It Takes A Village – Week 10

As we enter into the books of first and second Kings, we encounter David in the frailty of old age with his remaining days numbered. David appointed his son Solomon to be his successor and take the throne though their lived an older brother named Adonijah who attempted to take the throne for himself when their father had yet to pass. But David had made a promise in God’s name that Solomon would be king ruling over Israel in his absence and lived long enough to fulfill it.

Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”
1 Kings 8:12-13

The Scriptures tell us that King Solomon was the wisest of men to have ever lived. Having written most of the Proverbs, God blessed Solomon with a gift of wisdom that far surpassed the knowledge and understanding of all others. Kings from all over the earth sent men to seek and listen to his wisdom. And four hundred and eighty years after the Israelites came out of Egypt, it was King Solomon who orchestrated the building of The Temple of God. No expense was sparred nor detail overlooked in the construction including mass amounts of gold used in the ceiling, walls, floor, and Altar where the Chest of the Covenant of God was held in the Inner Sanctuary. It took King Solomon seven years to complete the building of the extravagant temple.

Or rather, it took the Israelites- every man who slaved over the quarry dragging out stone, man who’s back ached as he ran a blade over the trunks of cypress and cedar trees, man who fingers bled as he chiseled out images in olive-wood, and man who’s face flushed and burned from the heat of melting gold. Every soul- tens of thousands of them within a collective community- laboured to birth the vision of a most wise King and the God he honoured and served.

Life Application:

Perhaps we should look upon the community of Israelites who faithfully laboured to build the magnificent Temple of God the same way we look upon the community that is Christ’s church at work in the world today. We, His faithful followers, skilled and unskilled, are at work to build up God’s kingdom preparing hearts for His return. And perhaps we need to look upon our labour with the same wisdom of King Solomon and spare no expense. Yes, the labour will cost us- we will slave, ache, be chiseled out, and may feel burned- but the accomplishment of something majestic cannot be completed by the hands nor heart of one man but by a collective community all working together for a greater good.

Father, as we work together to accomplish your good works, bless us with your wisdom and knowledge that surpasses the understanding of man. May we see the labour of our hands and hearts as an extension of your goodness, and help us to heed to your word giving our very best to your cause. In Jesus name, amen.

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