2 Chronicles 1:10
Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”
I have always loved this account of Solomon. When he could have asked for anything else, he asked for wisdom. If there is anything we need in the world today, once we have Jesus, it would be wisdom. There are a lot of foolish things that are happening today, because people lack wisdom. Proverbs 10:21 tells us that “fools die for the lack of wisdom.”. I ask for wisdom all of the time. I fear trying to deal with the challenges of this world without it. Where does wisdom come from? Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
2 Chronicles 2:1
1 Then Solomon determined to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal house for himself.
As you read through the building of the temple, try to imagine…not only what it looked like, but all it took to build it. The manpower, the materials, the design, had to have been magnificent.
2 Chronicles 2:6
But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?
Clearly Solomon had the right attitude here. He understood that he could not build something that could possibly contain an omnipotent and omnipresent God. The purpose of the temple, was to provide a place of worship and sacrifice. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, it became an idol to the Jews.
2 Chronicles 3:1
1 Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Remember, that Mount Moriah was the same area where Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac. God stopped Abraham at just the right moment and provided a ram, instead of a lamb. 2,000 years later, God would provide the Lamb to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. This ultimate sacrifice would take place on this very same Mount Moriah. So cool!
John 10:3
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
This idea of humans being compared to sheep is quite appropriate. Sheep are not the smartest animals in the barnyard. They are prone to wander and they need a shepherd to survive. I love the song, ‘Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down’. I especially love the verse that says, “For You are our God and we are the sheep of Your pasture, and the sheep of Your hand, we’re the sheep of Your hand.” The bulk of Chapter 10 addresses this glorious subject of us being sheep and Jesus being the Good Shepherd. Things will go well for us, as long as we appreciate and embrace being His sheep.
John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
If people would but understand this profound truth. Satan hates God and as a result, hates anything or anyone who belongs to God. His sole intent, before his final judgment comes, is to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus is just the opposite, he came to give life, life that is abundant. I praise God that I have accepted Jesus as my savior and Lord. Because of that fact, I have abundant life, more abundant than I would ever have had otherwise.
John 10:18
No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
This is a wonderful, wonderful truth about what Jesus did. Not only did He lay His life down for us, but He did it gladly. Why? Because He loves us! He knew that this was the only way we could be reconciled to God and assured of eternity in heaven with both of them. Every single time I think upon this, it boggles my mind. I am so thankful for Jesus’s sacrifice.
John 10:27
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
One of the simplest ways of knowing if a sheep is a genuine sheep, is of they follow the things that Jesus says. There are a lot of wolves in sheep’s clothing around today. How do we know that? They don’t follow the things that Jesus says. It is as simple as that!
Reading the Word 