Long after Joshua had distributed the land of Canaan, seven of the tribes were still in the military camp. Joshua scolded them in Joshua 18:3, “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?” They marched out of the wilderness and conquered the land; yet when the time came to inherit their unique parcels, they grew lazy.
Don’t make the same mistake. You are an heir with Christ of God’s estate. He has placed his Spirit in your heart as a down payment. What God said to Joshua in Joshua 1:3 he says to you. “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you.” But you must possess it. You must deliberately receive what God so graciously gives! Find your lot in life and live in it!
From Glory Days
1 Kings 7
Solomon Builds His Palace
Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.
2 One of Solomon’s buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[v] There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars. 3 The hall had a cedar roof. Above the beams on the pillars were forty-five side rooms,[w] arranged in three tiers of fifteen each. 4 On each end of the long hall were three rows of windows facing each other. 5 All the doorways and doorposts[x] had rectangular frames and were arranged in sets of three, facing each other.
6 Solomon also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide.[y] There was a porch in front, along with a canopy supported by pillars.
7 Solomon also built the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, where he sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.[z] 8 Solomon’s living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall, and they were constructed the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
9 From foundation to eaves, all these buildings were built from huge blocks of high-quality stone, cut with saws and trimmed to exact measure on all sides. 10 Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet[aa] long. 11 The blocks of high-quality stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used. 12 The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple with its entry room.
Furnishings for the Temple
13 King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram[ab] to come from Tyre. 14 He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. Huram was extremely skillful and talented in any work in bronze, and he came to do all the metal work for King Solomon.
15 Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.[ac] 16 For the tops of the pillars he cast bronze capitals, each 7 1/2 feet[ad] tall. 17 Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains. 18 He also encircled the latticework with two rows of pomegranates to decorate the capitals over the pillars. 19 The capitals on the columns inside the entry room were shaped like water lilies, and they were six feet[ae] tall. 20 The capitals on the two pillars had 200 pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework. 21 Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.[af] 22 The capitals on the pillars were shaped like water lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished.
23 Then Huram cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7 1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.[ag] 24 It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot[ah] all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.
25 The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen,[ai] all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. 26 The walls of the Sea were about three inches[aj] thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons[ak] of water.
27 Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet tall.[al] 28 They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars. 29 Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. 30 Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. There were supporting posts for the bronze basins at the corners of the carts; these supports were decorated on each side with carvings of wreaths. 31 The top of each cart had a rounded frame for the basin. It projected 1 1/2 feet[am] above the cart’s top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2 1/4 feet[an] across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round. 32 Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2 1/4 feet in diameter 33 and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze.
34 There were handles at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart. 35 Around the top of each cart was a rim nine inches wide.[ao] The corner supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart. 36 Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and corner supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around. 37 All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.
38 Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons[ap] of water. 39 He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. 40 He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls.
So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the Lord:
41 the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals;
42 the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars);
43 the ten water carts holding the ten basins;
44 the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;
45 the ash buckets, the shovels, and the bowls.
Huram made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as King Solomon had directed. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon did not weigh all these things because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured.
48 Solomon also made all the furnishings of the Temple of the Lord:
the gold altar;
the gold table for the Bread of the Presence;
49 the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place;
the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of gold;
50 the small bowls, lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners—all of solid gold;
the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold.
51 So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the various articles—and he stored them in the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple.
Footnotes:
7:2 Hebrew 100 cubits [46 meters] long, 50 cubits [23 meters] wide, and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] high.
7:3 Or 45 rafters, or 45 beams, or 45 pillars. The architectural details in 7:2-6 can be interpreted in many different ways.
7:5 Greek version reads windows.
7:6 Hebrew 50 cubits [23 meters] long and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] wide.
7:7 As in Syriac version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads from floor to floor.
7:10 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] . . . 8 cubits [3.7 meters].
7:13 Hebrew Hiram (also in 7:40, 45); compare 2 Chr 2:13. This is not the same person mentioned in 5:1.
7:15 Hebrew 18 cubits [8.3 meters] tall and 12 cubits [5.5 meters] in circumference.
7:16 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters].
7:19 Hebrew 4 cubits [1.8 meters]; also in 7:38.
7:21 Jakin probably means “he establishes”; Boaz probably means “in him is strength.”
7:23 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] across. . . . 5 cubits [2.3 meters] deep and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] in circumference.
7:24 Or 20 gourds per meter; Hebrew reads 10 per cubit.
7:25 Hebrew 12 oxen; compare 2 Kgs 16:17, which specifies bronze oxen.
7:26a Hebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters].
7:26b Hebrew 2,000 baths [42 kiloliters].
7:27 Hebrew 4 cubits [1.8 meters] long, 4 cubits wide, and 3 cubits [1.4 meters] high.
7:31a Hebrew a cubit [46 centimeters].
7:31b Hebrew 1 1/2 cubits [69 centimeters]; also in 7:32.
7:35 Hebrew half a cubit wide [23 centimeters].
7:38 Hebrew 40 baths [840 liters].
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 23, 2015
Read: Proverbs 10:19-21
Too much talk leads to sin.
Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
20 The words of the godly are like sterling silver;
the heart of a fool is worthless.
21 The words of the godly encourage many,
but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.
