1 Kings 1:15-31
Power Struggle

The Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. Daniel 5:21

The president of a company in Michigan had suffered a minor stroke, and he was not spending much time at the office. He didn't know that one of his sons, with the help of two vice presidents, was scheming to take over the firm. He learned of their plot just in time, though, and was able to retain control.

In some parts of the world, power struggles result in assassinations, bloody coups, or civil wars. We see power struggles in politics all the time. They also occur in neighborhoods, families, and even in churches.

Adonijah made a power move to grab the throne of Israel (1 Kings 1:5-10). But God had other plans. Bathsheba (David's wife) and Nathan the prophet were able to stop the takeover (1 Kings 1:11-31), and God's appointed leader, Solomon, soon became king (1 Kings 1:38-40; 2:12).

We need to remember that God rules over the kingdoms of earth (Dan. 5:21). He raises up leaders and brings them down, whether in politics or in the church. Sometimes it's necessary to replace an ineffective leader, but we must pursue that option only after careful thought and earnest prayer for God's direction. We should never become part of a move that serves the ambition of some power-hungry person instead of honoring the Lord who rules over all. –D C Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 3:5-10 
Growing Wise

Give to Your servant an understanding heart. -1 Kings 3:9

Solomon was a young man charged with the responsibility of governing one of the most prosperous kingdoms in the ancient Near East. Israel was a significant power then, her domain extending from the Euphrates River to the border of Egypt. Responsible for so much, Solomon knew he needed help. So when God asked the young king what He could do for him, Solomon did not ask to be healthy or wealthy. He asked to be wise (1 Kings 3:9). This request pleased the Lord.

God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing, . . . I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart" (1 Kings 3:11-12).

The word translated "understanding" in Solomon's request (v.9) actually means "hearing." God gave Solomon a hearing heart so he could judge the people, and "discern between good and evil."

Wise men and women hear God through His Book. They read other books, of course, but they judge them all by the Word of God. There is no greater wisdom.

If you want wisdom, ask God for it. The apostle James said, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5). -D H R (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 4:29-34; 11:4-6
WHAT DOES HE WANT?

His heart was not loyal to the Lord his God. - 1 Kings 11:4


After 10 years of being a parent, I think I think what I value most about my children: our relationship.

Sure, it's nice when they score baskets or play beautiful music on the piano. I like it when they bring home good grades or write something profound for a school paper. And it's rewarding when people comment how nice they look or act in public.

But what really keeps a tired dad going - after working all day, fixing a leaking sink, reading Green Eggs and Ham for the hundredth time, and helping with a grammar assignment - is a loving smile, a big hug, and four choice words: "I love you, Dad."

If another day has passed and my kids have maintained a loving, caring, mutually admiring relationship with me, I'm a glad dad.

It's something like what goes on between God and us. He wants us to work at keeping our relationship with Him strong - even more than He wants us to do anything else. That's why it's so sad to read about Solomon. He had it all. Yet he shut off the relationship with God by being disloyal to Him. He was a king with wisdom, power, and riches, but when he forsook God those things meant nothing.

What does God want most from you and me? A loving relationship. - J D Brannon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Spirit of God, descent upon my heart:
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
And make me love Thee as I ought to love. - Croly

1 KINGS 8:54-61

"Blessed be the Lord.... There has not failed one word of all His good promise" (1 Kings 8:56).

A man who lived in northern Michigan went for a walk in a dense forest so immense that a person could easily get lost. When darkness began to settle in, he decided it was time to head home. He was used to being in the woods and had a keen sense of direction, so he didn't bother to look at his compass. After walking for a long time, however, he decided he'd better check to make sure he was going in the right direction. He was surprised when the compass indicated he was going west-not east as he had thought. But the man was so sure of his own sense of direction that he thought there must be something wrong with the compass. He was about to throw it away in disgust when the thought came to him:

My compass has never lied to me yet-maybe I should believe it. The man eventually found his way out of the woods and arrived home safely because he trusted his compass and didn't rely on himself.

Solomon told the congregation of Israel that not "one word of all His good promise" had failed. That assurance still stands. What God promises, He performs. His instructions are always trustworthy. He will never lead us astray. If we think so highly of our own judgment that we refuse to rely on God's sure word, we are asking for trouble and will only become more confused. His words have never failed, and they never will. -R W De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 8:56
A Promise Kept

"Blessed be the Lord...There has not failed one word of all His good promise." --1 Kings 8:56

A close, longtime friend died after a 6-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. A few days after her death, my wife and I attended a wedding. As the bride and groom exchanged their vows, I pondered the whole matter of promising. It was beautiful to witness two excited young people in their twenties pledging their lives to each other. But it was profound to remember the faithfulness of our recently departed friend. She and her husband had kept their wedding vows for more than half a century, even when the final years were darkened by her memory loss and decline.

Lewis Smedes wrote, "Some people still make promises and keep those they make. When they do, they help make life around them more stably human. Promise-keeping is a powerful means of grace in a time when people hardly depend on each other to remember and live by their word."

Psalm 15 proclaims the qualities of the steadfast, God-honoring person who enjoys fellowship with our promise-keeping Lord (1 Kings 8:56). This individual keeps his promises even when it hurts (Ps. 15:4).

