May 25
2 Chronicles 8:1-18; 1 Kings 9:15-10:13; 2 Chronicles 9:1-12; 1 Kings 10:14-29; 2 Chronicles 9:13-28, 1:14-17
In the closing scene of Moses, performed at Sight and Sound, after Moses receives the Ten Commandments, Moses says to God: "These laws are so holy, we will never be able to keep them, we will fail". To which God responds by telling Moses, "One day My Son will write them on man's heart. I sent you, Moses, to deliver My people from the bondage in Egypt, but I will send My Son, Jesus the Christ, to deliver the world from the bondage of sin". It is this hope through His Son, in us, through the Holy Spirit, which is what sanctifies us, or sets us apart from the rest of humanity, as Paul wrote in Romans 8:23-25, "Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." This is our hope. This is our desire.
Chronicles is the spiritual commentary of the history of Judah. As you go through you will notice that many of the "messy" portions of history which is exposed to us in the books of Samuel and Kings are eliminated. God knew that for the kings and for the nation to succeed, they had to place their full trust in Him, and not the things of the flesh. For that reason, we read in Deuteronomy 17:16-17, God's principles governing kings, "But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself." As obedient as Solomon was in certain areas, we read of his multiplying horses and chariots in 2 Chronicles 1:13-17, therefore placing his trust in his own military strength; having so much wealth that "silver was as common in Jerusalem as stones", therefore placing his trust in his wealth, and being disobedient in terms of multiplying wives and choosing foreign wives as we see in 2 Chronicles 8:11, and elaborated more extensively in 1 Kings 11. Having foreign wives was a diplomatic decision to garner peace through intermarriage, but God forbid this, as once again Solomon sought human wisdom over obedience to God's Word.
You can't miss that the annual weight of gold received by Solomon was 666 talents of gold (2 Chronicles 9:18). Like the number of the beast or Antichrist in Revelation 13:18, we realize that while seven is the number of perfection, six stands for man's imperfection and incompleteness. So it was with Solomon, who obeyed to a point, but ultimately placed his trust in the accumulation and the power of the things of this world. We, like Solomon, have a choice. We can seek out everything that the world offers, and place our hope in that, which we feel that we can touch, and therefore can trust. Or we can place our hope and trust in Jesus, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, realizing that much of what is promised can not be touched or seen this side of eternity. But that really is what faith is, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: