Journey Of The Seed - Catch The Bible's Big Picture In 60 DaysSample

BIGGER

[Scheduled Reading: 1 Kings 1-5; 8-10]

King David’s BIG legacy continues through his son Solomon. In fact, the story gets even BIGGER.

David must have taught his son to think BIG. And more importantly, to pray BIG (1 Kings 3).

In response to a BIG dream, a BIG offer, and a BIG ask, God gave Solomon wisdom and wealth in unprecedented proportions.

People were fascinated by this young man’s expansive knowledge. He spoke 3,000 proverbs and was credited with 1,005 songs. He was an authority on animals, birds, reptiles, fish and trees.

His balance sheet was BIG. His assets included crazy amounts of gold and silver, and 40,000 stalls of horses and 12,000 horsemen, just to name a few select items. 

His annual income included roughly 50,000 pounds of gold!

Solomon built a BIG temple for God (7-year project) and then a BIG house to live in (13-year project).

Meanwhile Israel enjoyed great peace and prosperity. 

Dignitaries from all across the earth (i.e. the Queen of Sheba) paid visits to Solomon to witness his splendor. 

From God’s perspective, Solomon’s kingdom made a statement to the world. It was an impressive symbol of God’s favor and protection of the Israelite nation. 

Despite this enormous kingdom position, something sad is about to happen. 

A BIG fall.

Talk about it.

1 Kings 10 marks the high point of Israel’s history. 

For the rest of our Old Testament reading, Israel will be either in decline (or recovery). 

You can make a mark in your Bible (with a pen or pencil or a sticky note) to mark this turning point in Israel’s history.

Just as the Bible is divided by Old and New Testaments, 1 Kings 10 can be considered the division point between the good fortune (under David and Solomon) and the misfortune for the nation of Israel.