2 Chronicles 8
This chapter moves on 20 years from the completion of the temple and Solomon's own house. It records his work through the land, building and improving cities, the organisation of Canaanites to pay taxes, and the Israelites to be soldiers.
It records the keeping of the LORD's commands in the temple offerings and sacrifices and the Levites' duties.
Lastly, it reports that Solomon's friend, Huram (Hiram, King of Tyre), provided him ships and servants familiar with the sea to go with Solomon's servants to Ophir to obtain gold.
Today my eye and thoughts were snagged by verse 11:
'And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come'.
I was puzzled by this verse. It sounds like Solomon didn't want his wife to live in the city of David (Zion), because it contained holy locations from which the ark of God had been brought to Jerusalem - which would suggest that she wasn't holy. Now, none of us are holy, but for Solomon to not want her to live there suggests that she was perhaps potentially particularly offensive to God.
In 1 King 3:1 it records that Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh and he gave Solomon his daughter. My study Bible comments that this was an important political alliance, virtually without precedence, which illustrated the respect Pharaoh had for Solomon. However, in 1 Kings 11 it states that Solomon loved many strange women along with the daughter of Pharaoh, and his wives turned away his heart, building places for them to sacrifice to their gods and not fully serving the LORD.
So, Solomon made this important political alliance, and gained a wife who he loved - but a wife who wasn't in accordance with the ways of God.
Today this speaks to me by making me think:
- are there things in my life which I try to tuck away out of God's sight because I know they aren't according to his ways?
- are there things that take my heart away from fully serving him?
- do I foolishly try to hide them, or do them secretly as if God does not have an all seeing eye?
I know my weaknesses. Sometimes Satan seems to dangle them before me, to entice me even when I do not want to do them. Things that are not necessarily always 'bad', but things that are not redeeming the time to spend too long over them. Or things that take my thoughts from God and the ways of God, or make me covetous and discontent.
I pray today that I might be enabled to keep God first in my life. For the 'lust of the world' to be subdued, that I might 'hold all things with a loose hand'. That my eyes might be opened to secret sins, which I might not be aware of, and for God's help to forsake them.
Image courtesy of Linh Nguyen, Unsplash. Available at: <https://unsplash.com/photos/J8k-gzI0Zy0> [Accessed 06/10/2020]