Our most important commitments are fulfilled one day at a time. "I do." "I will." "You can count on me." There is power in every promise that is made and kept. --D C McCasland (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 17:1-16
GOD'S WAYS

"How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out." - Romans 11:33

After Elijah had experienced some especially trying times, the Lord told him to flee to Zarephath where
he could find food and shelter. Imagine Elijah's surprise when he discovered that the widow who was
to provide for him was extremely poor! In fact, she expected that she and her son would soon die of
starvation.

How often God delights to astonish us by the wonder of His ways! Our limited understanding of Him can be likened to a fly crawling on one of the great pillars of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. What
does that tiny insect know about the architect's magnificent design? It sees only the little space
of stone on which it moves. The beautiful carvings and ornamental work seem like towering mountains and deep valleys that only impede progress and obscure the view.

We as Christians often see only our immediate circumstances and perceive but a glimmer of God's marvelous purpose. The obstacles that block our vision and get in the way of our plans are actually part of the beautiful designs of divine grace.

Our heavenly Father knows exactly what He is doing. Although His ways are unsearchable, He assures us that all will work out for our good if we trust Him.-- Henry G. Bosch (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 19:1-18
A Neglected Remedy

He gives His beloved sleep. -Psalm 127:2

I am often asked to speak on the subject of stress. I'm not an expert on stress, just an experienced sufferer! I simply share counsel from God's Word that helps me live less stressfully and more restfully. Many listeners are desperate for any new insight I might offer. What blank looks I sometimes get when I make this particular recommendation: "Get more sleep!" In their longing to deepen their experience of God's peace, they were hoping for something more spiritual than that.

But I'm not alone in linking spirituality to sleep. A godly Bible teacher was asked to share the key ingredient in his own life for walking in the Spirit. He studied the Bible and prayed regularly, but his surprising reply was this: "Get 8 hours of sleep each night."

This reply is less surprising in light of God's initial remedy for Elijah's stress and depression (1 Kings 19:1-18). Twice God gave him food and undisturbed sleep before gently confronting him at Mt. Horeb with his error.

Psalm 4:8 says, "I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Sleep is not the full remedy for stress, but other solutions can become clearer to people who get adequate rest. -J E Yoder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 19:1-18
Light In The Darkness

Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers. --1 Kings 19:4

Christians who pass through the dark tunnel of depression tend to focus on their sins and weaknesses and failures so much that they may even want to die. God can use times like this, however, to increase their awareness of His inexhaustible grace.

In 1964, Alan Redpath, former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, sank into the depths of despondency following a near-fatal stroke. He wrote later of having terribly wicked thoughts. "O Lord," he prayed, "take me right home!" It was then he sensed that the Lord was saying, "It is I, your Savior, who has brought this experience into your life to show you [that] this is the kind of person--with all your sinful thoughts and temptations which you thought were things of the past--that you always will be, but for My grace."

Redpath's experience reminds me of the prophet Elijah. He too wanted to die. He cried out, "Lord, take my life!" (1 Kings 19:4). Although Elijah had been mightily used of God, he needed to be reminded of God's sustaining grace. Depression, which in his case was triggered by physical and emotional exhaustion, became God's mirror of truth to let him see anew the marvelous light of His grace. The darkest night is never without that light. --D J De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 19:1-18
"RENEWED HOPE"

[Elijah prayed], "Lord, take my life."...Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way."  -1 Kings 19:4, 15

People who live without hope can become suicidal. So it was with an Italian prisoner of war being held on a military base in the United States during World War II. He had become despondent after learning that his wife had died in Italy. The camp commander, knowing that the man had been a stonemason, asked him if he could design a chapel for the base. The POW accepted the assignment and even supervised construction.

Today a unique chapel stands at the Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The formerly despondent prisoner found renewed hope by using his God-given talents to bless others.

In 1 Kings 19, we read that Elijah was despondent. He was physically and emotionally drained after fleeing from the evil Queen Jezebel. In despair, he asked God to take his life. Instead, the angel of the Lord ministered to his physical needs. Some days later, the Lord spoke to Elijah and told him that his work was not over.

When you are in despair, the first step on the pathway to new hope is to take care of your physical needs. Then listen to God's voice through the Scriptures. The Lord will show you your spiritual condition and tell you what He would have you do to bless others.-- D J De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

When plunged in darkness and despair,
Our only hope is in the Lord;
Not once does He withhold His care,
Or ever fail to keep His Word.-- DJD

1 Kings 19:1-18
You're Not Alone

[God] has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." --Hebrews 13:5

If you're in a situation where you feel that you're the only one standing true to God, take heart! There's encouragement in the story of Elijah.

The prophet had experienced the Lord's protection and miraculous provision, and he had just won a great victory over those who had led God's people astray (1 Kings 17-18). But then we find Elijah running for his life and sinking into despair, convinced that he was the only one of God's prophets who hadn't been destroyed by the enemy (1 Kings 19). After having exhibited great courage, he suddenly was overcome with fear.

We may have a similar reaction. It may occur in the early stages of an unknown venture or after a great success. Suddenly we feel isolated, vulnerable, alone, afraid.

God came to Elijah in his darkest moment and gave the fearful prophet a word of encouragement. The Lord told him, "I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal" (1 Kings 19:18).

