The Word of God!!!

Reflections: Today our writer talks about the many qualities of the Law of The Lord.  In the Old Testament, the Law was the revelation given to God's people Israel as the became covenant partners with God.  In Abraham, the Jewish people were chosen from the nations to represent God's name and be his sons and daughters.  Then through Moses God gave them the Law to distinguish them from their neighbors.  The Law was made of the first five books of the bible called the "Pentateuch".  They were compromised of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  

The psalmist today gives us the qualities of God's law.  It is perfect, trustworthy, pure and firm.  They are more valuable than gold or silver and they are sweet to the taste.  The Law both reveals the hidden sins of the heart that we cannot see, and the willful ones we don't try to hide. 

Importantly we are not above the Law but the Law is above us.  When it comes to our opinion versus the objective nature of the Law there is no comparison.  And we know by application that all Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, correction and rebuke that the man or woman of God can be trained for every good work. 

And probably most importantly when we obey the Law it gives joy to our heart, light to our eyes, and healing to our bodies.  We can thank God that He left us a written revelation of His will through the 66 books of the Old and New Testament.  God's Word is the power of God to change us from the inside out through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit takes God Word and applies to our individual lives living in community together.  We preach the Word on Sundays, study it each day and meet in groups to understand its application to our everyday lives. 

Thank God for His Word and may it continue to be a light unto your path and way.  It is the truth that will set you free to live the life you've always wanted!  

Psalm 19:7-14  

The Law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right,
    giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
    giving light to the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
    and all of them are righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
    than much pure gold
they are sweeter than honey,
    than honey from the honeycomb.
¹¹ By them your servant is warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² But who can discern their own errors?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;

    may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
    innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Solomon’s Other Activities

8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace, ² Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram^[a] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. ³ Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. ⁴ He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath. ⁵ He rebuilt Upper Beth 

Hor and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, ⁶ as well as Baalath and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses^[b]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

⁷ There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these people were not Israelites). ⁸ Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day.⁹ But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers.¹⁰ They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

¹¹ Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

¹² On the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord,¹³ according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths, the New Moons and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. ¹⁴ In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their duties, and the Levites to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God had ordered. ¹⁵ They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.
¹⁶ All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.
¹⁷ Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. ¹⁸ And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents^[c] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

9 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind.² Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. ³ When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built, ⁴ the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at^[d] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

⁵ She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. ⁶ But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard.⁷ How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!⁸ Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
⁹ Then she gave the king 120 talents^[e] of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
¹⁰ (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood^[f] and precious stones. ¹¹ The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)
¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
2. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
3. 2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons
4. 2 Chronicles 9:4 Or and the ascent by which he went up to
5. 2 Chronicles 9:9 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
6. 2 Chronicles 9:10 Probably a variant of almugwood
7. 
   

^A21 After all this had happened, Paul decided^[a] to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” ²² He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.

The Riot in Ephesus

²³ About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. ²⁴ A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. ²⁵ He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. ²⁶ And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. ²⁷ There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
²⁸ When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. ³⁰ Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.