Hiram, King of Tyre, was a friend to David. He furnished most of the material for David's palace. When Solomon became king, he notified Hiram that he intended to build a great temple. Hiram was delighted, and committed to trade Lebanese cedar and fir timbers for Israeli wheat and oil. Hiram also provided much gold for the temple. God often sends blessings by outsiders when necessary.
1 Kings 5:7 - "When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, ...he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people."
PRINCIPALS - "Solomon Begins Temple Construction"
Solomon drafted thirty-thousand men to prepare building materials in Lebanon. Ten thousand at a time spent thirty days there, followed by two months vacation. Seventy thousand bore burdens. Eighty thousand hewed great, costly stones from mountains for the foundation of the house. 3,300 foremen directed almost 200,000 men working on the temple. Within seven years it was the most magnificent structure in the world, built to the glory of God.
1 Kings 5:18 - "Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house."
PRINCIPLES - "I Will Dwell Among Them"
The Word of the LORD came to Solomon saying, "Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father." God magnificently promised to dwell in the new temple. Isaiah saw God's throne in the temple [6:1]. When Israel backslid, Ezekiel saw the throne leave [10:1,18].
1 Kings 6:13 - "I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel."
PROPHECIES - "No Noise"
No hammer, axe, or iron tool was to be heard during construction of the temple. All noisy work was finished off-site, to keep the temple holy unto the LORD. This speaks, typologically, of the church of Jesus Christ - made on earth of "lively stones," for the glorious moment when all saints will assemble "finished" in heaven.
1 Kings 6:7 - "The house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building."
Do You Know What to Ask For? |
And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. – Mark 10:51 |
 |
All of us know what it's like to go round in circles. To pray our way through one financial disaster only to be met by another. To receive healing for one illness just in time to be knocked off our feet by the next. Oh, we try. We pray. We exercise our faith. But we keep getting caught in the same old problems over and over again. Why? Because all too often, we don't actually know what it is we need to be praying for. I can almost hear your reaction. "Believe me, Brother A, that's not my problem. I know what I need. It's getting that need met that's got me running in circles." That's what most other folks think too. So they spend all their time working on getting. They waste their energy praying for things they don't really need and asking for things they don't really want. Then they wind up going nowhere fast. Look with me at Mark 10, and I think you'll see what I mean. Blind Bartimaeus sat by the roadside begging when Jesus passed by. "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.... And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way" (verses 47, 50-52). Now I want you to think about something for a moment. In the light of what the Scriptures tell us, how many needs did Bartimaeus have? Did he have just one? No! He wasn't simply a blind man, he was a beggar. He probably had more problems than you could shake a stick at, and all those problems would have seemed like legitimate needs to Bartimaeus. But it was sight he needed. If he could obtain his sight, all the rest would fall into line. He knew that. So, when Jesus said, "Bartimaeus, what do you want Me to do for you?" he knew exactly what to ask for and he got it. Jesus is just as available to you today as He was to Bartimaeus. He's just as willing to meet your need. The question is, do you really know what to ask for? Think about that. Pray about it. Let the Lord Jesus open your eyes and show you what you really need. If you do that, your prayers will take on a whole new power. Instead of hitting around at the edges of your problems, they'll go straight to the heart—and solve them. And you won't have to waste your life running in circles anymore.  |
No comments:
Post a Comment