King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Chapters: I KINGS 9, II CHRONICLES 8
Study: Under One Condition
Hello My Friend,
When God created the heavens and earth, and everything on it, He actually created it for His most precious creation, man. He gave us everything we ever needed to survive and literally live forever. Well, there was one condition, [Genesis 2:15-17 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.] Well, we all know how that turned out, they broke that command, and that is why we must die before we can live, [John 12:24-25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.]
I have been having some crazy emotions this past week, perhaps it is because I am late once again getting these out and feel like I am failing God in so many ways. It could also be my excitement as I am in training and the last two hours of the day that I am taking phone calls I can actually help more people as I understand more things. Well, God just pointed out to me in that passage that what I am going through in between all of this is what He is doing get me to let go of things that I keep trying to hold on to that are not producing much fruit. And as we continue in the reading of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, 1 Kings, also gives an account to God responding to Solomon’s thousand word prayer.
[1 Kings 9:1-5 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 2 That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. 3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: 5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.]
[and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.] [Perpetually; Constantly; continually; applied to things which proceed without intermission, or which occur frequently or at intervals, without limitation.] God promises to be there for us through thick and thin, He will hear and answer every prayer, and including establishing us in His kingdom, but that is under one condition. God explains.
[1 Kings 9:6-9 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: 7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: 8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? 9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.]
[Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land,] I guarantee you that there are people asking that very question right now, including many saved, born again Christians. You cannot mock God and expect Him to be there for us, repentance is one thing, we are all sinners who need Jesus, arrogance is another. A saved person cannot lose their salvation no matter how sinful they are after they are saved unless they believed in vain. However, sin always comes with consequence, and He will judge His people well before He brings them home. Look around you, Christ’s churches are not only condoning the sins that are taking over the world, many are even contenders, even bringing it into the church. Jesus said it this way, [Luke 14:34-35 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.]
[therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.] Let me tell you, as wretched and sinful as I am, there are some things that God will not allow me to fall into, and has stopped me in my tracks. However, that too is under one condition too, our heart must be right and if it is not, we will fall. And He will step back and allow us to fend for ourselves for a while until we repent, [James 1:13-14 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.]
Now, it had been twenty years since Solomon built the Temple for God, and it has been a successful and prosperous twenty years too. After the Temple was built he accomplished several more things with the help of Hiram, to pay Hiram for his services Solomon gave him some land, it was actually land that none of the Jews dwelt on, but the Canaanites. However, Hiram was not pleased at all with what he got so he Solomon bought the land back.
[1 Kings 9:10-15 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, 11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. 13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. 14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold. 15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.]
[And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised;] Solomon taxed the people in order to rebuild the broken cities that he had purchased back from Hiram. However, this would cause problems later, not for him, but his son when he took over. When we follow Jesus, it is natural to want to make things right with people if they feel they have been wronged, but we must not put burdens on others in order to do that, it will only cause more problems. [Matthew 23:1-5 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,]
People do not just wake up and decide that they do not want to walk with Jesus anymore. Rejecting or walking away from Jesus comes gradually as we allow the corrupt world to creep in, and if we are not careful, it will overtake us and we will fall into that dangerous territory. In the beginning, Solomon was Godly, and followed in his fathers footsteps, but all it took was one wrong decision for him to start allowing the world to creep in his life and it would eventually overtake him, his first mistake, married the Pharoah’s daughter
[2 Chronicles 8:11-13-15-16 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come. 12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, 13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. 15 And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures. 16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.]
[My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel,] While Solomon kept the law of Moses to some extent after he married, he would eventually fall as he married many more women of different faiths. Those who are holy (saved) cannot allow the world to come into their lives, this includes those who are not like minded in their faith. You cannot believe that Jesus has the power to save you from hell and not believe that He is God Himself in the flesh. God may allow us to work with people of different beliefs, and be friendly to them, but we are to never bring them into our lives unless they have been converted themselves, [2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,]
[So the house of the LORD was perfected.] If there is one thing I have learned over the years since dedicating my life to Christ, other than just how merciful God is, it is that God will do whatever it takes to keep us faithful to Him. That means if He has to remove some things and people from our lives, even family and friends, that could turn us away from Him then He will do it. How then do so many Christians fall away from God? They stop walking with Jesus. Serving God is not what makes one a Christian, it is walking with Jesus every day that does that, the more we get around Him, the more we become like Him, [1 Timothy 1:15-16 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, It truly is amazing what You have done in my life since the day I got in that water and dedicated my life to You. The walk has not always been easy, I have been tempted and tried, and even walked into some dangerous territory, but You have always kept me from going any further, even pulling me out more times that I care to admit. Lord, let me never lose sight of Your faithfulness to me, and Your willingness to give me the things I need and desire through my faithfulness to You. Keep my heart tender, never let it harden to the point that walking in sin is more important than walking with You. You are my strength, my guide, my comfort, my hope, and my foundation, I am nothing without You, and never want a day without You. I love You Lord, and pray this in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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