The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 4:20,
"The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy."
A few verses later we read, "During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree." Verse 25. All of Israel lived in peace and prosperity during Solomon's reign as king.
Peace and prosperity are the ultimate goals of mankind in this life. Politicians promise it, all kinds of churches promise it, people who write books and give seminars promise it. Simply put, peace and prosperity sells!
Yet, that there is a market today for peace and prosperity simply points to the fact that unlike Israel in Solomon's day, the world has anything but peace and prosperity. Here in the United States, we, of course, enjoy a prosperity not seen in other places. But for the most part, peace and prosperity sells because there is plenty of room for it in the heart of mankind. Man was ultimately created for a world marked by the peace and prosperity God designed us for, but because of the fall of mankind, that peace and prosperity awaits our arrival in the next age.
I mentioned above that peace and prosperity are the ultimate goals of mankind in this life. However, they are not the the goals our Lord has for us in this life. God has different goals, he has a different agenda. It is far removed from the peace and prosperity we so desperately seek. God's goal in this life is to build his kingdom. It will only be in his family, in the next age, that peace and prosperity awaits us.
The Lord's agenda is to utilize what he has created to build a family, a kingdom for himself. Unlike the false promises of the heath-and-wealth preachers of today, the Lord has his own things he is pursuing. If we would but listen to the Scriptures, we would learn of these.
One place is Romans 8:19-21, where Paul makes the fascinating observation, "For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God." Here Paul tells us God himself has subjected the world to frustration with the hope the "creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."
Why would God do that? We are sinful. We are all, each and every one of us, sinful. As such we are all, each and every one of us, subject to being cast into God's judgment following the end of this age. God wants us to know that, so that we might feel the need for his salvation in Jesus Christ. Who looks around for something/someone to save them unless they feel a threat to their well-being? That frustration the Lord sends our way is designed to draw us to him, to find the solution to our need in him. For this reason, peace and prosperity will never be ours in this life.
Unlike Israel in Solomon's day, the world, in this age, will never know the peace and prosperity Israel enjoyed. The account of peace and prosperity Israel enjoyed under King Solomon is a picture, an illustration the Lord provides us of what will be ours in the next age under King Jesus Christ. He paints for us a picture of hope that satisfies the most deeply felt needs of our hearts.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy."
A few verses later we read, "During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree." Verse 25. All of Israel lived in peace and prosperity during Solomon's reign as king.
Peace and prosperity are the ultimate goals of mankind in this life. Politicians promise it, all kinds of churches promise it, people who write books and give seminars promise it. Simply put, peace and prosperity sells!
Yet, that there is a market today for peace and prosperity simply points to the fact that unlike Israel in Solomon's day, the world has anything but peace and prosperity. Here in the United States, we, of course, enjoy a prosperity not seen in other places. But for the most part, peace and prosperity sells because there is plenty of room for it in the heart of mankind. Man was ultimately created for a world marked by the peace and prosperity God designed us for, but because of the fall of mankind, that peace and prosperity awaits our arrival in the next age.
I mentioned above that peace and prosperity are the ultimate goals of mankind in this life. However, they are not the the goals our Lord has for us in this life. God has different goals, he has a different agenda. It is far removed from the peace and prosperity we so desperately seek. God's goal in this life is to build his kingdom. It will only be in his family, in the next age, that peace and prosperity awaits us.
The Lord's agenda is to utilize what he has created to build a family, a kingdom for himself. Unlike the false promises of the heath-and-wealth preachers of today, the Lord has his own things he is pursuing. If we would but listen to the Scriptures, we would learn of these.
One place is Romans 8:19-21, where Paul makes the fascinating observation, "For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God." Here Paul tells us God himself has subjected the world to frustration with the hope the "creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."
Why would God do that? We are sinful. We are all, each and every one of us, sinful. As such we are all, each and every one of us, subject to being cast into God's judgment following the end of this age. God wants us to know that, so that we might feel the need for his salvation in Jesus Christ. Who looks around for something/someone to save them unless they feel a threat to their well-being? That frustration the Lord sends our way is designed to draw us to him, to find the solution to our need in him. For this reason, peace and prosperity will never be ours in this life.
Unlike Israel in Solomon's day, the world, in this age, will never know the peace and prosperity Israel enjoyed. The account of peace and prosperity Israel enjoyed under King Solomon is a picture, an illustration the Lord provides us of what will be ours in the next age under King Jesus Christ. He paints for us a picture of hope that satisfies the most deeply felt needs of our hearts.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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