Day 93, or April 3. What a waste!
Our thoughts today are from 1 Kings chapter 11 verse 41. As for the other events of Solomon's
reign, all he did, and the wisdom he displayed, are they not written in the book of the Annals
of Solomon? And the big picture surrounding this verse.
1 Kings reminds us that Solomon was visited by the Queen of Sheba, who witnessed just
how many horsemen and chariots Solomon had accrued. In addition, he also collected 700
wives and 300 concubines. Each of these extras was a tiny wedge in between Solomon and his
God. Altogether, they created a vast gulf. By the time we get to the end of the chapter
that tells us about his amazing number of chariots and his phenomenal number of wives,
there is still 20 years of his reign to come. But they are skipped over quickly with no
details. And then we are told that Solomon is dead.
And now today's action step. It's significant that Solomon only gets half a book in the
Bible to record his reign. Half of 1 Kings. It records details of the first half of his
reign when he fulfilled projects which at least began with God at the centre of his
life and reign. However, the second half of his reign seems to have been of little interest
to the writer of the first book of Kings. Solomon gets the chilling word from God that
because of his father David's faithfulness, the kingdom will remain in Solomon's hands
until he dies. However, his son will then have it torn from his hands. All this is a
sobering reminder that it's only what we do for God that counts in eternity. Check
your diary today and underline what you're doing for God and see how much is left that
you're doing for yourself. When God is at the centre of our lives, it seems everything
is done with him in mind. When he slips from his central place, that's when we slide onto
the throne and we don't notice until we check our diary. Dare you check your diary now?