INSIGHT:
One of the major themes in Proverbs is our speech (Prov. 10:19-21; 15:1-4,23,28; 16:24,27-28; 18:7-8; 21:23). In Proverbs 10 Solomon contrasts the wise and the foolish person, noting it is our speech that reveals which one we really are (vv. 11,18-21). Those who are righteous and wise are restrained and judicious in their words and sometimes choose silence as the best response. If we keep silent, we will never say the wrong thing (v. 19), and we will even be thought to be wise (17:28). Jesus said that our words come from our heart and reveal whether we are good or evil. He warned that one day we shall give an account for the words we have spoken (Matt. 12:35-36).
The Sounds of Silence
By David Roper
The lips of the righteous nourish many.
Proverbs 10:21
A fishing buddy of mine observed, “Shallow streams make the most noise,” a delightful turn on the old adage, “Still waters run deep.” He meant, of course, that people who make the most noise tend to have little of substance to say.
The flip side of that problem is that we don’t listen well either. I’m reminded of the line in the old Simon and Garfunkel song “Sounds of Silence” about folks hearing without listening. Oh, they hear the words, but they fail to silence their own thoughts and truly listen. It would be good if we all learned to be silent and still.
There is “a time to be silent and a time to speak” (Eccl. 3:7). Good silence is a listening silence, a humble silence. It leads to right hearing, right understanding, and right speaking. “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,” the proverb says, “but one who has insight draws them out” (Prov. 20:5). It takes a lot of hard listening to get all the way to the bottom.
And while we listen to others, we should also be listening to God and hearing what He has to say. I think of Jesus, scribbling with His finger in the dust while the Pharisees railed on the woman caught in adultery (see John 8:1-11). What was He doing? May I suggest that He could have been simply listening for His Father’s voice and asking, “What shall we say to this crowd and this dear woman?” His response is still being heard around the world.
Father, today may Your Spirit remind us to seek the quiet so that we may listen first to Your voice and then understand the hearts of others. Teach us when to speak and when to be quiet.
Well-timed silence can be more eloquent than words.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 23, 2015
The Distraction of Contempt
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. —Psalm 123:3
What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. “Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:16). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives.
Beware of “the cares of this world…” (Mark 4:19). They are the very things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from God. Refuse to be swamped by “the cares of this world.”
Another thing that distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.” Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul’s faith in God. Don’t say, “I must explain myself,” or, “I must get people to understand.” Our Lord never explained anything— He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves.
When we discern that other people are not growing spiritually and allow that discernment to turn to criticism, we block our fellowship with God. God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Both nations and individuals have tried Christianity and abandoned it, because it has been found too difficult; but no man has ever gone through the crisis of deliberately making Jesus Lord and found Him to be a failure. The Love of God—The Making of a Christian, 680 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 23, 2015
Hanging On to What Will Sink You - #7531
A team member who served on our radio team for a number of years loved to go white water rafting. His white water was on the Chattooga River, in South Carolina. He loved to take his youth group on white water kayaking trips and that's where he learned about a river phenomenon called hydraulics.
According to their guide a hydraulic is a place in the rapids where the water goes over a rock, drops down, and then circles back up over the rock, then down again, circles back up and down again, and so on. It's sort of a vertical whirlpool. The guide told my friend and his group that it is very difficult to get out of a hydraulic if you happen to fall out of the boat and get caught in one. In fact, there is basically only one way out. Take off your life jacket. Now, can you think of anything you'd feel less like doing than taking off your life jacket in a moment like that?
You'd never do it otherwise and you don't want to, but it's a problem if you're in a hydraulic because your life jacket makes you keep rising with the water and going back down with it. If you take it off, you've got a chance to go down when the water goes down and then swim out of it. But believe me the last thing you feel like doing is getting rid of what's been holding you up! Right? Except if that's what's trapping you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hanging On to What Will Sink You."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Hebrews 12:1, God tells us to get rid of some things, to get out of some things; things that may have been supporting us. Listen, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Now, it's not a river here, it is a race, but the principle is the same. If something is keeping you from where you need to be you've got to throw it off, whatever it is, even if it's something you've been depending on to hold you up, even if it's been your life jacket.
It could be that you're stuck in a whirlpool right now because there's something or someone in your life that you feel you've got to have. Like a guy in the river refusing to take off his life jacket. Maybe there is a man you are romantically involved with, or a woman, and you feel you just cannot leave. That person is holding you back from what God wants you to be and what God wants you to do. It might be your friend or a group of friends who are holding you in the whirlpool.
It could be a drug, a drink, or a habit that you feel you just can't do without. It could be an addiction to pornography. Actually, you can never go any farther until you take that risk! It could be that you've been hesitating to move onto a new frontier with God and He's calling you to it. But you're comfortable and safe right now. You don't want to risk leaving your comfort zone. The best way to miss God's will is to be addicted to your comfort zone.
God's people in the Old Testament missed the Promised Land that way. It seems risky. After all, this life jacket that's been supporting you for a long time, right? But, what once supported you is now holding you back; it's got you trapped in a whirlpool. It's sinking you! There are some incredible adventures, some exciting scenery up there, but you're never going to see what's down river if you stay trapped in the place where you are.
It is time, now, to do what the Bible says. And maybe now you know what God's talking about when He says, "Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles." In other words, it's time to lose your life jacket so you don't sink any more.
