God Speaks
Huram Carries Out Solomon’s Plans for Building the Temple
Verse of the Day: [May all Christ followers be filled with wisdom, knowledge and understanding and finish with excellence all the work assigned us for the glory of God as Huram did.] (2 Kings 7:14b Huram was filled with wisdom,with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him. [Also] So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the LORD. (1 Kings 7:14b and 40b NIV 2011)
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We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding 1 Kings 7 and I2 Chronicles 4:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
1 Kings 7 and 2 Chronicles 4 [Since these are two reports of the event with different emphases, they will be responded to as a unit.]
1. The LORD God is the author of order, beauty, and excellence and deserves a beautiful place (built according to His design) where people can come to worship and meet with Him.
2. People, like Huram*, should pursue excellence in their work thus pointing people to God who gave them their skills and abilities.
*[Some translations call both the King of Tyre and the craftsman of the temple Hiram. For the sake of clarity, this blog will designate the king as Hiram and the craftsman as Huram (a spelling used in other translations).]
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding I Kings 7 and II Chronicles 4?
Dear LORD God, You are worthy of all the worship that mankind can give You. I believe the worship You desire most is to put You first in our lives. May I, unlike Solomon, seek to build Your “house” first before building my own palace. May what I build for You be grander and more impressive than what I do for myself. May everything I do be done with excellence and draw people’s attention to You rather than to me. May everything I do bring You glory, LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to I Kings 7 and II Chronicles 4? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:
- I will use the skills and abilities God has given me to demonstrate what a wonderful, gracious, loving father the LORD God is.
- I will do whatever God is calling me to do to the very best of my ability, depending on Him to make up for any deficits on my part.
- I will pray for the completion of a church building or meeting place (somewhere in the world if I don’t know of one locally) so that God’s people can gather to worship and meet with Him.
- I will share the meaning of the “blood of the Lamb” and my testimony of God’s goodness with someone who does not know Him, thus helping to build the invisible church (the body of Christ).
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.