Fri.’s Devo - Remember

Read: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Provers 16:28-30 When King Hiram of Tyre learned that David had died and his son, Solomon was now the king, he sent ambassadors to send his condolences and to congratulate him as king. King Hiram and David had always been allies and Solomon wisely took advantage of this friendship. He needed lumber to build the Temple and his other building projects and Hiram needed produce to feed his kingdom. They made a trade and every year, Hiram sent logs floating down the river and David sent back wheat and olive oil. *** Solomon began the building of the temple in the month of Ziv or Nisan which was the seventh month on the civil calendar and the first month of the religious calendar. It was the month that the Passover was in. It was exactly 480 years since they left Egypt on the day after the Passover. *** The Temple was built with three stories and many rooms attached. Every piece, including the walls was made of cedar and covered with gold. The walls were carved with gourds and open flowers. The double doors were covered with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. Everything was covered with gold and was a replica of the Garden of Eden in all its glory. That is where we are headed. We are to bring heaven to earth and return to the Garden of the Lord. In Acts the high priest asked Stephen for his testimony - his side of the story. He had been accused of blasphemy against the law of Moses and the Temple. Instead of defending himself, he defended God. He began at the beginning of the story of the Jewish people which began with Abraham and his calling. God told Abraham to leave his native land and walk the land of Israel. Though none of the land was his yet, God told him that one day his descendants would have the whole land. First they would be slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Then God would lead them out to worship him in their land. He gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. Abraham had Isaac and Isaac had Jacob. Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of Israel. *** The brothers became jealous of their youngest brother, Joseph and sold him. He ended up in Pharaoh’s palace. When a famine came upon the land, Jacob and his sons were forced to go to Egypt for food. Joseph was there to meet then and supply them with provision which saved their lives. They prospered and increased until a king came to power in Egypt that didn’t remember what Joseph had done for them. He was afraid of the Hebrew people and oppressed them miserably making them slaves. God sent a boy named Moses to set them free. *** Moses was a special child born when the king of Egypt was having all the babies killed. His mother preserved him in a basket that was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. She adopted Moses and brought him into the palace to live. Moses became powerful and one day went to see how the Hebrews were being treated. He saw an Egyptian beat a Hebrew slave and he killed the Egyptian hiding his body in the sand. When he realized his murder was found out, he fled the country and lived in Midian. He married and had two sons. The story will continue tomorrow. *** Stephen recounted their history to the because they had gotten so far from their roots. God wants us to remember where we came from so we won’t repeat the same mistakes and so we will know our calling. *** Lord, may we remember all you have done for us and not forget the cross and the resurrection.