1 Kings 7-15: 14 day party, golden calves, & relentless love

- Relentless God:  Solomon finished the temple and held a dedication ceremony where he blessed the people, then prayed: "O God, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and relentlessly loves them...." (1 Kings 8:20-21). I love that--God is relentless in his love for us.
- A shepherd's heart:  Like his father David, Solomon had a shepherd's heart and interceded for his people with God: "Forgive your people who have sinned against you....They are, after all, your people and your precious inheritancae whom you rescued..." (1 Kings 8:50-51).
- Seven day party times two:  The temple celebration was incredible, with 22,000 cattle sacrificed. It's beyond imagination. Oh yeah, and 120,000 sheep! They started out to celebrate for seven days, then went another seven for two solid weeks of celebration.
- Obsessed with women:  The Message version I'm reading says that Solomon was obsessed with women. His pagan wives and concubines led him into worship of the pagan false gods and he openly defied God. How could the wisest man in the world be so foolish? A good, cautionary tale for us not to relax our pursuit of a holy life and to follow God our entire lives so we end well. Solomon loved God but lost momentum and allowed himself to be enticed away from his first love.
- Not the golden calves again:  Jeroboam made two golden calves for the people to worship, just as they'd done back in Moses' time. It's interesting how sin seems to run in cycles and come back around again.


Elena's verse of the day:  "There's not enough room in all of heaven for you, Lord God. How could you possibly live on earth in this temple?" (1 Kings 8:27).