Mon.’s Devo - The Glory of the Lord

Read: 2 Chronicles 4:1-6:12; Romans 7:1-13; Psalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 19:22-23 The bronze altar Solomon had made was four times the size of the bronze altar they had for the tabernacle. The laver in the new Temple was huge and was used for the priests to bathe. Ten smaller basins were used to wash the utensils and set against the north and south walls. Ten gold lamp stands were placed above the lavers to light the room. Ten tables were also placed against the walls. *** The Ark was placed in the Most Holy Place and the priests led the people in worship. They sang, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!”Immediately the cloud of God’s glory filled the Temple. Solomon addressed the people glorifying the Lord for all He had done. *** In Romans, Paul explains that if we are dead to ourselves and have come alive in Christ, then the law has no power over us to condemn us. The purpose of the law was to identify what sin is. The law in itself is holy and right. Satan has used the law to condemn us but Jesus came to set us free. *** Lord, may we walk in freedom and the power of the Holy Spirit. May we remember that the temple of God’s Spirit is within us.

Sun.’s Devo - The Splendor of the Temple

Read: 2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17; Romans6:1-23; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 19:29-21 All the leaders of Israel were called to meet Solomon at the tabernacle in Gibeon. They offered 1,000 offerings to the Lord on the bronze altar. *** That night the Lord appeared to Solomon and asked him what he wanted. Solomon said that he wanted wisdom and discernment to lead the people of Israel. God was pleased with his request and added wealth, long life and fame to it. *** Solomon returned to Jerusalem and built up his army. He also built the Temple, hiring Tyre’s best craftsman to help. He repaid Tyre with grain, wine and olive oil. Solomon used foreigners to do all his labor. *** The Temple was built on top of Mount Moriah on the threshing floor of Araunah. All the decorations inside the Temple was to give the appearance of the garden of Eden with cherubim, trees and flowers. It was overlaid in gold to reflect God’s glory. *** The angels on the mercy seat faced one another in a kneeling position with their wings spread over the mercy seat, but Solomon had two very large cherubim made to stand in the Most Holy Place. They faced the entrance with their wings spread wide touching both walls. These angels were being reserved for the right time. A curtain hung in front of it keeping the people from seeing the glory of God’s presence. That curtain was torn by God when Jesus died on the cross as an invitation for all to come and receive God’s mercy. *** Two pillars were made to stand at the entrance of the temple. The people entered between them. The one on the south was named Jakin which means “he establishes” and the other named Boaz which means “in him is strength.” *** In Romans, Paul erases every excuse we have to sin. We are no longer sin’s slave. We are free to walk in righteousness. We are commanded to give ourselves completely to God and to glorify God with our bodies. We choose what and who we obey. We can choose to obey God and be a slave to righteousness and become holy. *** Lord, thank you for making us holy because of your sacrifice for our sins. What a gift!

Sat.’s Devo - Preparing For the Future

Read: 1 Chronicles 29:1-29:30; Romans 5:6-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 19:18-19 David gathered all his officials and explained to them his desire to build God a Temple. He would not be the one to build it because he had shed so much blood, but his son, Solomon would be a man of peace. He would build it. If Solomon continues to obey the Lord, God promised to make his kingdom last forever. *** David admonished Solomon to learn to know God intimately and to worship him with his whole heart and mind. He reminded Solomon that God knows his every thought. If he seeks the Lord, he will find him. David handed Solomon the blueprint and list of supplies he would need to build the Temple. David would be donating all his gold and silver from his treasury and encouraged the men with him to give also. Everyone generously gave and David led them in praise to the Lord. ***The next day they offered great offerings and sacrifices to the Lord. Solomon was crowned the king and God blessed him with splendor and honor. *** Many men in the Bible are types of Christ yet they all fall short of God’s righteousness. Only one did not and that was Jesus. David was a type of Jesus as our warrior. Trump has been called “David” and he has been our warrior against the evil we are facing. But they are just men and subject to failures. Solomon was a type of the age of peace and prosperity that we are going to be walking into. Trump is setting everything up for that time. ***Roman’s Five explains this perfectly. Since the beginning, God’s plan has been slowly rolled out. We have the privilege of being able to look back and see it. But, the best is truly yet to come. We are walking into the Golden Age of peace and prosperity. Righteousness will be our laws and our test will be to remain faithful to God when we have all we need. One of the keys to that will be remaining grateful and remembering what God brought us through to get here. We are to be a blessing to the whole earth. *** Lord, may we never forget the battles that brought us to the victory and who empowered us to persevere. All glory and honor goes to you. May we seek intimacy with you.

