 18 inches. If that is so in this case, the Temple was 90 feet by 30 feet. That is about 2,700 square feet. Many homes are that big today, and our church buildings are 10 times that large. Solomon had 153,000 alien laborers to build the Temple, and we have construction companies to build most church buildings. It just seems to me that there are a lot of major differences to consider. However, in every case we must look to the Lord for His plans and for His provision for all we build or all we do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 5-8.
It is evident that Solomon knew God's laws, and he honored God as the only true God. He set out to build the best Temple, because it was going to be the residence of the most high God. His heart was right at the beginning of his reign. He set out to hire Hiram as his expert and to have 153,000 workman, so that the Temple project would be done in a quality way to match his Lord. We should have the same attitude in all we do. We should do it for the Lord, and we should do it as unto the Lord, so it should be our best. That is the way to honor God in how we do our work.
One thing has always struck me when it came to the Temple construction. Yes, it was very ornate, and it was covered in gold and other precious stones. However, it was a small building according to our standards today. The cubit was usually 18 inches. If that is so in this case, the Temple was 90 feet by 30 feet. That is about 2,700 square feet. Many homes are that big today, and our church buildings are 10 times that large. Solomon had 153,000 alien laborers to build the Temple, and we have construction companies to build most church buildings. It just seems to me that there are a lot of major differences to consider. However, in every case we must look to the Lord for His plans and for His provision for all we build or all we do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 5-8.