Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Golden Age

Read: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3 God put his approval on everything Solomon had built and promised to always watch over the place he had built to honor his name. If Solomon followed him in integrity and godliness as David had done, God promised to establish his family on the throne forever. But, if one of his descendants disobeyed his commands and served other gods, then he would uproot Israel from the land he had given them and reject the Temple. Israel would become a mockery and be ridiculed along the nations. When they see the disasters God brings all will know it was because they abandoned the Lord. *** Solomon then gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre to thank him for all the timber and gold he had provided. When Hiram went to see these towns he called them Cabul which means “worthless”, though he gave Solomon 9,000 pounds of gold for them. *** Solomon had many other building projects which he used foreigners as his forced laborers. He had cities just to store his horses and chariots. He drafted Isrsaelites to fight in his army, be his government officials, and command his armed forces. *** He moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter to the city of Gezer which he had gifted to her as a wedding gift. *** Solomon also built a fleet of ships to import and export goods with. *** The queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon because she had heard of all his wealth and wisdom. She brought him caravans of spices, gold and precious jewels as a present. He shared with her his wisdom and showed her all he had built. She was overwhelmed at the organization of his government and wealth of his nation. She listened to his wisdom and answers to all her hard questions about life. *** Solomon received about 25 tons of gold a year and with that gold he made 200 shields to be hung in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. He also had a huge throne made with two large lion figures on both sides of the throne and other lions on both sides of the six steps leading to the throne. All of his drinking cups were made of solid gold. *** Solomon became the richest and wisest king on earth. People from all over came to get his advise and hear his wisdom. 
 *** He imported horses and chariots from Egypt and Cilicia. He then sold them and exported them to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram. *** All this opulence is what we are about to enter into in our nation. We are entering into the time of Solomon’s wealth. The wealth of the wicked is being transferred to the righteous and we have a leader who is a type of David. He is telling us we are entering into the Golden Age. *** In Acts, the disciples had been scattered because of persecution, so they were forced to carry out the great commission of Jesus. Some went to Samaria and they received the message of Jesus so Peter and John went to lay their hands on them and tell them to receive the Holy Spirit. *** Simon, who had been a sorcerer, saw this and tried to buy this power from them. Peter told Simon that the gifts of God couldn’t be bought and rebuked him. Peter told him he needed to repent of thinking this way and exposed his jealousy. Simon did repent and asked Peter to pray for him. *** Philip was told by an angel to go south toward Gaza. On the way he met a eunuch, the treasurer of Ethiopia, who served the queen of Ethiopia. He was on his way to worship in Jerusalem. He was sitting in his carriage reading the book of Isaiah. The Holy Spirit told Phillip to go and listen to what he was reading. He was reading in Isaiah 53 which describes Jesus’ first coming to a tee. He asked the man if he understood what he was reading and he asked Phillip to join him in his carriage and explain it to him. Phillip joined him and explained the whole gospel to him. *** As they rode on, they came to some water and the Ethiopian asked Peter to baptize him in the water. When he came out of the water the Spirit of the Lord snatched Phillip away and the eunuch continued his journey rejoicing. Phillip landed in the town of Azotus where he preached his way to Caesarea. *** Many scholars believe that the Queen of Sheba left Jerusalem pregnant with Solomon’s baby and that this Ethiopian was part of his bloodline. *** Lord, thank you for the power of salvation. It has endured for generations and is still alive today. It is your power to save, deliver and set free. May we spread the good news of your salvation today.

