Turmoil or Rest: 1 Kings 5 & 6

Happy Tuesday! Can you believe we are already into the 2nd week of April? Where on earth does the time go. That old saying “The days are long but the years are short” really rings true most of the time. And because we in the 2nd week of April that also means we are starting the 2nd week of our study on 1 Kings.

Summary

Unrest, turmoil, strife. These are all words that could have been used to describe the reign of the first two kings of Israel. Saul and David both lived through reigns of hardships with warfare and unrest around every turn. Considering the fact that the idea of a monarchy was still in its infancy when David was making his way through life his time of unrest isn’t all that surprising. Larger and more well established people groups gave the Israelite’s a run for their money with David in command.

By the time David’s life had come to an end and God choose Solomon as the next king all of that had managed to die down. The kingdom was established and the infighting happening within the family had come to a close. Solomon was now finally in a place where he could fulfill the one goal David had longed for more than anything. The ability to build the LORD a true dwelling place. And Solomon did just that. Every detail precisely planned out and executed to perfection, the building project took 7 years to complete.

Exact details length, height, the carvings, the statues, the dimensions of each area of the house all spelled out for us to look back at today and truly understand just how magnificent this place was meant to be. And then there in the middle of the 6th chapter is God speaking to Solomon reminding him that all he has to do is stick close to God. Follow the instructions given by his father David before he died and just stay in obedience to God. And God holds firm to his promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesse, and David. How hard can that be?

Reflection

Chapter 5 marks the first steps of Solomon’s ability to complete a dream his father David had carried with him from day one. David had always longed to create a place for the LORD. A permanent place where God could be among the people He created and loved so much. The problem is that David had blood on his hands and therefore could not do the thing he wanted to do so much. David lived a life of turmoil. But he still held on tight to the promise that God had made all the generations before him. He knew that if he just stayed the course it would get done.

That is what we see happening in chapter 6. The fruition of David, even in the times of turmoil and confusion and fear and strife, staying the course, walking closely with God. Life is like that these days. For whatever reason it seems as if me and my family are in a time or turmoil. There are changes taking place in every area of our lives and the questions of “well, what do we do now?” and “Well how are we going to make ends meet?” are being asked in our house almost daily. There is a feeling of being unsettled and a feeling that there are battles coming that we need to be prepared to fight.

Its easy in times like this to get weary and to want to just lay down and be done. I am sure that as time marched on and Solomon saw one year after the other pass and the completion of his project still not at an end even he found himself weary of the progress. But then, right there in the middle God showed up. He spoke to Solomon with a reminder to stay the course and follow the commandments he had been given paired with the reminder that God was never going to leave them. God is endgame.

And the truth of the matter is now, through the death, burial, and resurrection we get to have the assurance that God won’t leave us either. Jesus is our endgame. So no matter what season of life we might find ourselves in, be it a season of turmoil like David or a season of rest and peace like Solomon, God is in it for the long haul. And to me, that makes the battles worth fighting, the ground worth standing on, and the commitment worth the sacrifice

What season are you in? Do you find yourself in a season of turmoil or are you in a season of rest? How does it comfort or help you to know that God is there always fulfilling the promises He has made? Does it encourage you to know you aren’t alone?