SHARING INSIGHTS FROM BIBLE READING
Hi! Where are you right now in your daily Bible reading? Care to share some insights you gained recently?
I’ll go first:
I’m currently reading the portion of 1 Kings that gives an account of Solomon’s reign. I never cease to be amazed at how obscenely wealthy he was. 1 Kings 4: 22-23 gave his daily provisions as 5 metric tons of fine flour, 10 metric tons of coarsely-ground flour, ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.
Just for one day? He had 12 guys collecting this stuff from every part of Israel. It just didn’t sit right with me. Not just the excess but the possibility that some farmers may have been struggling to meet their quotas to fund the king’s extravagant lifestyle.
That was precisely why God warned the Israelites, through Samuel the prophet, of what they would suffer under a king when they asked for one (1 Samuel 8:10-18).
Earlier on their way to Canaan, when God told the Israelites about their future through Moses, He had admonished that when they chose a human sovereign:
“16 The king .. must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, ‘You are not to go back that way again.’ 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold” – Deuteronomy 17:16-17.
In the next three verses, God told them what should be most important to the king, and by extension to all His children. It was not swimming in luxury. It was delving into His word to know and fear Him.
“18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.”
God reiterated this to Joshua at the beginning of his ministry:
“7 … Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” – Joshua 1:7-8.
Solomon failed to heed these instructions. He accumulated horses and chariots, silver and gold and hundreds of wives. In the process, he strayed from God and angered Him so much that He snatched the bulk of the kingdom (ten tribes) from his son, Rehoboam – 1 Kings, chapters 11 & 12.
It’s good to be wealthy but it’s best to use our wealth to help the needy than live an unduly lavish lifestyle.
“17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” – 1 Timothy 6:17-19.
Most importantly, all of us God’s children (rich or poor) should fill ourselves daily with His word to keep us on the right path in this evil world.
Kindly share, briefly in the comments, your view on this and your own thoughts on any Bible passage you read recently.
If you’re looking for some good reasons to read the Bible, you can see the following posts:
5 AMAZING QUALITIES OF THE BIBLE (that make me read it every day)
7 REASONS YOU SHOULD READ THE BIBLE THROUGH (And do it yearly)
The scriptures used in this post are from the New International Version of the Holy Bible.
Picture for graphic: Oladimeji Ajegbile on Pexels
?
It’s very unfair to the farmers that King Solomon lived off their sweat. All that for a day? There’s no time in history that amount of food won’t be extravagant.
But God warned the Israelites of what they would suffer if they went under a king. Apparently, part of it was heavy taxation.
That is what they call being stinkingly rich. It can make someone lose his way if he or she is not careful. Have a blessed week!
We should always put God first in all we do but this is easier said than done, so we should ask for grace and mercy instead.
Yes, with His grace, it is possible. May favour locate you this week in Jesus’ name.
Amen
Thank you so much Ma for sharing this! Truly, I’ve never seen this scripture in this light. I’ve not taken note of the heavy taxation. It’s very disheartening. As you rightly stated, “It’s good to be wealthy but it’s best to use our wealth to help the needy than live an unduly lavish lifestyle.” I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve been studying about David lately! It’s marvelling that despite all the mistakes David made, God still called him a “man after His own heart”. I think God said this because of the state of David’s heart. So many lessons from the life of David!!!
Glad you were blessed by the post. About David, I believe God loved him because of his contrite heart and his humility. Happy weekend to you and yours!
I never thought about this passage in the way you explained it. This got me wondering, “what would it have cost him if he a good portion of his wealth to the poor?” I mean, what is the need of being the richest with that kind of money if people don’t gain from it? Or is it just about the title?
Instead of lavishing money, we should use it to help lives. The joy that comes from this is indescribable. It even brings more blessings.
What’s more painful in that passage is that King Solomon amassed great wealth only to leave it to a foolish son who lost it in very little time. I have come to realize that we shouldn’t just pray to God to bless us but also for him to grant us the wisdom to handle the wealth rightly. And also how to treat the poor.
Yes, how we share God’s blessings is very important. Welcome and stay blessed!
Seriously am seeing another light of this scripture, it’s obvious that the reason why the king will have to marry as many wives as he did was because the money was there and he didn’t know what to do with it. Being wealthy is good but I think it gets to a point when the individual is confused on what to do with it.
Thank you ma for this message, irrespective of the fact that I have studied it previously, I never understood it perfectly the way I did now. I wonder the difficulty and pain he caused his followers in paying this tax, and them watching King Solomon spend it extravagantly on luxuries and women is very disheartening. May God help us and give us good leaders.
Thank you so much ma for sharing this insight. Really the word of God is new every morning. Thanks a lot ma.
On the book of Romans ??? chapter 4?? . It was so relieving to know my righteousness is not of me. Just like Abraham was justified simply by faith, I too can, I can. Hmmmmmm by faith.