Sat.’s Devo - Solomon’s Greatness

Read:1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3 When Solomon finished constructing everything he had intended to build, the Lord appeared to Solomon again and promised to always watch over the Temple he had built. If Solomon walked in the footsteps of David and continued to follow Him, then one of his descendants would always sit on the throne of Israel. If he or one of his descendants abandoned the Lord and his decrees then God would uproot Israel and reject this Temple. Israel would become a mockery and be ridiculed by all nations. The Temple be destroyed and all who see it will be appalled at what happened. The world will be able to look at it and know what God does to those who rebel against him. Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the land of Galilee to thank him for helping him but when Hiram came to see the towns, he was not impressed. He said they were worthless but paid Solomon 9,000 pounds of gold for them. (That is how they do business in the Middle East.) The Pharaoh of Egypt had conquered the Canaanite town of Gezer and gave it to his daughter as a wedding present when she married Solomon. It had been one of the Canaanites royal cities. Solomon had a huge number of forced labors from the nations they had conquered. No Israelites were his slaves. The Israelites were appointed to his army as soldiers and commanders. Solomon offered sacrifices to the Lord three times a year and moved his wife to her new palace he had made. Solomon also built ships that brought him 16 tons of gold. The queen of Sheba from southern Arabia heard of Solomon and his fame and wisdom and came to see if what she had heard was true. She gave Solomon 9,000 pounds of gold and spices and jewels. In return, Solomon gave her anything she asked for and showed her his entire kingdom. Then she returned home. Solomon had a huge decorated throne overlaid with gold. It had six steps and a rounded back with arm rests. A figure of a lion sat on each end of the steps. All of the cups Solomon drank from were pure gold as well as his utensils. Solomon imported gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. He had a huge army with 1,400 chariots. He imported 12,000 horses from Egypt. He sold the horses to the Hittites and people of Aram. In Acts, the apostles heard that the Samaritans had received the Good News, they sent Peter and John there. They laid their hands on them and the people received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw this he wanted to buy this power but they told him to repent for thinking you could buy the things of God. Simon did repent and the prayed for him. Peter and John returned to Jerusalem and visited many Samaritan villages along the way. An angel of the Lord told Philip to go south . On a desert road, he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of the queen. (Many believe that he was from the nation that the Queen of Sheba had come from.) The Holy Spirit told Philip to run up and walk beside the man and listen to what he was saying. The man was reading from Isaiah 53. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading and he told him he didn’t. The scripture was talking about the death of Jesus so Philip explained to him about how Jesus fulfilled this scripture. The Ethiopian believed and wanted to be baptized. They stopped and he was baptized right there and then Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch went his way praising the Lord. Thank you, Lord for your power and the wonderful news of salvation. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that speaks to us and moves through us.