Seven thousand! God has His people everywhere. In your job, neighborhood, dormitory, or barracks, you may feel that you're the only one standing for Christ. Take courage! Other believers are in the same situation. And most important, God will not leave you. You are not alone. --D C McCasland (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 19:1-18
Finding New Hope

Why are you cast down, O my soul? . . . Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him. --Psalm 42:5

A woman who was widowed for the second time felt the loss deeply. She saw little reason to go on living.

One day she got into the car with her young grandson. After securing him properly, she started the car without fastening her own seatbelt. When the 5-year-old politely pointed this out to her, she told him she didn't care about her safety because she wanted to go to Jesus and Grandpa. The boy replied, "But Grandma, then you would leave me!"

God used this youngster to bring to her the realization that He still had service for her to perform, and that her situation was not as hopeless as it seemed to be.

During almost 50 years of ministry, I've seen many despairing people come to the place where they felt there was no way out. Like Elijah, they wanted to die (1 Ki. 19:4). God sustained them, however, and showed them that He still had work for them to do. They discovered that the situation was not as dark as they had thought and that God had a reason for them to go on living.

Don't give in to despair! Remind yourself of God's goodness and love. Talk to Him. He will meet your needs. He'll lead you in paths of love and light and joy where you will find new hope. --H V Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 19:5, 15, 16
NOTHING LEFT TO DO BUT DIE

Now, 0 Lord, take away my life... And the Lord said unto him, Go . . . anoint Hazael . . . and Jehu ... and Elisha 1 Kings 19:5, 15, 16

The words, "There's nothing left to do but die," spoken by a twenty-year-old girl who attempted suicide after a drug-taking episode, still ring in my ears. She was a picture of abject hope­lessness and despair as she sat across the desk from me for our interview. She declared that she had committed every kind of sin imaginable, and had never done anything commendable that she could recall. Her moments of exhilaration had come only while under the influence of forbidden and habit-forming drugs. Now, confined to prison for her misdeeds, she said she expected soon to die, but admitted she was desperately afraid. I assured her that God still loved her, that Jesus died for her sins, and that the Lord would save her and make the rest of her life worth-while if only she would receive Christ. I pointed out that if she came to know the Lord, she would become a new and vibrant person, full of eager anticipation for the future. After counseling with her, giving her some additional Scriptures to read, and pray­ing with her, I left. Since then I have been praying that God will reach her by His grace and claim her for himself. As yet she has not responded to the Holy Spirit's wooings.

Friend, don't make the mistake of that girl in prison who can-not bring herself to believe that God loves her. It is surprising that even Christians sometimes doubt the Lord when confronted by adverse circumstances. Note the case of Elijah mentioned in our text. Although a child of God, he too was discouraged and wished to die, but the Lord still had much work for him to do. God in His own good time will call us Home when our task on earth is finished, but let us never faithlessly declare, because of our limited perspective, that we have "nothing left to do but die." God loves us and has a plan for each of us to follow. Life with Christ is always worth living! (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 20:28
THE GOD OF THE VALLEYS

"the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys 1 Kings 20:28

The king of Syria, Ben-hadad, together with his great army, had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Israel. Since Palestine is rather mountainous, the king erroneously concluded that the Israelites had been successful because their deity was a God of the hills. If he could but engage them again in the valley, he was sure that he could easily overcome them. However, the prophet of the Lord spoke to King Ahab assuring him that to vindicate the Lord's honor, and to show He was God of all places and circumstances, Israel would again defeat the Syrian hosts. When the battle came, God's people won an even more impres­sive victory. They were thus reassured that the Lord was always at their side - even in the valley of deepest testing!

Many people today still think God is with them when they enjoy prosperity, yet mistakenly feel He has forsaken them when they are called to suffer affliction.

A merchant was informed by his confidential secretary that his company was in serious financial difficulty. "It's been a bad year, sir," said the employee; "there have been vast losses and few gains." The merchant saw that bankruptcy was imminent. When at last he spoke, his voice was low and steady. " No, John, it has been a good year in spite of everything. Every one of those fig­ures `in the red' represent hours of agonizing prayer on my part - experiences that have made me so spiritually rich that I cannot despair over any earthly losses. The future is bright, for the Lord has promised, 'No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.' " The secretary looked at him for a moment, and then said, "I want to tell you it was your steadiness under the testings of the past year that has made me long to know Christ as you do; and so the other night I received Him as my Savior. I agree, sir; it has indeed been a good year!" Both men had come to realize in a wonderful way that the Lord is also "the God of the valleys!" (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 21:17-29
FRIEND OR ENEMY?

Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. -- Proverbs 27:5

I like people and want people to like me. So to tell them that their conduct is dishonest or immoral isn't easy for me. On several occasions, men have told me how they got out of a speeding ticket by making up a touching story, or how they got even with some rascal in a shady business deal. I've responded by asking, "That was clever, but was it honest?"

When I get acquainted with people and they tell me they are living immorally, I may ask, "Do you believe in God and that you must answer to Him? Or do you think we are accidents of nature with no more meaning than an insect, and that it doesn't matter how we live?" When they express some belief in God (and almost everyone does), I'll gently share with them what He has said about about their conduct. Many times this opens the door to present the good news of salvation.

