Tues.’s Devo - The Counterfeit and the Real

1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverb 17:6 Reading today’s scriptures makes you wonder why God chose Jeroboam who was going to be so evil to be the king of Israel. God always gives a nation a leader that they deserve. Israel was bent on following false gods so God gave them Jeroboam who would give them a counterfeit of the real. Jeroboam set up his own capital in Shechem, erected golden calves at Bethel and Dan to worship so his people wouldn’t go to Jerusalem and want to stay. He ordained priests who were not Levites, instituted a counterfeit festival to the Feast of Tabernacles on the same day of a different month. He himself offered sacrifices to the calves he made. On the day set to celebrate their first counterfeit feast, Jeroboam headed to the altar at Bethel to offer sacrifices and begin the celebration. God sent a prophet from Judah to meet him. He told him that God was going to raise up a man by the name of Josiah and he would be a descendant of David. He would sacrifice the false priests who came to worship here on this altar. They would also burn human bones on this altar. As a sign that what he was saying was true, the altar would split in half. Jeroboam pointed his finger at the prophet and yelled, “Seize that man!” When he did, his arm was paralyzed in that position and he couldn’t move it. The altar split and its ashes poured out on the ground. That was what God had to say about their worship. Jeroboam now cried out to the prophet to please pray to God to heal his hand. The prophet did and the king’s hand was restored. Jeroboam asked the prophet to stay and eat but he said that God had told him not to eat or drink in this land but to go home another way from the one he had come. There was an old prophet that lived in Bethel. His sons had attended the celebration and witnessed what happened. They came home and told their father, the prophet. He set out to find the young prophet. When he found him he asked him to come home with him and eat. When he told him what God had told him about eating there, the old prophet lied and told him that an angel had appeared to him and told him to bring him home with him. The young prophet learned a fatal lesson. He listened to man rather than God and went home with him. After the meal, the old prophet prophesied over him and told him that because he didn’t do what God had told him to do, he would not be buried with his family. Sure enough, he left and was killed by a lion. When the old prophet heard what had happened he went to find his body. The lion was guarding his body and had not eaten it. A donkey was standing with the lion and the lion had not eaten it either. Jesus was guarding this man’s body. Jesus is both the donkey, the suffering servant and the lion from the tribe of Judah. The old prophet took his body and buried it in his own grave. He told his sons to bury him beside him when he died. This story is hard to understand but the young prophet was a perfect picture of Israel who started out following God but ended up listening to other voices and following them. When Josiah did come on the scene, to hundred years later, and burned the prophets on this altar, but he saved this man’s grave and didn’t desecrate it. God did honor this man and didn’t let his body get destroyed by the lion, but he had to honor his word also and killed the man. When we get to heaven we can hear the rest of the story. In Acts, the Jewish believers in Jerusalem were afraid of Saul and it took Barnabas’ testimony of being with Saul and his story of how he got saved to convince them Saul was a believer. When they understood this, they accepted him and he preached boldly there. He argued with some of the Greek-speaking Jews who tried to murder him. The believers found out their plot and sent Saul to Caesarea on to Tarsus, his hometown. The church was growing in numbers and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter healed a paralytic and many turned to the Lord. He healed Dorcas who was on her death bed. News spread quickly and many came to the Lord. When the church does the works of Jesus they won’t have to have gimmicks to get people to come to church, they will hear and flock to the churches. Jeroboam offered his nation the counterfeit but Jesus offered the real. Lord, may we walk in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit.