Wed.’s Devo - The Presence of God Fills the Temple

Read: 1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-8:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 17:1 After Solomon built the Temple, he called all the elders and leaders of Israel together at the Feast of Tabernacles to bring the Ark from the tent to the Temple. They sacrificed so many animals they lost count. *** The priest carried the Ark into the Holy of Holies and placed it beneath the wings of the golden cherubim Solomon had had made. Inside the Ark were the two stone tablets God had written and given to Moses. Once the priest left the Holy Place, the cloud of God’s glory filled the Temple. *** Solomon blessed the Lord, then addressed the people. He explained how his father David had wanted to build this Temple to the Lord, but the Lord said he was not the one to build it - one of his sons would. Now they were witnessing the fulfillment of David’s desire. *** Solomon kneeled on the ground in front of the altar and prayed so the people could hear him. He praised God and thanked him for his promises. He prayed that the promise to let one of David’s sons sit on the throne would be fulfilled. He also prayed that every prayer prayed from this temple would be heard and answered. He gave five different scenarios: attack from enemies, drought, famine, the influx of foreigners, and when going out to war. In each case, he prayed that when they repented and prayed from this Temple that God would hear their prayer and forgive them and teach them to fear Him and walk in his path. He prayed that if they found themselves captive to any enemy, that their captors would be merciful to them. *** When he finished his prayer, he stood up and blessed the congregation and prayed that God would always be with them and give them the desire to obey his laws. He prayed for justice to the people and that they would be a witness to the people of the earth to who God is. *** Solomon offered more sacrifices and dedicated the Temple to the Lord. The celebration continued for 14 days and when it was over, the people blessed the king who sent them home joyful and glad because of God’s goodness and kindness to David and to them. *** In Acts, Stephen was at the end of his speech and everything had crescendoed to these last statements. He called them stubborn, heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. He asked them if they were going to forever resist the Holy Spirit. Their ancestors had persecuted every prophet that told of the Messiah, who they now murdered. *** Needless to say, the Jewish leaders were not pleased with Stephen’s accusations and they shook their fists at him. Stephen gazed into the heavens and saw the glory of God with Jesus standing at his right hand. He told them what he was seeing and they closed their ears with their hands and dragged him out of the city and stoned him. They laid their coats at the feet of Saul who was a young man then. *** Saul witnessed the stoning of Stephen in full agreement. Then persecution swept over the church in Jerusalem scattering the believers for their lives. Saul went from house to house throwing all believers in prison. Those who fled, preached the truth wherever they went. Those who heard believed and were saved. Signs and wonders, miracles and healings followed the believers. One man who witnessed all the miracles was Simon, the sorcerer. People had followed him because he worked magic, but he had not seen these kind of miracles before. He was baptized along with many people and began following Philip amazed at the miracles he saw. *** Lord, thank you that whenever we need you we can pray from the Temple in our hearts and you come to rescue us. Thank you for your desire to bless us and fill our temple with your presence. May we be your witnesses to the world and to all we meet. May signs and miracles follow us to reveal your glory.

Tues.’s Devo - The Buildings of Solomon

Read: 1 Kings 7:1-51; Acts 7:30-50; Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 16:31-33 Everything Solomon built reflected the opulence and glory of God. The Temple took 7 years to complete but his palace took 13 years to finish. Can you imagine the beauty of that place! He also built a building called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. Four rows of pillars were set in place that were to represent the trunks of trees. Then on top of the pillars rested beams that were the floors of three tiers of rooms. On each tier there were rows of fifteen rooms each. The rooms were to look like the foliage of the trees. *** He built the Hall of Pillars which was a hall of pillars 75 ft. long and 45 feet wide. A porch was in front with a canopy over it. *** He built the Hall Of Justice where he would sit on his throne and settle legal matters. It was paneled with cedar. His palace was behind the Hall of Justice. *** Every building was put on foundations of huge blocks of stone cut to fit perfectly. Some were 15 ft. long, and some were 12 feet long. The walls were made of these stones also. How did they carry these massive stones? *** Solomon asked for Huram by name to come from Lebanon and craft his metal work. He cast huge bronze pillars to set inside the entry room at the Temple. They were elaborate and spectacular. He named the pillar on the south Jakim which means “He will set up” and the one on the north he named Boaz which means “In him is strength.” He wanted his Temple to represent what the Lord had set up and magnify God’s strength. *** A great basin was made for the priests to wash in. It was set on the backs of 12 bronze oxen. Three faced north, three east, three west and three south. This basin held 11,000 gallons of water. *** Huram made bronze water carts with panels decorated with carved lions, oxen and cherubim. The carts held basins that held 220 gallons of water each. Huram also made utensils to be used in the sacrificing of the animals. *** Solomon had the gold altar and all the furnishing which had been in the Tabernacle rebuilt and overlaid with gold. He brought all the gifts David had dedicated to the Lord and placed them in treasury rooms. *** In Acts, Stephen was still giving the history of the Jewish nation to the council. He was at the part where God spoke to Mose in the burning bush and sent him back to Egypt to deliver the people out of bondage. Moses had been rejected and now he was coming back to save them. Moses would be their ruler and savior. By many wonders and miraculous signs he would lead them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and through the wilderness for 40 years. Moses heard from God and gave them life-giving words. Sounds a lot like Jesus! *** Sadly, the people refused to listen to Moses and rejected Moses and God at Mt. Sinai and had Aaron make them a golden calf to worship. They served the stars of heaven as their gods. They worshiped idols all 40 years of walking through the wilderness after all God had done for them. *** God gave Moses the blueprints of the Tabernacle and it was constructed in the wilderness. Years later, David asked God if he could build God a Temple. God allowed Solomon to actually build it though God told him that he wouldn’t live in a Temple made with human hands. Heaven was this throne and earth his footstool. But he allowed Solomon to build a Temple to represent his majesty on earth. *** Now, we house the Temple of the Holy Spirit and take that with us everywhere we go. May the glory of God shine from our temples today.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Glory

