A place for thoughts, ideas and discoveries

Monday, December 13, 2010

But...nobody is going to see it!!!!

"At the king's command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones."  I Kings 5:17

Studying I Kings...  It is talking about Solomon's task of building the temple and how God not only granted him wisdom and wealth but also made a way for him to set about his task,  by giving Solomon and Israel, "rest on every side and no adversaries or misfortunes."
The verse above caught my attention, among others...

Solomon, himself, ordered that "big, costly and cut stones" be used for the foundation of the temple.
I thought about two lessons to learn from this:
     1.  These stones would be under the magnificence of the temple...nobody would see them.  Why not just use regular, uncut, cheaper stone?   To me, this is an indication that Solomon not only knew but also acknowledged in his life where his wealth had come from.  How then, could he give less than the best to the Giver, regardless of whether the stones would be seen or not?...God would see them!

     2.  "Cut" stones.  Not random, natural stone which might be uneven and affect the overall carefully planned building.  Solomon was purposeful and fastidious about his measurements and his materials.  He would not allow himself to be rail-roaded into "settling" for uncut stones that would influence and possibly detract from his product.  He was the master of the stone, NOT the other way around!

Oh LORD, how haphazardly I build!  Forgive me for my lack of discipline and careful discernment every day.  Each day I set about laying stones for the foundation of my temple (I Cor. 6:19), and by failing to be purposeful, I am allowing myself to be "sabotaged" by the enemy of my soul.  Show me where I am settling for less than the best for You, my Master.  Teach me to be, myself, the master of my circumstances and NOT the victim. Help me to find the best stones and cut them to size for your glory!!

"And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."  Hebrews 4:13