In our OT passage today we read about the dedication of the temple. Solomon's prayer is both theological and personal.
He is appealing to God on the basis of things God has done and said. Solomon knows that God chose the people of Israel and that He made the Davidic covenant, and he is praying with that as his foundation. We, too, should pray using the Bible as the basis for our prayers. We know what God has promised and we can appeal to Him based on those promises because He is faithful.
Rayburn: it is to be our commitment as Christians to make our prayers as much like this prayer as we can and then our lives like our prayers! Profoundly theological – the expression of our confidence in God, in his electing and redeeming love, in the promises of his Word – and deeply personal, the expression of our own hearts, our own love, our own need, in sincerity and seriousness.
In our Matthew passage we see Jesus using miracles to prove His supernatural power as the Son of God. What I love about these miracles is that Jesus didn't just do a bunch of meaningless miracles, like use lightning to draw pictures in the sky. No, His miracles weren't designed just to impress. They also evidenced His great compassion for the least of these, and His salvation - He was doing something for them that they couldn't do for themselves and that no one else could do for them. He never turned anyone away. He can heal, not only our bodies, but more importantly, our souls.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Kings 10-11; Matthew 8:18-34
2 comments:
This stood out for me:
63 Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So
twenty-two thousand??? one hundred twenty thousand?? Can you imagine the process of sacrifice for this huge number.
Also, the faith of the centurion was also a good reminder. I think sometimes my faith is lacking because even though I know God can do big things...sometimes I doubt that he will.
The same verse indicating all the animals sacrificed stood out to me too. It made me think that maybe they had more animals back then? But either way, the same thought came into my mind of the time that would have taken!
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