Chapter 7
v7 The offerings brought that day were so many that the alter (that Solomon had just made!) couldn't hold them, so they had to consecrate the court and make the offerings there!
v20 God's warning if Israel should turn away from Him. The house, the temple, which was just dedicated as holy because God made it holy. Nothing about the actual house is holy in itself. If God chooses to leave it, because of the actions of His people, it will be cast out, left in ruins.
Sometimes we give too much reverence to the church building, as if just being inside it will make us better or more worthy. But that is a form of idolotry. Without the God for whom that building was built, the church is just a pile of wood and concrete.
Chapter 8
v11 Because she wasn't of God's chosen race?
Chapter 9
v1 I love this story.
v4 She was breathless. This is how I want to see God and all He has done for me.
Breathless.
v4 Not only is God as good as you have heard, He's so much better than that.
v21 I love this strange list: gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks!
Chapter 10
v8 But he forsook the council of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him.
How many times have I made this same mistake? Asking advice from lots of different people, when I don't really want advice at all. What I really want is for people to tell me how clever and wise I am (and pretty and funny and thin), and that what I've already set out to do is exactly the right course.
v10 These young councilors merely played into his ego and cruelty.
v15 "It was a turn of events from God."
Even through this wicked king, God would use their situation to show Himself to His people.
Next time: Chapters 11-13
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