When the ark of the covenant is moved to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the only things in it are the two tablets that Moses placed there. What happened to the jar of manna and Aaron’s staff?

2 Chr 6:18
"But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

Solomon had to ask if God will really dwell on earth with men. Indeed will He?

This great God of the universe can’t be contained in the highest heavens, and yet He chooses to dwell within our hearts....Amazing!

When arranging for the building of the temple, Solomon conscripted laborers. He drafted three times the amount of labor he needed so that he could send them off to Lebanon in shifts. They would spend one month away and two months at home. Does this tell us the value Solomon placed on the family? It seems that Solomon wanted his workers happy and with their families as much as possible. I believe Solomon valued families. I heard this quote from Focus on the Family once, “The strength of a nation is in direct proportion to the strength of the family.”
 

How very true that is! Look what’s happening in our nation today. Is our family structure strong? Is our nation loosing face with the rest of the world? Hmmm…can we connect the dots here???

No hammer, chisel, or other tool was used at the temple site. No sound was to disturb the House of Prayer.

What about our places of worship now? Are there sounds within them that disturb God’s House of Prayer?

God’s Tent of Meeting…is this the original tent that Moses made in the desert? If so it is 400+ years old. Did the people replace the worn out parts or did God take care of the tent pieces like He took care of their clothes and sandals so that they didn’t wear out?

The tent of meeting was still at Gibeon but the ark of the covenant was in Jerusalem in a tent David had prepared for it.

Isn’t it amazing that Solomon could have asked for anything and yet he only asked for discernment in order to govern the people?  The fruits of Solomon's wisdom were peace, security, and prosperity for his nation. And equally amazing that God gave him riches and honor in addition to the wisdom, even though Solomon didn’t ask for that.

BUT…even MORE amazing than that, He has promised to give us this wisdom as well.

James 1:5-6
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

There is a caveat attached however to this wisdom. We must believe and not doubt!

We may be given wisdom but we must apply that wisdom to everyday life situations.


Asked God for wisdom lately?

We now leave the collection of psalms and return to the life of David. 

David’s son Adonijah (one of the sons born to him in Hebron) attempts to take over as king. When his attempted coup is thwarted and Adonijah’s supporters leave him, Adonijah “took hold of the horns of the altar”.
Was he seeking the Lord’s protection by holding on to the corners of the altar?

In David’s last words to his son Solomon, he tells him to destroy his enemies in order to secure peace for Solomon’s kingdom. He also mentions a man named Barzillia who was faithful to him. While he may have mentioned others that are not recorded here, it seems as if this man is highly rewarded for his faithfulness to the king.

Will we be highly rewarded for our faithfulness to THE King?

Psalms 42 and 45 gives us a prophetic look at the King of Kings as he rides victoriously. Psalm 42 also gives us a glimpse of the bride of Christ in the eternal kingdom.

Ps 110:1
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."
In this verse we again have two different words for Lord. LORD refers to God the Father while Lord refers to God the Son. Substituting God and Jesus, the verse would read this way.
"God says to Jesus: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.""
Jesus Himself quoted this verse in Matt 22:42-45.

Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees. They acknowledged that the Messiah would be the son of David (Jesus was from the lineage of David). Jesus quoted this verse to show them that He was a son of David and also the Son of God as Messiah. Mark records that the crowd listened to Him with delight. It seems that the crowd understood what the Pharisees refused to understand. Could it be that they accepted Jesus' words with the faith of little children and the Pharisees carried around too much theological "baggage"?

How is it with us as Believers, do we carry around too much theological baggage or do we accept Jesus' words with the faith of little children?

Friends, take a good look at Psalm 22!

Ps 22:1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
These same words were spoken by Jesus from the cross.

Mark 15:34
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"-- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Jesus is telling us to look at Psalm 22! It reads like an eyewitness account of the crucifixion. Look at what is being said in the Old Testament psalm and what is recorded in the New Testament gospel accounts. Quite a match!

“All who see me mock me; they hurl insults…”
They mocked and insulted Jesus.

Mark 15:29-32
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!" In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Luke 23:36-37
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

Ps 22:14-15
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.

John 19:28
28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."

Ps 22:16
16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

John 19:24
24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.

Ps 22:17-18
17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

John 19:36-37
36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"
37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."

Ps 22:24
For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
God may have turned His back on the sin that Jesus bore, but He did not forsake Jesus.

Ps 22:30-31
Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn-- for he has done it.

What an encouragement to us! Tell future generations about the Lord, proclaim His righteousness! Have we, as believers in Jesus, done that today?

Very intriguing – Psalm 130

Ps 130:1-8
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

The Hebrew word for the word LORD (all caps) is Yehovah (God, the Father) and the word Lord (only capital L) is Adonai (God, the Son). The writer is calling to God the Father, but it is God the Son who interacts. The soul waits for redemption through God the Son. Read this again and place the Father and Son where they belong in place of the words LORD or Lord and see if it gives a deeper meaning. Also remember God the Son is the “word”.

“Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
Boy are we getting hammered lately concerning our careless words.