Ahab called Elijah an enemy (1 Ki. 21:20). But he was wrong. The prophet was really his best earthly friend. If only he would have listened to God's servant, he could have been a good king and a child of God.

Lord, help us to be loving as we confront people with their sin. And help us to see that those who point out our sins are not our enemies but our true friends. --H V Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 KINGS 21:17-29

Ahab . . . tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, .. . and went about mourning (1 Kings 21:27).

John and Joe stole some money, but they reacted differently when confronted with the evidence. John broke down immediately, con­fessed his guilt, and offered to repay the money. But Joe refused to take any responsibility and blamed his companion. Later, with his parents supporting him, Joe claimed he was forced into this conduct because some of the young people in his church had never accepted him.

After more than thirty-five years of giving spiritual counsel, I can testify that people who try to cover their sins will not prosper, and that those who confess and forsake them find mercy (Pr 28:13). Many people never realize that they become their own worst enemies by blaming others instead of facing up to their own faults.

In 1 Kings 21, we read that King Ahab wanted a vineyard belonging to Naboth, but the owner refused to sell it. So Jezebel, Ahab's wife, had Naboth executed. Although Ahab merely allowed her to use his name in signing the orders, he didn't blame his wife when confronted with his evil deed. Instead, he acknowledged his crime, expressed grief over it, accepted responsibility, repented, and received a merciful reprieve.

Whenever we do wrong, we are wise to face up to it, take responsi­bility for our actions, and ask God to forgive us. We will be better people when we learn to say, "I'm to blame." -H V Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 21:1-16
The Cure For Greed

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. --Colossians 3:2

A man who lived with his elderly aunt expected to inherit her small fortune. But he didn't wait for her to die naturally. The newspaper reported that he killed her by giving her an overdose of medication. He's now in prison.

In 1 Kings 21, we read about wealthy King Ahab, who wanted a vineyard so much that he allowed his wife to murder the owner. God was so displeased that He sent Elijah to tell Ahab that dogs would lick up his blood in the very place where Naboth had been murdered. Not only that, but his wife and every male descendant would be slaughtered. The terrifying prophecy was fulfilled 3 years later (2 Ki. 9:4-10:11).

We should fear the sin of greed because it leads people to do terrible things. We should hate it because it is idolatry (Col. 3:5), causing us to value earthly things above God.

The good news is that we can escape greed's grip. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul wrote, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col 3:2). He urged us to focus on our relationship with Christ and to look forward to meeting with Him when He returns (Col 3:1-4).

Think of Christ and all that He has given you. That's the cure for greed. --H V Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 22:41-45
"Learning from Dad"

"(Jehoshaphat) walked in all the ways of his father Asa." 1 Kings 22:43

Whenever major league baseball player Curt Schilling pitches, he writes his dad's name on the free-ticket list for that game. It's a practice he started in 1988, and he says it will continue as long as he plays the game.

This wouldn't be all that unusual, except that a few months before Curt's major league debut his dad died of cancer. Putting his father's name on that list is an ongoing tribute to the man who for 22 years provided guidance, instruction, encouragement, and inspiration.

Just as Curt Schilling's dad gave him the incentive to succeed in baseball, so we need to instill in our children the knowledge, desire, and wisdom to succeed in the arena of faith. Nothing is more important than to spend time building into our children the skills to do right in God's eyes.

Asa, who was loyal to God (1 Kings 15:11), must have imparted that quality to his son, because Jehoshaphat "walked in all the ways of his father Asa" (1 Kings 22:43).

We must lead our children to Christ and encourage them to let Him be the Lord of their lives. This may never make them prominent like a great athlete, but it will help them "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1). And that's the only competition that matters.- J D Brannon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

1 Kings 1:29
As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress.

“In my distress I called on the Lord, and cried to my God.” Never let there be distress without its cry. He will hear your voice out of His temple, and your cry will come before Him even into His ears. He will answer, and set you in a large place. There is even a gain to be won from distress, because it brings out new phases of Christ’s redemptive help.

God redeemed David from the calumny of those who maligned him without cause. In so many of his Psalms he refers to the unjust and cruel hatred which misrepresented him and his doings. But God, to whom he committed his cause, vindicated him, so that his righteousness shone as the light, and his judgment as the noonday. So He will do for you. Those who now lay all manner of unkind charges to your door, will be compelled to admit your innocence. Only leave your cause with God, and be still.

God redeemed David from all the afflictions that shadowed his early days: from his wanderings in the wilderness; from his hairbreadth escapes in the caves; from meeting his death on many a terrible battlefield. We hardly realize, just now, how much we owe to the Angel of God’s redemption, who is ever beside us, environing us with careful love, so that no evil may approach us, or snare take our feet. Our pathway is thick with snares and dangers, as the pilgrims found it when journeying through the valley of the shadow; but there is a way out, and in the morning we shall marvel to see how we escaped.

God redeemed David’s life from destruction. This was the greatest miracle of all, when we consider the strong passions that slumbered within him, breaking out whenever he broke loose from God’s grace.

1 Kings 2:4

That the Lord may continue His word.

