Christian Devotional – January 17, 2017

We’re going to spend the next few days looking at the life of Solomon. There are, perhaps, no better examplesin the Bible of someone who had great opportunity and who missed it. He had amazing purpose,but he did not live up to all that God had for him and there is so much to learn from his life.

Today, read 1 Kings 3:3-15. Solomon has just been crowned king and the Bible explains that he did loveGod and he did follow God, but he didn’t give up all the evil practices that the others were doing in Israel at that time. So as a result, we find Solomon offering sacrifices to God, but not at the temple. Solomon has gone to a high place, or an area set up to worship pagan gods, and he is offering sacriffices to the One true God. He is earnestly seeking God, so God shows up to him. Solomon is given an amazing opportunity to ask God for something. He asks for wisdom to rule the people and God grants it. God also states that He is going to give him riches and wealth. Then God states that IF Solomon will for Him, He will also give Solomon long life and a lasting legacy of his sons on the Throne of Israel.

Sounds pretty great for Solomon. He has been given an opportunity to meet with the One true God and hehas been promised great and amazing things by God. We’ll see how that all turns out for him later this week, but I find a few things interesting that I wanted to point out.

First, Solomon was not in the right place. He was worshipping God in a high place built for pagans instead of in the Temple of God. Yet, God still appeared to him. Why? When we are seeking after God and earnestly desiring Him, we will find Him. After all, that exactly what it talks about in Matthew 7:7-8 when it says we are to seek, ask, and knock.

But then, look at Solomon’s response. He has his conversation with God and then what does he do, Solomon goes back to the Temple of God and continues his praise there. Whenever we meet with God, God always creates in us a change. Solomon didn’t stay where he was. He moved and was brought back to the correct obedience. When we are seeking God, we will find Him and encounter Him and our lives will be impacted. Our experience with God should push us to greater obedience to God. If we meet with God and are not compelled to greater obedience, we need to question whether we really met with God or not. God always find people who seek Him, but He doesn’t leave them the same.

Are we seeking after God today? No matter where we are, if we seek after Him, He will find us, and change us and we will desire greater obedience of God.