Today's title should be 'evening musings' - I finished the book "1000 Gifts" earlier today, tried to finish a book by Hannah W. Smith - "The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life". I am just now getting into God's word straight from Him and not through 'other authors'. I read of David's charge to Solomon - his parting words, and as such, the most important thing he could pass on to his son.
The first part - the part that I think I key on too much - the obedience part. I don't mean obedience is not important, because obviously it is. But you can obey and 'do' all the right things, but if the heart behind it isn't right, what good is that? Here's the first part:
28:7 And if he continues to obey my commands and regulations as he does now, I will make his kingdom last forever.’ 8 “So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel—the Lord’s assembly—I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance.
And after that, it's as if David did a 'double take' and realized the most important thing is not really obedience, but it's truly KNOWING God - developing a relationship with Him. All obedience must flow out of a heart of love - a willing heart and mind. Otherwise it is all empty.
9 “And Solomon, my son, get to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”
I love the sentence "Take this seriously." We are bombarded by distractions. Bombarded by TV shows and YouTube videos and music - so many things that take our focus off of God and off of seeking Him. Even being 'away' for a few days I realize the 'struggle' to focus on Him. It doesn't matter where we are, we HAVE to discipline ourselves to seek Him. But He promises that those who seek WILL find. The problem is not with Him, it's with us. It's hard work to attune the mind and will to see Him. We HAVE to spend time in His word. How else will we ever know His mind? It won't come through TV. He has placed us 'in the world' but doesn't want us to be 'of the world'. Our focus and gaze has got to be on our eternal home - fixing our eyes on Jesus - to purify this life on earth.
And then, after David gave his son direction, his final prayer to God is recorded:
29:10 Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:
“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
16 “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
18 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”
Everything we have is because of the gracious hand of God. It's all His and He can take it all away. As was recorded above "We are here for only a moment". How does God want to use us in this moment? May He give us eyes to see things as He sees them - an eternal perspective.
Psalm 127 is a good one for me. I am a work-a-holic. I know I am. I know I need to lighten up and not think the world will fall apart if I take a day off. It's the balance between working hard and not overdoing it that I find difficult. We are not to be lazy, but we also have to realize that God is the One who works through us and we must be in tune to what He wants us to accomplish.
1 Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
2 It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.
Also, children are a gift from God, and I am thankful for the gift of a son.
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I find that Christians tend to swing to far on the beam of overworking for God, or not seeking after him at all and taking him as a 'Sunday-god'. We must realize that GOd created us for a purpose and that he created things for us to enjoy and rejuvenate.
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