Read: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 16:28-30 King Hiram from Tyre made the best lumber in all the world. He got his wood from the cedars of Lebanon. Hiram had been a friend of David’s so Solomon asked if he would supply the lumber needed for the Temple and the workers to do the work. Solomon would pay them whatever King Hiram deemed reasonable. King Hiram was elated and asked for wheat and oil in return. It was a win win for both of them. *** It took a work force of 153,600 laborers to build the Temple. The Temple was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide. The Holy of Holies was one third of the building which was overlaid with gold. That was where the Ark of the Convent sat. The interior of the rest of the Temple had carvings of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers all overlaid with gold. Two cherubim with touching wingspans were placed in the inner sanctuary. They reached 15 feet across and were covered with gold. Everything in the Temple was to represent the glory of God in the garden of Eden. Even the floor was covered in gold. *** In Acts, Stephen was being questioned by the council and his face was reflecting the glory of God. When they asked him if he had blasphemed Moses and God, he led them into a history lesson starting with Abraham. God had given Abraham the outline for his whole posterity. Stephen went through the story of Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons. He told how God used Joseph to led his family to Egypt to preserve them through a horrible famine. When Joseph died, he had instructed them to bury his bones in the burial place Abraham had buried his people. Then, like God had told Abraham, the people of God were oppressed in Egypt for two hundred years. When they cried out to him, God raised up Moses who was born a Jew but raised in the household of Pharaoh. When he grew up, he saw an Egyptian mistreating a Jewish laborer and secretly killed the Egyptian. When he realized his secret was a public matter, he fled to the wilderness where he married a foreigner and had two sons. *** The stories in the Bible tell God’s plan using very common and broken people. God used their failures to bring about his purposes. We see how God can turn the worse scenario into something good and he does the same with our lives. God will bring glory to his name. *** Lord, we pray that we would make it easy for you to be glorified through our lives. May we walk in the plan you have laid out for us to walk in. All glory to your name!

Sun.’s Devo - God's Favor

Read: 1 Kings 3:3-4:34; Acts 6:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 16:26-27 Solomon started out loving the Lord and obeying the decrees of David, but he offered sacrifices and burnt incense at the local high places. One night after offering 1,000 burnt offerings to the Lord, God appeared in a dream to Solomon and asked him what he wanted and he would give it to him. Solomon reminisced over how his father was faithful and honest and served God. God had showed David great favor. His request was for an understanding heart to lead the people and discernment in how to judge them. *** God was so pleased with his answer that he promised to give him wisdom, discernment, wealth and fame. If he continued to serve him and obey his decrees he would also give him long life. *** Solomon’s wisdom was tested when two prostitutes came to the king and both claimed a baby was their own. They had both had babies a few days apart. During the night one of them rolled over on her baby, killing it. The next morning the other lady noticed that the baby laying next to her was dead and not hers. The one the other lady had was alive. She claimed that she had switched the baby and the live baby was hers. Solomon asked for a sword and was going to cut the baby in half and give a half to each lady. One was OK with it, the other lady cried out for the baby to live even if it became the other ladies’ baby. Solomon then gave the baby to the mother who would risk not raising their own baby just to have it live. Surely, she was the rightful mother. All Israel marveled at Solomon’s decision. *** Solomon appointed his priests, and officials. He also had twelve district governors. The people in the land experienced contentment and plenty. They all owned their own home and a garden. They lived in peace and safety. Other nations they had conquered paid tribute to them. God blessed Solomon with opulent abundance and great wisdom, understanding and knowledge. He composed around 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak about any subject with great knowledge. *** In Acts, with revival of souls and a whole new gospel, came brand new problems. The Greek-speaking believers were not Jewish and they complained that their widows were not being treated as well as the Jewish widows. A meeting was called of the elders and they selected 7 men who were well respected and full of the Spirit of God. They would handle the day-to-day operation of the church while they spent their time praying and teaching. *** These seven men prayed for people and laid hands on them. Stephen was one of them and miracles and signs followed his ministry. One day a member of the sect of Jews from other areas of Asia debated with Stephen about Jesus. They couldn’t stand against Stephen’s wisdom and the Spirit of God in him, so they resorted to false testimony against him. They accused him of blaspheming Moses and God. Stephen was arrested and brought before the high council. While they were presenting their case against Stephen, his face glowed like an angel’s. *** God will take up for his own. His glory cannot be manufactured or copied. Stephen allowed the glory of God to flow out of him in the worst of situations. May this encourage us that greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