How strongly David held to God’s promise! It was deeply graven in his soul. How could he forget the word which guaranteed the succession of his race upon the throne of Israel! At the same time he distinctly recognized that the fulfillment was conditional. There was an if in it. It was only in so far as his children took heed to walk before God in truth that God was bound to place them on the throne of Israel; therefore he urged Solomon to keep the charge of the Lord, that the Lord might continue His word. We also must obey the threefold condition if we would enjoy a continuance of God’s helpful care.

1. Be thou strong.— The strength which is in Jesus Christ waits to make us strong. In the Lion of the tribe of Judah there is the boldness which will not swerve in the face of the foe. Timid women and little children in the days of persecution have waxed valiant in the fight, and have not flinched from death, because Jesus was beside them.

2. Keep the charge of the Lord thy God.— He has committed to our care many a sacred deposit, in return for our deposit with Him (2 Timothy 1:12, 14; r. v., marg. ). They are His holy Gospel, the Rest Day, the doctrines of the Evangelical Faith, and the Inspired Word. Let us watch them until we see them weighed out in the temple as were the sacred vessels which Ezra committed to the priests for transport across the desert (Ezra 8:33),

3. Keep His statutes and commandments.— We must obey with reverent care the one great law of love, which includes all the rest. Acting thus, we shall put ourselves in the way of enjoying a continuance of that favor which God has promised.

1 Kings 3:7-9 (from Our Daily Walk)
THE CHOICE OF A LIFE-WORK

"I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in...Give Thy servant an understanding heart."-- 1 Kings 3:7-9.

WE SHALL never rightly choose our life-course until we are determined to put first things first. Wealth, honour, fame, the surpassing of our rivals, are not the chief things to be considered, or our judgment will be impaired and our vision distorted. It was because Solomon desired and sought the kingdom and glory of God, that He gave him also the things for which he did not ask (1 Kings 3:13; Matthew 6:33).

Impressed by the greatness of his responsibilities, the young king had gone to Gibeon to worship God. He wished to fulfil his opportunities to their highest measure, and to serve his fatherland, but he realized his inefficiency. Do you feel like this? You realize the wonderful opportunities and responsibilities of life in this marvellous age, and long to be of service to God and your fellows, but what can you do? You are but as a little child, and "know not how to go out or come in." "Going out" stands for the active life in the world of men; "coming in" for the hours spent in the home, in recreation and society. It is like the systole and diastole of the heart's action, which should be alike consecrated to God and of service to man.

Solomon asked for an understanding heart, that he might discern between good and bad. We all need this faculty, that we may discriminate between things that look very much alike, but are different in nature and direction (Hebrews 5:14; Phil 1:9-10; marg. R.V.). It is not an enduement of intellectual power, but of moral taste and discernment. It has been said, that the difficulty in life is not to discriminate between white and black, but to choose between the different shades of grey. In our fellowships, recreations, literature, business--we are in urgent need of the understanding heart, which listens for and heeds the voice of God.

Solomon offered a thousand burnt-offerings upon the altar (1Kiings 3:4). We are required to present our bodies as living sacrifices unto God, which is our reasonable service. Our career is often determined by our circumstances, or by our special gifts and talents, and, on the whole, we succeed best in doing what we like best. But if we yield ourselves to do God's will, He will direct our paths.

PRAYER - O God, make us diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. May we prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good. AMEN.

1 Kings 3:13
I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked.

The understanding heart was Solomon’s supreme request, and it was given him before the morning light had broken over Jerusalem. But God did exceeding abundantly beyond what he asked or thought. Riches and honor, victory and long life, were thrown in as part of the Divine gift; as paper and string are given by the tradesmen with the goods we purchase. It seems as though our Lord’s words were anticipated, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Put first things first.— One of the most important lessons of life is to discern the relative value of the objects within our reach. The child will take the handful of glass beads, and leave the heap of diamonds in the rough. It is the terrible mistake of men that, perplexed by earth’s cross-lights, they put evil for good and good for evil; they make earth rather than heaven their center; time rather than eternity their measurement.

Seek God and all things in Him.— Things without God cannot satisfy the craving of the soul. To know God, and to be known by Him, is to possess all things. All that is lovely, strong, or right, in any human being was in the Creator before it entered the creature; having God, you possess all things in Him.

Be more careful of what you are than what you have.— A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things that he possesseth; but in his purity, truth, tenderness, and the properties of his soul. The fruit of the Spirit must ever be manifest in the life of the believer— “Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”

1 Kings 4:29
Largeness of heart.

We must all admit that our soul is too narrow. It holds too little, knows too little, is deficient in will-power, and, above all, in capacity of love; and when we are called to run in the way of God’s commandments, we break down in despair, and cry, “If I am to be a runner, Thou must first enlarge my heart.”

How little we know of the experience which Madame Guyon describes when she says: “This vastness or enlargedness, which is not bounded by anything, increases every day; so that my soul in partaking of the qualities of her Spouse seems also to partake of his immensity.”

“There is,” remarks one of the old Puritans, “a straitness, slavery, and narrowness, in all sin; sin crumples up our souls; which, if they were freely spread abroad, would be as large and wide as the whole universe. No man is truly free; but lie that hath his will enlarged to the extent of God’s will, by loving whatsoever God loves, and nothing else, he enjoys boundless liberty, and a boundless sweetness.” God’s love embraces the universe. He “so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son.” We who have partaken of the Divine nature must also love as He does.

