Devotional
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 9 and Psalm 109 “The Lord appeared to him a second time.” (1 Kings 9:2) The first time the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, he had asked for wisdom and had received much more. Now, 20 years later, Solomon had “completed the work of building the temple and the…
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 8 and Psalm 108 “When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.” 1 Kings 8:10-11. Can God ever be contained by a building constructed by human…
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 7 and Psalm 107 Solomon had his priorities right, in the sense that he first built the temple of the Lord before building himself a palace. Sadly, though, it appears from the description in 1 Kings 7 that Solomon’s palace was far more ornate and grandiose than even the temple was.…
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 6 and Psalm 106 Through the wilderness wanderings of the Exodus under Moses, the settling of the Promised Land under Joshua, the great wickedness of the tribes under the Judges, the establishment of the kingdom under Saul, and the strengthening of that kingdom under David, the true worship of Yahweh had…
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 5 and Psalm 105 A temple was to be built. It was to be modelled on the design and layout of the tabernacle, which in turn was a pale physical reflection of the spiritual reality of heavenly worship (Hebrews 8:1-5). In this temple, the people of God were to be able…
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 4 and Psalm 104 Solomon’s reign was characterised by military peace and material prosperity. In part, this was thanks to David’s earlier military successes. However, Solomon added great value to the kingdom by organising its administration and management with remarkable efficiency. Where David had been a warrior king and a leader…
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 3 and Psalm 103 “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” (1 Kings 3:9). Solomon must already have had a measure of wisdom to be able to realise that there is nothing more important than attaining it. Wealth, honour, and even…
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 2 and Psalm 102 David’s charge to his son, Solomon, is fascinating. What comes to mind first when you read his words: “So be strong, act like a man…”? What does it mean in our era and in our culture to act like a man? Does it mean to work hard…
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Daily Readings: 1 Kings 1 and Psalm 101 As 1 Kings begins, David’s life and kingdom are waning. The narrative of 1 & 2 Kings will cover almost five hundred years, from the end of David’s kingdom through to the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian Empire. It is the story of the rise and…
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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 24 and Psalm 100 A passage like 2 Samuel 24 needs to be approached with great caution. The way it has been translated into English creates the impression that God first tempted David to sin and then punished him for sinning. We know that this cannot be correct, as James 1:13…
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