Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”
1 Kings 6:11-13
This is a promise from the LORD to His chosen people, Israel, while Solomon is building the temple. Intentionally, in chapter 5, we see God fulfilling a promise He made to Solomon, "The LORD gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him..." (1 Kings 5:12)
But there is a contingency linked to this particular promise in chapter 6: That His people would obey His statutes, rules, and commandments, and to walk in them.
Maybe, if you're like me, this sounds like a lot of what is modernly called 'works religion'. But the phrase 'walk in them' points to a devotion. **
Devotion comes from love.
In return for this devotion and outward display of devotion that the LORD laid out, God promises that He 'will dwell among the children of Israel' and that 'He will not forsake' them.
He did not want His temple to be filled with hypocrites. He knew their hearts and intentions, even if they excelled in the outward standards He'd set for them (Matthew 23:37). He knew if they were obeying because they had to or because they desired to.
Further along in the Old Testament, actually, later in this very book, we see that the people of Israel, and their kings, were not devoted to God. They broke their end of the deal, but God stuck with them - instead of showing love through kindness, He had to show it through discipline because of their disobedience. But in a way we rarely think about, the discipline was kindness. And, true to His promise, He never ever left them.
I forget a lot of things. I forget what I had for breakfast (I truly do, actually), I forget what I read in my devotions yesterday, I forget dates, appointments, and obligations. My mind cannot grasp everything it needs to remember - but one of the things it should remember is that God keeps His promises. Believe it or not, I forget that, too.
God made a lot of promises in the Bible. One site says 5467 of them! (I believe it - but I'm just taking their word for it) In our personal devotions, maybe we could find them, try to remember them, and as we read on, see how God fulfilled them. Maybe it would help us remember the promises He has made to us - that in Christ we are new creations, alive to Him and dead to sin. That He loves - unconditionally and uncircumstantially. That He is faithful in all situations. That He can forgive our sins because Jesus took our incomprehensible punishment. That our inheritance is not here on earth, but awaiting us - that it is an eternity with Christ.
Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go... For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:15
You will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you... Jeremiah 29:12-14
...That He may establish you today as His people, and that He may be your God, as He promised you, and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Deuteronomy 29:13
<3 Berea
** While it's true that good works should go hand in hand with a changed heart toward Christ, works do not bring salvation or eternal life. "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6. One speaker I heard recently said, "Live as though your salvation depended on your works, even though it doesn't." Perhaps this is the bud of a future post!
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