Inside Out Living

I don’t know what it is about human nature that makes us nostalgic. I have observed that in just about every area of life there is something about ‘how it used to be’ that we view as better. And as we read in Haggai this can be a discouragement to us in the present.

As the people began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, they soon realized that it would not be nearly as impressive as the temple Solomon built. Instead of disregarding that fact, the Lord acknowledged it (Hag. 2:2-3) and then encouraged the people to press on in spite of that fact (2:4-5). His message was, that regardless of how less impressive of a building it was, the people were to continue on in the building of it.

No matter what task God has given you to do, whether it is business, ministry, family, whatever it is, you are to take courage and do it regardless of how much better or more successful the past may have been.

May you take courage and fulfill your tasks, know that God is with you.

“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” – Proverbs 12:15 (NIV)

Have you ever found yourself asking for advice and yet you have already concluded in your mind what you think should be done? This is precisely the situation that the leaders of Israel were in. When Jeremiah gave the answer from the Lord, they concluded that Jeremiah must be lying since it didn’t match what they thought the Lord would say.

Seeking wisdom and counsel does absolutely no good if you don’t listen to it. Routinely we are instructed in Proverbs to seek and listen to counsel.

While none of us can know exactly what the future will hold, it seems that a principle in life is that you will suffer consequences if you ignore wise counsel. It was true for Solomon’s son Rehoboam who lost control of 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because he ignored wise counsel. It was true for the remnant of Israel who ignored Jeremiah and suffered their fate in Egypt.

Ever since the kingdom of Israel became divided under Rehoboam (1 Kings 12), the kings of both Israel and Judah led God’s people through a downward spiral of idolatry and disobedience. This had resulted in Israel no longer being a major player on the world political scene as it had been under David and Solomon. We see in Jeremiah 37 that the only relief Israel had from the Babylonians was when Egypt threatened to attack. While this gave Judah some hope, Jeremiah was quick to point out that trusting in Egypt was a false hope.

False hope can be quite devastating. As we see in the Old Testament, anytime God’s people trusted anyone or anything other than the Lord, it resulted in a false hope. I think this is a key lesson for us to glean from the Old Testament. Anytime we trust someone other than the Lord, including ourselves, for our salvation or for the strength to battle temptation, it will result in tragedy.

Have you ever had a chance to sit on the beach and enjoy the sunset? Another sight that I really enjoy is to watch the sunrise over the alfalfa fields of the high desert in the fall with the cool air of a frosty morning surrounding me. Of course these sights pale in comparison to that of my three-year-old daughter’s smile.

In writing Ecclesiastes, Solomon makes it clear that enjoying the simple things in life is okay, and I think it even brings pleasure to God. In the second half of this book we read that we can enjoy prosperity (7:14), eating (8:15), drinking (8:15), life (8:15) and marriage (9:9).

Life is something that is meant to be enjoyed. It is a gift from God and it is a desire of God to see His children enjoying His gift. We are still living in God’s creation and He is still that author and sustainer of life even though the world has been tainted by sin. Remember, “Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all Heaven’s lights…” (James 1:17).

The book of Ecclesiastes is filled with numerous observations about how life tends to work in general. Written by Solomon towards the end of his life, it is a reflection on much of what he has learned. Solomon lived a far from simple life and, in this book, he recounts some of his attempts to enjoy life.

Why does life have to be so complicated? The main reason life gets complicated is because of the person staring back at you in the mirror. Like Solomon we strive after money, power, career success, pleasure and knowledge in our efforts to bring meaning to our lives.

Rather than pursuing these avenues, we are to find our meaning and purpose in God. God is the one who establishes our purpose and destiny (Eccl. 6:10). We are to fear God (3:14; 5:7) and enjoy the benefits of the work he has for us to do (3:13; 5:12).

Are you fighting against God in your life? Are you striving for those things that do not satisfy? Try simplifying your life. Tell that person in the mirror that God is in control and you will find meaning and purpose in Him.

Solomon inherited a peaceful kingdom from his father David. Early in his reign Solomon and his people enjoyed living in peace (1 Kings 4:24-25). In all his wisdom, Solomon did not realize that the success of his Kingdom and the peace that he and his people enjoyed was dependent upon his obedience to the Lord.

As we read today, Solomon’s life and reign as king became increasingly more complicated as his heart wandered from the Lord. He was constantly building new and different shrines and altars as he attempted to keep his many wives happy. Then there were the political issues and the Lord raised up different adversaries to Solomon.

Instead of chasing religion like Solomon, we ought to be more like the blind man in John 9, who experienced healing at the hands (and spit) of Jesus. When he was questioned about the one who healed him, he said, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner, but I know this; I was blind, and now I can see” (John 9:25).

The theme for this week is simplicity. This concept is brought out especially in the book of Ecclesiastes. We are not looking at simplicity as the ultimate goal of life during this week, for bringing pleasure to God is our greatest purpose. Rather we are studying and thinking about simplicity because of the many connections that exist between obediently following God, making wise decisions and living a simple life.

Today's Devotional:

God created sex (Gen 2:24-25) and blesses it in the proper context of a committed, loving marriage relationship. This book is a beautiful description of the intimate relationship that takes place between a husband and a wife.

Many have wondered how Solomon, the author of this book, could have written such a beautiful love poem considering his 700 wives and 300 concubines. It is most likely written about his relationship with his first wife, the daughter of Pharaoh. The playfulness and intimacy they share is reflective of a simpler time in Solomon’s reign before the building projects and rapid expansion of his wealth and influence. Solomon had it all – God’s blessing, money, wisdom, power, influence and women. And yet the more he had, the worse his relationship with God became.

