Well, it appears this posting has become an every-other-week kind of event! Sorry about that. We'll try to stay more on top of it here!
This week is an interesting bridge between the leadership and poetry of David into the life and wisdom of Solomon. The Chronological readings provide an interesting week for us, in that the building of the temple- which is reported in two different books- will consume the bulk of the week. Some of this technical detail (size, height, amount, builders, etc) can become burdensome to our modern mind, but these passages are communicating an important point. This building, this temple to the Most High God, would become the pinnacle place of life and worship for the entire Jewish nation. The completed work would be so impressive that foreign dignitaries, most notably the Queen of Sheba, would take pilgrimages just to behold the wonder.
So I encourage you as you read to keep in mind the New Testament. In light of this week's reading, how shocking would Jesus' statement have been that he would tear down the Temple and rebuild it in three days? (yes, it was a different temple by then, but I would argue that it carried the same weight of importance in the Hebrew heart.) How crazy was it for Peter and Paul to tell the church that they had become the living Temple? What does it mean for us personally if our bodies are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit? When we grasp the deep significance of the first Old Testament Temple, we can appreciate in new ways the "new" Temple we have become through Christ.
Read in joy-
Nick
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Monday, May 06, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 18
Hey Folks! Thanks for keeping up with the reading through the Old Testament. May the Spirit continue to whisper good things from the Word!
This week, we'll watch the transition of leadership from David to his son Solomon. I'm always encouraged by the ways in which David created a leadership position for Solomon, encouraged him, and then helped protect Solomon's kingdom while he was still alive. The typical pattern of kingship in those days would have been for an old king to hold onto power until he died. David, however, looked ahead and saw that he needed to pass on leadership to his son while he still had a say in the matter. There's a lesson here about leading and leaving a legacy.
There's also a lesson here about wisdom. Early in his leadership, Solomon receives the blessing of wisdom from the Lord. But by the end of his life, he has compromised his leadership, and the entire kingdom, through the worship of foriegn and false gods. This is a sad commentary on the move of the human heart- we can know all there is to know in the world, but the focus of our worship will always determine the outcome of our lives. So, what you know isn't nearly as important as what (or who) you worship!
May your reading lead you into deeper and more authentic worship of the one true God!
Nick
This week, we'll watch the transition of leadership from David to his son Solomon. I'm always encouraged by the ways in which David created a leadership position for Solomon, encouraged him, and then helped protect Solomon's kingdom while he was still alive. The typical pattern of kingship in those days would have been for an old king to hold onto power until he died. David, however, looked ahead and saw that he needed to pass on leadership to his son while he still had a say in the matter. There's a lesson here about leading and leaving a legacy.
There's also a lesson here about wisdom. Early in his leadership, Solomon receives the blessing of wisdom from the Lord. But by the end of his life, he has compromised his leadership, and the entire kingdom, through the worship of foriegn and false gods. This is a sad commentary on the move of the human heart- we can know all there is to know in the world, but the focus of our worship will always determine the outcome of our lives. So, what you know isn't nearly as important as what (or who) you worship!
May your reading lead you into deeper and more authentic worship of the one true God!
Nick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)