1 Kings

The people of Egypt carried the Ark of the Covenant for many, many years before Solomon built its permanent resting place. 

King David felt compelled, possibly out of guilt to build a structure for the Lord, but the Lord refused him.  He had other plans for King David and higher designs for His temple.

Solomon, son of King David, was wise - - if you’ve been reading 1 Kings, you’ll see that in Chapter 4:29-34 just how God blessed him. 

1 Kings 4:29-32 Solomon’s Wisdom

 ²⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 

³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 

³¹ He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 

³² He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 

³³ He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 

³⁴ Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

Sounds like the Lord was pretty pleased with Solomon and gave him great knowledge.  You can be sure that when He asked Solomon to build His mighty temple, He would be assured that Solomon could follow His wishes to the tiniest of details. 

I have often asked the Lord for wisdom, or discernment and have been pretty satisfied that He’s honored my requests.  There are some things in this world that we cannot understand; some things God says He’ll reveal to us in time.  Other things, we may never have an answer for. We may find the answer once we reach Home.  Still there are other things that, when we finally do make it to Heaven, we may find we never needed to know in the first place.  It’ll all just make sense. 

I’m looking forward to that.

Points to Ponder

• Have you ever asked God for wisdom?  
• Has God asked you to do something seemingly impossible for Him?
• Have you learned to spot the nuggets that God has for you in His Word?

Katie Chaney

66 Love Letters - Chapter 7 - Judges

Sin is in you lodged deep.

So, I'm left with the question: will You really change me? If I face what is so awful about me, will You fix it? And if so, how?


"I can and I will, in My way and in My time. I AM able." 66 Love Letters -Dr. Larry Crabb


When I began the Book of Judges, I thought I was in for some deep reading about some pretty righteous characters. I wanted to be like those appointed by God to keep order in His Holy Name. I hadn’t read too many chapters before I remembered that God uses people just like us to do His will. As is so often in our humanness we fail, of course, and I was in for one disappointment after another.

What spoke to me, however, was that God is eternal love and God answers the cries of His people. How many times? In Matthew 18, God’s wish is that we forgive one another seventy times seven. God, however, forgives us eternally. Thank goodness!

In Judges Chapter Seven, God used a timid and uncertain man named Gideon to defeat the Midianites. Gideon had quite an army following him; over 32,000 men. God told Gideon that there were too many men to go into battle so He began paring them down. Finally, 300 remained and God sent them out. While 32,000 soldiers might have certainly defeated the army of the Midianites, God wanted His people to understand that He is in control, not Gideon, not the army. By paring Gideon’s army down to 300, impossible odds, the Lord was glorified in the seemingly impossible victory. And how amazing that none of Gideon’s men, not even the 300, had to lift a sword to help. But, by chapter eight, the people were at it again, falling by the wayside only to realize they needed another judge.

So often, throughout the Book of Judges, the author states “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord……” Don’t you want to look into the invisible camera and say “Really…?” or “Are you kidding me? Again?” Yet, God understands. God forgives. And, God loves His people.

He offers hope in a world where there is little to be found. So many of God’s appointed judges were sent at the pleas of His people. Breaking God's laws and showing little reverence to the Lord seemed to be a generational trait. Is it only hopeless situations when God hears our pleas and answers us? Or is it because our most desperate times are when we finally call on God? Either way, God is faithful and loving and holds on to us even when we don’t hold on to Him.

A Few Questions to Ponder

• Do you cry out to God only at times of desperation? Or, do you speak to Him daily and feel comfortable to share with Him every grievance?

• Are you hanging on to God or is God the one that has you in His grip?

• Do you understand the importance of passing along your knowledge of God’s love and reverence to your own family?

• Do you feel like you’ve been tumbling in an eternal “fluff cycle” of your own life?

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