Thomas à Kempis says, finally: “He who desires glory in things outside of God, or to take pleasure in some private good, shall many ways be encumbered and straitened; but if heavenly grace enter in, and true charity, there will be no envy, neither narrowness of heart, neither will self-love busy itself, for Divine charity overcometh all things, and enlargeth all the powers of the soul.” Give unto us, O God, this largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore!

1 Kings 5:4
Now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side.

God is the Rest-Giver. When He surrounds us on every side with His protecting care, so that our life resembles one of the cities of the Netherlands in the great war— inaccessible to the foe because surrounded by the waters of the sea, admitted through the sluice— then neither adversary nor evil occurrent can break in, and we are kept in perfect peace, our minds being stayed on God.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand, Never foe can enter, never traitor stand.

Have you experienced the rest which comes by putting God round about you, on every side—like the light which burns brightly on a windy night because surrounded by its four panes of clear glass? Ah! what a contrast between the third (1 Kings 5:3) and fourth verse: Wars on every side; Rest on every side. And yet the two are compatible, because the wars expend themselves on God, as the waves on the shingle; and there are far reaches of rest within, like orchards and meadows and pasture-lands beyond the reach of the devastating water.

Out of such rest should come the best work. We are not surprised to find Solomon announcing his purpose to build a house unto the name of the Lord. Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus, anointed Him. Out of quiet hearts arise the greatest resolves; just as from the seclusion of country hamlets have come the greatest warriors, statesmen, and patriots. Men think, foolishly, that the active, ever-moving souls are the strongest. It is not so, however. They expend themselves before the day of trial comes. Give me those who have the power to restrain themselves and wait; these are they that can act with the greatest momentum in the hour of crisis.

1 Kings 6:7
There was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard.

In absolute silence, like the growth of a palm in the desert, that noble building arose in the symmetry of its fair proportions. But there was plenty of quarrying and hammering and chiseling before the materials were brought to the site.

The absolute silence with which the Temple rose is a meet emblem of the progress of the Church, from its foundations laid in the Apostolate toward the top stone, which before very long will be laid upon the completed structure. Amid the rise and fall of dynasties and empires, the Church is being built. Soul after soul, as so many added bricks, is being quietly placed upon the walls. Some day the world will be amazed when it sees the New Jerusalem descend out of heaven from God. The mightiest works of God are the fruit of silence.

You and I are now in the quarry, hewn, chipped, chiseled: or we are in the saw-pit, being sawn, planed, pierced by nails. Be of good cheer! It will not be long, the preparatory work will be over, and we shall become part of the eternal structure. Into heaven there can enter neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron. The trial will have done its work. Sorrow and crying will flee away. The Apostle Paul, who knew more than any man what trial and pain meant, could confidently declare: “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Then shall the city of God shine forth in completed beauty, her walls Salvation and her gates Praise; and the triumphant song of the redeemed shall ring forth: “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”

1 Kings 7:46
In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them.

The Apostle tells us to obey from the heart that mould or form of doctrine to which we were delivered (Romans 6:17). What a mould is to the metal which is wrought into various forms of utensils, that the form of sound doctrine is to believers who desire to resemble Christ. When our hearts, melted in contrition and penitence, are poured into the teaching of the Apostles, to ponder it in memory, and to carry it out in life, they are, so to speak, cast into the pattern of Jesus Christ, which they wear forevermore. Thus we are conformed to the image of His Son.

We differ as widely as the vessels named here. Some are lavers, and some bases; some shovels, and some basins. It matters little what shape we bear; so long as we are cleansed and meet for the Master’s use. Each vessel in Solomon’s temple filled its own niche. The machinery of the whole would have been hindered if one had been missing. Be content with the shape which the Great Designer hath intended for thee. Yield to it. Dare to pour thyself into the dark passages of the mould. Do not ask the intention of this or that. Obey from the heart, otherwise thou mayest have to be broken up, and put back again into the furnace to go through the process once more. This is the Plain of the Jordan for us, the place of death; but soon we shall be remitted to the Palace and Temple of God.

There is no clue to the understanding of the mysteries of our mortal life, save the hypothesis, that we are being prepared for the position which has been prepared for us in the eternal world. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.”

1 Kings 8:59
That He maintain the cause of His servant, as every day shall require. (r. v.)

The R. V. marginal reading is, “The thing of a day in its day.” What rest would come into our lives, if we really believed that God maintained the cause of His servants! Men hate you, and say unkind or untrue things about you; on your part, though you are quite prepared to admit that you have made mistakes, yet you know that you desire above all things to act as God’s servant should, that your motives are sincere, and your hands clean— be of good courage then, God will maintain your cause, as every day may require.

Or, you are beset by strong competition; and, in order to hold your own, you have been tempted to do what is not perfectly the best— to spice your teaching with a little heterodoxy, puff your wares with misleading titles, to adulterate your goods. But there is no need to do this; if only you are faithful to God, He will maintain your cause, as every day may require.

Or, you are tempted almost beyond endurance, and think that you must yield. The seductions are so insidious, the pitfalls so carefully concealed, the charm of evil so subtle. But, if you will only look away to God, you will find Him a very present help to maintain your cause. Oh, trust Him; for none of them that do so can be desolate. Daily strength for daily need; daily manna for daily hunger; daily maintenance for daily temptation. These are assured.