Many lives have been complicated and pain compounded as a result of extramarital affairs. Not only is it an obedience issue, it makes for a far simpler life if we heed Proverbs 5:18, “Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.”

As a Father of two (soon to be three) children, I think often about the legacy that I am building within my own family. Proverbs 4 provides us with some good lessons on how to build and leave a meaningful legacy. This proverb demonstrates that wisdom is so interconnected with legacy building that, without it, we are in danger of leaving a negative or destructive legacy that will cause pain in the generations to come.

So if wisdom is so important, where does it come from? Scripture reveals a number of sources of wisdom and today I want to encourage you to consider five of them:

1) Wisdom comes from the Lord (Pro. 2:6; James 1:5).
2) Wisdom comes from seeking other’s counsel (Pro. 13:10).
3) Wisdom comes from receiving the Lord’s discipline (Pro. 19:20).
4) Wisdom comes from obeying the Lord (Pro. 4:4-5).
5) Wisdom comes from observing God’s creation (Pro. 6:6).

If you want to leave a legacy that is a blessing to your family, then acquire wisdom.

Solomon was a prolific writer. 1 Kings 4:32 tells us that he wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. What a legacy, right? Well, yes, that is until much of that was lost.

What we have remaining of Solomon’s writings is that which was inspired by God and was incorporated into the word of God. So ultimately Solomon’s legacy was dependent upon the eternal Word of God.

I think that this is instructive to us as we consider the legacy we will leave behind. Much of what we will accomplish or produce will either end up lost or forgotten. I am not trying to depress you; I just want to give you a reality check. As with Solomon, only that which we do that involves eternal things will truly last. Awards, accolades, stuff, money, these things will all pass away. It is what we do in and for people that will truly build our legacy.

Will the legacy of your life be sold in a garage sale, or lost in a fire some day? How sad that would be if it were true?

Follow the example of Jesus and pour your time and energy into the people around you. If you do, you will not be disappointed and the impact of your life will not be forgotten.

“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself, and he must never send his people to Egypt to buy horses there, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will lead him away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate vast amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.” – Deuteronomy 17:14-17

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon. In spite of all the good that Solomon did, he neglected to follow the Lord’s instructions for a king. So instead of leaving a legacy of obedience to the Lord, he left a legacy of following his own path and fulfilling his own desires. It is a legacy that will result in disaster for his son, Rehoboam.

What kind of legacy are you leaving for those who follow after you? Is it one of obedience or one of defiance? Think about it –you just can’t leave a legacy of loving God without obeying His commandments for, “loving God means keeping His commandments” (1 John 5:3).

In part of Solomon’s address to the people of Israel, he refers to the Davidic covenant. Solomon recognizes that he has fulfilled the portion of the covenant that says one of David’s descendants will build the Lord’s temple. However, what Solomon did not know was that this prophetic statement in 2 Sam. 7:12-14 was not only fulfilled by Solomon, but would ultimately be fulfilled by the Messiah.

In the last two days we have emphasized the individual role each of us has as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament also teaches us that the Church is collectively a temple whose foundation is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).

This temple established by Jesus is being continually built upon by those who have put their faith in Christ (1 Cor. 3:10-16). When we are doing the Lord’s work, we are building onto this temple. Paul speaks of building with gold, silver and jewels which will last, or building with wood, hay and straw which will be burned up. So how are you building onto the temple? Will your works of service last and be rewarded?

Solomon did many great things and was a good king for a while, but as you will discover from your reading this week, not everything he did was right. In chapter 7 of 1 Kings we read the details of the palace compound that Solomon built for himself. Now certainly the temple of the Lord was impressive, but the palace of the Forest of Lebanon described in 7:2-5 was over 4 times the size of the temple alone.

At this point in his reign as king, Solomon is still following the Lord closely, but the amount of effort and material that went into building his own palace compared to the temple indicate to me the direction that Solomon’s heart is really going. Whose legacy is he more concerned with, his own or the Lord he serves?

Or maybe I should ask you that same question. Are you more concerned with the legacy of your temple (your life: body, soul, mind and spirit); or are you more concerned with the legacy of your palace (your earthly treasures: house, cars, toys, etc.).

Remember the words of Jesus, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

This week’s reading covers the early part of Solomon’s reign over Israel. During this time Solomon accomplished many great things, leaving a tremendous legacy. He built the temple and a massive palace compound in Jerusalem. He also built storage cities and outposts for the defending Israel.

Because of the legacy that Solomon left we are going to look at what it means to build a legacy. A legacy is far more than what we accomplish in our careers. It involves choices that we make and things that we value. I hope that, through this week, you are encouraged to evaluate your life and the legacy that you are currently building and the legacy that you desire to leave.

Today's Devotional:

If ever anyone had everything going for them it was Solomon. He was the King of Israel during the peak of the nation’s prosperity. He was wealthy and possessed wisdom beyond compare and, on top of all that, he was chosen by God to build the temple in Jerusalem. Other than his role as one of the authors of Scripture, Solomon’s building of the temple was the biggest part of the legacy he left. I say this because of the significance that the temple played in the worship of God.

For us, as New Testament believers, the concept of temple is different. We no longer worship a God who dwells in a temple (Acts 7:48, 17:24); rather, He dwells inside the individual believer (1 Cor. 3:16). So, even though it is different, the importance of the temple is still very real. Paul emphasizes the need for holiness and care for the body (1 Cor. 6:20).

Solomon built a majestic temple leaving quite the legacy. What kind of legacy will your temple leave? What will people say about your life when you’re gone?