March 16, 2020: Day 44 – I Kings 8

So we are back.  This break has really been a result of me trying to figure out a whole new way of doing ministry.  It has been strangely exhilarating on the one hand, while also disorienting on the other.  We have discovered a new way to do ministry which we hope has been effective and has allowed the family to stay together.  I need to say how proud I am of all you staying close and allowing this time to be a time of growth.  Now, let’s get back to the Scripture in front of us.

Solomon approaches God with a prayer after gathering the people of Israel and moving the ark of the covenant into the temple in Jerusalem.  He praises God in a way that is completely comprehensive.  He basically in his prayer reminds the people, and God, of the promises that God has made to David and which are being carried out that day by David’s son, Solomon, the author of this prayer.  Notice the part that says that when there are plagues and disease and coronavirus the people need to lift up their voices and God will respond.  

Without a doubt it is a time in Israel’s history where the ruler of the land and the role of the master beseecher to God was intertwined.  Solomon could appeal to God as both the one that God would listen to and as the one who ruled the people.  But once again it was a conditional agreement.  God would be faithful if the people were faithful.

Solomon also predicts a time when the people would not be faithful and potentially be taken away into captivity, which happens later on with the Babylonians, but even then, if the people remember God and ask for His help, God will remember the people and come back and help.

I encourage you to read this chapter again because it really is very comprehensive with Solomon giving thanks for the faithfulness of God, and then having a week long party where everyone basically feels really good about themselves and about how God is at work in their lives.  The leadership of Solomon really shines through here.