Sunday, December 09, 2012

Building a house for the Lord


1 Kings 5

New King James Version (NKJV)

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

Verse 1, Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David.

My response… Change means new challenges, new visions, a new boss and possibly a new direction. King Hiram did NOT know what type of King Solomon would be, but it was customary to congratulate the newly selected King.

Verse 2, Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

My response… Waiting for a response can be very troubling; what will he say? What kind of king will he be? Will he be as kind as his father David was?

Verse 3, You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet.

Verse 4, but now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.

Verse 5, and behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

My response… When we are going through troubles during certain seasons, we can’t give God our full attention. The troubles of this life seem to take our focus away from the things of God. But!!! When God handcuff the devil taking his power for a season, giving you rest, it’s time to build the LORD a house.

We all have arrived to a place in our lives where things are going well; the wife, the husband, the children, the job, the boss, finances, the car, the house, everything in our lives seems to be behaving.

When life is good, this is the time to build the Lord a house. How do we build His house? First by giving Him all of you! Read His Word, pray for direction, render a portion of your blessings to bless others.
Just remember, the Lord will release the devil at some point, and we must work the work while we can, because the hour is coming when the troubles will resurface.

Verse 7, so it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

My response… I believe king Hiram was relieved when King Solomon responded with kindness; this symbolized the possibility of a new relationship. In addition, looking through my spiritual eyes, I believe both kings had a need. King Solomon needed the skills that the people under the control of king Hiram possessed, and king Hiram needed the money.

Timing is everything!!!

Verse 8, Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

Verse 9, My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household.

My response… What we have here are details laid out by king Hiram. Someone involved in the relationship, business or personal need to make plain the details. The devil is always in the details!

Many relationships are destroyed because no one made plain the details. Writing down or talking out what you are going to do, and allowing the other person in the relationship to express what they will do makes for the best outcome.

We are building the Lord a house when this process is in operation. God is well pleased!

1 Kings 6

Verse 7, And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.

My response… What a vision king Solomon express here. He was so careful to please the Lord that he did NOT want excessive noise heard at the Temple site; he made the workers prepare everything at a remote area, because he knew that our God is holy, and the ground they were building on was holy.

What does this teach us? We need to take notice how we enter the house of the Lord; let’s make all our noise happen outside of the house of the Lord. I don’t believe God is pleased with our approach in His presence. We are too noisy in the house of worship. The only noise that should be heard in the house of God is praise and worship to our King.

Solomon made every attempt to please our Lord. We should learn what pleases Him!

Verse 11, then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying:

Verse 12, Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David.

Verse 13, And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”

My response… When your actions please the Lord, He will send you a message. The message is always IF you do, THEN I will do. We run well for a season with the Lord, but something happens! We cry to the Lord, but He is a God of His Word, IF you do, THEN I will do. We often quote the scriptures of the blessings of the Lord, but we overlook the IF factor.

If we obey God, THEN He will accomplish the promises He made to us.

1 Kings 8

Verse 1, Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.

Verse 2, Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

Verse 3, So all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

My response… If you want the presence of the Lord to enter your temple, everything must be set in order. God will NOT enter a place that hasn’t been purged of worldly furnishings. He commands our full attention!

King Solomon finished the house of the Lord in seven years, now they are bringing the ARK of the covenant (which represent the presence of God) in the temple on the seventh month, which is the number of completion.

We need to learn that saints everywhere are pieces used by God to build Him a house. Let’s complete something for the Lord! Seven is the number of completion; give God seven minutes, seven hours, seven days, seven months, seven years or just praise Him each day seven times.

Verse 6, then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.

Verse 10, and it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

Verse 11, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

My response… when you set aside a most holy place for the Lord, and set the table for Him to enter in, His glory will show up in your temple also. He is coming back for a temple NOT made with hands; He is coming back for each of us who obey and trust Him.

In closing… King Solomon provided an awesome display of honor and reverence to our Lord for all to follow. Let us take notice, and approach the house of God with honor and respect. May we continue to build our portion of God’s house until He say “well done my good and faithful servant.”

Blessings to all!!!
CJ