Mon.’s Devo - The Dividing of the Kingdom

Read: 1 Kings 11:1-12:19; Acts 9:1-25; Psalm 131:1-3; Proverbs 17:4-5 King Solomon did not continue to walk with the Lord, but went after the gods of his foreign wives. He married 700 wives from royal families of other nations. They brought their gods with them and Solomon participated in the gruesome and unholy worship of their gods. God was very angry with Solomon and told him that he would tear the kingdom from him but not entirely. He would leave one tribe for David’s sake. God raised up three adversaries against Solomon. The first was Hadad, a member of Edom’s royal family. Joab had killed most of his family and tribe yet he and a few of the royal officials had fled to Egypt. Hadad had only been a child at the time but he was raised by Pharaoh who treated him as his own. He gave him his wife’s sister in marriage. When Hadad learned that David and Joab had died, he asked to return to the land of Edom where he was a bitter enemy to Solomon. The second adversary was Rezon. He had been a slave to King Hadadezer of Zobah. He had fled with his gang of rebels and was made king of Damascus. Rezon hated Israel as much as Hadad did and made as much trouble as he could for Solomon. The third adversary was the one to get the throne and that was Jeroboam. He had been Solomon’s superintendent over his forced labor. One day as he was leaving Jerusalem he met a prophet by the name of Ahijah. Ahijah took his new cloak and tore it into twelve pieces. The told Jeroboam to take ten of them because they represented the twelve tribes of Israel. He was going to be given ten of them because Solomon had worshipped other gods. Solomon tried to have Jeroboam killed but he fled to Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died. Solomon passed his kingdom to Rehoboam. Rehoboam came out to give his first speech and the people asked him if he was going to be as harsh as his father was. Solomon had put hard labor demands on his workers and taxed the people heavily. The people promised to serve him faithfully if he would be kind to them. Rehoboam told them he would have their answer in three days. Jereboam had been in the crowd. Rehoboam first asked his father’s elders what he should do and they told him to listen to the people and lighten their load. They would love him and serve him forever. Then Rehoboam asked his advisors who were his age. They told him to tell the lazy subjects that he would be tougher than his father. On the third day, Rehoboam met with the people and took the advise of his friends. The people cursed David’s dynasty and refused to be under his rule. Rehoboam sent Adoram, his superintendent over his forced labor to get control but they stoned him. King Rehoboam ran for his life back to Jerusalem. In Acts, another kingdom was divided - Satan’s kingdom. Saul was one of Satan’s leading men whose goal was to persecute and kill those who believed in Jesus. He went looking for Christians to bring back to Jerusalem where they would be tried for treason. One his way to Damascus a light from heaven blinded him. He heard God call his name and ask why he was persecuting him. Saul asked him who he was and he said, Jesus. He told Saul to go to the city and he would be told what he must do. The men with him heard the voice but saw nothing. Saul got up but realized he was blind. His men had to led him to a place to stay. He remained theer three days without eating or drinking. Ananias was a believer in Damascus. God told him to go over to Straight Street and straighten Saul out. He told him that Saul knew he was coming. This had to be bad news for Ananias since everyone had heard of the great persecuted, Saul. But God told Ananias that Saul was chosen by him to take the message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as the people of Israel. Ananias obeyed and spoke to Saul and laid his hands on him praying that he would see and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Instantly the scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see physically and spiritually. He was baptized and stayed learning about Jesus. Then he went and preached Jesus in the synagogues. He was so effective in his teaching that the Jews in Damascus wanted to kill him. They lowered him in a basket through an opening in the city wall. Lord, help us to have eyes to see what you are doing and not stand in your way. Your ways are higher than ours and your thoughts higher than our thoughts.

Sun.’s Devo - The Prosperity of Solomon

Read: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3 After Solomon had finished building the Temple and his palace, God appeared to him again. He told him that he had heard Solomon’s prayer and had set apart this Temple to be holy. God would watch over it for he loved it. If Solomon followed the Lord continually then his throne would be established forever with his descendants as its rulers. If they didn’t obey his commands and started worshipping other gods, then God would uproot Israel from the land, reject the Temple and Israel would be ridiculed among the nations. Solomon paid King Hiram with 20 towns in the land of Galilee to thank him for the cedar and gold he had sent him. When Hiram saw the towns he called them “Cabul” which means “nothing” and yet he paid him 9,000 pounds of gold for them. I you know anything about Middle Eastern people you would understand that this is classic salesmanship. The buyer would always say that about something he was about to buy hoping that the price would go down. It is the way they do things there. Solomon used foreigners for his forced labor to build his buildings but he gave the prestigious jobs to fellow Israelites. They served in the army, were the commanders and supervisors of his slaves. Solomon moved his Egyptian wife from the City of David to her new palace in Jerusalem. Solomon built ships which brought him 16 tons of gold. The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame and wisdom and came with gifts from her country and many questions to ask him. She spent time quizzing him and touring his great buildings. She learned his lifestyle as a king and was overwhelmed with wonder. She gave hims 9,000 pounds of gold. Solomon loaded her down with gifts to take back to her country. Every year, Solomon received 25 tons of gold in addition to the money he received from the merchants and traders that came. He made 300 shields out of hammered gold to place in the Place of the Forest of Lebanon. He had built a huge throne that was decorated with ivory and overlaid with gold. It had six steps leading up to throne and a lion sitting on either side of his seat. Twelve other lions sat on the six steps, two a step. Solomon’s utensils were made of gold. Apes and peacocks were imported and roamed his palaces. People came from miles around to listen to Solomon talk on things of the earth and tour his kingdom. He had 1,000 chariots and 12,000 horses. In Acts, Peter and John visited the new believers in Samaria and told them about he baptism in the Holy Spirit. They laid their hands on the people and they received it. When Simon, the once sorcerer observed this, he wanted that power so he offered Peter money to buy it. Peter rebuked him for thinking the things of God could be bought. Peter told Simon that his heart needed to repent of its bitter jealousy and envy. Simon did repent and asked for prayer. Peter and John preached in many Samaritan towns then returned to Jerusalem. An angel told Philip to go south to a road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza. As he was going, he encountered a caravan from Ethiopia. It was carrying the treasurer of Ethiopia’s queen. He was returning from worshipping in Jerusalem. He was reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. The Holy Spirit told Philip to go and listen to what he was saying. He was reading from Isaiah 53 about Jesus as our suffering savior. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. The man said, No, and invited Philip to come sit with him and tell him. Philip explained that it was referring to Jesus who fulfilled every word he was reading. The man believed and when he saw some water, he asked Philip to baptize him. When they were walking out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away to a town north of there. It was the town of Azotus where he preached the gospel. When the godly prosper, everyone rejoices. Lord, thank you for the blessing of prosperity. Solomon’s prosperity brought so many people to hear and see of your goodness. May our lives be an example for others to follow.

