Daily Devotional Writing from Pastor Scott

Psychoanalyzing Solomon
2 Chronicles 8: Solomon built impulsively and extravagantly.
From other passages we know that Solomon built other things, including his palace before he built the Temple. Some think that’s a bad thing. I think it was just practice. Still, once he started building things, David’s son could hardly stop himself. In fact, Solomon’s psychology is that of an impulsive overachiever. From the rest of his story, especially from the Book of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs I see Solomon being consumed by one thing after another. At the beginning of his story he asks for and receives the gift of wisdom, now he can’t rest until he has mastered whatever it is that catches his attention. In fact, the same thirst for understanding that causes him to be a great builder and king will become his downfall as he becomes infatuated with the women he marries and then their various gods. I don’t think the Lord sat Solomon up for a fall in granting him wisdom, but I do think that the seed of failure was in it. In fact, I think that all gifts granted to us: natural ability, attributes, and talents have the potential of being a great blessing or the source of great failure for us. In Solomon, even as we celebrate his wisdom and understanding of an encyclopedia of things, we see a red flag of warning that there’s danger in natural abilities. These things must be continually balanced by an honest admission that we’re incomplete without God, who brings balance to even the most gifted life.

1 Chronicles 11: He refused to drink it.
Water from the well
Included in the genealogy of the Chronicles are the names and sample exploits of great warriors who serve under David. “The Thirty,” is a band of brave and capable fighters. This group has an awesome leader and some especially outstanding men called the “Big Three.” At one point David, who’s on the run from Saul, comments that he’d love a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem. However, Bethlehem’s under Philistine rule at the time. That detail doesn’t stop the “Big Three” from fighting their way into Bethlehem, drawing water from the well there, and then withdrawing to bring it to David. David’s overwhelmed by this gift and refuses to drink it. To him, this is a gift too precious to be received as a common thing so instead of drinking the water he pours it out as an offering to God. I’ve never had anyone go to battle to bring me a drink of water but I’ve had some people do some wonderful things for me. When that happens I don’t want to treat their sacrifice as a common thing. Some gifts that are intended for me are so valuable that I know they’re too good for me. When that happens, I can take the example of David, and make it an offering to the Lord.

Exodus 31: I’ve personally chosen Bezael son of Uri…I’ve filled him with the Spirit of God.
Sons and daughters of Bezael and Oholiab
Here we are at the familiar commissioning of Bezael and his assistant Oholiab. We know all about them, right? I’m kidding, these two men are lost deep in the pages of our Old Testaments and only the finest of Sunday School scholars knows who they are. Really, that’s too bad because today pastors of small and medium sized churches owe a lot to modern day Bazael’s and Oholiab’s. You see, Moses is receiving lots of complicated construction projects from the Lord, but, as far as I can tell, there’s not a blueprint in sight. The Lord tells Moses to just take note of what he’s being told but not to worry about the actual construction because there are two men down at the foot of the mountain that have been filled with the Spirit. The result of that filling is not that they will be preachers or prophets or singers. They are Spirit-filled craftsmen. All Moses has to do is give them the instructions he’s receiving from the Lord and they’ll take it from there. I firmly believe that the Spirit still empowers craftsmen (and women) for the hands-on needs of the church. For instance, when we have a church dinner, I’ve learned to stay out of the way as several women in the congregation are gifted at planning and executing church dinners. A while back someone came up with the idea of removing all the concrete sidewalks of our church building and replacing them with beautiful paving bricks. You can take all I know about stuff like that and put it in a thimble but they took that project on. I helped where I could, mainly as a “brick carrier.” Both men and women went to work on that big project and it came as no surprise to me that some of those folks knew how to do it. They handled everything from preparing the ground to knowing how to create a pleasing pattern in the bricks. In the church we tend to lift great speakers and singers but, I fear, fail to recognize the Spirit powered hands on people. Thank God for sons and daughters of Bezael and Oholiab.

I don’t know much about the wise men in the Christmas story, but I do know that they came to Jesus. The gifts they brought were, I understand, expensive ones, but beyond those material things, the important thing is that they brought themselves. In this passage Isaiah reminds me that God made it all and he owns it all. He’s not depending on me to bring him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. He is, though, counting on me to bring him my reverent obedience. I believe a person ought to practice their faith in Christ in practical ways, including being a good steward of all that has been placed in his or her hands. However, the offering I give is simply an outflow of a given life. That’s the only gift that truly pleases the Lord.