Read: 1 Kings 1-53; Acts 4:1-37; Psalm 124:1-8; Proverbs 16:24
Today we begin reading 1 Kings. First and Second Kings was probably written by Jeremiah and covers the 400 years of the kings of Israel and Judah up to the destruction of the first temple. First and Second Kings were once in one big volume named “Book of Kingdoms.” It begins with the end of David’s kingdom and beginning of Solomon’s.
David had promised Bathsheba that her child would be the next king after him to pay her back for what he did to her. Another of David’s sons, Adonijah had other plans. He though he should be the king so he gathered support from the priest, Abiathar and Joab, the army commander. He took chariots and horses and fifty men to sacrifice sheep and cattle at the Stone of Zoheleth which means “the serpent’s stone”. It overhangs the Kidron Valley which was a dumping place for idols.
When David learned of what Adonijah had done he told Bathsheba to take Solomon to the Gihon Springs and anoint him king. The Gihon Spring is a natural spring called “the Fountain of the Virgin.” It would become the official place to crown kings.
The people celebrated Solomon’s crowning and saw that David approved. Adonijah’s followers fled and he went to take hold of the horns of the altar for mercy. Solomon sent word that he could live as long as he didn’t cause any trouble.
The devil is going to fight every major promotion in our lives. We should not be surprised when we face opposition. If we don’t give up, God will come to our defense and put us where we are suppose to be.
In Acts, Peter had just healed the crippled man and took the opportunity to stand up in the temple and preach a sermon about Jesus being resurrected and exalted to the right hand of God. Jesus had come first to bless them and if they put their trust in him, he would be their savior.
The Sadducees who were there and other leaders were irate at Peter especially when he talked about the resurrection. The Sadducees didn’t believe in a resurrection and the others didn’t want to hear that Jesus was the Messiah because they had killed him. There solution was to put Peter and John in jail. This didn’t stop Peter from proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. The leaders were astonished at their boldness and speech since they were not schooled in their schools. They couldn’t deny the miracle so they warned them not to talk about Jesus anymore and let them go.
This did not deter them from continuing to speak about what Jesus did and was still doing through them. More and more people were coming into the kingdom and the people were totally devoting their lives and their possessions to the cause of Christ.
Lord, help us to walk in the same boldness that the early disciples did.
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