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Presence Brings Joy

Read: 1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-8:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Provers 17:1 On the Festival of Shelters, the seventh feast which occurred in the fall, Solomon chose to bring the Ark of the Covenant from the city of David to the Temple. They placed it in the Holy of Holies. They also placed all the other furniture from the Tabernacle into the Temple. The people offered so many sacrifices they couldn’t count them. When the priests brought in the Ark and placed it in its room, a cloud filled the Temple which was so dense the priests could not continue because God’s presence was so strong. Solomon stood before the people and explained why he built this Temple. It had been his father’s desire to build God a Temple on the earth even though God could not be contained in a building. He asked God to remember his promise to David to always have one of David’s descendants to sit on the throne of Israel if they were faithful to him. Solomon prayed that this place would be the place where justice was done. The innocent would be proven innocent and the guilty would be punished. If the people found themselves being defeated by their enemies because they had sinned against him, they could turn their face toward the Temple and pray for forgiveness and be forgiven. If there was no rain or there was a famine, or a pandemic, or an attack of locusts because of their sins, they could turn and pray toward this Temple and repent. Solomon asked that God would hear their prayers and give them what their actions deserved. If they were in captivity and turned to the Lord with their whole heart and soul and prayed toward this land, then Solomon prayed that God would hear their prayers and uphold their cause. He prayed that God would forgive them and cause their captors to be merciful to them. Solomon prayed that the people would be punished with mercy for their sins so they would not forget what they had done and they would not want to do it again. If there is no consequence then there is no lesson learned. The celebration lasted for 14 days and there were so many offerings to the Lord, that Solomon had to consecrate the courtyard to be used for sacrifices to get it all done. When the festival was over, the people went home with joy and gladness because of the goodness of the Lord. The Feast of Tabernacles was a rehearsal for God’s return to the earth when he sets up his kingdom on earth. It will be a time of great offerings, joy and celebration. In Acts, Stephen completes his message to his accusers, the religious hierarchy. He ends up calling them stubbier and heathen at heart. He reminded them that they persecuted every messenger of God, even the ones who predicted the coming Messiah. This infuriated the leaders and they shook their fists at hi in rage. But the Holy Spirit rested on Stephen and he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing beside him. He told them what he saw and they put their hands over their ears then seized him and dragged him out of the city and stoned him. The stoners laid their coats at the feet of Saul who watched with approval. Stephen died praying for his accusers and begging for God to forgive them. Persecution was unloosed on the believers and they scattered all over the world taking the good news of the gospel with them. Philip went to Samaria and told them about Jesus. Through his hands, people were delivered from demons, people were healed and people came to salvation. Great joy came to the city of Samaria. There was a sorcerer named Simon who had been admired and sought after but he did his miracles through magic. Now, a power greater than magic had come to town. Simon believed and was baptized. He followed Philip and was amazed at the miracles he did. Lord, we turn to you with all our hearts praying for our nation and the nations of the world. thank you for filling our hearts with joy in the midst of persecution and turmoil. You are the one who brings salvation and deliverance and we trust in you to bring it now.

