Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 7:1-51.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 7:1 (NIV) 
1 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace. 

On verses 1-12:  Whereas it took Solomon 7 years to complete the construction of the temple, it took him 13 years to complete the construction of his own palace.  What does that tell us?  One theory is that at this time in Solomon’s life, the kingdom of God was more important than his own kingdom.  So when it came to deciding which should take priority — God’s temple or Solomon’s palace — Solomon chose to work first on God’s temple. The fact that the building of Solomon’s own palace is sandwiched in between two long passages about Solomon work on the temple further supports the theory that for Solomon, his first priority was the house of God.  As a result, the house of God was blessed, and Solomon’s own house was blessed.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 6:1-38.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 6:7 (NIV) 
7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built. 

On verses 1-10:  In verses 1 through 10 Solomon gets busy building the temple. Interestingly, according to verse 7, Solomon went to great lengths to make sure that the sound of construction tools could be not heard at the temple site.  He did this by moulding, shaping and dressing all the building blocks for the temple off-site.  Then he would bring them to the temple site where they could be quietly placed and displayed for everyone to see.   To casual onlookers, it might seem like the temple quietly sprung up overnight, since they did not hear many construction sounds, when in fact much of the hard work had been done off-site.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 5:1-18.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 5:3-5 (NIV) 
3 “You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. 
4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. 
5 I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’ 

On verses 1-5:  In these verses King Solomon communicates with King Hiram of Tyre, a long time ally of his father David.  King Solomon discloses to King Hiram his ambition to build a temple where people can worship the Lord.  Solomon notes that this was also his father David’s desire, but David was not able to build the temple because he was always fighting the enemies surrounding him.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 4:20-34. Let’s go!

On verses 20-34:  Previously in 1 Kings 3:4-15, Solomon asked the Lord for a wise and discerning heart so that he could govern the nation of Israel for God’s glory.  In response to Solomon’s request, God promised that He would not only give Solomon a wise and discerning heart, but also unparalleled riches and honor “so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings” (v13).

The rest of 1 Kings 3 and all of 1 Kings 4 show God fulfilling His promises to Solomon.  1 Kings 4:20-28 speak of the great prosperity that Solomon and his people enjoyed.  Verses 29 to 34 speak of the unparalleled “wisdom and very great insight, and breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore” (v.29) that God gave Solomon.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 4:1-19.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-19:  Here we see that King Solomon “ruled over all Israel” (v1) by delegating different parts of the kingdom to various people, whom he trusted to help him govern the kingdom well (v2-19).  What can we learn from this?

1.  When the project is too large for any one person to handle, a wise leader will delegate different responsibilities to trustworthy individuals.  As a kingdom grows, it takes not just one individual but a strong and excellent team to lead it.  What is one area of your life where it would be more effective to delegate, outsource or at least seek advice rather than you trying to figure it all out by yourself?