Time with Abba, Singing Praising 親親爸父，唱詩歌頌 : OT DAY 482 - Wasting human resources and money for the king's name sake or to glorify God is costly (Please click here for English podcast)

Monday, May 16, 2016

OT DAY 482 - Wasting human resources and money for the king's name sake or to glorify God is costly (Please click here for English podcast)

Silence

1. Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2. Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1. Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2. Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3. Open your heart to praise the Lord

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html)

1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in you:

“Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2. Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gift to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

The Word (1 Kings 5:1-18)

English(ESV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=列+王+紀+上+5&version=ESV

7 As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” 8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes by providing food for my household.” 10 So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, 11 while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom,as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

13 King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft. 15 Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, 16 besides Solomon's 3,300 chief officers who were over the work,who had charge of the people who carried on the work.

1 Kings 5:7-16

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

My Listening

When you read how much Solomon spent and how many people he sent to build the temple, you may have a question of what I received as today's topic. "Wasting human resources and money for the king's name sake or to glorify God is costly". What is your answer?

Let's see how Professor John Goldingay tells us:

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Goldingay) :

Solomon's plans for building the temple contain more ambiguities. God had approved of David's plan to build a temple, albeit reluctantly. Solomon is in a position to do so, and he is able to take advantage of his mutually beneficial relationship with Hiram as king of the next-door empire, to the northeast; it was in Hiram's interests to stay on friendly terms with Solomon. Once again this involves huge cost to Hiram's people and Solomon's people, who have no choice but to provide the labor for the work and thus neglect their own farms, and directly or indirectly to provide the provisions for the thousands of workers involved - again from the produce of their farms, which was often barely enough for their own needs. Maybe they were happy about that. When I look at a wondrous building such as Lincoln Cathedral or Durham Cathedral, I wonder about the cost to ordinary people of the work involved in it. Maybe they were glad to pay the cost of making something beautiful for God.

John Goldingay. 1 and 2 Kings for Everyone. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p.25.

Well, I do not have an answer for you. My feeling is that is that God's call to use so much human forces and resources?