Fri.’s Devo - Solomon’s Buildings

Read: 1 Kings 7:1-51; Acts 7:30-50; Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 16:31-33 It took Solomon 7 years to build the Temple and 13 years to his own palace. He also built other building like the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon which was 11,250 square feet with 45 feet tall ceilings. Inside were three rows of cedar pillars to probably look like a forest of trees. He built the Hall of Pillars which was 3,375 square feet. The porch was held up by a row of pillars. He built a throne room which he called the Hall of Justice which was where the legal matters were carried out. His own living quarters was behind this hall. He also built a similar living quarters for Pharoah’s daughter, his wife. All of his buildings were made of polished stone. Their foundation was also stone. Some of the foundation stones were 15 feet long. Just imagine having to transport these stones from the quarry to the building site on a hill. Solomon hired a man named Huram from Tyre who was not the same as King Hiram. This man’s mother was a Jew from Nathtali and his father had been a bronze craftsman from Tyre. He was talented in bronze. He came and made the pillars with its capitals, the huge basin they called the Sea, ten water carts and the utensils needed in the Temple. The detail was amazingly intricate and beautiful. When Solomon had completed the Temple he brought all the gifts David had dedicated to the Lord and put them in the treasury rooms in the Temple. In Acts, Stephen continued his history lesson. God called Moses from the desert near Mount Sinai and called him back to Egypt to deliver his people. He sent Moses back to deliver the same people who had rejected him as their leader. He delivered them through signs and wonders. He led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and through the wilderness for forty years. Moses was the one who spoke of a Prophet that God would raise up. The people of Israel rejected Moses again and chose to worship the gods of the heavens and earth so God promised to send them into exile into Babylon. The children of Israel carried the Tabernacle with them through the desert and it stayed with them until they were given God’s king, David. David’s son, Solomon built the Temple for God even though he never asked for one. Heaven is God’s throne and earth is his footstool. Lord, may we learn from the mistakes of the people who have gone before us. May we not reject you for the gods of this world that have no power. You are the Lord of Lords and we worship you.

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.

Wed.’s Devo - The Wisdom of the Godly

Read: 1 Kings 3:3-4:34; Acts 6:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 16:26-27 Solomon loved the Lord and offered sacrifices and incense to the Lord like the priests. There were many places the people worshiped but the most important place was Gibeon. Solomon was there and had offered 1,000 burnt offerings. That night, God visited Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted. Solomon told God he desired wisdom and discernment to govern the people with justice. God was so pleased with Solomon’s request that he told him he would not only make him the wisest person ever born but he would also give him riches, honor, and a long life. Solomon proved his wisdom when two prostitutes brought him a live baby and both claimed it was their own. Solomon ordered to have the baby cut in half and half given to each mother. The lying mother agreed to kill the child. The real mother was ready to give up her child to have it live. Solomon gave the real mother the child. All Israel saw this and were amazed at his answer. Solomon divided his kingdom into 12 districts and put governors over each. Each governor was designated to give him a month’s supply to run the kingdom. The daily grocery list included 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal, 10 oxen, 20 cattle, 100 sheep or goats as well as deer, gazelles, roe dear and poultry. They also brought straw and barley for the royal horses. They faithfully brought their supplies on their month. God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding and his fame spread through the world. He composed over 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He was gifted in knowledge of earth science. Many kings and dignitaries came to listen to his wisdom. In Acts, the Greek believers complained that their women widows were not treated like the Jewish widows. They weren’t given as much food for their families as the Jewish widows were given. So the 12 apostles met to discuss it. They selected 7 men to take care of the food distribution so they could put their energies into prayer and teaching the Word. The seven were chosen and prayed over by laying their hands on them. Stephen was one of the seven chosen. Stephen was full of God’s grace and performed many miracles. Some men from another sect came to challenge Stephen but they couldn’t stand against his wisdom. They decided to lie about Stephen and bring him before the Sanhedrin saying he had spoken blasphemies against Moses and God. When they brought their false charges against Stephen, his face became bright like an angel’s. Everything in this life is a test. Solomon was tested with wisdom and riches. The disciples were tested with persecution and enemies. Our tests may be other things. These tests prove our hearts. Wisdom and discernment and a heavenly perspective keeps us on the right path. This world is not our stopping place, it is our pilgrimage. Lord, help us to walk with our eyes on heaven and our feet grounded on your foundation. Grant us wisdom and discernment for the days in which we live.