Day 125: One For God and One For Me (Uh-Oh)

Today we read 1 Kings 6, 2 Chronicles 9, and Psalm 66. The 1st Kings part of the story continues the Solomon saga where he is obeying God in a great way, but also disobeying and struggling with a lust for empire. The tension is building. We read how Solomon built God for the Lord’s Name and for the people to sacrifice a strong and magnificent temple. And, Solomon is also building himself a palace in the forest of Lebanon, with a lot of gold shields for display because gold is soft and heavy, so impractical for use in battle and not really a symbol of peace but wealth, power, and empire. We fully feel the tension between the lust for the empire kingdom and the striving for the kingdom of Shalom, God’s kingdom.

Resources:

Father Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins (2023). Day 148: Solomon's Wealth. https://podcasts.apple.com/sa/podcast/day-148-solomons-wealth-2023/id1539568321?i=1000614742987 (Day 149 and 150 are also helpful)

Credits:

Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.