It was good to be back together after taking a break for a couple of weeks. This morning we jumped in to 1 Kings 3:1-5.
We see in this passage that “Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the statues of his father David”. But it goes on to say “except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places”. So why was that not okay”
The high places were used to worship pagans gods so this had to be offensive to God. So why did Solomon do this? When we look at 2 Chronicles 1:3 it tells us "... for God's Tent of Meeting was there ...". The ark was still back in Jerusalem but the tabernacle was at Gibeon, “the most important high place”.
So it appears that Solomon was “trying” to worship God in the right way at the right places. And it appears that God blessed him for that by telling Solomon to “ask for whatever you want me to give you”.
The question did come up, “Did God bless Solomon for worshipping Him or did God choose to bless him to accomplish His purposes in spite of his flawed worship? Good question - thoughts?
The thing we talked about the most was how do each of us worship throughout the week – apart from Sunday? What connects you to God in such a way that you ascribe worth to Him? Is it music, service, meditation, etc? Actually, everything we do should be an act of worship.
Most of the time I don’t do too good at this. How about you? What is it personally that brings you to the point of really worshipping God in the midst of the routine of life?
Feel free to add to the conversation.
Blessings,
Roger
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Paul's words to the church at Colosse and the church at Rome always challenge me. Colossians 3:16-17, and Romans 12:1-2. Also, Job's recorded conversation with God in chapter 42 leads us to believe God's sovereignty will be seen in the moment, or as we experience life in retrospect. We should strive to learn more about God's design for our lives in every situation and represent Him well.
ReplyDeleteDiscussing details and purposes of Solomon's Temple (from 1 Kings) served as a great segue to consider our bodies as God's temple today. (1 Cor. 3:16, Romans 12:1, and others) How do we live our lives each day, even moment by moment, as God's representation to the world around us? How can we be "living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God"?
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