1
Kings 6
2 The temple that King
Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high. (about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet
high)
37 The
foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year,
in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the
eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its
specifications. He had spent seven years
building it.
1
Kings 7
7 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the
construction of his palace. 2 He built the Palace of the
Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long,
fifty wide and thirty high (about 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45
feet high)
It took Solomon almost twice as long to build his palace as
it did to build the temple of the Lord, and when I read these verses the bent
of human nature readily comes to mind.
It causes me to stop and ponder how much time I spend building the Lord’s
dwelling and tending to the details of my life that project HIM to the world
around me, and how much time I spend building and tending to the details of my
own creature comforts. Solomon’s palace
was half again as long and wide as the Temple he’d had constructed for the
Lord. Again I ponder – do I put anywhere
near as much into my dwelling place with the Lord, my innermost and uppermost
quest as I invest in my own space. These
are rhetorical questions, I quickly realize and my heart simply will not let me
lie to it. I spend way more time on my
creature comforts than I do building the Kingdom of God within and
without. It is not a proud moment to
come to such an encounter in scriptures.
It is not the intent, I am well aware, of these verses to point out my
human flaws and yet that is exactly what it does today - so how will these
truths impact this day? This is not a
rhetorical question, but rather one that must be attended to swiftly if the
light of Jesus is to emanate and radiate consequentially as I go about my day.
Lord, I don’t want to come to the end of my life and leave
a legacy of palatial ruins. I want to
learn to enter each day with a heart that keeps constructing ever wider,
deeper, longer, higher spaces from which You can bless all You chose to place
along my path today. Let Your love shine
through me that the world may see Your great love
Sue Mc Cary Sargis 5/21/2014