As we stand on the hilltop in the morning and look across the valley of the coming day, its scenes are too closely veiled in heavy-hanging mists for us to specify all our requests. We can breathe the comprehensive petition, “Give us this day our daily bread.” And God will suit His help to each requirement. As the moment arrives “the thing” will be there.

1 Kings 9:3
I have hallowed this house which thou hast built.

Man builds; God hallows. This cooperation between man and God pervades all life. Man performs the outward and mechanical; God the inward and spiritual. Paul plants, Apollos waters; but God gives the increase. We elaborate our sermons and addresses, building them up with careful, eager thought; but God must work in and through them for His own glory in the salvation and upbuilding of souls. We must be careful to do our part with reverence and godly fear, remembering that God must work in realms we cannot touch, and to issues we cannot reach, before our poor exertions can avail.

May we not apply this especially to the education of a child’s life? Many who read these lines are engaged in building structures which will outlive the Pyramids. The body is only the scaffolding, behind and through which the building of the soul is being upreared. The materials with which we build may be the gold, silver, and precious stones, of our example, precept, careful watching, and discipline; but God must come in to hallow. Our strenuous endeavor must be supplemented by the incoming of the Holy Spirit.

God hallows by His indwelling. Holiness is the result of His putting His Name into a place, a day, a human soul; for His Name is His nature, Himself. Each day may be a building, reared between sunrise and sunset, with our activities; but it were vain to hope to realize our ideal unless the structure become a temple filled with God. Build what you will; but never be satisfied unless God sets His eyes and heart upon your life, hallowing and sanctifying each day and act to Himself.

1 Kings 10:9
Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee.

There were two reasons why Solomon was on the throne. First, because of God’s love to him; secondly, because of God’s love to Israel. May we not address our Savior with similar expressions of gladness as those which the queen addressed to a less than He?

How. well it is, now and again, to let ourselves go in exuberant adoration! Prayer is good, but it may revolve too largely about our own needs and desires: thanks are right, when we have received great benefits at His hands; but praise is best, because the heart forgets itself and earth and time, in enlarged conceptions of its adorable Lover and Savior.

We are reminded in this connection of a noble hymn of old John Ryland:—

“Thou Son of God, and Son of Man, Beloved, adored Emmanuel, Who didst, before all time began, In glory with Thy Father dwell:
“We sing Thy love, who didst in time, For us, humanity assume, To answer for the sinner’s crime, To suffer in the sinner’s room.
“The ransomed Church Thy glory sings, The hosts of heaven Thy will obey; And, Lord of lords, and King of kings, We celebrate Thy blessed sway.”

We can never praise Him enough. Our furthest thoughts fall short of the reality. His wisdom and prosperity exceed His fame. No question He cannot answer; no desire He cannot gratify; no munificence He cannot excel. Happy are they who stand continually before Him. Let us see that this is our happy privilege; not content to pay Him a transient visit, returning to our own land, but communing with Him always of that which is in our heart.

1 Kings 11:4
His wives turned away his heart.

Every man is vulnerable at one point of his character. Strong everywhere else, and armor-plated, he is weak there; and our great enemy knows just where to strike home. It would have been useless to argue with Solomon for the claims of idols. He could at once, by his wisdom, have annihilated all infidel arguments, and have established the existence and unity of God. But, step by step, he was led by silken cords, a captive, to the worship of other gods. It is a solemn warning; and Nehemiah was perfectly justified when, in his contention with the Jews who had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab, he said, “Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him who was beloved of his God.”
Let young people beware where they let their hearts go forth in love. Whom we love we resemble; and in the marriage tie it is almost inevitable that seductions to the lower will overcome the drawings to the higher. When a Christian disobeys God’s distinct command against intermarriage with the ungodly, he begins to sink to the level of his ungodly partner whom he had thought to raise to his own religious standing.

Our associates determine the drift and current of our life. It is so easy to launch upon the current that flows past our feet; it seems impossible that the laughing, enticing water should ever carry us against sharp, splintering rocks, or over-breaking cataracts. When we are compelled to associate with the ungodly, let us maintain a strict self-watch, and pray that the breath of the heavenward gale may more than counteract the tendency of the earthward current.

1 Kings 12:33
The month which he had devised of his own heart.

Jeroboam acted on expediency. It did seem reasonable to argue that the constant going up to Jerusalem to worship might alienate the people from his throne, and awaken a desire for the old national unity; and without doubt a mere worldly wisdom extolled his setting-up of idol-gods at Bethel and Dan; but his policy in this respect led to the downfall of his kingdom. Had he trusted God’s promise, made through the prophet Ahijah, the Divine purpose would have ensured the continuance of his rule; but the prompting of expediency resulted in ultimate disaster (1 Kings 14).