Fri.’s Devo - Abraham’s Faith

Read: 1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34; Romans 4:13-5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 19:17 Since they chose the positions by lot, it was not the oldest or most experienced that got the jobs. God chose and he sees the heart of the man. This should encourage us when we find ourselves in a position we feel inadequate to fill. God doesn’t choose like man chooses. It should also help us to remember this when we see someone we think is not qualified, get the job we are more qualified for. God is in control and maybe we could come along side them and humbly offer to help them. *** The number of gatekeepers, guards over the storehouses, generals and captains over the different divisions of the army, and those in charge over the palace and its supplies was many people. The workers in the Temple and the soldiers in the army served a month out of the year for their nation. The priests kept all the records. God had truly made the Israelites as numerous as the stars in the heavens. *** In Romans, Paul explains that God promised to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants which would be fulfilled by his faith in God, not his obedience to the law. *** Abraham believed that God would bring the dead back to life when he was willing to offer Isaac on the altar just as we must believe God brought Jesus back to life. Through his death we receive our inheritance. Abraham never stopped believing even when it looked like he was running out of time. Abraham had been promised to be a father of nations and we have been promised that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Jesus prayed that the kingdom of heaven would come to earth. We have so many wonderful promises yet to be fulfilled. Yet, we believe that every detail of the words of God will come to pass. Lord, like Paul, we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing in your glory. We rejoice in our trials because we know that they help us develop perseverance, strength of character, and hope of salvation. Thank you that you never fail us.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Functions of the Temple

Read: 1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11; Romans 4:1-12; Psalm 4:1-12; Proverbs 13:1-6 Aaron’s descendants were the priests. His first two sons died offering strange fire to the Lord. The other two were Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar had 16 sons to Ithamar’s 8. They needed 24 divisions so Eleazar would pick two lots at a time to Ithamar’s one. They were all chosen by lot to make sure it was fair. *** The eighth lot fell to Abijah. In John 1:5, we read that Zechariah was his descendant, fulfilling his time of service when the angel appeared to him and announced his coming son, John the Baptist. *** The Levites were chosen in the same way. *** The army commanders and David chose the singers and musicians who were not only talented but prophetic. *** The gatekeepers were the guards at the entrances in charge of opening and locking the doors and gates. *** We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and should be equipped with all these ministries and safeguards in us. We can minister to the Lord as a priest and sing to him prophetic songs of praise. We and are also in charge of what doors we open and close in our hearts. *** In Romans, Paul explained that even before Christ, the way to the Lord was by faith. It wasn’t by Abraham’s deeds that he pleased God and was made the father of the whole Jewish nation, but it was by his faith. His righteousness had noting to do with his circumcision, but his circumcision was an act of obedience, much like baptism is for us today. ***Lord, thank you that we are made righteous by the blood of Christ and our faith in you. May we watch over our temple and keep it holy.

Wed.’s Devo - Preparations for the Temple

Read: 1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32; Romans 3:9-31; Psalms 12:1-8; Proverbs 19:13-14 David decided that the place where he saw the angel with the sword and stopped the plague would be the place where the altar would stand. David explained to Solomon that he would be the one to build the Temple. David had been a man of war, but Solomon would be a man of peace. David provided everything Solomon would need to build the Temple. *** David prayed that God would give Solomon wisdom and understanding to obey the Lord and rule Israel. David ordered the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. *** Eighty thousand priests and Levites were found to help keep the Temple functioning day and night. *** In Romans, Paul made it clear that we are all sinners from the beginning. He also made it clear that no one could ever be made right by following the law. The law was there to point out man’s sins. But, now we have been given a new covenant through Jesus that makes us right with God if we only believe. Our righteousness is based on faith and by faith we fulfill the law. *** Lord, thank you for giving us faith to believe. May we grow in our faith and be a blessing to you.

Tues.’s Devo. God is faithful to His Word

Read: 1 Chronicles 19:1-21-21:30; Romans 2:25-3:8; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 19:10-12 Nahash, the Ammonite king died, and since he and David had been friends, David sent condolences to Hanum, his son though ambassadors. The commanders of the Ammonite army saw them as spies and a threat to their safety so they took David’s men and cut off their skirts and shaved their beards. *** David let his men stay in Jericho s until their beards grew back and then prepared for war with Ammom. Hanum hired men from 4 different nations to fight against Israel’s army. They fought them on two fronts and Israel won. *** That spring Joab led Israel in wars against the Ammonite stronghold of Rabbah and won. He also fought the Philistines and defeated many of their giants. *** Satan came to defeat Israel and put it in David’s mind to count the people in a census. Exodus 30:2 says that when you count the people they are to offer a ransom for their soul least a plague come upon them. It was to be a half of a shekel a person. David did not pay this nor did he collect it from the people so their lives were at stake. *** This act ended in a plague that took the lives of 70,000 of his counted people. It was stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah which David bought for 600 pieces of gold. David ended up paying the price to redeem the people. *** In Romans, the Jews were putting so much emphasis on circumcision and the fact that the Gentile believers were not circumcised. He explained that circumcision was suppose to represent a ‘sold out’ heart to the Lord. And these people should only care about pleasing God and not man. *** Paul exposed the religion of the Nicolaitans who thought that it was better to sin because that highlighted God’s righteousness. But, just because were unfaithful, did not change God who is always faithful. Lord, thank you that you paid the price to set us free. You are so faithful to us. May we praise you with our lives.