FBC Daily Devotional – November 16, 2021

The Long Delay Before Solomon Built the Temple

Well, good Tuesday morning to you. How'd your day go yesterday? Has your week gotten off to a good start? I trust it has. And as we look forward to this day, I trust the Lord will bless us in our work, our labors that he's called us to do, whatever that area of responsibility is.

Well, to help us get our focus in the right direction, I want you to think about what we read if you have read today's reading in 1 Kings chapters 5 and 6, and especially want to zero in on chapter 6.

That chapter begins with what I think is a very sobering realization. It says that it came to pass in the 480th year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, Solomon started to build the temple.

Did you catch that? 480 years after they came out of Egypt, he started to build the temple. 480 years. Now get the sense of that. You know, I think a lot of times we read these passages in scripture, we read these verses, we just pass over 480 years, but we don't stop to put that in perspective.

Think about this. That's almost two times longer than the United States of America has been an independent nation. Can you imagine that? So it's been almost 500 years, half a millennium, five centuries, since the people came out of the land of Egypt until Solomon builds this temple.

In other words, all this time, all these hundreds of years, there hasn't been a solid, built, established house for God. Finally, Solomon, God blesses Solomon to do this. He gives it to him, gives it on his heart, puts it on his heart, gives him the skill and ability to move forward in the construction of this temple.

Obedience Matters More Than the Temple Building

500 years. But then what I want to really zero in on is what the Lord says in verses 11 to 13 here in chapter 6. Because here's the way that we can often think, even in the New Testament Church, we can think that since we have a wonderful building, well-maintained, it's got a sense of beauty about it.

It's directing our attention to God and to worship. We've dedicated it to as the Lord's house, dedicated it for the worship of God and the service of God and the ministry of God and so forth in.

The world.

We can think that we are blessed and God will bless. And if we are faithful and going to that place that has been set apart for the worship of God by God's people, that we will be blessed. But here's the thing.

The Lord says this, he says concerning this temple that you're building, okay, and remember that God laid it on Solomon's heart to do this and he's given them a skill and the ability to move forward in the building of this temple.

He says concerning this temple that you're building, if you walk in my statutes, execute my judgments, keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will perform my word with you which I spoke to your father David and I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.

Alright, now notice the expansiveness of the conditions. He's building a temple. The Lord didn't say as long as you are faithful to come and worship me at this place and follow all of the ceremonial rules and regulations and laws concerning sacrifices and so on and so forth and you do it all just right, then I will bless you.

He doesn't say that. He says if you execute my judgments and you keep all of my statutes and walk in them. In other words, what what God is concerned about is not what happens at the temple, but what happens outside of the temple that affects the genuineness of what happens in the temple.

In other words, if God's people are not walking in his ways, they're not obedient to his commandments and yet they're still coming and bringing their sacrifices. Oh, it's like it's like God told Saul, you know, Samuel, through Samuel, the Lord does not have as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord.

New Testament Worship and Daily Godliness

Alright, now let's bring this into the 21st century. Let's bring this into New Testament Christianity. The Lord's blessing his people is not dependent upon, you know, whether or not they come to church on Sunday.

You know, you can, here's my point, you can think that, well, you know, I go to church every Sunday, I gather with God's people, I sing the songs, I listen to the sermon, you know, in our church, we we go by the regulative principle.

In other words, we don't have a bunch of stuff in our church services that God hasn't prescribed. We do what God's prescribed and, you know, prayer and the ministry of the word and the reading of the word and the singing, congregational singing and so forth.

We just do what God's prescribed for us to do at church. So, therefore, God's gonna bless my life. God's gonna bless us, God, and so forth. And the message here that God gives to Solomon is that you can do all of those things and I'm not gonna bless you if, in your life as a whole, you're not walking with me.

You're not walking in my commandments. You have no desire to live day by day according to what I have said, according to what I like, according to my character. You're not walking godly Monday through Saturday.

I'm not gonna bless you even though you do all the right stuff on Sunday. That's the point. So, let me encourage you. Don't fall into that trap of thinking that, well, you know, as long as I go to church on Sunday morning and, you know, I participate like I'm supposed to, I give money, I sing and, you know, I listen to the sermon and I even stay awake through it and so forth.

Well, good for you for those things. But, no, don't fall into the trap of thinking that that buys you brownie points with God when Monday through Friday, Monday through Saturday, you're just pretty much living for yourself and ignoring how God would have you to live.

Don't think like that. That's not godly thinking. All right? So, let me challenge you with that. So, Father, I pray that you would deliver us from that kind of merit-based thinking that if we just do the right stuff on Sunday, then you're gonna bless us.

No, Father, give us a heart to love you, a heart to live for you day by day, every day of the week. Therefore, then, our worship will be truly pleasing and acceptable in your sight on the Lord's Day when we gather together.

So, I pray, help us with that proper way of thinking, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Well, have a good rest of your Tuesday. I trust the Lord will bless you in it.