David brought peace and prosperity through the powerful fighting ability God gave to him and to his army. Solomon built on what his father gave him with great wisdom from God. The nation and nations all around experienced blessing like never before under Solomon until sin came in and started to erode it away.
Psalm 72 This prayer shows a snap-shot of the prosperity of the land under Solomon. Solomon’s reign is a little foreshadow of the blessing and peace the world will have under the rulership of Jesus Christ.
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Psalms 94:6-10 says, "They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless. 7) Yet they say, "The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob understand." 8) Understand, you senseless among the people; And you fools, when will you be wise? 9) He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? 10) He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct, He who teaches man knowledge?"
These verses show how a fool thinks; they live their lives without the knowledge of God. They shove Him out of their thinking, lying to themselves that He doesn't see what they do. The fool says in his heart that there is no God. A wise person has a fear of God. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The longest chapter of the Bible is all about the importance of God’s Word; Psalm 119 is more than double the length of the next longest Psalm. It consists of 22 parts; each part starts with the consecutive letters of the Hebrew Alphabet. It’s believed that Psalm 119 was written by David; reading it will help one to understand how and why an unknown Sheppard boy became the greatest King Israel had. Psalms 119:32 says, “I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart.” Yes Lord, we ask You to enlarge our heart to know and walk in your ways, and let our eyes stay awake through the night to meditate Your Word (Ps. 119:148). What does it mean to fear the LORD? It means you delight greatly in His commandments! You love His Word, and His ways and you would fear to walk any other way.
Psalms 112:1 says, “Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Nothing can be done without God, but God always works through His people on the earth. Psalms 114:1-2 says, “When Israel went out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, And Israel His dominion.” So “His Sanctuary” was His people, but what caused things to happen was the presence of the LORD. Psalms 114:5-7 says, “What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back? O mountains, that you skipped like rams? O little hills, like lambs? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob.” In 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 David says, "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it."
Did God need a “house” to dwell in? Solomon himself would say in 2 Chronicles 2:6, “heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him.” The LORD instituted the building of the Temple so the people could honor Him in the building of it and use the Temple as a means to continue to worship and honor Him. The foundational aspect to honoring Him would be to do things the way God prescribed them to be done. David told Solomon that he needed to “know the God of your fathers.” We need to know more than just rules; we need to know His heart. Psalms 131:1b-2 says, “Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
Our part is to fully trust the LORD, knowing He will do what He said He would do. We need to have a “calmed and quieted” soul; it isn’t our job to figure out how He does everything or how He is going to work things out. He has given us peace; this is the ability to be relaxed in our heart, knowing He will perfect what concerns us (see Psalm 138:8). David writes on some of these same themes in Psalms 139. In verse 6 he says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.” He was referring to the greatness of God’s knowledge of him. We know God is all powerful and all knowing, but how well do we know it? David said, “Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:14). - - - - - - - - - - - - - Psalms 138:2 says, “I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” God has magnified His Word above His Name. If you want to know God, know His Word; His character is always submitted to His Word. In Amos 9:11 the LORD says, "…I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old.” Today’s Bible reading has some things to say about the Tabernacle of David. What is the Tabernacle of David? It’s the tent that King David set up for the ark of God’s covenant; prayer, praise and worship continued around it 24/7.
1 Chronicles 25:1, 3 says, “Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. …who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the LORD.” David had an army of people “who should prophecy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals …to give thanks and praise to the LORD.” David knew his help and the help of his nation was from the LORD. For a few more notes on the Tabernacle of David, see this link: http://www.intercessorsarise.org/Intercessors_Arise/The_Tabernacle_of_David.html Psalms 110:1 says, “The LORD said to my Lord,"Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." What is the time frame of the manifestation of this verse?
Philippians 2:8-11 says, “… He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father and He has received a Name above every other name. Everyone everywhere should confess Him as Lord; He waits patiently not wanting any to perish, but come to repentance. One day soon He will return and the enemies of Him and His righteous government will be made His footstool. 2 Samuel 24:1 says, “And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah,” and 1 Chronicles 21:1 says “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”
These 2 verses sound like very contradictory statements; let me try to explain what I’ve discovered without confusing it more. In 2 Samuel 24:1, where it says “he moved David,” the word “he” isn’t necessarily referring to God; in fact, the Hebrew can be translated “it.” In 1 Chronicles 21:1, the name “Satan” should probably be translated “an adversary;” it’s true that Satan was behind the scenes motivating, but this was most probably a person/people that incited David to number Israel. So, 1 Chronicles lets us know that an adversary stood up to Israel (in some fashion) and David then decided it would be good to number the soldiers in Israel. 2 Samuel starts with a heading or title of sorts: “the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel,” then it states an unnamed “he” or “it” moved David to number Israel. This may not completely clarify the verses, but I wanted to share what I did to show the LORD did not contradict Himself in His Word. Now, let’s try to answer two more questions someone may have. What was so wrong with numbering the soldiers of Israel? First off, God never said to do it. Second, this was an action that revealed trust in their army instead of the strength of the LORD; in a word this was pride. Why was God angry with Israel? It don’t know that it specifically says, but it may have been because of how the people followed Absalom when he asserted himself into power. If you have thoughts or questions on these chapters, please include them in the comments Psalms 95:2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
· Here is a key to entering into His presence: “with thanksgiving.” When we put our attention on Him, remembering what He has done for us and become thankful, the “door” is opened up to His presence because Jesus our Lord has made the way through His blood. Psalms 95:7-10 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8) do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9) when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10) For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." · When people “go astray,” it’s because they go astray “in their hearts” (vrs. 10). How did they go astray in their hearts? Verses 7 and 8 say they hardened their hearts when God spoke to them. If we don’t tremble at God’s word (Isaiah 66:5) and receive it with meekness (James 1:21), we put ourselves in danger and may drift from the way of life. David had men that were “mighty” (See 2 Sam. 23:8) because they followed his his faith, the one who took on Goliath with a sling shot and the Name of the LORD. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:7 that we are to follow the faith of the leadership in the body of Christ. We should take note of those who are truly living their life by faith and follow their example. David had men that followed his faith in the LORD and became mighty like him.
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AboutRead through the Bible with us in 2012! The reading plan can be downloaded below; we are reading in chronological order. Check back often to read the blog posts on the Bible readings and discuss things in the "comments" section. 2012 Bible Plan![]()
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Weekly ScheduleWednesdays - Bible Study - 7-8:15 pm
Sundays - Prayer - 6 pm (7 pm on Dec. 10) Meeting location2020 Hwy 13 East, Burnsville, MN
Located at the SW corner of Cliff Rd. and Hwy 13 Enter at the door between The CHAP Store & Family Dollar |
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