Day 102 – January 12, 2024: I Kings 6-10 and Proverbs 2

These chapters in I Kings are dedicated to Solomon building the temple. We don’t quite go into the detail of how the temple is built like we do in other books of the Bible, but I like this condensed version. We do read that it took Solomon 7 years to build the temple and 13 years to build his own house. That seems a little off, but that is what Scripture says. I love what Solomon says when he dedicates the temple. It is less about what the people of God will do and more about asking God to do good things for the people of God. In one place he says, when we sin, for we will sin, and are carried off into captivity because the surrounding nations invade us, then when we realize our sin and confess it and turn our faces back towards you again, remember us and bring us back into the land. That is exactly what happens over the history of Israel more than once. They forget God, turn their back on God and worship idols and other gods, and then they remember the Lord and the Lord restores them. It is a back and forth of obedience and disobedience for the people of Israel. But the temple was supposed to be the constant.

Proverbs reminds us of what obedience looks like, you know, the obedience that the Lord requires. When Solomon prays to the Lord the Lord actually answers and promises to protect and keep the people of Israel.