WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.799
Day 93, or April the 3rd. What a waste! Our thoughts

00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.240
today are from 1 Kings chapter 11, verse 41.

00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:14.500
As for the other events of Solomon's reign, all

00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:17.679
he did and the wisdom he displayed, are they

00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.480
not written in the book of the annals of Solomon?

00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:25.940
And the big picture surrounding this verse. 1

00:00:25.940 --> 00:00:29.019
Kings reminds us that Solomon was visited by

00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:32.200
the Queen of Sheba, who witnessed just how many

00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:35.840
horsemen and chariots Solomon had accrued. In

00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.659
addition, he also collected 700 wives and 300

00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:44.979
concubines. Each of these extras was a tiny wedge

00:00:44.979 --> 00:00:49.420
in between Solomon and his God. Altogether, they

00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:53.060
created a vast gulf. By the time we get to the

00:00:53.060 --> 00:00:56.000
end of the chapter that tells us about his amazing

00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:58.899
number of chariots and his phenomenal number

00:00:58.899 --> 00:01:02.060
of wives, there is still twenty years of his

00:01:02.060 --> 00:01:05.200
reign to come, but they are skipped over quickly

00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:09.340
with no details, and then we are told that Solomon

00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:14.680
is dead. And now today's action step. It's significant

00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:17.400
that Solomon only gets half a book in the Bible

00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:21.920
to record his reign, half of one king's. It records

00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:25.159
details of the first half of his reign, when

00:01:25.159 --> 00:01:28.959
he fulfilled projects which at least began with

00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:32.379
God at the centre of his life and reign. However,

00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:35.459
the second half of his reign seems to have been

00:01:35.459 --> 00:01:37.900
of little interest to the writer of the first

00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:41.299
book of Kings. Solomon gets the chilling word

00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:45.019
from God that because of his father David's faithfulness,

00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:48.659
the kingdom will remain in Solomon's hands until

00:01:48.659 --> 00:01:52.760
he dies. However, his son will then have it torn

00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:56.459
from his hands. All this is a sobering reminder

00:01:56.459 --> 00:01:59.400
that it's only what we do for God that counts

00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:03.420
in eternity. Check your diary today and underline

00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:06.040
what you're doing for God and see how much is

00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:09.620
left that you're doing for yourself. When God

00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:12.300
is at the centre of our lives, it seems everything

00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:15.439
is done with him in mind. When he slips from

00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:18.689
his central place, That's when we slide onto

00:02:18.689 --> 00:02:21.909
the throne and we don't notice until we check

00:02:21.909 --> 00:02:25.689
our diary. Dare you check your diary now?