Sat.’s Devo - David’s Loose Ends

Read: 1 Kings 2:1-3:2; Acts 5:1-42; Psalm 125:1-5; Proverbs 16:25 Before David died, he talked to Solomon about all the loose ends he was leaving to Solomon. The first was to deal with Joab. He had killed Abner and Amasa who were two of David’s army officers. He had masked it as an act of war when it was really revenge in a time of peace. *** The next order was to bless Barzillai and his sons who brought provisions for David’s army when he was fleeing Absalom. He was to make them permanent guests at his table. The third was to judge Shimei who threw stones at him and cursed him when he was fleeing Absalom. *** David died having served 47 years as king of Israel. He served 7 years in Hebron and 40 in Jerusalem. *** Solomon had his own loose end to tie up which was Adonijah. He was still hoping to take the kingdom from Solomon and tried to come through Bathsheba. Adonijah went to Bathsheba and asked her if she would ask Solomon if he could marry Abishag the one who lay with David in his old age to keep him warm. Solomon saw right through that and saw it as a way to prove he was the rightful king. He had Adonijah killed. Solomon had Abiathar, the priest who had sided with Adonijah, sent back home and deposed from his position as priest. Abiathar was a descendant of Eli. *** When Joab heard what Solomon had done to Adonijah and Abiathar, he knew he was next. He went and took hold of the horns of the altar and refused to come out. David had Benaiah kill him right before the altar to atone for the deaths of Abner and Amasa. *** The last person Solomon had to deal with was Shimei who had cursed David. Solomon had him build a house in Jerusalem where he would be on house arrest. He was not allowed to leave Jerusalem or he would be killed. Shimei agreed to the terms. Three years later two of Shimei’s servants fled to Gath and he went to bring them back. News reached Solomon that Shimei left Jerusalem, so now he could legally kill him. *** Solomon made an alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt and sealed it with the marriage of Pharoah’s daughter. David was building his palace and the Temple at the time so the people still worshiped God at the local places of worship. *** In Acts, we read yesterday how Barnabas had sold a pice of land and gave all the money to the apostles. This must have given him lots of notoriety because Ananias and his wife Sapphire sold some property and brought part of the money to the apostles but claimed it was all the money they had gotten. Peter discerned that he was lying and called him out on it. Annanias fell dead. He didn’t die because he didn’t give all the money to the church, he died because he lied about it and his motive was evil. They took his body out and buried it. Three hours later, his wife showed up and they asked her if the price Ananias had given them was the price they had sold the land. She agreed with her husband and Peter called her out for conspiring with her husband. He told her what had happened to him would happen to her, also. Sure enough, she fell dead and they buried her beside her husband. *** When the people in the church found out what had happened, the fear of the Lord fell on them. The apostles were working great miracles and signs and wonders. The church grew and grew and many were healed and saved. *** Those in the religious order were filled with jealousy. They cousin’t compete with miracles from God so they arrested the apostles and put them in public jail. But, the angel of the Lord came and set them free and told them to keep doing what they were doing. *** When the leaders found they had miraculously escaped the jail and were out preaching and teaching in the open, they arrested them again and questioned them. They reminded them that they had told them not to teach in the name of Jesus. Peter told them again that they had to obey God and not them. *** Gamaliel, one of the Pharisees who was respected by the council stood up and reminded them of two other revolutionaries who had followers but when they died, their followers eventually scattered and nothing came of it. He advised them to leave them alone, surely they would die out also. But, if they are from God, nothing they could do would be able to stop them. They listened to Gamaliel and took his advice. They called in the apostles and flogged them and ordered them again not to speak in the name of Christ. They let them go and they went home praising God that they had been worthy to suffer for Jesus. Every day they taught in the Temple and from house to house. *** Lord, may we be bold and not afraid of suffering for Christ. When we see the Holy Spirit moving in power and miracles, may we be filled with the fear of the Lord.

