Focus: Reason For the Rest

Text: 1Kgs.5:4:

"But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent."

David wanted to build a house for God's dwelling in Jerusalem, but God stopped him, because God didn't want him to be both warrior and builder.

Fighting against nations and at the same time building a house where prayer is made for all nations is unacceptable to God.

So God instructed David to leave the building project for Solomon, his son.

David was a man of war, and Solomon, a man of peace. Both of them are wired differently for different roles, and for different times. While David fought the Lord's battles, Solomon built the Lord's house.

Jesus as the Prince of peace says, "And upon this rock I will BUILD my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Jesus is a builder, not a fighter. He won a battle over Satan and sin, not by fighting, but by dying. He shed his own blood and used it for the foundation of the Lord's church. But David shed other people's blood.

So Solomon is saying to Hiram, 'God has given me a conducive environment for the building project. The time is ripe and the atmosphere is super.'

Be assured that whatever God has chosen you to do for him, he will supply the resources and provide the enabling environment. Every divine task is doable.

God is giving you Solomon's kind of rest for Solomon's kind of task. Use God's rest and resources for God's purpose. Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter