“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ I Kings 9:4-5 NIV
God appears to Solomon again and reminds him of the promise He made with David and that Solomon has a part to play in this promise.
Solomon has everything available to him and it will continue to unravel from this day forward. As you can see revealed as the story continues.
Solomon was not generous. We would expect Solomon to be very generous to Hiram. Hiram had done many things to help Solomon when he was building the temple. And Hiram had either lent or given a large quantity of gold to Solomon. But these towns disappointed Hiram. Clearly, he expected something better.
The chapter continues with an account of how Solomon forced people to work for him. Solomon was learning how to control people and he was learning how to gain unfair benefits from other people. In the end, such activities would upset people greatly. This would be part of the reason Solomon’s kingdom would divide after his death.
Lessons of generosity and accountability abound in today's readings.
What is God saying to you today?
Be generous. Be accountable.
No comments:
Post a Comment