Fri.’s Devo Your Kingdom Come

Read: 1 Kings 1:1-53; Acts 4:1-37; Psalm 124:1-8; Proverbs 16:24 David was getting old and had not named his successor. David’s first son had been Amnon, who Absalom killed because he raped his sister, Tamar. David’s second son was Chilean, the son of Abigail. His third son was Absalom, who was now dead, and his fourth son was Adonijah. All of these sons were given to David when he lived in Hebron. When he moved to Jerusalem he had another set of sons. Solomon was the fourth son born to David in Jerusalem and David had promised his mother Bathsheba that Solomon would be the next king. *** Adonijah began telling people that he was going to make himself the next king. He rode in chariots and had fifty men run before him. David saw this and never did anything about it. Joab and Abiathar the priest agreed to help Adonijah become king. Zadok, the priest and Nathan the prophet, Benaiah and all David’s bodyguards refused to support Adonijah. *** Nathan reported to Bathsheba what was going on and encouraged her that if she wanted her son to become king, she needed to go talk to the king. She did. She told David of the celebration Adonijah was planning where he was going to make his kingship official. If that happened she and Solomon would be treated like criminals. Nathan came in and confirmed everything she had said. David swore to Bathsheba that her son would be king. He ordered Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah to put Solomon on his mule and ride him to Gihon Springs. There they were to anoint him with oil, blow the ram’s horn and shout, “Long live King Solomon!” When Solomon returned, he would sit on David’s throne as king. *** People joined in the procession to Gihon Springs. When they shouted “Long live King Solomon” it was so loud the ground shook and the ones at Adonijah’s celebration heard it. When they were told what had happened, they all scattered. Adonijah ran to the tabernacle and took hold of the horns on the altar begging for mercy. Solomon said that if Adonijah was loyal to him, he would live. If he made trouble, then he would die. Adonijah came and bowed before Solomon. *** In Acts, Peter was giving his sermon on the day of Pentecost. The people saw the great miracle of the flames of fire and the people speaking languages they had not learned. Peter took them through the scriptures teaching them about the Messiah. The priests, the Temple guards and some of the Sadducees were very disturbed that they were teaching that Jesus rose from the dead. They arrested them and put them in jail for the night. Of those that listened to Peter’s message, 5,000 believed. *** The religious council met the next day and Caiaphas, the one who had sentenced Jesus to die, was there. They brought in Peter and John and asked them who gave them the power to do what they were doing - healing a crippled man. Peter answered them and said that he was healed by the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. *** Then he explained to them that the one they had rejected had now become the most powerful person on the earth… ‘the stone they rejected had become the cornerstone’. This was a scripture they would have been very familiar with (Psalm 118:22). He went on to say that by Jesus name only, there is salvation. *** The members of the council were amazed at Peter and John’s boldness and their evidence was standing right before them healed. After a brief meeting, they called Peter and John back in and told them they could go but they could never speak about Jesus. Peter and John asked them if they thought God wanted them to obey them or Him. They said they would not stop telling about all they witnessed. The council threatened them then let them go. *** Peter and John went back to the other believers and told them what had happened. They realized they were witnessing the scriptures about those who would oppose the Messiah (Psalm 2:1-2). *** The disciples were beginning to understand their assignment. The very ones who hated Jesus would hate them, but they must continue to work God’s miracles like Jesus did. They prayed and the place shook as all were filled with the Holy Spirit. They went out and preached with great boldness. The believers were of one mind and purpose and gave what was needed so that no one was in lack. One person, Judas, sold a field and brought the money and gave it to the apostles. *** Just like with David, God’s Kingdom does not come without great opposition. *** Lord, as we enter into the age where the Holy Spirit is being poured out as it was in Acts, may we be bold and fearless in the face of opposition. May we be generous.