Daily Devotions

1 Kings continues the story where 2 Samuel left off. Chapters 1-2 complete the presentation of the reign of David and the succession of Solomon. Chapters 3-11 depict Solomon’s glorious reign, highlighted by the construction of the Temple, but including his ultimate apostasy. Chapters 12-14 relate Jeroboam’s rebellion, his censure by the prophets, and the resulting division of the nation into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 722 BCE. 

The rest of 1 Kings details the reigns of the divided monarchy, alternating between the North and the South, but with the bulk of the material considering the period of Israelite supremacy, especially under Omri and Ahab. This period also includes the abrupt appearance and compelling ministry of the prophet Elijah.

However, today, I want to home into David's charge to his son Solomon. 1 Kings 2 1-4 When David’s time to die approached, he charged his son Solomon, saying, “I’m about to go the way of all the earth, but you—be strong; show what you’re made of! Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, his course for life set out in the revelation to Moses; then you’ll get on well in whatever you do and wherever you go. Then God will confirm what he promised me when he said, ‘If your sons watch their step, staying true to me heart and soul, you’ll always have a successor on Israel’s throne.’

Here is some good advice that we can translate into our lives as 21st century disciples. Three principles that resonate through the whole of Scripture. In our walk with God we are to  Be Strong, Be Courageous, Be Faithful.

In his book, 'Faith That Endures', Ronald Boyd-MacMillan tells the story of a number of conversations he has had with Wang Mingdao, one of China's most famous church pastors of the last century. The first time he met this famous—and persecuted—Chinese pastor, they had the following interchange:

"Young man, how do you walk with God?” I listed off a set of disciplines such as Bible study and prayer, to which he mischievously retorted, “Wrong answer. To walk with God, you must go at walking pace."

The pastor went on to say, “One of the keys to the faith of the suffering church: God does things slowly. He works with the heart. We are too quick. We have so much to do—so much in fact we never really commune with God as he intended when he created Eden, the perfect fellowship garden. For Wang Mingdao, persecution, or the cell in which he found himself, was the place where he returned to "walking pace," slowing down, stilling himself enough to commune properly with God.

God, you have called me to walk in faith,1 to walk with integrity and in truth,2 to walk in love and in a manner worthy of your name. 3 Heeding your call, I commit myself afresh to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. God my creator, my companion and my Lord, today I chose to walk with you. Amen.