Thurs.’s Devo - Building the House

Read: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 16:28-30 King Hiram of Tyre had always been David’s friend so when he learned that Solomon had become king, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him. He wanted to be an ally not an enemy of Israel. Solomon wisely accepted his offer of peace and they traded cedar for food. Solomon needed cedar to build the Temple and Hiram had plenty. Hiram needed wheat and oil and Solomon had plenty of that. King Hiram made rafts of the cedars and sent them down the Mediterranean to Lebanon. Men who had been prisoners of war and slaves in Israel were the forced labor who worked on the building project. They worked one month on and two months off. Solomon began building the Temple 480 years to the day of when Israel left Egypt with Moses. It took him 7 years to build the Temple. The construction of the stone and wood was done at a quarry and carried to the sight so that no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool was heard at the building site. This is amazing since some of these stone pillars were 30 feet long. The walls were full of wood carvings of gourds and flowers. The doors had carvings of cherubim. palm trees, and open flowers. They were then covered with gold. Even the floor was covered in gold. It was to look like the Garden of Eden on the inside filled with the Glory of God. The windows at the top allowed the sun to shine on the gold which lit up the whole room. God gave Solomon a promise that if kept all his decrees and regulations and obeyed all his commands, the would fulfill through him the promise he had given to David and continue to put one of their offspring on the throne. He would also live among them and never abandon them. In Acts, Stephen was given a chance to give his defense. He began with a history lesson starting back at Abraham, their father through Moses. They were in Egypt for 400 years being oppressed and from then till Solomon built the Temple it was another 480 years making it 880 in all. Eight is the number for new beginnings. Stephen will continue his lesson tomorrow. Our Psalm is so appropriate for today’s reading. “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.” We can remember that as we go about our day. Everything we do is either building or tearing down. Our words, our actions and decisions all play a part in our building. We are building a temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in which is in our hearts. Lord, may we be about building and only tear down what is not of You.