How prone we all are to devise out of our own hearts! We take counsel with ourselves, and do what seems prudent and farseeing, with the inevitable result of being betrayed into courses of action that God cannot approve, and of which we have reason to repent bitterly. It is infinitely better to wait on God till He develop His plan, as He most certainly will, when the predestined hour strikes. He who trusts in his own heart, and takes his own way, is a fool. To run before God is to sink knee-deep into the swamp. We must make all things after the pattern shown us on the Mount, and take our time from God’s almanac. What a contrast to the course of Jeroboam was that of the Son of Man! He would do nothing of Himself. His eye was always on His Father’s dial-plate, and thus He knew when His time was not yet fulfilled. He was always consulting the movement of His Father’s will, and did only those things which He saw His Father doing. Similarly make God’s will and way thy Pole-star. Oh to be able to say with our blessed Lord, “I seek not mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me “!

1 Kings 13:21-22
Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient,... but camest back. (r. v.)

We are inclined at first sight to pity this unknown prophet, and to justify his return; but as we look closer into the story, we not only discover the reason for the severe penalty that overtook him, but we are warned lest we make a similar mistake. When we have received a direct command fresh from the lips of Christ, we must act on it, and not be turned aside by a different suggestion, made to us through the lips of professing Christians. God does not vacillate or alter in the thing which proceeds from His mouth. When we know we are in the line of His purpose, we must not allow ourselves to be diverted by any appeal or threat, from whomsoever it may emanate. Deal with God at first-hand.

The rule for determining the true worth of the advice which our friends proffer us, is to ask, first, whether it conflicts with our own deep-seated conviction of God’s will; and, secondly, whether it tends to the ease and satisfaction of the flesh, as the old prophet’s suggestion certainly did. Beware of any one who allures you with the bread and water that are to break your fast. That bait is likely enough to disturb the balance of your judgment. When a voice says spare thyself, be on the alert; it savors the things that be of man, not of those that be of God.

Learn to deal with God at first-hand. Do not run hither and thither to human teachers, or to the Church. Be still before God, and what He says in the depths of thy soul, do. His Holy Spirit shall guide you into all truth; and when once His way has been revealed to thee, go straight on, listening to no other voice, however much it professes Divine inspiration.

1 Kings 14:6
I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

How foolish! Jeroboam thought that the old prophet could penetrate the vail that hid the future, but not the disguise in which his wife wished to conceal herself. As we might have expected, the aged prophet’s inner sight read her heart. From God no secrets are hid. Immediately on His accosting her by her name there came the dread announcement of inevitable disaster.

We must not hesitate to unfold all the consequences of sin. As watchmen on the walls, we are bound to tell men of the certain fearful looking for of fiery indignation which shall devour the transgressors. None of us should flinch from declaring the whole counsel of God. We should specially insist on the guilt side of sin. Not only that it is a misfortune, a mistake, an error, a disease, a tyranny; but a crime. The sinner is a criminal, who has incurred the just wrath and anger of a holy God: for which he must suffer a due recompense.

Oh for more tenderness that we may with tears warn men of their doom! We are so self-possessed, so stolid; we need to ask that our eyes, like Jeremiah’s, should be fountains of tears, that we might weep day and night. If the tidings are heavy, let us first feel their pressure on our own hearts; let us bend over the regions of despair and darkness, and hear the bitter weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and come back to warn our brethren, lest they also come to that place of torment. Though it was with fear and much trembling that Paul preached the Gospel, yet he did not shun to declare the whole counsel of God. And while we go to men with the good tidings of salvation, we must not withhold the heavy tidings from those who persist in unbelief.

1 Kings 15:11
Asa did ... right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father.

It is a great thing to have such a testimony as this. We may do right in our own eyes; yet the eye of the Lord may detect evil which neither our associates nor we have seen. We may deceive ourselves, we may deceive others; but we cannot deceive God. In the home or business, in situation or factory, let us live as under the searching gaze of God.

Asa’s life was one of religious activity: he destroyed the idols of his father, and even deposed his queen-mother, “because she made an idol in a grove.” It needs Divine courage so to live for God that at home or afield men shall take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus. This is what the world is languishing for— reality, consistency under all circumstances, and before all men.

There are, however, two clouds overhanging this otherwise bright life. “The high places were not removed” (1 Kings 15:14). Though idols were destroyed, the groves in which they were erected remained. They were no scare to him; and he took care that during his life they should not ensnare others; but after his death, in the reign of Jehoshaphat his son, “the people offered and burned incense” in them (1 Kings 22:43). We must not only cleanse our way before the Lord, but remove any evil thing which may cause others to stumble.

The other cloud is indicated in 2 Chronicles 16:12: “He was diseased in his feet... Yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.” Strange that in affliction he should not have turned to the Great Physician. The enemy of souls is ever on the watch. Pray that amid the pains of death, you may not act unworthily.

1 Kings 16:33
Ahab did more to provoke the Lord to anger than all the kings.

His sin was very aggravated, largely through the influence of Jezebel, his young and beautiful wife, who introduced the abominations of Phoenician idol-worship. This is why he is said to have exceeded his predecessors in wickedness. They broke the second commandment, and worshipped Jehovah under the form of a calf. Ahab and Jezebel broke the first, and chose other gods— Baal, the sun, and Ashtoreth, the moon. The inveterate love for this idolatry was connected with licentious rites with which these deities were served. What wonder that the land became corrupt when the fountains of its religious life were polluted at the source?

The connection between the indulgence of impurity and the declension of the spiritual life, is very close. As the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 1, the men that refuse to retain God in their knowledge are given up to the working of passion; and as they yield to passion the