February 11, 2024

Passage Read: 1 Kings 6-9
Meditation Verses: 9:4-7

Thought

The obedience of Solomon and his sons allows the Lord to keep His promise to David, and allows Him to bless the nation. But if he or his sons disobey, the Lord will bring trouble on them and on the nation, even casting the nation out of their land. God honors obedience and curses disobedience. We may receive extra grace because of the obedience of our fathers or leaders, but if we will not walk in the Lord's ways, we cannot expect blessing and favor, but trial and tribulation. Obedience is important to the Lord, and determines His posture toward us. We are either friends of God or enemies, based on our submission to Him or rejection of His commands.

Application

For the Lord Himself to be holy and righteous, He must reward righteousness and punish wickedness. Righteousness is to do His will, to do what He does. Wickedness is to ignore His commands and do what He would never do. I cannot expect to enjoy His favor either here or in eternity if I will not care for what He cares and do what He created me to do. In fact, if I do not delight to do His will here and now, why would I want to live where His will is always and only done? My change of heart doesn't come when I die and enter eternity; it came when I believed in Jesus, if I believed in truth. That change of heart came to make me someone who delights in His will and ways, to know and to do them. So if I don't care to walk in His ways, I should be very concerned that I don't actually belong to Him, and will not be the recipient of grace I think I am.